He Is Not Alone
Chapter 7

The rest of the week went OK. Tuesday afternoon and evening were the pet training classes at Pet Start. There were still way too many people that wanted me to work with them. From the looks of it, we could run classes 2 times a day every day and still turn people away.

Wednesday, I spent time with Butch. He is becoming distant. His mood is down and his walk is kind of guarded. When I try to comfort him, he is distant and guarded like he no longer trusts me. Wednesday night I cooked a nice dinner for Butch and me. He ate it up and seemed to pick up some in spirit.

“Butch, where are you?” What a way to wake up in the morning. My bed partner is not in bed and I slept later than normal.

“Butch, come here boy!” That is strange. He isn’t responding. As I walk around the house and into the backyard, I realize that I can’t sense him anymore. His dog dish and water dish are untouched. He is not in the yard and the gate is open. Not that I close it anyway. I go back to the house and get dressed. On the off chance that he has gone to visit Misty, I call Daisy.

“Hello Daisy, This is Will. By any chance is Butch there with you?”

“What is this some kind of trick or something? I told you I didn’t want to talk to you anymore.”

“Look, all I want to know is if Butch is there. He left here sometime overnight and I am trying to find him.”

“NO, he’s not here.” Click!

That went well. Maybe he is in the park.

I drive over to the park. No Butch. I check the pound and no Butch. I check the pet store and no Butch. Where can he be?

I spend the rest of the day, driving around calling for him. I use my mind to try and find some sign of where he is and nothing. Butch is gone.

Friday morning the phone rings.

“Hello?”

“Will, this is Lou. How are you?”

“Fine, Lou, what can I do for you?”

“Your check is in from the accident. I was going to send it home with Daisy, but she made it pretty clear, she didn’t want to see you even for business. Guess you two had a fight, everything all right?”

“You could say we had a fight. She has been stewing over me not telling her why I was arrested, why you wouldn’t tell her anything. Anyway, last weekend I told her about my abilities. Let’s just say it didn’t go well. She accused me of all kinds of terrible things and doesn’t want to see or hear from me.”

“Yes, she told me pretty much the same thing. If you don’t want to come down to the office, I can stop by and we can do the paperwork at your place.”

“That will be fine, whenever it is convenient for you.”

“Why don’t I stop by this afternoon around 1, will that be ok?”

“Sure, see you then.”

“Okay, Will. Don’t worry about Daisy. Now that she knows about your capabilities, I will talk to her.”

“It’s not a problem, Lou. She is a big girl. When she is ready, she will call. See you after lunch.”

Around 1 o’clock, Lou shows up at my door. We head into the kitchen. We, I mean I, have a nice eat-in kitchen. There is a work island that faces the dining room. Behind that is a U-shaped kitchen area with stainless steel appliances. There is a window over the sink that looks out into the backyard with a lot of counter space on each side. Then the gas stove and convection/microwave and refrigerator. The wall opposite the sink is the pantry area. I love to cook and have spent many hours updating the kitchen. I have all the appliances including my Keurig coffee machine that gets a workout every morning.

“Hi, Lou, sorry to bring you all the way out here, but I’m glad you came. I didn’t want to cause any issues with Daisy in the office.”

“Not a problem. Had lunch with Fran and it wasn’t that far out of the way back to the office. Where is Butch?”

“I don’t know. I woke up yesterday and he was gone. Haven’t seen or heard anything about him. I called the pound, SPCA, pet store. Check the park and drove around looking for him, but no signs of him anywhere.”

“I’m sorry, the first Daisy and now Butch.”

“No, first the police, then Daisy, then the FBI and now Butch.”

“FBI? What do they want?”

“They heard about my capabilities and wanted to test me and see if I can help my Country.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Well, now that I am friendless, I will probably take them up on it. Would be nice to know what I am truly capable of. Who knows, maybe this is what I am supposed to do.”

“Be careful, Will. The FBI might not be as understanding as the local police and you know how they reacted. But let’s get this over and done with. Here are the papers that you need to sign. Basically, it says you agree that you will not sue them and that this is all you are entitled to. Sign here once you have read it and agree.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

“Good, here is your check for 15 million dollars. Don’t spend it all in one place.” Lou says with a smile.

“I haven’t even touched the original money from her insurance or the death benefits. I am not sure what I will do with this. I guess just add it to the investment fund. Thanks again for all of your help.”

“Not a problem Will. Be careful with the FBI. If you need me, please call anytime.”

“Thanks, I will.” I show Lou out the door and am alone again.

You would think that with all this money I wouldn’t have a care in the world. I was honest with Lou; I haven’t touched the money that I got from Lou or the insurance money. I have been living off the interest. Is there something wrong with me? Here I am, rich by almost any standard, I have lost my wife, lost my girlfriend, lost both dogs that helped me get over the loss of my wife and understanding of these new capabilities and I have no idea what to do with my life.

The next few days seem to flow into one very long, very depressing nightmare. My mind and my life are on autopilot. I hear everyone’s thoughts and at a time just seem to automatically take actions to solve their problems. I am learning more about what I can do and it is getting easier to understand and make people do what I want them to, but there is no satisfaction in it. I need a purpose.

The house is a tomb. All the old memories pushing in on me. Even the long walks around the old neighborhood don’t seem to help. It’s time to move forward with my life. It has been over 2 years since Sandy died and I have no ties that bind me to this place. First thing in the morning, I am going to call a Realtor and put the house on the market and look at moving somewhere else.

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