Unfortunately, Marilyn was stuck inside trying to explain things to my folks. I got back inside just in time to hear my father, red-faced, bellow out, "Hamilton! Get up here!"
"Oh, shit!", I muttered to myself. This just kept getting better and better. Dad must have heard me because he glanced at me with a hard expression but otherwise let it alone. Hamilton slunk up the stairs with a look that managed to convey both disdain and fear.
He was deathly calm when he asked Hamilton, "Did you really tell your brother and his guest they weren't allowed to watch television in this house?" Mom was standing off to the side next to Marilyn, and I could see she had a nervous look to her face. Hamilton had really stepped in it this time.
Trust my brother to do the exact worst thing humanly possible. Rather than either tell the truth or apologize, he fell back on his old standard of 'lie and deny.' "She's just another one of his lying sluts!"
I could feel the world changing as he said those words. In an instant life was different. Both Mom and Marilyn gasped in disbelief. Dad cursed under his breath. I took two quick steps forward and hit Hamilton in the face as hard as I could with a right overhand punch. Dad grabbed me before I could follow through, but the one punch was sufficient. Hamilton was lifted off his feet and crashed backwards through the louvered doors to the kitchen. As Mom screamed, Hamilton groaned and twitched on the floor. I could see him trying to sit upright but not being overly successful at it. I didn't care. The final ending was when the shattered door fell off its last hinge and crashed to the floor. The other was under my brother.
Dad kept his body between me and my brother, and pushed me towards the door. I looked him in the eye and nodded, and went outside. Marilyn was already there, looking at everything in sheer horror. "You should go now.", he said.
"I should have done that years ago.", I answered.
"Please, just go. I'll get this under control." He looked over at Marilyn. "Marilyn, I am so sorry you had to see this. Please, forgive my family."
Marilyn simply nodded. I took her hand and led her to our cars. I leaned against her car and looked at her sadly. "Welcome to the Buckman family."
"Holy shit!" For Marilyn, this was an amazing curse.
"Yeah. You have no idea how sorry I am about this. What now? Still want to hit the beach?" I gave her a weak smile at this. I really just wanted to crawl into a bottle, but I suppressed the urge.
She gave me an equally weak nod. I pulled my keys from my pocket. "Well, we can't leave either car here, but I know where we can leave one of them."
"We're leaving a car?"
"No reason for both of us to drive. Why don't we leave my car and we can tool around in yours?"
Marilyn finally grinned. "You just want to drive my car!"
"Hmmm, we can either drive around in my six year old rust bucket or your mint condition sports car. How do I ever solve that dilemma?" I stood upright and pushed her towards her driver's seat. "Listen, you follow me. I'll make sure you don't get lost, but we're going into Towson and you have no idea where I'm heading. Just stay on my ass the entire way."
I kissed her quick and we split apart. Most of the drive I was shaking my right hand. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, I was feeling it where I had punched the bastard. Nothing was broken, but something was definitely strained or sprained. Oh well, no good deed goes unpunished.
I drove down Dulaney Valley Road into Towson, keeping Marilyn in sight in my rear view mirror. We kept going after it connected into York Road, and even further south, past Hutzlers and then turned left into a somewhat seedier section of town south of Joppa. I pulled up in front of what looked like a combination warehouse and opium den. There were half a dozen motorcycles parked in front, and a couple of bikers were standing around the front door eyeing Marilyn and me hard. I got out of my car and called out, "Tusker inside?"
"Who wants to know?", asked one of them nastily.
"Somebody that Tusker wants to know is here. Is he in or not?"
For an answer he just pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the door. I went over to Marilyn's car and opened the door. "Come on, honey, let's go in. I want you to meet an old friend of mine."
"Here?" She looked like she thought the bikers were about to carry her away to become a biker bitch.
I laughed at that. "Yeah, here. Come on, you'll like him."
I led Marilyn inside past the two bikers at the door, both of whom eyed us as fresh meat. Inside the place was a bar, and even in the middle of the day on a Tuesday had a fair number of people sitting at the bar or around tables. I walked up to the bar, with Marilyn hanging right on my tail. Tusker was down at the opposite end, talking to somebody so that his face was away from me. "HEY, I'VE HEARD THAT BIKER BARTENDERS ARE QUEER! IS THAT TRUE?", I yelled out, loudly.
Tusker's head whipped around, and his face was contorted with anger as he looked for the offending voice. Meanwhile the entire bar went very silent, and even the two guys from outside stepped inside. Marilyn was staring at me in horror. That all changed when Tusker saw me standing at the other end of the bar. His head went back and he roared in laughter. "You sonofabitch! I can't believe you said that!" He came down and leaned across the bar and we pounded each other on the back. "Damn it's good to see you, Buckman!"
"Same to you, Tusker, same to you!" I tugged Marilyn up to the bar. "Marilyn, I want you to meet one of my closest friends, Tusker. Tusker, this is Marilyn."
Tusker's a big guy and he thrust out a meaty paw to Marilyn, whose small hand was swallowed up by it. "Nice to meet you! You know this joker? One of these days he's going to get his ass busted good saying something like that." He looked at me. "Just be glad the other bartender wasn't around here."
"I saw you down there before I said it.", I replied, grinning. "You'd have thought this place was getting ready for the shootout at the OK Corral!"
"Damn straight! Can I get you guys a beer?"
"Absolutely!" I crawled onto a bar stool and Marilyn sat down next to me. "You're looking good.", I told him. Tusker had long red hair going several inches below his shoulders and a Fu Manchu mustache to match. He was also a big guy, at least my size, with much bigger arms from lifting weights. He was wearing jeans, and a black Harley t-shirt, and I knew he had on boots.
"So do you!" He poured a couple of drafts and set them down. "You been working out?"
"I'm keeping up. I'm taking tae kwan do now."
He turned to face Marilyn. "So how'd you meet this guy? You in college, too?"
Marilyn nodded. "We met at a party. How do you know Carl?"
"Why? Because I don't seem like his type?", he asked with a grin. I laughed at this, loudly. "You'll have to ask him, but I was his supplier all through high school."
Marilyn looked horrified. "His supplier?!"
I laughed some more. "Oh, now you've done it. She thinks you were selling me drugs."
"I was, sort of."
I snorted at that. "Yeah, alcohol!" To Marilyn I said, "It's not what you think. He bought all my booze back then."
"Your booze!?"
Tusker laughed. "Yeah, Carl had his own apartment here in town for a couple of years. I was a year older than him, and looked about ten years older, so he'd give me the cash and a shopping list, and I'd go buy his beer and liquor and wine and stuff."