"Hey Burl!"
"Hey Carl," Burl replied to the bank guard.
Carl was in his late fifties trying to hang on until he could retire. He was a fill-in while the regular guard took his lunch hour. Since Burl always stopped by the bank during the lunch hour, he knew Carl better than the regular guard.
"I see that it is payday again," Carl said.
The pay envelope was sticking out of Burl's top pocket. It wasn't the first he'd seen that day and it wouldn't be the last. The bank would have a line for most of the day.
Burl answered, "Yes. A little money to feed me and more money to feed the government."
"Only two things are certain in life – death and taxes," Carl said.
"And it is taxes until you die," Burl said.
"Yep," Carl said.
The topic of conversation was edging in a direction that was a sore point for Carl. Burl asked, "How is your wife?"
"She's not doing so well. The last round of chemotherapy didn't help. The cancer is spreading," Carl said.
"Oh damn! I'm sorry to hear that," Burl said.
"I'm going to be taking a leave of absence to take care of her. I was hoping to make it to retirement age, but I don't think I'll make it. Right now, I'd be happy to make it to the New Year," Carl said.
"I'm really sorry to hear that," Burl said.
With a little moisture in his eyes, Carl said, "Emma and I had hoped to drive around the country a bit after I retired. We wanted to see Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, Old Faithful, and the Redwood Forest. It doesn't look like that is going to happen."
Burl shook his head. He couldn't imagine how Carl felt to be losing the fight to save his wife. He did understand the kind of loneliness Carl would be facing if she died.
"If I can do anything to help, let me know," Burl said.
Carl asked, "I don't think anyone can help."
"Hey, I can run errands so that you have more time to spend with your wife. I mean, you'll still need to do shopping and stuff," Burl said.
"That's a real nice offer," Carl said touched by the offer.
"I'm serious. You need anything, just give me a call," Burl said.
Carl said, "I could put in a word for you if you want a job."
"I'm thinking about joining the Army," Burl said.
He hadn't come to a firm decision about going into the army yet. There wasn't a rush and there were a lot of details he had to clear up first. He owned a house and he would have to make arrangements to either sell it or rent it. In the current real estate market, he doubted that he would be able to sell it. He wasn't encumbered with too many debts so he could clear them up. Even if things went his way, it would be after the first of the year before he could join.
"The Army?" Carl asked. "Why would you do that?"
"I figured I could do something for the country. Besides, it wouldn't really matter if I got killed. I mean, I wouldn't be leaving a widow behind," Burl said.
He thought that sounded a lot better than it would end his lonely nights. He didn't think he could face the idea of living alone for the rest of his life. Living in a barracks or on a military base didn't sound that bad to him. Even slugging around in a foreign country with a bunch of friends sounded better than spending nights alone at home.
"So you think you're expendable and other men aren't," Carl asked looking at Burl like he was crazy.
"Well ... I ... maybe," Burl said.
The reason he gave suddenly didn't sound all that better than saying it was better than being alone. On reflection, it sounded pretty bad. He decided that he wouldn't mention that aspect of his thinking again.
Carl said, "Don't do it, Burl."
"I've got to consider it," Burl said.
He was nearly at the point of deciding to go for it. The quiet nights at home since Laura Lane had left were pure torture. He didn't think he could take living alone much longer.
"Suit yourself," Carl said.
Carl wasn't going to badger a man that he shouldn't serve his country. He might disagree with the reasoning behind the move, but he wouldn't argue against it. He had served and it had been one of the best things to happen to him. He had grown up a lot because of it and gained a bit of discipline in the process.
Burl said, "I better get in line or else I won't get lunch today."
"I'd hate for you to miss a meal," Carl said. "Just think twice about joining the Army."
"I'll do that," Burl said.
Ten minutes later Burl was at the food court getting ready to order a taco. He couldn't decide whether to get one or two of them. Juanita came out of the back and studied Burl. She had just heard some rather disturbing news and hoped that it was just a groundless rumor.
She said, "I heard a rumor that you are joining the Army."
"I'm thinking about joining," Burl said.
He wondered how she had heard about it already. After giving it a thought, he realized there had been people who worked in the mall in the bank when he had discussed the matter with Carl. It was kind of scary that he was the subject of discussion like that.
Juanita asked, "Are you crazy? We're at war."
"I'm not crazy," Burl said.
"We don't want you to go," Juanita said flatly.
"Why?" Burl asked.
Surprised by the question Juanita answered, "We're going to miss you. Who is going to make us feel safe?"
"They'll find someone nice to take my job," Burl said.
Hiring a security guard for a mall wasn't hard. An ad in the newspaper and they'd have a hundred people lined up, particularly in the current economy. It was a good paying job compared to working in a burger joint. He was sure they could replace him in a day.
Juanita said, "You know everyone who manages a store. You help us out when we need a hand. There's no way they'll be able to hire someone like you."
"I appreciate the complement, but I'm no one special," Burl said.
"I remember when you helped over at the shoe store when their stock boy was in an accident. How late did you stay there helping them put out stock?" Juanita asked.
"Just a couple hours," Burl answered. "It was no big deal."
What Juanita didn't say was that the stock boy was the manager's son. The manager had run off to the hospital leaving the store short-staffed. The store had received forty large boxes of shoes. Burl had helped them unpack and put the stock out on the shelves.
Juanita asked, "What will you have today?"
"Two tacos and a medium iced tea," Burl answered.
"Okay," Juanita said while turning to prepare his order. She shook her head and mumbled, "He's going to get killed."
Burl was about to bite into a taco when Mrs. Temple stopped by the table looking irritated. He looked up at her and wondered what he had done to make her mad.
"What?" Burl asked somewhat defensively.
"I heard you were joining the Army," Mrs. Temple said.
"I'm thinking about it," Burl said.
Burl wondered how many people were talking about him. Life in a mall was strange. People spent a lot of time working there, but it wasn't exactly a tight knit community. Managers and full-time employees typically spent all of their time in the store. They might talk to the people in the stores immediately adjacent to theirs during quiet times, but they were basically locked to their place of employment. People, like Burl, who knew just about everyone in the mall were rare.
"Why?" Mrs. Temple asked.
"I would like to do something for the country. I figured I would get trained to be a medic or something," Burl said.
"I don't like the idea of you going to Afghanistan. It's dangerous there," Mrs. Temple said.
"I wouldn't necessarily go to Afghanistan, although that wouldn't be so bad," Burl said.
Mrs. Temple said, "You don't know what you are saying. You'd come back a changed man."
"Why?"
"You can't trust the people there," Mrs. Temple said. "The greatest gift you have is your ability to trust people."
"I'll be able to trust the other soldiers," Burl said.
"Yes, you will," Mrs. Temple said. She left feeling like Burl was committing suicide. "Still, it would change you."
"Maybe that's what I need," Burl said feeling a little frustrated.
"Just think twice about it," Mrs. Temple said.
She could see that the discussion was upsetting Burl. She didn't understand why a guy like him would want to join the military. He was a nice guy and had a future. She felt that he would probably be the first guy killed.
"I'll do that," Burl said.
Mrs. Temple said, "You know that Denise will be crushed if you leave."
"Why?" Burl asked.
"I think she fancies you," Mrs. Temple said.
She knew for a fact how Denise felt about Burl. She just wasn't going to tell him how deep the young woman's feelings ran. She was still too young for him.
"You can't be serious."
"I am serious."
"She's a nice kid, but she's a little too young for me," Burl said.
Mrs. Temple said, "Just wait until she turns eighteen. She'll be asking you out on dates."
Burl laughed at the idea.
"Don't laugh. She's got it bad for you," Mrs. Temple said.
She didn't want to be around when Denise heard he was considering joining the Army. She had no idea how the young woman would react. Burl had played a very important role in her recovery from the accident that had taken her legs.
"I'll have to trust your opinion on that," Burl said.
"I've got to get lunch and get back to the store. That stupid cow I hired is worthless," Mrs. Temple said. She went over to the sandwich place to get something to eat.
Burl took a bite of his taco while thinking about his situation. It seemed to him that everyone who talked to him had the same negative reaction to his plans on joining the Army. He didn't understand it. The more he thought about the idea of joining, the more he liked it. He knew the physical part of it would be rough, but he was looking forward to the social side. He wanted to be part of something.
After finishing his lunch, Burl stood at the end of the north hall watching the slow Monday mall traffic. It was a slow day at the mall. Most of the traffic was people headed towards or returning from the bank to deposit their paychecks.
His radio started squawking. "Burl, can you go over to the bank?"
Burl fumbled with his radio wondering why he would be needed at the bank. The bank had its own security. Unlike him, Carl carried a pistol.
"This is Burl. What's up?"
"The security guard at the bank has a family emergency. They'd appreciate it if you went down there until the regular guard returns."
While walking towards the bank, Burl said, "I'm on my way."
"Thanks, Burl."
Burl had a pretty good idea what might be the family emergency – Carl's wife. He hoped that it wasn't something serious although that was unlikely. Carl wouldn't leave the bank unless it was serious. He picked up the pace knowing that Carl would want to get home to her as quickly as possible. The result was that he walked into the bank without looking around.
The first clue Burl had that something wasn't right was observing a man hitting Carl with the butt of a pump shotgun. It was a nasty vicious blow that knocked the elderly man to the floor. When the man started to lower the barrel to aim at Carl on the floor, there was little doubt in Burl's mind that Carl was about to meet his maker.
Burl lost it. Bellowing like a bull, he charged at the man with more energy than he had ever showed in his old days on the football team. Burl was a big guy. The man with the shotgun wasn't. When Burl hit the man with the gun, the pair carried forward until stopped by the table used by bank customers to fill out deposit slips. The table was large and fixed to the floor. They hit the table with a sickening crunch. The shotgun flew across the room.
With the gunman at his feet, Burl stood there and looked around the room trying to make sense out of what was happening. A second man was standing across the room holding a shotgun. It seemed to Burl that things suddenly went into slow motion. He watched the shotgun swivel around so that it was facing him. He could see the man's finger squeezing the trigger. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Carl pulling out his pistol. There was a loud roar of the shotgun going off followed by a loud bang when a pistol was fired. There were screams.
The blast knocked Burl back several feet, but he was left standing for a second. His stomach was on fire. He looked down discovering his white shirt was turning red. He dropped to his knees. In a strangled voice, he said, "I don't feel so good."
Burl fell flat on his face.