Chapter Twelve
Joshua marched in an eastern direction towards The Strip once more. It was there he could find solace in alcohol and a bed. Maybe he could even find himself a fight to vent his anger and frustration, or maybe even a woman to relieve the day’s tension away. Either way, at least the night air would help him calm down some, he thought. His hands were still clenched in rage as he hustled across Valley View Boulevard, about a mile away from his destination.
His morning had begun well enough as he woke next to a beautiful young lady that he had made love to for hours the previous night. The day took a tumble for the worse right afterward as the demon Hek showed up, frightening the girl and sending her away with a snap of his fingers, supposedly to Denver. Joshua then leapt twenty stories to discover an excruciating pain like he had never felt before as every bone in his body shattered. As always, Hek was there to fix him up and have him walking again in no time. Joshua cursed the demon once more for all the suffering in his life and for his great-granddaughter accusing him of cowardice and ordering him to stay away from Julianna and Theresa.
“Theresa,” he mumbled, “is a grown woman. How dare young Deborah order me to stay away from Theresa? Deborah is just a child. What does she know of relationships, of truth and dedication? What does she know of sacrifices? For any matter, I have no desire for any kind of liaison with the detective anyway, beautiful though she may be.” He shook his head in disbelief of his all too visible feelings. “No, there is nothing between us. There will never be anything between us. There will never be a relationship for me again; this I swear.” He placed his hands in his shorts’ pockets and stopped to look at his ridiculous outfit. He was wearing a red polo shirt and white shorts with white tennis shoes. “What in the Hell has that imp dressed me in, anyway? I look like a damned fool.” He looked nervously around his surroundings and spotted a men’s clothing store. “I’ll fix this,” he growled.
About a half an hour later Joshua exited the store to find the sun had finally descended from the night sky and the lights of The Strip were in full view. “One more night in this cursed city and I am through,” he decided. “I am not wanted here by anyone save for Julianna and she has suffered long enough. She does not need to hear anymore of my story, her time alone. I have hurt her enough and she may now slip away knowing I still love her. And I may take comfort in knowing she is surrounded by a family that loves her and cares for her as well. She does not need me any longer.”
His eyes focused on the sidewalk below him and each step of his dress shoes. His mind wandered with images of Julianna in her younger years and what he imagined she looked like after he had left her in 1934. She was always so beautiful, so confident. But how was she after he abandoned her? He pictured her with long, glamorous hair, full of curls while wearing a yellow dress, tight around her waist and loose down to her knees and puffy on the shoulders. He hoped that life was not too difficult without him then. What were the children like? Were they well-behaved for their mother? He knew money would not be a problem as he had left her with several million and her own family was well-to-do already. But what had life had truly been like for Julianna? How did she mentally make it through each day? Joshua had no true idea though he wished he had spent more time finding out instead of dredging through his own life. “Should I go back?” he wondered. “No, no, I am not welcome in that house. Deborah has no doubt set her mind to stopping me from seeing dear Julianna anyway.”
