Page 4 of Falkner
“What are you going to do with the stuff that was in our bedrooms when we left home?”He said that Mom had made them take what they wanted, and she got rid of the rest.“Not ours, I’m betting.She’s probably held onto things we’d made in grade school if I know her well enough.I love her to pieces, but she could be sentimental about the strangest things.”Falkner agreed but also said he’d not say that to her.“No.I like my head just where it’s at, thank you very much.She’d pop you in the back of the head quick as a snake if she thought that we were making fun of her.”
They ended up in their rooms looking over the stuff that had been left behind.Cullen had Navy posters in his room along with some of the things that he’d collected over the years while traveling out of the country.There wasn’t much of those things that he’d sent back, but enough that Cullen decided that he was going to fill his office with the stuff he’d collected and make a nice display of the things.He had posters, too, as well as a skeleton that he’d used to memorize the bones with.His name was Charlie Dixon.
Falkner didn’t know why he’d named the skeleton, but he had named it about the time he was seriously thinking about becoming a doctor.He had a doctoral degree in medicine and a minor in pharmaceutical drugs, both of which were helpful to be a good doctor, he told himself.
Cleaning out his room, he was able to find all kinds of things that he’d forgotten about.His old chemistry set, some notes he’d made in health classes he’d taken over the years.He’d lived at home the longest and had more than he thought he should have stored in the big room.But since he now owned the family home, he could take his time moving the things out that he no longer wanted.Cullen helped him move his bed into the master suite, as it was empty now that his parents had moved out.The other bedrooms were empty as well since Mom had made the others come by and clean out their old rooms for him.He would have to thank her for that as soon as he saw her.
The house was a large home with ten bedrooms and eight bathrooms.Each of the bedrooms had its own bathroom, which Mom and Dad had made sure that they could have when they were growing up.The master had a beautiful room with seating near the fireplace that he was planning on using all the time.Also, and this was something that he really liked, the living room and parlor had been converted into one room, so it was twice the size that it had been, so that they could enjoy hanging out together when they were all over.
“The kitchen is up to date as well.”He told Cullen that Mom and Dad had had it done when he started his last term of college.“I’m glad that you made them happy with this, Falkner.They have been waiting so long to be able to move out to their own little place that I can’t believe how happy they seem to be with their smaller house.”
Cullen told him that their parents had been wanting to move into something smaller about the time he finished up his first term in college.But they’d held off so that they’d not disturb his studies while in college.Then, when he decided to go back, they put off again about not moving to something smaller so as not to disrupt his life while he was working so hard.He, of course, didn’t notice anything going on around him as he’d been so focused on school and his studies.He would forever be grateful to Cullen for pointing out what he’d missed all along.
At lunch, the cook, April, had cooked them a nice bowl of chili and cornbread.He knew that she was staying on, but he didn’t know about the rest of the staff.With a house this big, he was going to need help, especially now that he was going to be working full-time at the hospital.
He actually couldn’t wait to get started on working there; he wanted to be a doctor for so long, and now that it was happening for him, he couldn’t contain himself.With his degree under his belt now, he could work at the hospital and not have to worry about keeping up with his grades while doing it.Christ, he was excited.
Spring was just around the corner, and he was looking forward to summer too.He’d been gone during the holidays and wasn’t sorry about missing all the excitement.He knew that he’d needed the vacation more than he could have imagined and was glad that his parents had thought of him in giving it to him.He’d dragged Cullen along because he felt that he needed him there, not to mention he thought that his brother could use some time away from everything as well.
He found himself moving the furniture around in the master bedroom, well past the time he should have been getting ready for dinner.It wasn’t until Cullen pulled him from the room that he realized how late it was getting.Just as he was getting dressed to go, his parents called to say they were running late and would meet them all there.Falkner was excited about being around his family tonight.
Dinner was loud and fun.Amy had made sure that the staff knew there was going to be a lot of them, and the manager of the restaurant had given them one of the party rooms where they could stretch out if they wanted.Seeing them all together like they were, he pulled out his phone and started taking pictures.He was going to treasure them for as long as he lived, having the family together like they were wasn’t going to be happening all the time as they grew their own families, and he understood that more than most.Anything could happen to tear them apart, and he wasn’t looking forward to losing any of them.
His grandparents were already talking about having their immortality taken from them.They had lived their lives; he’d been told they said and were happy with the way things were going to go for them.Grandpa Simpson said that he’d lived his life and wanted to rest now.Grandma Dixon said the same thing.Even with Amy having a baby right now didn’t change their minds.He was going to miss them all if they decided to decline what Dallas could give them, with him being the silverback of their kind.
Falkner decided that he wasn’t going to think about it tonight, not with them all here, but make memories of them being all together one more time.He would take what he could get from them and never begrudge them anything for wanting to live out their lives naturally, like they were supposed to.He’d miss them, that was a given, but he’d never force them into anything that they didn’t want to do.He loved them too much for that.
Chapter 2
Doone looked through the mess that had been her apartment.Nothing was savable.Not any of the things that she’d still had in boxes, nor the things that she cherished so much that had been given to her by her mom over the years.It was all gone.Everything.
“Did they tell you what started the fire?”Doone told her neighbor, who had lived below her, that no one had said.“It was the place above yours that caught fire, and it burned right down to yours in a heartbeat.The Fire Marshall said that had you been home, you wouldn’t have been able to get out in time.It’s a good thing you were at your mother’s.”
“Yes, I did hear that.”All she could think about was that she’d been warned not to go home, that she wasn’t going to be safe.She wanted to talk to the man who had told her that, but was fearful of something else he might tell her.Like she wasn’t going to be able to keep her job or something like that.“It was so late when I got off work that I decided to go to my mom’s house to hang out.I’m glad that I did.”
Her mom had been startled to see her there when she’d shown up around two in the morning.She’d told her everything, of course, so when she’d been notified that the building had burnt to the ground, she and her mom had lived in fear of what would happen now.She would have died had she been home, as the smoke would have killed her, and then the apartment above hers falling down onto hers had sealed the deal with her dying in the place.The police had come to see her mom, thinking that she had been home, and they were telling her that they couldn’t find her in the rubble of the building.Luckily for her, she’d been at her mom’s home, so she’d survived.Doone had survived the fire when so many others hadn’t.
“They said that there are fourteen dead and three unaccounted for.Is that what you heard?”She knew Mr.Curtain was looking for information, but she just didn’t have it in her to tell him what she’d heard.He did have it partially right.Nineteen were dead, and three were unaccounted for.She shivered every time she thought about the man, Dixon, telling her not to go home.“I hope they find those others who have stayed the night with their family and not been here.It was a nasty way to go.”
The fire had spread quickly.Going from the apartment above hers to the ones surrounding it.By the time the alarm was going off, alerting everyone that there was a fire, nearly all of the third floor, along with the ones above it, were already engulfed in flames.The reason for so many deaths was that once the fire started, it closed off the stairs so that no one could go up or down them to get away from the flames.They’d found nine of the victims in the stairwell, burnt to death because of that.And all because the apartment that had started it all had not turned off their oven while trying to keep their place warm the other night when the temperature got down to thirty degrees.
“Doonie honey, that man there is calling for you.”She turned to look where Mr.Curtain was pointing and couldn’t believe that it was Dallas Dixon.He wasn’t alone but had a woman with him who looked like a goddess next to him.Going to them, the first thing she did was slap the man.And she didn’t know why she’d done that.
“I’m sorry.”He said he could understand.“How did you know?Did you know that it was going to be a fire?I could have gotten some of the others out of harm’s way had you just told me what was going on.”
“I only get bits and pieces of what’s going to happen when I touch someone.I had no idea it was going to be a fire that would take the lives of so many.Had I known, like you, I would have gotten some of them out.”Doone nodded, then looked at the devastation again.“Do you have a place to stay?That’s what we came here for.To see if we can help you in any way.”
“For now, I’m staying with my mom, but I can only do that for the next thirty days—less now, Iguess.They have rules about someone staying with people who are in subsidized homes.She only just got into them, and I don’t want to mess it up for her.She needs the place more than I do right now.”Dallas said that he and his wife, Amy, were going to help the others, too, who had lost everything.“The people on the first and second floors have had to move out as well.They don’t think that the building is structurally sound right now.But they can at least get some clothing out of their places.”
“Come and stay with us.”She turned to look at the other woman.“We have plenty of room, and it won’t be a problem for you to stay with us.You can come and go as you please.We’re really nice people.”
“I don’t think so, but thanks.”She thought it strange that they’d invite a stranger into their homes without anything to her name, but wasn’t going to do it anyway.“I’ll find something soon, and it’ll be just fine.Thanks, but no thanks.”
When Dallas put out his hand to no doubt shake her hand, she backed away from him.He gave a short laugh and said that he didn’t blame her, but he promised her that nothing was going on.She wanted to ask him how he knew that, but didn’t.She was freaked out enough about him sharing whatever he had with her and her apartment.
Going to her mom’s place, she pulled her car into the garage and got out.It was nice to have a garage to pull into; her mother didn’t drive, so she was free to use it anytime she was over.When her mom came out of her home, she’d forgotten that they were going shopping to find her some clothing and a few things that she needed.Doone had lost everything in the fire, and she couldn’t believe that she didn’t even own her own toothbrush.
“Are you ready, honey?”She said she just wanted to wash her hands as she’d been at the fire first.“Oh, good.I have thought of some things to put on your list while you were gone.You didn’t have shoes on the list.I know you have your work shoes, but I thought you’d need something for just walking around.And socks.”
