Chapter 04

Alex was dozing in his chair. He occasionally took a break by leaning back in the chair and putting his feet up on the desk, almost horizontal. The chair was a big high-dollar affair with a padded headrest. He said it was the most comfortable way to sleep without going go bed. Jessica had ordered a pair of La-Z-Boy recliners with the other furnishings, and sometimes she napped in one while watching him, during the early days when he tired easily. She leaned over and kissed his forehead.

"How you doing?"

He resumed a sitting position and turned.

"Pretty good. How was town?"

"Not bad for a Friday. Ready for some lunch?"

"Sounds good. What time is it?"

He looked at the clock on one of the computer screens.

"That was a pretty good nap. Or two."

"I stopped at Taco Bell. C'mon."

She stood close as he got up, into the walker. Followed him into the kitchen.

"How's work coming?" she asked after a couple of tacos.

"Better than it was. Couple of weeks ago everything was gibberish. Couldn't remember anything. I've been reading my journals. It helps."

"Any plans? I've got your hospital records sorted out. All twenty or thirty pounds. I'm about to start going through them, see what I can figure out."

"I need to get my two main workstations updated. Mint 19 is completely retired, I've got to get a couple of machines loaded with 20. I don't want to risk losing anything, so I'll probably set up a couple of new ones and transfer everything over. Probably have to order them, about the only place to buy locally is Walmart. Are any of my credit cards still working?"

"You had about a dozen. Three of them were at Chase, and they closed two of them because the payments were so far behind. The third is working. A couple at Citibank, a Discover. We got them all up to date, and I've been using them regularly. Charlie and Sam were able to get into your bank accounts early on when Sam got a guardianship, so they're all OK. All you debit cards work."

"I'm glad they got that fixed. There's a lot of cash in those banks. Or was."

"It seems to be. I ran the history back a year on all of them, the balances look good. I've paid some medical bills, things weren't covered by insurance. Small stuff, deductibles and copays. Alysin kept you on the payroll the entire time so they'd pay the insurance. Frank and Emma were always hoping you'd be back."

"I miss her. Good kid."

"She is. I don't know about her future there though. When I talked to her last week, she told me Doug is leaving. Without you and him, I'm not sure they can keep it together. And at their age, I wouldn't be surprised if they sell out."

"They lost you too." Alex said. "You were the other leg holding the table up."

Jessica had given her notice the day after she brought Alex home from the hospital, knowing a long journey was ahead.

She didn't reply right away. She always felt guilty when being praised, even when she knew it was deserved. And he was right. She had arrived at a time when her skills and work ethic were needed. And things didn't look good for those they'd left behind. And the economy was headed south, fast.

"How are my finances otherwise?"

"You're in good shape. You've got well over a million in your 401k. Of course what that'll be worth a year from now is another matter. But you need to start taking it out. Converting to something that won't lose value so fast. And speaking of that, we found most of your metals. The three safes in your house. But it was all silver. We can't find the gold. We haven't sold the house yet - is it there?"

Alex hadn't thought about it. Didn't remember it in fact. He found the records he'd kept, how much and when he bought it. Didn't even remember the small safes he'd stacked in a bedroom closet. Full of silver Eagles and rolls of junk silver. Yeah, and the gold. Where had he put that?

"Beats me."

"There was quite a lot, wasn't there? Not as bulky as silver, but you'd been buying it for years. It wouldn't be at the farm, would it?"

The farm.

Yeah. He had a place in the country, outside of Jonesboro. What was that highway? Arkansas something. One something. 191? Nah, 193 was south in Cross County, where his folks had lived. The old farm Dad had owned was out there. They'd never sold it after their parents died, rented it out to other farmers. He wondered if he could find his place, if he ever could drive again.

"Dunno. Have to go out there, when I can, see if I remember anything. Have you been out there?"

"No. We need to get out there. Especially if you left anything of value there. How do you feel about tomorrow? Just drive out, see what condition it's in."

"Need to. If it's been sittin' there almost a year..."

"We'll give it a try."