Episode 55: A Final Farewell

On the other side of the courthouse square, Senator Travis walked along the sidewalk with Kim. A heavily loaded pickup pulled over beside them, the passenger window rolled down, and Acey waved at them.

“Acey! Mike!” Senator Travis called out.

“I was afraid we might miss you guys,” Acey replied, stepping out of the truck. Acey gave Kim a hug while Mike walked around the front of the truck to shake the senator’s hand.

“That offer’s still open, Mike,” Senator Travis assured him. “Let me know, and the Family, Faith, and Freedom Foundation and I can set you both up on the talk show and lecture circuit.”

“We appreciate it, Chad,” Mike replied. “We’ll get back to you when we’re ready to talk to the world. For now, we need to focus on preparing a safe place to raise our family, but the fight isn’t over, and one day soon we’ll be back.”

“Glad to hear you aren’t just running away,” Senator Travis nodded. “You know, you don’t have to formally participate in the appeal, but you’ll be a big help in the publicity and lobbying.”

“I understand there was some excitement yesterday?” Mike gestured to the flag at half-mast.

“Oh, yeah,” Senator Travis shook his head. “There was at that. I’m sorry you missed it. It was something to behold.”

“Well,” Acey replied, “we had to pack.” She pointed at the loaded pickup. “The mayor says the sheriff isn’t going to be able to hold all the Antifa they arrested past tomorrow. They’ll all be making bail and out on the streets, and we want to be long gone before then.”

“You’ll have to come and visit us, sometime,” Mike offered.

“Oh?” the senator raised an eyebrow. “Where are you going?”

“We found a little survival place up in the mountains,” Acey explained. “We’re going to go live there.”

“Yeah,” Mike confirmed, “it’s getting kind of weird around here, you know?”

“Bye bye!” Acey gave Kim another hug, then climbed back into the truck as Mike climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Goodbye!” Mike waved past Acey to Senator Travis and his aide through the passenger-side window.

“Bye!” Senator Travis waved his cowboy hat in a broad, slow, arc as the couple drove away. He and his aide stood a moment in silence watching the heavily loaded truck vanish in the distance.

“Nice to see something hopeful,” Kim glanced over at the flag at half mast, “coming out of this tragedy.”

Senator Travis replaced his cowboy hat and his features hardened. “I’ll cry no tears for Roxy,” he said coldly.

Kim frowned, a confused look on her face. “I thought you two had a sort of ‘frenemies’ vibe going: friendly and collegial despite your differences.”

“I thought so, too,” Senator Travis acknowledged, looking at the flag fluttering weakly in the mild breeze. “I was wrong. Worse, I was a fool to think any compromise with evil was possible.”

The two climbed into their rental car. Senator Travis started the car and let the engine idle. Finally, he broke the silence. “I’ll say this for her, though. She had the wisdom to know that the fool will ever be servant to the wise of heart. Now thanks to her, I am a fool no longer.”