Red Acorn had left the house the same time as Dusty that morning to go to his office. Not knowing of Dusty’s fate, he started his usual routine that morning once reaching his office, whistling softly to himself.

About 10am that morning, Red received a knock on his door. A black shirt entered smiling as Red told him to take a seat. “What can I do for you today?” Red inquired.  Being an accountant who owned his own firm, Red was sure the black shirt had come for advice.

The black shirt produced two documents and handed one of them to Red to look over. While Red studied the document, he felt his face burning. He looked at the black shirt in amazement and said, “Surely this is wrong”.  The black shirt assured him it was not. Red squeaked out to the black shirt, “I’m to give up my house for a less fortunate family?” The black shirt nodded but told him he had a second document and that he would be given a choice. He handed Red the second document which ordered Red to perform community service for a year in payment for him being able to attend university and earn an MBA.

Red stared at the black shirt and told him he had received all of his degrees long before Mr. Obama had been elected so he did not understand. The black shirt told him the community service was retroactive and that indeed he would have to give to his community. It was either that or forfeit his house to a larger family who needed his big house with all that space.

Red felt trapped and looked all over his office for what reason he didn’t know. He kept thinking this had to be a nightmare. “I supported Mr. Obama and gave to his campaign.” said Red.  The black shirt thanked him for his generosity.

Red’s face dropped and he felt as though he might cry, but he held it together asking the black shirt what kind of community service would be necessary. The black shirt told him that he would merely have to board several workers for a year.  Red asked what kind of workers. The black shirt assured him it was no real problem.  Just four Mexicans and three Muslims, just for a year while they worked their jobs.

You have plenty of space in your big house, 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It will be no real problem. All you have to do is provide these workers rooms and food the black shirt assured him.

Red thought about the problem and decided there was no way out. He didn’t want to lose the home for which he had worked so hard. But three Muslims and four Mexicans? In the same house?

He looked at the black shirt and asked when Mr. Obama had decided to order these types of services. The black shirt looked at him as if he had no head and told him that Mr. Obama had discussed this during his campaign and Red must not have been paying attention. Red said he never heard this.  The black shirt asked Red, “Do you not remember Joe Wurltzebacher who asked the tax question to Mr. Obama and was told about sharing the wealth?”  No, Red told the man he had never heard of that. “Oh, don’t worry about that plumber; he is in Gitmo for now”.  Red gazed back in shock at the black shirt.

"Mr. Obama spoke quite often about giving community service. It is something in which he believes quite strongly, Mr. Acorn," said the black shirt. "Don't you recall the many uplifting speeches he gave before he was elected?"  Red honestly could not recall much. He remembered feeling dazed while Mr. Obama spoke at length, but he didn't actually recall the details of those speeches.

The black shirt continued to stare at him waiting for an answer. Red asked him if he could consult with his wife first before he made the decision. The black shirt told him no, these documents had to be signed today and arrangements were already in the process. If he chose not to comply today, the house would be taken away immediately and he would be detained.

Red quickly decided he had better sign the second document. The black shirt asked him to step outside after he had signed the document.  Once outside, the black shirt pointed to a 10 passenger van and told Red that would now be his vehicle. His Volvo would be confiscated until his community service was completed.  He would need the van for hauling the boarders back and forth to their jobs.

Red squinted in the sunny, but cold air at the leftovers of the passenger van. The van had a back missing bumper, one of the front bumpers was torn part way off and just hung there in space. There were dents all over the van; one of the doors was caved in from where it had obviously been hit. The back window was broken out and plastic was taped to it. All Red could think about was what his neighbors would think of him driving that piece of junk.

Red was now very angry, but the black shirt had already taken off while Red was in his reverie. Red noticed that his Volvo was now gone.

He rushed back into his office to call Dusty.  But, the bank told him she had never arrived at work. Red called home, thinking perhaps the baby had gotten sick on the way and Dusty had returned home but there was no answer.

Red called everyone they knew and the doctor’s office and no one had seen her. Now Red was really worried about his wife and child being missing. He decided he should call the police although he figured they would laugh at him and tell him he had to wait until she was missing for 24 hours, that she probably had just run off with another man.

But, when he talked to the policeman at the station, he was told that indeed his wife had been there this morning, but she was taken to the state hospital. Red, now in a panic, asked what happened to his wife, had she been in an accident, was she hurt, what was wrong? The policeman told Red that Dusty had come in with a false complaint, did not like the answer she had gotten and had just gone mad. She had to be tranquilized and shipped off to the state hospital for observation. He told Red to just go to the hospital where he could see his wife and find out more.

Without even looking back or locking his office door, Red jumped into the old van and veered off into the traffic to rush to the state hospital wondering all the way what had happened to his wife and child. Fear was crawling over every inch of his body now and the realization of all that occurred this morning came down on him like a heavy black tarp covering him in gloom.

To be continued………….