Rescue

the Lincoln crunching in the driveway under the carport.
    I said, “The news didn’t say anything about roadblocks.“
    “Yeah, well, I stopped at the clubhouse—over by the pool, you haven’t seen it yet—and Hank Erlandson—he’s from Minnesota originally, looks like a Viking without the homed hat—he’d just finished his laps in the pool, these black goggles still on top of his head like sunglasses—against the chlorine, he says it hurts his eyes, I tell him it wouldn’t hurt so much, you didn’t swim in the pool for two hours till you look like a prune—“
    Eddie laughed. It was the first time I’d ever heard him laugh, even with the cartoons.
    “—So anyway, Hank says the highway patrol have the roadblocks up, they’re checking every car, whether you go Route 1 north or Card Sound Road .“
    “No other way to the mainland, right?“
    “Unless you’re an alligator.“
    Eddie laughed again.
    I said, “They searching the trunks, too?“
    “Hank didn’t say, and I didn’t want to seem too interested, you know?“
    “You did the right thing, Doris .“
    She clapped her hands together. “So, it looks like I’ve got two strange men as houseguests for a while.“
    Eddie laughed once more. A chattery, musical sound.

    We spent the rest of that day watching television and having sandwiches and watching television and doing a jigsaw puzzle and watching television and having dinner until I was developing a serious case of cabin fever. After dinner, Eddie went to bed early, but dropped off to sleep only after Doris spent ten minutes reading to him. Coming back into the living room, she looked radiant.
    I said, “He agrees with you.“
    Doris tilted her head. “You never had kids, am I right?“
    “Right.“
    “Too bad. They would have taught you some things.“

    Early the next morning, she said, “I don’t like the idea of drilling holes in our... my car.“
    Looking up at her from inside the trunk, the power tool in my hand, I said, “It was kind of close in here Tuesday night, even on just the short ride from the marina. Heading north, we might have to ride back here—and breathe—all the way to Miami.“
    “What happens when it rains?“
    “ Doris , I’m drilling the holes through the bottom of your trunk.“
    “So, water doesn’t splash up?“
    “You can get plugs for the holes. There’ll only be two small ones.“
    Still not liking it, she changed the subject. “What happen when we get to your friend in Miami?“
    “You leave me, then you and Eddie are on your own.“
    “You don’t think we ought to discuss that with him first?“
    “With my friend?“
    “No. With Eddie.“
    “I thought we’d already decided that.“
    “We did. He hasn’t.“
    “Okay. We also have to stop at Mercy Lodge.“
    “The Lodge? Why?“
    I told Doris about where I’d hidden the remaining cash from Lonnie Severn’s trailer.
    She shook her head. “No. It’s what, a few thousand dollars? For that we risk me getting caught or breaking my ankle climbing around the rocks, maybe getting rabies from a squirrel bite?“
    “Doris, I’d like you and Eddie to have that money.“
    “I have more money than we’ll ever need.“
    “Doris—“
    “Going back to the Lodge just isn’t worth the risk, and you know I’m right.“
    She was. “Okay.“
    “Am I gonna meet your friend in Miami?“
    “If you want to.“
    “I meet him, do I call you ‘John’?“
    I watched her. “Howard told you my real name isn’t ‘John Francis’?“
    “He didn’t have to tell me. Like I said, you should have had kids. You’d have learned from them, the way I did from my Mike.“ She grew quieter. “The way I will again, God and Eddie willing.“
    I stuck out my hand. “John Cuddy, Boston.“
    Doris shook it. “A pleasure, John.“
    I finished with the drill, tested each hole. Plenty of air.
    Doris said, “What if we get stopped and the police search the trunk?“
    “Tell them you’re with the Mafia.“
    “After all this, I ought to join up.“

    He was sitting in front of the television, gorging himself on popcorn and Looney Times.
    I said, “Eddie?“
    He looked up, dropping the handful of popcorn back into the bowl rather than continuing on with it to his mouth. “Everything okay?“
    Doris said, “Everything’s fine, Eddie. John and I just need to have a little talk with you.“
    I said, “Eddie, we have to decide where you’re going to go“
    He bit his upper lip. “Go?“
    “Yes. We