Solo
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As we talked and got to know each other, Jen opened up a bit more. She described a rough time about a year prior when she was forced to trade with what we assumed were the Doc’s people in Cooleman. She said she was stuck there and had to barter with the “squads” in Cooleman. This, it would seem, were the same people that were with Maeve and the group I had topped up at my home. She was sketchy on details and kept trying to change the subject. We moved on.
I still sought many more answers from her, her whole story, but I figured there would be plenty of time. But the day was drawing to a close and a couple of hours could still be spent being useful.
“Hey Jen,” I said a little upbeat. “While it is still daylight, do you want to help me with a project that will mean a whole lot of good things?” I was excited like a kid and I wanted to share it. She caught my viral enthusiasm and sat up, cross-legged, leaning forward with anticipation. When she heard about the solar and wind power system, she almost leapt out of her skin at the thought of “a hot shower”. “A hot shower?! That would be great!” She said. “Let’s get into it!” We went outside and began on our first joint venture.
Although Jen claimed to be a failure with tools, without a technical bone in her body, she proved herself wrong. She proved that through enthusiasm and some natural talent and experience, she was more than capable. I was very impressed as she had techniques with tools that came with years of experience. With a screwdriver she would ensure enough pressure so it wouldn’t slip and gave a rhythm and technique to using a ratchet worthy of a mechanic. If I didn’t know any better, Jen was more than experienced with tools than she was letting on.
That work was a great bonding experience. She was my constant companion and followed my instructions and the schema that had been drafted, to the letter. She was more meticulous and intelligent than I had picked a waitress to be. She knew voltages, current, resistance and other concepts: but I loved it. I was beginning to love this woman. It was way too early to say “love” but things were different since the Change. People, survivors, didn’t have time to waste being unsure about things, I was learning that you just had to go with things. If there was a spark, there was a spark and it needed to turn into something greater.
What was happening between us reminded me of stories about people in wartime. We were kind of in a war against the zombies and we never knew if one day was our last. Neither of us had time to take things too slowly and I would find that everything would become clearer that night. We had met under strange circumstances and we had forged something special already; a little team with a little hope. She was the beginning of my mission for the region and its people, also my mission in life.
We worked on and worked to complement each other, assembling the gantries and panels for the solar array. As we worked and helped each other do things better, I felt our teamwork was more than just two people working. We were smiling, laughing and connecting. It felt natural and right. Amongst the backdrop of a world that was so unnatural and wrong, Jen made me feel human again.
With two sets of skilled hands, we were smashing it. We worked through into the evening, taking a few breaks to drink fresh mountain water from the water tank. Our smiles and willingness to help each other to the common goal reflected an immediate, implied partnership.
After retiring to our separate beds, we said very little but “goodnight”. Our smiles said far more. We both woke the next day with energy that we had not felt in years. After a quick breakfast and cup of tea we were bursting to complete our project. Again, we worked into the night and over the next two days. By the end of it, we had amazing results. We had power, but moreover, we knew each other’s parents’ names, favourite colours, the names of our childhood crushes, middle names and birthdays. It was the 3rd degree but without any burns.
Our ability to work together, to problem-solve and share resulted in a full-scale, independent power system for all the houses in my little community. We had the arrays mounted, batteries in the shed, inverter connected, concrete bases for the windmills, windmills rotating and smiles on our faces.
“So, this is it,” I looked at Jen as the light faded with the setting sun. “No, it’s the beginning,” she smiled at me with more meaning than the power system. “We have plenty of light left and a mild wind to get some juice out of it.” She was either an eternal optimist or knew more of renewable power systems than I realised. “You’re probably right,” I said. Jen smiled back eagerly and nodded for me to start the system up. “No, no, you can press it, Lady Luck.” I offered her the first flick of the mains-switch in the gloom of the shed that was getting progressively darker as the sun retreated. She looked apprehensively, closed her eyes and tripped the switch. Lights came on and the inverter was indicating power was going through the mains and into the batteries. We looked at each other and screamed, delivering a series of “Woohoo” and “Yeah!”
We were jumping around like a sporting team that had won a grand final match. We hugged and kept jumping around a little longer.
Like kids on a Christmas morning, we ran inside to see something magical. We found a fully-powered-up home with lights, appliances, hot water, refrigeration and climate control! The power of power was immeasurable: we had returned to the hope for a better world and memories of better times.
Jen and I cooked on the stovetop in the kitchen and a meal of herbed venison, red wine jus and potato mash with garlic and parsley. Just as with the technical project we shared outside, Jen was great to work with in the kitchen and we bumped hips, cracked jokes and laughed like we had known each other always. It was an unforgettable day and the jubilation and energy between us was infectious. I had a few bottles of wine that had not turned to vinegar and Jen decided we deserved to sample some and toast our luck, in all things. It was getting late and we were full and with warm hearts. The fire was cheery and radiant as was my companion. I marvelled at how my world had changed. I looked across at her and she at me; two smiling faces with a rosy glow from the wine and the warmth growing between us. Just a couple of days ago, everything was hell in a hand-basket and now, I was truly in paradise. Great Change or not, this would have been heaven in any day or age. I was about to say something that expressed my growing affection for her. “I need to let her know,” I thought.
Almost on cue to spoil the moment, there was a crash outside and we ran to the window, peering out onto a starry night and the silhouetted bush. We stood together at that window-frame and peered around like football goalies trying to pre-empt where a free-kick might go. But we were looking for reasons that amounted to more than a game. Survival was hard and terrifying at times and we tried to go from a party atmosphere and snap back into a heightened state of alert. Difficult to say the least and even more difficult at that time given the company I had. With luck, we worked out it was a mob of kangaroos crossing the property. They had landed on a piece of corrugated iron next to the shed and knocked it over. I could see it lying flat and the kangaroos hopping away from its general location. Jen had not worked it out yet and she was looking outward into the night sky. She was captivated by the stars and I was captivated with her. The house was locked up, we were warm, we were safe and we were together. She looked at me and I could see something in her eyes that a man should never pass up. It was an invitation. I kissed her like it was my first in years (it was). I pulled her in close and held her tightly. She touched my side and my face and ran her hands through my hair. The embrace and tender touch of this woman was more electrifying than that power system, or anything else in recent times, for that matter. The magic happened and that night was one of the most amazing in my entire life.
A new day dawned as did a new relationship. Jen had stayed on the couch over the prior few nights. That night I slept there too, by the fire and holding her in my arms. I slept so well that it felt like one moment we were there in the firelight and the next the fire had gone out and blinds came up, automatically with our power, and the beams of daylight illuminated our little world.
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I looked over at Jen, who still slept and marvelled at her loveliness. After a while, I could hear my stomach groaning and decided I would prepare breakfast. I tried to get up and her arm touched my naked shoulder. “Stay,” she said sleepily. I got back in under the covers and snuggled with her a while. She liked being held and I was happy to oblige and be close to her. “You’re beautiful,” I whispered, kissing her cheek. She didn’t say a word, she didn’t have to: bliss was pervasive.
I wondered if that was paradise, a fool’s or otherwise. At that moment in time, I was fulfilled and content and I hoped it would last forever. Nothing is forever and life, while persistent, is as fragile as are hearts and love, as I would find again.
“I have the warm embrace and all I need, right here with her. For now that is all that matters,” I thought.
What was outside my little paradise wouldn’t wait. That unnatural world, and the virus that had engulfed it, was coming for me. But for that brief moment, I was happy and no longer alone, solo no more, triumphant.
THE END