by Mark Goodwin
Solomon said, “I’ll back up the SUV for you. Just watch it for me. Hold up a hand when I’m getting close to the hitch.”
“Where are you going?” Micah looked at Lindsey with surprise.
“Indiana. I don’t have anyone left here.”
“That’s not true! You have us!” Micah protested.
She took his hand. “Micah, I’ll always cherish the friendship we had. But we…” She looked down. “We don’t really have anything. Rev, Poochy, they’d been Mom’s friends for a long time. This place will just be a painful reminder to me of how alone I really am. Solomon has been a family friend for years. I’ll be better off with him.”
Micah looked at his father with his eyes opened wide. “Dad, you can’t let her leave!”
Josh sighed. “I agree with Micah. You’re part of our group. We want you to stay with us. But it’s your decision.”
“No!” Micah’s eyes welled up. “You’re not part of our group. You’re part of me! I love you, Lindsey!”
Her chin wrinkled and her bottom lip trembled. She crossed her arms in a clinch. “Don’t say that to me, Micah.” She began to cry. “You can’t say that to me. You haven’t said three words to me in as many months, now you claim that you love me?”
“Yes!” He put his arms around her.
She pushed him away and then slapped his chest with open palms. “No! You don’t love me. If you did, you wouldn’t have treated me like that.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I let grief get in the way. I let my fear take over. It was wrong, but I’ll make it up. If you walk away, if you leave, that’s a mistake that can’t be rectified. And we’ll both pay the price for it, for as long as we have left. If you stay, I’ll never push you away again. I promise.”
She looked at him as if unsure.
“If you stay,” he said. “I’ll prove it to you.”
She shook her head. “How are you going to do that?”
He replied with an air of certainty. “I’ll marry you.”
Josh cleared his throat. “You guys can be together, but that’s something we need to discuss.”
Micah argued. “Dad, according to you, we’re going to be on this planet for a maximum of three years. And the odds of us surviving that entire time are slim. Please, Dad. Don’t stand in my way of enjoying what little time I have left, of knowing what it’s like to love someone the way that you loved Mom.”
The statement cut Josh to the heart. He looked at Stephanie’s grave marked by the simple wooden cross. He leaned on his stick and stood up. “Can we have just a minute?”
“Sure. We’ll be here.” Solomon looked bemused by the entire situation.
“Come with me.” Josh walked toward the house.
Micah followed. “I know what you’re going to say. I’m too young, I need to take some time, but you’re wrong. I’ve been forced to grow up fast. And as far as knowing if I loved her or not, I do. I’ve always known. The reason I couldn’t speak to her for so long is that I loved her too much.”
The two went into the house and Micah continued to plead his case. “I didn’t want to be with her because I couldn’t fathom being without her. Well, now that moment is here. Despite my best efforts to try to shield myself from the pain, it’s here. And I’ll have to live with the fact that I brought it on myself.”
Josh said nothing as he walked into the bedroom and opened the dresser drawer.
Micah kept speaking. “I know marrying young has inherent risks; people change as they get older, they grow apart, but look on the bright side. We only have three years at most. We can’t possibly change that much. I also realize how irresponsible it would be to bring a child into a world like this. Trust me, I’ll take precautions.”
Without saying a word, Josh turned to hand him a small black box.
Micah looked at it. “What is this?” He opened it. “Mom’s engagement ring? Is this some kind of cryptic message? Because I don’t understand what this has to do with you not wanting me to get married.”
Josh remembered the joy he’d felt when he’d given the ring to Stephanie so many years ago.
Micah looked into his father’s glassy eyes. “Wait, are you saying…?”
Josh smiled and escorted his son back out to where Lindsey stood waiting for him to return. Micah dropped to one knee and opened the box. Lindsey took the ring out and began bawling like a baby. Micah embraced her. The two of them hugged and cried for several minutes. Josh watched the young girl slip the ring on her finger. It seemed to fit her like a glove.
“Looks like she’s staying here,” said Solomon. “I guess I’ll be on my way then.”
“You coming back for the wedding?” Josh asked. “She’ll need someone to give her away.”
Solomon nodded pensively. “Yeah. Probably be soon, from the sound of things.”
“Yep. I suppose it will,” said Josh.
“You take care of that knee,” said Solomon. “You’re going to need to be in tip-top shape when I call on you.”
Josh’s stomach sank at the thought of his debt. “Are you going to give me a hint?”
“Maybe—when I come back for the wedding. All I’m going to say for now is that it’s big.”
He considered everything that he’d survived since the world began its final descent. He wondered how much more pain and tribulation would be to come and how much more he could possibly endure. Yet, he knew at the end of it all, he’d be reunited with his wife.
For the time being, he was grateful that he still had Micah, his sister, and his close friend, Emilio. And from the looks of things, he’d be acquiring a daughter-in-law as well. For that too, he was thankful to God.
Continue the adventure with:
The Beginning of Sorrows,
Book Three: Upheaval
Don’t Panic!
Inevitably, books like this will wake folks up to the need to be prepared. Or, they cause those of us who are already prepared to take inventory of our preparations. New preppers can find the task of getting prepared for an economic collapse, EMP, or societal breakdown to be a source of great anxiety. It shouldn’t be. By following an organized plan and setting a goal of getting a little more prepared each day, you can do it.
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Thank you for reading
The Beginning of Sorrows, Book Two: World Order
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Can’t get enough post-apocalyptic chaos? Check out my other heart-stopping tales about the end of the world as we know it.
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