“I guess so.”
“What’s the meeting about then?”
They stacked the mattress against the wall and went back for another.
“Meeting?”
“Yeah. He’s called a meeting for tonight in the library, at sunset. He wants everyone there, even kids. I thought Richardson called all the meetings. Hell, when’s the last time we even had a meeting?”
Sam had to think. “Not too long after I first got here. I didn’t go.”
“You don’t know what it’s about?”
“Nope, not at all.”
Sam was curious. What could Aaron possibly want to say to everyone?
“You’ll show up to this one, won’t you?” Mary said with a smile.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you got a thing for Aaron.”
“What the hell is a thing?”
“You know, a crush.”
“What’s a crush?”
Mary shook her head. Expressions some of the older people used were lost on her too, but she at least knew what a crush was.
“You like Aaron more than just a friend.”
“You mean like bunk-mates?” She laughed. “No.”
Sam was quiet. In the past, she would have been content to let the subject drop. But she needed to convince Mary, as much as she needed to convince herself.
“Even if I did,” she said. “I’m not exactly the girlfriend type.”
“Oh, that’s right. That would mean you’d have to let your guard down. Let someone get close to you.”
Sam said nothing.
“Samantha, I’ll tell you right now. If you want Aaron, you better go get him. This is too much of a messed up world to just wait around. We could all die tomorrow.”
“I don’t want Aaron. We’re friends. We’re not bunk-mates.”
Mary just smiled.
* * *
Aaron had been busy since the early morning hours. His project was complete and ready to go. The only thing he and Nikki had left to do was arrange the chairs in the center of the library. That was harder than he thought. There weren’t many chairs floating around Lexington. It took him over a day to get sixty, and he wanted a few extras in case Richardson was wrong about the population count.
Nikki looked at the mystery Aaron had covered, just in front of the chairs. He had shown no one. There was a thick blanket covering his surprise. She knew it was on wheels, as she’d seen Aaron pushing it around earlier.
“Are you happy with these chairs?” she asked.
Aaron looked them over. Seventy chairs, all laid out in seven rows of ten. “Yes, that’s great. Pull a few to the side up front here. I’ll get Sam to sit with me.”
“You two make up?”
“I think so. Haven’t seen her for a while, but I don’t think we’re fighting.”
She looked at Aaron as he took another peek under the blanket. She knew he was trying to keep her mind off what happened to her friends. He was a nice man. She could see what Sam saw in him.
“Thanks for looking after me,” she told him.
“Hey, no problem. Thanks for helping me here.”
She smiled, knowing Aaron probably didn’t even need any help.
There was a knock at the library door. Aaron hadn’t blocked it off like he wanted to, but had written a sign earlier.
“Did you put that Keep Out sign I made up out there?”
“Yeah, but I told you, Aaron, not everyone can read.”
Nikki spaced the chairs out while he went to the door. Richardson stood there with his arms crossed. Aaron opened the door for him.
Richardson got right to the point. “I hear you’re calling a meeting tonight.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not looking to step on your toes. I just have a few things I want to run by everyone.”
Richardson noticed the chairs and the surprise under the blanket. “Can I ask what this meeting’s about?”
“You can ask.”
“But I won’t get an answer?”
“Exactly.”
Nikki laughed.
Richardson took a breath. “Twenty years ago, when the world was still trying to figure out what the hell the walking corpses were, we had a meeting. Turned out a lot of the people living here didn’t want to stay. Those people had a spokesman, too. They wanted to take almost all our supplies and leave the rest of us with nothing. We’re not talking that type of meeting, are we?”
Aaron put a friendly arm around Richardson’s shoulders, making sure to keep him clear of the surprise. “Trust me, nothing crazy. Just some important issues.”
Richardson was wary. He liked the young man, but was still a little miffed at the stunt he’d pulled with the truck, even if it was for a good cause. But Sam trusted him, and she didn’t give out trust easily. He’d also done a lot of good in such a short amount of time.
“I guess I’ll be here at sunset.”
“Good, good. We’ll be here. Oh, hey, Sam’s coming tonight, right? I haven’t seen her, but she’s coming?”
“We don’t really hang out together, Aaron. If I see her, I’ll tell her you personally asked for her to come, even though you wouldn’t go to her yourself.”
“Okay, thanks.”
He ushered Richardson out the door. He was back to the chairs when he looked at Nikki.
“Wait. Did Richardson just make fun of me?”
“I think so.”
“The bastard.”
She laughed. With Aaron around, it was sometimes easy to forget there was a world of walkers just a street away.
* * *
Aaron had checked the generator outside the library emergency exit door for the sixth time when he heard the first few people arrive. It was Larry and Susan. Nikki invited them to have a seat. Larry looked at the long electrical extension cord running across the floor as Aaron came in from outside.
“Hey, Aaron,” Larry said. “What you got under the blanket? What’s with the cord there? You finally pay our power bill?”
“Oh, you’ll see.”
Without Aaron asking her to, Nikki greeted people as they came in. Aaron tried to gauge the mood of everyone. Some were annoyed at being called to a meeting, while most were just curious. The children ran around the chairs as everyone settled in.
Richardson arrived and took a seat near the back. He was definitely curious, and stared at the cord with surprise. He gave Aaron a slight smile. Aaron wondered if he had a clue of what the surprise was.
Sam walked in. Aaron went to greet her, but Nikki was already moving.
“Hey, Samantha!” Mary called. “Come sit over here with us.”
Aaron raised an eyebrow. It looked like Sam was finally making some friends. Nikki grabbed Sam by the hand and gave Mary an apologetic look.
“I’m sorry, Miss Mary. She’s already got a seat.”
Mary had the hint of a smile. “Of course she does.”
Nikki led Sam to her seat near the front next to Aaron, then went back to the library door.
Sam gave Aaron a smile. As the room filled up, his cheeks turned a shade of red.
“You okay? What’s going on?”
“I’ve never seen so many people at once in my life.”
“You are the one who called us all here.”
“I know.”
The light was slowly fading outside. Larry went to light a candle.
“Hey, Larry, no need for light.”
“How the hell are we gonna see you running your mouth up there?”
Aaron said nothing.
A few minutes later Richardson looked around. Most of Lexington had arrived. He noticed Garrett and Ray weren’t there, but he didn’t expect them to be. A few others he knew were starting fence duty.
“I think this is as full as we’re gonna get,” he told Aaron. “So what’s up?”
Everyone quieted down, and all eyes were on Aaron. He couldn’t even move a muscle for ten seconds.
“Uh, hi, everyone,�
�� he managed to say.
Sam laughed quietly just in front of him. Nikki took her seat in the front row.
“Okay. Everyone, uh, have a good time.”
He had planned everything, except the words. He could hear confused grumbles as he trotted back to the emergency exit and started up the generator on the first pull. He closed the door behind him to soften the noise.
He pulled down the screen that had shown countless videos and presentations in the old world. It was dirty in spots, and had a few tiny holes, but would still get the job done.
He pulled the blanket off the cart on wheels, his surprise. On the top shelf was a DVD player he’d found at Walmart. On top of that was a projector. On the bottom shelf was the largest set of speakers he could find. He had to push six corpses out of the way just to get to the speakers in Walmart. Apparently Walmart was a popular place in the old world.
He had to read the DVD player instruction manual three times over the past week before he understood it enough to hook up the wires. At first, there was picture, but no sound. Then he had the picture upside-down. He thought he’d never get it right.
But it was finally showtime.
He listened to everyone as he turned the projector and DVD player on. Only the older residents had any idea of what he was doing. He looked up to see Richardson and Travis smiling.
Some of the children jumped when the opening theme of Star Wars started playing.
“You gotta be shittin’ me,” Travis said.
It was actually too loud. Aaron turned the volume down, then sat next to Sam.
“What the hell is this?” she whispered.
“It’s a movie. Star Wars. Relax. It’ll be fun.”
She smiled, and pointed at the screen. “What do those words say?”
“Damn, I forgot about that.” He jumped up quickly. “Sorry about that, everyone. I’ll read what we got up there.”
Aaron didn’t really pay attention to the first half hour of the movie. He was too busy watching everyone else. He wanted to give everyone some fun. He had read about old theaters and listened to his family talk about their favorite movies plenty of times. He’d never seen one himself, and knew he wasn’t alone in Lexington.
He was glad to see everyone enjoying themselves.
The only thing that ended up having to go were the uncomfortable chairs. Most everyone pushed them to the side and sat or laid down on the floor.
The children especially looked like they were in a trance.
Sam was quiet nearly the entire movie. She sat next to Aaron, almost putting her head on his shoulder a few times. Near the end she leaned over to whisper in his ear. “Why did you need me up here with you?”
“I’m more relaxed when you’re with me.”
She gave him a long look as Luke Skywalker blew up the Death Star.
After the movie ended, Aaron gave Nikki some candles to light. He quickly turned off the generator and ran back inside. Everyone was laughing and talking about the movie. The children were asking to watch it again.
“And that’s our meeting,” Aaron called. “Thanks for coming.”
Not everyone left right away. People stopped by to shake Aaron’s hand. Some even gave him a hug. Carrie stole an extra-long hug. He made sure Nikki got her share of attention too.
Richardson approached him, just shaking his head. Aaron spoke before the older man could unleash his temper.
“I found everything when I was out. I had to take some gas, but don’t worry. I can always find more.”
Richardson said nothing. He just looked around at his people. He’d known a lot of them most of their lives. He tried to do the best for everyone, to keep everyone safe and happy. Aaron’s simple act of showing a movie had meant more than the young man could possibly know.
He shook Aaron’s hand, then Nikki’s, and left.
After an unexpected meet and greet with most of Lexington, only Sam, Nikki, and Aaron were left in the library. He lit a candle and placed it on the end-table next to the couch.
“That was a lot of fun,” Nikki said.
Aaron nodded. “Yes. I think that went pretty well.”
Sam sat next to Aaron on the couch. “So this is what you’ve been working on the past few days?”
“Yep. I found the generator while I was getting supplies, and it just clicked. Hell, we can use it for other things too. Just gotta keep the gas flowing.”
“I’m gonna get something to eat,” Nikki announced. “Do you need me for anything else?”
“Nope, Nikki. Thanks. I couldn’t have done all this without you.”
Nikki blushed and left.
They were quiet for a moment. Sam wanted to spend time with her friend, but didn’t quite know what to say.
“I haven’t seen you around the past few days,” she stuttered.
“Yeah, I missed you too.”
“That’s not what I said. I just meant…” She didn’t finish.
Aaron laughed. Sam always had such a tight grip on her emotions. She wouldn’t even admit to missing anyone. “Do you like that medicine cabinet? Larry told me he helped you put it up.”
“It looks great. Thank you again.”
There was some uncomfortable silence until Aaron stood up and threw his hands together. “Okay, so what do you want to do tonight? Go for a walk? Get some air? You got anything planned?”
“No, no plans.” Sam was surprised. She thought Aaron would want time alone after the busy night he had. “You want to spend time with me?”
“Of course. So what are we doing?”
She kicked her shoes off and grabbed a book from his collection on the coffee table.
“Read to me.”
“Harry Potter? You want to listen to me read?”
“Yes.”
“Sure.”
Aaron watched as Sam tossed her legs up on the couch. She looked gorgeous. He could see she was finally getting comfortable around him.
He sat on the floor and leaned back against the couch. He could feel her arm on the back of his shoulders. It felt strange, as his audience was usually in front of him.
Sam didn’t say a word for three chapters. She just closed her eyes and listened to her friend’s voice.
“I’m glad I met you.”
It came out of nowhere. He turned to make sure she was talking to him. Their eyes met and she gave him a slight smile before shifting on the couch.
“Me too, Sam.”
She fell asleep not too long after. Aaron laughed to himself while closing the book. It wasn’t long until he was leaning back, their heads touching. He fell asleep right along with her.
Chapter 12
The sounds of quiet whispers brought Aaron out of his sleep. His neck hurt from sleeping on the floor. It took him a moment to realize someone was pressed against him.
Sam slept soundly in Aaron’s arms, an arm and leg draped over him. Some of the children were playing not too far away. Aaron had told them they could use the library whenever they wanted during the day, which meant that everyone in Lexington was already awake.
He locked eyes with Nikki, who was on babysitting duty. She looked through a children’s book while trying not to laugh.
“I think she likes you,” she whispered, pointing at Sam.
He never thought he’d ever wake up with a beautiful woman in his arms. If the children weren’t watching, he might have let her sleep.
He gently shook her shoulder. “Uh, Sam?”
She stirred slightly, and gave him a gentle squeeze. She was aware of the position they were in, half her body thrown over his. She liked it.
She heard the children giggling, and jumped up. They started laughing like only kids can, loud and long. Nikki couldn’t hold it in anymore.
Sam looked at their young audience. Most of the kids were afraid to look her in the eye before. Now they laughed right in her face.
Aaron smiled too as he climbed to his feet. He grabbed his book from the floor and tossed it on the table
.
“I must have rolled off the couch in the middle of the night,” Sam explained, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Sorry about that.”
Aaron nodded. “Hey, I slept fine.”
He could see the embarrassment on her face. She looked over at Nikki and the children. “Well, I’ll see you later.”
Sam left through the emergency exit into the morning sun.
“How long have you all been here?” he asked Nikki.
She smiled. “Long enough to know there’s no way Samantha just falls off the couch. She looked very comfortable.”
“Aaron, could you show us the talking picture again?” one of the children asked.
They cheered with excitement. Nikki watched Aaron for his reaction.
“If I can find some more gasoline, I’ll definitely show you again. But we need the gas for other things right now.”
They groaned a bit. Aaron smiled. He was glad they liked the movie so much.
He gave Nikki a nod. “I’ll be out lending a hand if you need me.”
She waved and looked at the children. “Okay. We’ll be in here playing hide and seek.”
The kids cheered again as Aaron left.
He worked for the next few hours, helping anyone that needed it. Everyone wanted to talk about the movie he’d shown, and how much it meant to them. A few of the older crowd shared their first experiences with movies. Travis said he kissed his wife-to-be for the first time watching a reshowing of Gone With The Wind.
As Aaron worked throughout the day, he noticed Richardson sitting near the garden, where the teenagers used to play football in the old world. He sat on the bleachers, writing in his notebook. He didn’t move the entire morning.
It was the middle of the afternoon when Aaron approached him. Richardson didn’t see him coming and jumped.
“Shit, Aaron! Don’t sneak up on people.”
“Sorry about that. Everything okay?”
Richardson gestured to the spot next to him. Aaron took a seat, glancing at some of the notes and sketches Richardson had in his book. He was always thinking of ways to make things better.
“Is everything okay?” Richardson repeated. “It’s kinda hard to say. I mean, a person dies, they get back up. That’s not really okay.”
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