A Change in the Air

Dan Evans

With yet another glass of whiskey in his hand, Dan sat in front of the fireplace in the Wades' living room. The McGee barbecue had ended only about an hour ago. As soon as they'd all arrived home, Ben had taken Liana down to the stables to see a couple of new horses which had arrived yesterday.

Ben. Dan mused quietly to himself about the man who'd been his boss and his friend for so long now. After Dan had run into Libby at the barbecue, Ben had pulled him away from Libby and March before Dan's anger could get the best of him. He'd taken Dan to the privacy of McGee's grain shed and given him a piece of his mind.

"All right, Dan." The words had come in Ben's quiet, no-nonsense voice, the warning in it implicit, even without the words he'd spoken.

"Anger and drinkin' don't mix." Ben had gone on. "A man drinks too much, he's liable to start sayin' things he shouldn't say. An' you know what kinda things I'm talkin' about." Ben's eyes were cold and hard--the eyes of the uncompromising man Dan had known for years.

"Look, Ben-" Dan had begun, a slight clearing of the fog in his brain beginning.

"No. You look, Dan!" Ben stared him down. "You want that girl, then you go get her. I know I've told you at least once that it's man's nature to take what he wants. Money and women are at the top of that list."

"So- You want her, you take her. But don't you go puttin' everythin' at risk--includin' my life with Liana and this baby--by tryin' to drown your anger in whiskey and endin' up doin' or sayin' somethin' you shouldn't!"

"Besides-" Ben had grinned, taking a little of the sting out of his words. "-you're better at some things than I am, Dan, but you never could hold whiskey the way I can."

The conversation had ended there, but Dan had been thinking about that ever since. Ben's words and his attitude had gone a long way toward sobering Dan up, but his anger seemed to have grown with his sobriety. Remembering the way that Italian's arm had been around Libby. How he'd seen the man kiss her. How he'd heard March say that he was Libby's date for the barbecue.

Finally, Dan made up his mind and put the whiskey glass down on Liana's coffee table. It was time he did something about all this. He got his keys and drove out of the Wades' driveway, on his way to town.