Mouse was laying out clothing for me.

I was trying to get drunk and this young woman was insisting on trimming my hair and dressing me up proper. Hell, she even brought in Matilda to make it happen and, yes, I got a clean shave; I didn’t dare move a muscle while Matilda had that razor at my face.

I just smoked, drank and listened to music. If they wanted me to dress up, then I would, hell I didn’t care as long as I got some fresh roasted sweet corn. I wanted more beer and bourbon also, I’d worry about pussy later on. I could probably comfortably pass the evening without spawning another child. Hell, Michelle had told me that was her plan and I foolishly didn’t believe her.

She had made it very clear that we were just friends and business partners but then she went and did that? Michelle had told me that she wanted a baby, but I thought she was just floating an example. Now I find out that she was being honest; the woman was looking for a child, not a husband. Now that left me with two children to figure out how to be a father to. There was no way I wasn’t going to do my best, but heck, I’d never had a kid with a partner before and now I was going to have two with friends?

'Was friends even the accurate description?' I wondered, as Matilda shaved my face and Michelle fussed over how Mouse’s hair looked? Words couldn’t describe how this situation felt to me. While I stood stock still, being fussed over, I wondered if I got the truck up to eighty-eight miles per hour, would I just jump back through time and continue on my simple journey to an uncomplicated life on my ranch in the Grand Tetons? I was sure there was enough room to build up that speed on the old field road, I just lacked the however many gigawatts of power and that funny X-box movie prop thing or the Mr. Fusion.

Sadly, eighty-eight miles per hour would never be enough, you were still stuck with what life dealt you. The madness of the time twitch seemed to be only understood by those with the colorless eyes. Yes, the cards had changed in my hand while I was playing them, but I had no choice but to go on playing them regardless.

I realized that I would have to speak to the people of Rulo in their entirety tonight, I had to stand up and play that leader figure so they didn’t feel rudderless and adrift. I would call out our heroes and identify our leaders tomorrow or Sunday. Tonight I needed to merely do a cheerful welcome to Rulo and get on with dinner.

I turned the music back on and found a song that lifted my spirits. I could go all dark, drunk and moody later. Aunty was out there somewhere waiting for me to say the right things to lift the spirits and push people forward. I felt the yoke of responsibility as it settled on my shoulders yet again.

I called for my council and I called for my captains, I needed my man Amos as well. If I had to suffer through this so would they. I strode out freshly shaved and washed but shirtless, with a trail of women traipsing behind me complaining noisily. Nobody was doing much to improve my mood and Mouse looked increasingly distressed; in fact, she got pissed off enough to start chasing all the other women away. Hell, I might have a real partner in her.

Amos showed up and he looked anxious so I did the gentlemanly thing and asked after Madelaine and their accommodations. Naturally, given as they were young folk, they hadn’t concerned themselves with that yet. They just found the first private place and got busy doing the private things that young folk love to do. Well, things that all folk love to do but as we get older we learn to plan a little better before giving in to our base desires. Mother Nature's plan and all that. Well that asset was off the table, I sent him to find a tent they could live in, preferably not shared and a little away from folks who wanted a good night’s rest.

I managed to catch Michelle and told her I needed to see the entire council plus Timmons and the boat captains immediately, I then sent Mouse to find Sheriff and have him assemble my captains. I needed the lay of the land and I needed it now. I was starting to wonder if anyone was on the same page and a quick walk around the village had told me that the answer was in the negative.

Whatever plans had been made were failing quickly and I needed to pull things back together. July weather helped, nobody was going to freeze but we needed a little more grass roots organization to keep everything in order. Just the sheer number of children was enough to blow one’s mind.

I found my chair setup at the center of a table and took my seat. Almost like magic, Matilda had coffee and bourbon for me. More importantly, she brought me my ash tray for my cigarette butts. Matilda was a true treasure if she was your woman however I knew that someone, somewhere, in some time had stolen that from her. She would never be someone’s woman and would never have ‘her man’, I hoped that she could have her children and family though. Well, she seemed to have solved the child part at my expense; it seemed to fall to me to pay the balance of what the patriarchs of humankind owed her. She was a treasure and I paid that debt willingly…loudly complaining like any good Jarhead, but willingly nonetheless. I truly loved Matilda for who and what she was.

The truth was Matilda was and wasn’t mine.

I may have been hers however.

I might definitely have belonged to her.