A Lucky Find

by Sage du Toit

  Mitchell explained how when he couldn’t find his wife and son, he came back to the Centreville group. One of the people that had come with him from Birmingham said she was going to help them turn the small planter garden they started off with into the wonderful vertical garden they saw now. Mitchell pointed to a small Asian looking woman that was sitting at another table and he introduced her as Maya Snow. He said she had worked for the Botanical gardens in Birmingham and had vast knowledge on greenhouses and growing plants.

  Everyone was looking toward Maya and Sam could see the woman wasn’t comfortable with all of the attention. Mitchell continued introducing some of the other people he had brought with him that had helped to contribute to the group. Sam glanced back at Maya again and saw that she was looking at Mitchell and his family with jealousy and she wondered if there might have been something between them. Afterall, the man had thought his wife was dead. Sam was sure there was going to be some drama coming out of that later. She was just hoping it would all work out.

  After Mitchell was done talking, Meagan told everyone their story of why they left her parents farm and then being captured by the convicts. Sam watched Mitchell’s face fall as Meagan described how they were separated and confined by the convicts. Meagan didn’t give all of the details, instead she told them the details were not something she wanted to talk about in front of the children. She suggested that if anyone wanted to know more, they could come and talk to any of the women from the group. Sam realized that was a good tactic, because it would also get people to come together and meet each other as well as gain an understanding of what they went through. It would also help the women to talk. Meagan also suggested they set up a support group for the adults to get together and talk about the things that had happened to them. Sam thought that was a great idea.

  After Meagan was done, people started excusing themselves. They had chores to do, taking care of the garden, the chickens and many other things. Sam decided to go check on Lucky and the kittens, they had been left in the front cab of the truck in a box. Bonnie saw her walking out to the trucks and ran over to join her. Bonnie said she was feeling a little overwhelmed with all of the people and she needed a break so she offered to go with her. They walked out to the truck and found Lucky and the kittens were all sleeping. Sam decided now would be a good time to get them out and let them have a bathroom break and maybe a bite to eat. She grabbed her kit bag from the back and Bonnie carried the box with the four kittens and Sam carried Lucky back up to the house.

  As they were walking back up to the house, Sam was thinking about the old woman and the chickens and wondering if she could trade for two of them. She looked at the kittens and knew they would probably trade for them but she didn’t want to give them up. Besides there was only one boy kitten and she would need him to continue the line, once they were old enough.

  Several people came over to look at the kittens, including Sherry’s friend Brittany. Sam could see that Bonnie wasn’t too comfortable around the woman and she was wondering if Bonnie might be feeling a bit jealous of the friendship between Sherry and Brittany. Sam realized that was the second person today that she thought might have jealous feelings.

  Brittany was asking her about the kittens and she told her and the others how she had found Lucky and how special the cat and kittens were to her now. Brittany said she completely understood, because she felt that way about the chickens now. She asked Sam if she wanted to go see the hatchery they had set up with the old woman’s help and Sam readily agreed. Bonnie offered to stay with the kittens and keep an eye on them, but Sam had a different idea. She told her there were enough people there to watch them and encouraged her to join them. She had a feeling that Bonnie just needed to get to know Brittany and everything would work out.

  As they were walking over to the chicken coop, a handsome young man came and put his arm around Brittany and kissed her on the chick. She introduced him to them as her husband, Allen. She explained that they got married after N-day in a marriage ceremony performed by her Dad. Brittany smiled at Allen and said they were planning their wedding on N-day, which is how they ended up here. They were here with her parents and his parents to review the venue for the wedding when the nerve gas was dropped. She said her Dad had recognized immediately what was going on and everyone here had gone down into the basement of the big old house. Brittany said it wasn’t easy at first, there were ten of them and not enough food.

  Allen and Brittany took turns telling their story of how they spent their time planning and with the help of her Dad, and his knowledge of Nerve gas, they were able to protect themselves and go out to get more food and gas masks so they could go out and do even more. She explained that they found a few more survivors and brought them to the big house and eventually the group turned into what they saw now. She said they had plans to grow even more. They expected to find more survivors, so the addition of all of the woman and children was a blessing for them. They felt that the more people in their group, the more of a chance they would have to survive and rebuild for the future.

  They were standing off to the side of the chicken coop listening to their story and when they were done, Allen excused himself, saying he had work to do on the garden. Sam told him she would like to see the garden set up later and he told her to come over when she was done here and he would show her around there. Sam glanced at Bonnie and could see that her attitude toward Brittany had already changed. Sam had a feeling Bonnie had gotten the wrong idea about Sherry and Brittany; she was glad that future drama from the misunderstanding was avoided.

  Chapter 21

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  Brittany lead them through the door that was next to the wired chicken enclosure and told them there was a supply store right down the street that had all of the supplies they needed. She also told them how lucky they have been with the different skills everyone has. They had a skilled carpenter and he had helped them to build the chicken coop and nest boxes for the chickens, they also had a plumber that had come up with the watering and feeding system, using plastic pipes. They also had Grandma, who didn’t talk, but was still able to communicate with them by showing them what to do with the chickens.

  The door lead into an area that was divided by more framed chicken wire, showing the inside of the chicken coop. There was a double row of laying boxes, a food and water area, and medium size branches high up off the floor that had been arranged in an artful way that gave the chickens plenty of room to roost at night. Sam could tell that a lot of expert work had been put into building the coop. She saw there was a small hole in the side of the area that must lead out into the chicken yard. It all still looked new and everything was clean, with a layer of clean hay over the floor and what looked like a sand box under the roost area. One of the chickens came inside while they were looking at the coop and made a quiet humming sound as she walked across to the water area to get a drink. The chicken looked well taken care of and very happy.

  There were bags of chicken feed and other supplies stacked up on the other side of the room and there was a utility sink that looked to be somewhat out of place in the room and an obvious addition. Brittany gave them a few minutes to look around and ask questions and then she took them through a second door into a room that was very dark. The only light in the room was coming from lamp bulbs that were shining on a large tub filled with peeping hatchlings and several incubators. Brittany said their first batch of eggs hatched yesterday. They were all very excited that so many of the eggs had hatched, they had ten in that first batch.

  Grandma had shown them how to candle the eggs, but they didn’t understand everything she was trying to show them and they usually left it to her to decide which eggs to put in the hatcher and which they would keep for food. Brittany showed them where they had several different batches of eggs in incubators and she explained that they were trying to hatch as many eggs as possible at this point. They wanted to have more laying hens and hens that co
uld be butchered for food. She added that she wasn’t looking forward to that, saying she had become attached to the chickens and wasn’t sure she could butcher and eat one.

  Someone moved out from the dark corner of the room and they all jumped. They hadn’t realized that Grandma was sitting in the back corner. The old lady grinned a toothless grin when she saw that she had scared them and they all laughed. Sam noticed her hands move and she signed, “Gotcha!” as she laughed. Suddenly Sam understood why they couldn’t communicate with her; she was deaf and no one here knew sign language. Well…at least until now.

  Sam got her attention and signed back, “Yes, you scared us! But I’m glad you are here; my name is Sam and I wanted to meet you.”

  Grandma’s eyes got big and tears started glistening in her eyes as she reached out and grabbed Sam in a tight bony hug. “Finally! Someone that can talk properly!” Grandma signed back.

  Sam laughed and told the other two what she had said. Brittany was standing there with her mouth open in surprise and Bonnie was grinning. Sam and Tom had told the group of women and children that they spoke sign language because they were using it during the ambush on the convicts and had to explain how they were communicating. They had already taught them a few signs; the children especially had been interested in learning. Sam realized they would also need to teach this group of people how to speak in sign language so they could communicate with Grandma.

  Sam asked her what her name was, she didn’t feel comfortable calling the older woman Grandma, when she could ask her name. The old woman signed out her name was Gretchen, but she said she was fine with everyone calling her Grandma, she could read lips and knew they had been calling her that. Sam suggested they go out where it was brighter so they could talk easier. It was hard to see the hand signs in the dark room. Gretchen agreed and they all went out.

  Once out in the yard they found chairs to sit in and Sam translated for Gretchen as they asked her questions. Several people saw her talking in sign to Gretchen and a large group formed around them to hear what the woman they had come to know as Grandma had to say. Sam saw Tom on the outside of the group, he was smiling at her with pride and she motioned for him to come help her and to talk to Gretchen.

  She introduced Tom to Gretchen and in turn, Gretchen asked to know some of the other people’s names. She explained that they didn’t introduce themselves because they thought she couldn’t understand them, but she could understand, they just didn’t understand her! They all laughed and a few people looked embarrassed from their lack of understanding. Sam asked her why she didn’t write down her questions since the people couldn’t speak sign language. Gretchen said she never learned to read or write she had always depended on her family to do it for her, but now they were all gone.

  Sam and Tom took turns translating and asking her questions that people wanted to know. Alice brought the kittens over and Lucky followed along, jumping in Sam’s lap while they were talking. The kittens were passed around and played with as everyone was talking. Gretchen especially seemed to be taken with the kittens and they with her.

  Gretchen had a wonderful sense of humor and they were constantly laughing at some teasing comment she had to say about each of the people. She had obviously been building up and thinking many things, waiting until the right person could come along and translate for her. Sam was surprised that no one in this size of a group knew at least a little sign language and recognized that they could talk to her with it. The group had just assumed she was a quiet old lady that didn’t talk at all…not realizing that she was bubbling up inside with things she wanted to say. Gretchen had just accepted her fate that she wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone, so she hadn’t even tried.

  Sam realized they had been talking for a long time when someone placed a lantern on the table, it was already starting to get dark. The lantern made others take notice of the time and everyone started to disburse to take care of the evening chores. Gretchen told her it was time to lock up the chicken coop and motioned for Sam to accompany her.

  They went into the door and Gretchen turned on a battery-operated lantern that was hanging on the side of the chicken coop divider. It provided just enough light so they could see all of the chickens were up on the various branches that had been placed for them to roost. Gretchen took a basket that was hanging next to the door going into the enclosure and carefully opened the screened door. Sam helped her check the laying boxes for eggs and they gently put them in the basket. Gretchen showed her there was a thin rope to pull up the ramp that went out to the chicken yard and showed her how to secure the ramp into a door that covered the opening. Before they left the pen, Gretchen stroked each of the sleeping chickens with affection, causing a few of them to make low rumbling sounds.

  They secured the door into the pen and went to the back room with the eggs. In the dim light Gretchen made sure her hands could be seen and told Sam they needed to check on the new chicks and made a sign for something that Sam wasn’t sure of but not knowing what it was, she decided to wait and see what she did.

  Gretchen carefully picked up the first chick and turned it over, gently expelling the excrement from its bottom. Sam was reminded of when the kittens were little and she had an idea of what Gretchen was doing. Gretchen pointed to something on the chick and made the sign for boy. Sam nodded and realized that Gretchen was determining the sex of the chicks. Gretchen carefully went through the chicks and marked the two that she had determined were boys with a single black dot on its head.

  When they were done with that Gretchen took her over to the table where they left the eggs and she told Sam they were going to check the eggs. She picked up a flashlight and handed it to Sam and showed her how to hold it. She then took and egg from the basket and cradled it over the light end of the flashlight and nodded to her to turn the light on. The egg glowed from the light, but Sam could see that there was a small hairline crack on the egg and Gretchen put it in an egg carton that was sitting on the table. There were six eggs and two of them had tiny cracks. The others were solid and Gretchen wrote numbers on them with a felt tip pen and placed them inside one of the incubators.

  Sam helped her refill the water and food for the baby chicks and then they replaced the empty basket and turned off the lantern in the front room. Sam could feel herself smiling as Gretchen grabbed her arm and held on to her as they walked. The old woman was frail but so active and knowledgeable, she would be a great help to this group, especially now that they could talk to her. When they got to the tables where everyone was setting up for dinner, she saw several people greeting Gretchen with sign language. People were already picking it up and wanting to use it, Sam was delighted. Gretchen was too, when Sam helped her into her chair, the old woman grabbed her hands and squeezed them then she signed, “Thank you, you have made this old woman very happy!”

  Sam smiled at her and nodded, trying to hold back her tears. She was wondering just how old Gretchen was and decided to ask. Gretchen laughed and scrunched up her face in thought, she said she wasn’t sure how old she was, but she was born in 1941. Sam told her she was eighty years old and the old woman nodded and said that sounded right. That officially made her the oldest person in the group, which everyone had already known, they just didn’t now by how much!

  Dinner was set out for everyone and Sam’s mouth started watering looking at all of the delicious looking dishes. The fresh produce they were growing was greatly appreciated by everyone, there was even fresh baked bread and lots of sweet tea. Tom had found her when everyone was finding seats and he sat next to her and told her that they had been given a private room to stay in for the night. He said he had already taken their stuff up, as well as Lucky and the kittens. Sam suddenly felt bad, she had been so caught up with Gretchen that she slacked on her responsibility to her felines, but Tom had made sure they were taken care of. Sam felt very grateful that she had such a wonderful man in her life.

  After the meal was over, everyone pitched in to help with the clean-
up and then they all went off their separate ways. It had been another eventful day and Sam was feeling the effects. Tom lead her into the big white house and up a wooden curved staircase that squeaked as they ascended. Tom said their room was at the end of the hallway. There were several doors that they passed on the way to the room and she said ‘Good Night’ to a few people they passed that had their doors open. There was a single candle burning in the hallway that helped to light the way. About halfway down the hall, there was an open door that showed a bathroom that also had a candle burning inside. The interior of the house was beautiful, everything had an antique but well taken care of feel to it. The wooden floor had a few creaks and groans, as were expected of an old house, but the scattering of rugs helped to reduce the noise as they walked.

  Tom opened the door to a room at the end of the hallway and Sam entered to find a large room with an electric lantern on top of a beautiful mahogany dresser already turned on to light the room. There was a large four poster bed at one end of the room, facing a dark fireplace. In the corner of the room their bikes and bike trailers were parked under one of the windows out of the way.

  In excitement Sam said, “Tom! You got our bikes back!” She turned around and jumped into his arms, giving him a big deep kiss.

  He kissed her back with such passion that she decided to press herself closer and she felt her tiredness melt away. Tom turned her around and pressed her up against the closed door, pushing her arms up above her head and pressing his groin in between her legs. Sam groaned in pleasure, it had been awhile since they had time alone where they felt comfortable enough to be intimate and she suddenly felt like she was bursting at the seams. Just his passionate kiss and the feel of his hard body against hers had her on the edge.