Chapter 26
After Silas had dropped Jen at the school, he decided to drop by the grocery store and pick up a few things. When he walked inside, Paul came up to him as he got his cart.
“Good morning, Silas.”
“Good morning, Paul, how are you doing this morning?”
“I’m doing fine, thank you for asking. Where is Miss Jen?” Paul grinned.
“I dropped her off at the school. The teachers are holding a meeting about the best way to handle this problem with all the sick kids. With everything going on lately, I thought I’d do some shopping for her.”
“Well, isn’t that nice of you? I’m sure she will appreciate it,” Paul grinned.
Silas could tell by the look on Paul’s face there was something on his mind.
After a few tense moments, Paul looked at Silas and said, “I wanted to thank you for your help yesterday. I was convinced someone was going to get hurt and that it was probably going to be me.”
Silas did not want to admit he was also scared when he pulled up and saw all the protesters gathered outside of the store. However, once he came inside and saw the mess they had made his fear turned to anger.
“Well, I don’t think you’ll have any more problems with them in the near future,” Silas chuckled.
Paul shook his head and grinned, “I doubt it by the look on Alejandro’s face when you cuffed him after he had finished cleaning up things around here. I have to confess that I nearly fell over when you told him to grab that mop and bucket. The look on his face is something I will remember to my dying day.”
“Yeah, it was pretty funny, wasn’t it?”
Both men looked at each other and laughed.
Silas could see there was something else on Paul’s mind, but he was hesitating to ask.
“Okay, what else is on your mind, Paul?”
“I don’t know if it’s my place to ask, but…” Paul wrung his hands nervously.
“Go ahead and ask, if I can give you an answer, I will.”
Paul looked at Silas with a look of dread in his eyes. “Do you think the Feds are going to try to turn this into something against us? I mean, you’ve seen how they’ve handled other cases similar to this one. Several people in town are worried that yesterday’s events are only a taste of what’s to come.”
Silas wished that he could tell Paul not to worry, but he had to admit the same thought had crossed his mind.
“Paul, let’s hope it doesn’t happen here, but if it does, I know we will all pull together as a town and not let it destroy what we have here.”
“Mr. Jackson, you have a telephone call,” the voice sounded over the speaker.
“Well, I guess I need to go. Thank you again for your help, Silas.” Paul offered his hand and smiled.
Silas returned the offered handshake. “Anytime, we’ll talk again.”
Paul turned and walked toward his office. Once he was out of site, Silas turned and looked toward the produce aisle. “Okay, time to get some goodies.”
The last few days had been busy for Frank. With all the forms and meetings about the shooting and the attack on Chuck Wilson, he wondered how it was all going to end, not only for Chuck but for the town as well. He had felt the pressure from the higher ups in DC; all clamoring for answers to questions that Frank was unable to provide. He knew this incident could turn ugly by the number of news vans in town all trying to get the next scoop. The only problem was Frank also knew how if they did not get what they wanted they would just create their own story for their nightly report. Unfortunately, he had seen it happen far too often.
The arrest of the two young men had caused anger to surge throughout the camp among several of the other young men. He had worried there might be problems with them, but so far, things had remained calm.
He did have to talk with the family banned from the grocery store. The wife had claimed the owner was over-reacting and just did not want them in the store because they were Latino.
Frank had assured her he would speak to Paul about it, but he already knew what had happened.
“He no like us because we Latino,” the angry woman had said in broken Spanish. “He say I no bring my children in the store anymore.”
“I know you’re upset, but I think it’s best for the time being if you have someone else go to the store for you,” Frank said in fluent Spanish. He forced a smile, but he knew by the look on her face she did not like the idea.
“This not right, we have our rights to shop there,” the woman responded in Spanish, not trying to speak in English.
The words hit Frank like a sledgehammer. Right, she believes that she has the right; the words burned into his mind.
He knew he should not feel that way, but as far as he knew, her rights were limited. He knew the politically correct way of thinking was that she had the same rights as a citizen, but in his heart, he did not agree. It may be his job to watch over them, but he did not have to agree with them staying here. As each day passed, the government he once loved and respected was turning on those it was supposed to serve and protect, and it did not sit well with him.
“Senora Hernandez, there is nothing more that I can do at this time. I suggest that you stay clear of the grocery store, and let things calm down. I have to make a telephone call, so if there isn’t anything else, you need to return to your trailer.” He nodded toward the door, letting her know their talk was finished for the time being.
As she walked out of the door, he heard her mumble something under her breath, and he had to chuckle when he heard her call him a dirty dog.
Once she had closed the door, Frank reached for the telephone and dialed his home phone.
“Hi sweetheart, I sure do miss you and the kids,” Frank said with sadness in his voice.