--1--

“She is such a bitch.”

“Who?”

“Amanda,” Michelle fumed. 

Brian watched his wife pace back and forth across the room, her steps heavy enough to dent the floor before pivoting sharply.  Her blond hair streamed out in a fury behind her relentless dervish and showed no signs of slowing.  “You said she isn’t coming.  I would think you’d be happy.”

“You always were an idiot, Brian.”

Brian winced.  Her well-aimed words bit into him and drew blood.  “I just don’t understand why it’s bothering you.”

Michelle stopped short and faced him.  Her nostrils flared with anger and tinged her cheeks.  Amanda was supposed to be there so she could taunt her with her status.  She wanted to annoy her and make her believe that at any given moment her husband could wind up in her bed.  Her tone was petulant.  “She’s a bitch.”

“She’s the wife of my best friend.”

Michelle smirked.  At times, she wondered if Brian believed it or just kept Daniel around as someone he could flaunt his success to or vent at.  Their barbs towards each other were not civil, yet there was mutual respect.  It was almost as if they were enemies in the same war and chose to let the other keep his life at the expense of being tormented.  The corner of her mouth twisted.  “If you say so.”

Brian brought his glass to his lips and sipped with an irritating slowness.  “How are you feeling, dear?”

“Excuse me?”

It suddenly dawned on him why Daniel would never leave his wife and at that moment he envied his friend more than he thought possible.  He leaned against his highbacked chair and met her eyes squarely.  “I’m just wondering if your condition is provoking this onslaught.”

Feeling at a loss for words, Michelle opened and closed her mouth.  She hated his calm, courtroom demeanor which in some ways was as aloof as Amanda’s bedside manner.  Could it be that Brian and Daniel had married each other of the opposite sex just to keep one sharpened against the other?  Amanda would know.  She hated the way Brian made her feel.  True, she may have pulled some strings with her father to get him where he was today, but in truth, he did it on his own.  The realization sickened her.  “I’m going to bed.”

Brian nodded.  She walked over to him, tried to meet his lips with her own, and felt them fall on a day’s worth of stubble when he turned away.  “Sleep well.”

--2--

It was closing in on 10:00 when David saw a pair of headlights turn into Sanford’s parking lot.  He got out of the Courier and waited for the car to park.  After the patients had gone inside, he and Amanda had doused the perimeter with kerosene in hopes of making burning easier.  He had to be up early and at his age, some mornings were easier than others to get motivated.

“Pastor Richmond,” she greeted, surprising him by getting out of the passenger seat. “I asked Daniel to join us.”

He feigned a smile.  “The more the merrier.”  He walked to the back of the truck for the blow torches he managed to procure on Monday.  “Shall we get started?”

Daniel strode over to the pastor and reached in the back.  “I’ll get them.  Amanda said you had fire extinguishers if something goes wrong?”

David placed a hand on the younger man’s arm as he gripped a gas cylinder which caused Daniel to stop short.  “Your wife is cold, Dr. Sellers, yet she cares.  Too much.”

The cryptic sound in the pastor’s voice chilled him more than the temperature which hovered around 40 degrees.  “I’m not sure I follow.”

“Nor would I expect you to.”

Their eyes followed a beam of light that was making its way towards the finished firebreak.  “If all goes well, how long do you think this will take?”

“I don’t know,” David answered.  “I just hope there won’t be any incident.”

Daniel agreed. He handed the smaller canister to the pastor and then picked up the other one.  As they headed over to Amanda, David talked more about the project and how Amanda had almost turned it over to Dr. Wilson over a misunderstanding.  Daniel sighed.  “If you want, we can get together and discuss this over dinner.”

“I would appreciate it,” David answered.  “She doesn’t smile much, does she?”

Daniel shook his head.  “She’s very reserved and observant.  I met her in my first year of college and got the nerve to ask her out when we were seniors.  We’ve been married for almost twelve years now.”

David was surprised to hear they had been together for so long.  “You found balance.”

Daniel stopped and looked at David with surprise.  “I had to.  Amanda’s main function is making a person feel like a bug under glass.  It’s unnerving.”  He told the pastor of the recent occurrence with his brother and how she had taken care of the situation for him.  David could see the conflict Daniel grappled with in regard to having his younger brother institutionalized.  He stopped, his voice wistful.  “She just baffles me.  She keeps a cool head where others would fall apart, yet is about as insecure as a little girl waiting for her favorite teddy bear to come out of the washing machine intact.”

It was an interesting analogy, yet made sense, and was one the pastor could easily see.  One of the greatest mysteries to him was how people saw each other and it often made him wonder what others thought of him.  What he seemed to notice the most was the way those he associated with were more apt to build self-worth by tearing others down.  It was a practice he despised and called it out when warranted.  “She lacks social skills.”

Daniel stopped and looked hard at the pastor.  “Why are you interested in her social life?”

“Because I’m going to be the one working with her, Daniel,” David countered.  “If you were me, wouldn’t it be fair to know what you are dealing with?  I don’t have the advantage you have.  It is obvious your wife is under a lot of strain and all I want is to work with her so both parties can gain.”

“I understand.”

 The ground was soft, almost marshy under their feet as they continued their way towards Amanda’s flashlight.  Daniel would have to remind Amanda to leave her shoes outside the front door when they got home. The smell of kerosene was faint along the perimeter, yet strong enough to cling to the inside of his nose and felt oily.  He was impressed with the work they had gotten done.

“Over here,” Amanda called.  She explained to Daniel about the marks along the edge of the firebreak where they would light the grass.  “I figure I can follow behind with an extinguisher if it gets out of control.”

Although the plan was well thought out, Daniel was hesitant as he lit the first patch.  The flame took and flared up almost instantly and began gobbling its surroundings.  David walked in the opposite direction to get ahead of it and lit another patch.  It was going as he expected, the fire did not reach above eight inches and the land should be scorched enough before it reached the dead shrubbery, which posed the biggest threat.

            The land burned without incident.  Even when the flames took hold of the kerosene-soaked brittle branches, the bushes just fell on their sides in defeat.  “This went well,” Pastor Richmond said.  He looked at his watch and saw that it was approaching 3:00.  “Unfortunately, I can’t get out of getting up today.  Do you mind if I leave?”

            Amanda nodded.  “Tomorrow, I’ll look over the field and see what needs to be cleaned up.”

             They made quick plans to meet in a couple of days and then he left.  Amanda turned to Daniel, who looked ready to call it a night as well.  “Think it’ll take much longer?

            “I hope not.  What does your patient load look like today?”

            Daniel stifled a yawn with his fist.  “Not bad.  I’m just concerned about Robert showing up.  I feel like I need to babysit the place because of what he did last time.”

            Amanda felt his concern.  “Just remember if he does stop in and lashes out, isolate him.  Then give him 25 mg of chlorpromazine.”

            “A shot in the ass.”  He gave Amanda a wicked grin.  “I’ll aim for the sciatic.”

            His wife’s jaw dropped.  “And have to treat him for sciatica as well?  Are you being daft?”

            Daniel sighed.  “No, Amanda.  Just had a moment where the thought of giving him as much pain as he does me would be nice.”

            She tilted her head to the side and studied him as if he were one of her patients.  It was unnerving and made him feel like he was a college freshman again on her microscope slide.  “How would it benefit you?”

            Instead of answering he shoved his hands against the seams of his coat pockets.  The material grew taut against the pressure and held.  She was a psychiatrist, for God’s sake, and should know the burden that Robert was.  He wished she could understand what it felt like to have someone like him for a brother since she was surrounded by his type.  His mind flared like the burning bushes until the flames became sullen embers which were then extinguished as Amanda approached the remains and sprayed them with foam.