“Sorry I’ve been babbling on and on. You probably want to get back to work, and I should check on my supplies.” Now it was Erika’s turn to interrupt Henry’s thoughts.
“Erika, you will make it home to them, and I’ll do anything I can to help you get there.” Henry already knew when he found her on the beach that she was a special person. He only had to confirm it.
“Thank you, Henry. I will gratefully appreciate any help you can give me, and I only hope that I can do something to help you out while I am here to repay you for all your generosity.”
Erika was feeling a lot better. Her talk with Henry had given her a way to vent her sorrow and rekindle her determination to get home. She strolled over to the craft she had made. The plastic jugs on the bottom had melted into a mass of plastic and duct tape. The wood table was in good shape and the crates looked to be intact, for the most part. She started looking through the purses when Carol came around the corner. She had two baskets in her hands and almost dropped them when she saw Erika.
“Oh my goodness, honey, what are you doing down here? You don’t need to be going through them things right now. You need to be upstairs resting.”
Erika swung around as if she was being scolded by her grandmother. She dropped her head down.
“Now, just leave her be. Her legs just needed a good stretch, Carol,” Henry shushed his overly concerned spouse, and when Erika looked up with surprise, he winked at her.
“I just wanted to check on my things and have a smoke,” Erika chimed in.
“Well, you know those things will kill you, and I don’t think in your current condition that is the best idea, but I guess a little fresh air won’t hurt. Hurry upstairs though, and we’ll try to fix one another up. I’m going up now to get dinner started,” Carol said in a motherly tone.
“We’ll be up later, hun,” Henry bellowed in his deep tone.
Carol walked through the aisle of the animals to the stairs and disappeared from sight.
“Girl, did you say you had a cigarette?” Henry questioned.
“Yes, do you mind if I have one?” Erika was used to the anti-smoking stigmatism that so many people displayed nowadays and wondered if she should have brought it up at all.
“Only if you can spare one for the old man who saved your life. Carol made me quit a few years back, but I guess a lot has changed lately. It would make me feel… normal again.”
“Sure, I found quite a few packs in the restaurant I used to work in. What kind do you want?” Erika was thrilled that she had something Henry valued that she could share with him.
“You got a Marlboro Red?”
“Yup, I got one of those. Here you go.” Erika handed Henry a cigarette that was only slightly bent from the trauma of the trip to the coast.
Erika and Henry lit their smokes and stood at the edge of the porch looking out. The greens and blues filled Erika’s eyes, and she realized just how long it had been since she was outdoors, on solid ground, breathing fresh air and letting the wind blow through her hair. She had been trapped in the bomb shelter and then she had been wrapped stiffly in duct tape; after that she had lain unconscious in bed. She tried to soak in every bit of life she could, but it overwhelmed her, and her legs were beginning to ache. Henry had noticed Erika beginning to stagger a little. He offered her a chair, but she refused because she was afraid of sitting on her scabbed legs. When their smokes were gone, she thanked him again and left to go and talk with Carol.
As she climbed up the steep hayloft stairs, her legs wobbling with pain, she realized Carol might have been right. She needed to take the time to rest and recover, even though all her thoughts centered on leaving and getting home to Vince and Dexter.
Chapter 7
Pain and fatigue caused Erika to pause when she reached the top of the stairs. She looked out at the layout of the loft. The remaining hay that Carol and Henry had stored in the barn after the quake had been stacked into walls to make rooms. The first area at the top of the stairs had been made into a kitchen area. In years’ past, Carol had insisted that Henry drag a huge old stove into the hayloft. It was the kind where you built the fire inside and didn’t rely on conventional energy sources. Henry had wanted to sell it in a yard sale but Carol was his only love, and she loved that antique stove. So he had hauled it up to the hayloft as she insisted. The stove was now one of the focal points of the kitchen and one of two heating sources in the barn. Across from the kitchen area was an eating and sitting area. There was table with a couple of chairs and a side table with an oil lamp in the corner. After that, there was a hallway right down the middle of the loft formed from the blankets that were hung as doors in between the haystack walls. The first room on the right looked as if it had some other purpose, but all the other rooms were clearly made for sleeping. The final room in the back left corner of the loft was still stacked full with hay.
Carol was busy fixing a meal of roast beef, carrots, corn, and potatoes. Her back was to Erika, and she jumped when Erika asked, “Carol, is there a restroom I can use?”
Carol turned around with wide eyes and said, “Oh my goodness, honey, you can’t sneak up on an old woman like that. I am sorry, though. I should have showed you when you woke up. Look over here.”
Carol wiped her hands with a damp towel and put it down on the counter Henry had made for her. It was a piece of the counter from their old house that he had recovered out of the wreckage. Carol began walking down the hallway but stopped at the mystery room on the right. Once the curtain was pulled back, Erika could see that there was a hay bale with a dish of water and some soap on one side and a portable potty from an old boat in the back.
“It’s not the best toilet, and it smells pretty bad if it’s not changed often. We ran out of the blue stuff to knock the smell down last month. Never thought I would need that much of it. Oh well, no matter, my wonderful Henry keeps it clean. We do have an outside place to go, but until you get healed up a little more, I think you better stick to using this one.”
“Thanks, Carol… for everything.” Erika had tears in her eyes when she said this, overwhelmed by the amount that this couple had done for her and her inability to repay them.
Carol had seen this and quickly said, “Now, don’t you worry about everything all at once. There will be plenty of time for that later.”
Carol walked away and Erika proceeded into the bathroom. The toilet wasn’t very smelly and had probably just been changed. It was nice to finally do something almost normal. It seemed like nothing was normal anymore. Nobody had come to save anyone.
To Erika, the whole world was wrong. Whenever a disaster happened, there were people to help. They would fly across the whole country to help those in need, but this was different. In Erika’s little pocket of the world, she could not see that it wasn’t only a local disaster, or a national disaster, but a worldwide disaster that no one in any corner of the world could escape. No one came to help because everyone needed help, even the helpers. People were fighting to save loved ones and survive in an environment that was just beginning to unleash its fury.
When Erika was done, she went over to the basin to wash her hands. She dipped them into the chilly water and then rubbed her hands with the bar of soap. While she was scrubbing, she noticed the beautiful designs on the rim of the basin. They looked like small dragons flying around the edge. Her son was born in the Year of the Dragon. Suddenly, Erika was snapped out of her daydream when Carol asked if everything was all right.
“Yes, I’m fine, just finishing up,” Erika answered. Then she dipped her soapy hands back into the water. When she opened the curtain, Carol was there waiting for her.
“Come back here, I want to show you something. I know you like to look outside and this used to be a big old wooden door, but Henry turned it into this.” Carol pulled back another blanket that was draped over an area of the wall in the back of the barn. This area was obviously their sleeping area. Erika was standing in front of a huge window. “Now whenever you
want to look out, you don’t have to waste your energy on those stairs; you just come back here and enjoy yourself.”
“Thanks, Carol, there is just no end to your generosity, and I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”
“You don’t have to. The Lord teaches us to be charitable. In his infinite wisdom, he has blessed us with minds that we can use for great good and great evil. His path leads us to the use of the mind for great good. I believe rescuing you was part of some grand plan of the Lord’s. You are special, Erika. If you weren’t, you would have never made it out of there at all. No one else that I know of did. The Lord has to have some reason for saving you, so don’t thank me, thank him.”
Erika had never thought about her experience or her life in that way before. The thought that the Lord individually crafted each one of us for some unknown purpose was rattling around inside her mind. Carol and Erika stared out the window, lost in thought. They could see to the very edge of the forest, to where the toxic lagoon began.
“I used to have a lot of friends down there, and the Lord did not save them,” Erika said with a quivering voice. “Actually, two of my very best friends and their daughter were probably down there.”
“Lots of people died down there, Erika. When the quake hit us, everything was rattling like a freight train was coming right through the house. Then the house started coming down. Henry had been outside, and he came running in the door. We ran out to the wine cellar, and we hid down there. All the bottles were shaking, but they stayed put and we made it. When we opened the door, the whole house was gone. Trees that had stood for 180 years were shaken from the ground. The roads, everything was broken, except for the barn. Henry says it has something to do with how the foundation was laid, but I don’t know about those types of things. I tend to think that it was a miracle, or maybe the will of our Lord kept our barn standing. Now it’s our sanctuary. I don’t know what happened to everyone else. Besides Henry, you are the only person I have seen since the quake. We used to go every day to the lagoon to look for survivors but now we only go once a week, and Henry always insists on being with me whenever we go anywhere off the property.” Carol was rambling. She was just happy to discuss life with another individual.
Erika and Carol were still staring out the window while they were talking. Far off in the distance, the cloud from the eruption could still be seen. “That cloud may come this way if the wind shifts. Hopefully, our luck will hold,” Carol said as if to herself. “Oh well, we’ll worry about that when the problem comes. Until then, we will just pray. Dinner is just about ready, and I bet you could use a rest. Why don’t you go sit at the table while I get dinner served and call that man in from his tinkering?” Carol was already walking into the kitchen, so Erika followed her and sat down delicately on a chair at the table. It had a nice soft cushion so Erika’s burns didn’t sting too badly, and it felt nice to rest her legs. Carol hummed as she worked around the kitchen. The roast smelled awesome when Carol took it out of the oven and pulled off the lid. Erika’s mouth was watering, but Carol proceeded to neatly set the table and then went down the rickety stairs to get Henry. Erika was so hungry and the meat smelled so good, it felt like forever before she heard voices and then two sets of feet coming up the stairs.
“Well, well… still on the move?” Henry bellowed as he reached the top of the stairs.
“Now just leave her alone and sit down, you big moose,” Carol countered in Erika’s defense.
“Yes, I am still up and the smell of Carol’s wonderful dinner is keeping me wide-awake,” Erika replied in sheer anticipation of the feast as Henry sat down next to her.
“Well, that wonderful cooking has kept me going for a lot of years. I’m sure you’ll feel as good as new in no time.” Henry chuckled.
“I hope so,” Erika said with a far-off look in her eyes.
“You’ll see them soon enough. Right now let’s worry about getting you healthy enough to make the trip to see them.” Henry had seen the look in Erika’s eyes and knew her thoughts were of her family. Erika wondered how he knew but felt that he was right. Her mission was to get well enough to get home to them.
“That’s enough chatter out of you two. Let’s eat before it gets cold,” Carol said in a cheerful voice trying to break the tension.
She was carrying some meat sliced on a platter and a bowl full of veggies.
Once the food was served, Erika went to dig right in, but Carol abruptly stopped her. “I know you are hungry, honey, but we must give thanks to the Lord for providing us with such a bountiful meal, especially in these uncertain times. Plus, it’s the Fourth of July, and I think our country could really use a special prayer right about now.”
Erika withdrew her hand and folded it with the other. Then she bowed her head and waited for Henry to finish the blessing. Erika’s prayers went out to her family, and she asked the Lord to give her enough strength to make it home to them. When Henry was done, they dug in and Erika ate like never before. Everything was so good, and it had been so long since she had a wonderful hot meal with big chunks of juicy meat. When she had packed every corner of her belly full, she sat back in her chair. Henry and Carol were watching her.
“Well, you must be feeling better. I haven’t seen anyone eat that much since my son was sixteen,” Henry said, chuckling again.
“Now, Henry, you leave her be. She needed it,” Carol countered.
“I have been saving something for a special occasion,” Henry declared.
Henry ran down the stairs like an excited schoolboy. Then the door that was under the stairs opened and closed.
“I wonder where he is off to. Oh well, I better get these dishes done. Don’t want the ants coming in for our leftovers.”
“Let me help you,” Erika insisted and got up to help. Her body hurt, and she winced a little.
“No, honey, you just rest. I got it,” Carol replied.
“No! I insist, Carol. You have done so much for me already. I will feel horrible if I can’t make it up to you,” Erika pleaded.
“Just don’t overdo it, honey. You are just like my daughter, Christy. She joined the Marines at eighteen and stayed for life, always so strong with an unquenchable sense of duty. She never had any kids but has worked hard for our country.” Carol was just making small talk as she washed the dishes in a big basin. Erika cleared the table then began to dry the dishes that Carol was washing. “Now my son, Harold, on the other hand, was always such a lover. He liked hugs and was such a good baby. Now he has three kids of his own. His oldest is a girl named Jen, Kim is the middle child, and his son Rob is the youngest.”
“Do you know if they survived? Where did they live?”
“No, I don’t know, but my faith in the Lord will protect them. They lived in Colfax, but it took Henry four days just to get to Auburn and back, so who knows how long it would take them to get here,” Carol answered with hope in her voice.
“Yeah, and who knows how long it will take me to get home,” Erika wondered.
“Just have faith, honey. You have made it this far and that is much farther than most. Everyone will get where they need to be in time,” Carol replied assuredly.
“Are you two up here bumming each other out?” Henry questioned from the stairway. He thought often of his son and hoped that Harold had the same determination to get home as this young lady in front of him did. But now was not the time to think of the many troubles that were plaguing them. “This is supposed to be a celebration!”
Erika and Carol both jumped. Having been so involved in work and conversation, they did not hear his approach.
“Here’s the surprise.” He held up a bottle of King James III Cognac. “Now let me help you get those dishes put away, and we’ll work on drinking away those sorrows.”
“Henry, you devil,” Carol said with a twinkle in her eyes.
They all worked together to finish up the dishes then sat down around the table together. Henry opened the bottle and poured them all a glass. Erika t
ook a sip of the potent spirit. She had never been a big lover of alcohol, and this was extremely strong but strangely smooth as well. She drank down the first glass and held her glass out for more.
“Now, we can’t drink it all,” Henry said as he was filling her glass. “I’m saving at least half of this bottle for when Harold gets here with Betsy and the kids.” He almost kicked himself for bringing the kids up again and quickly added, “Anyway, like I said, this is a celebration. How about some tunes while we drink?”
Normally, a radio would have been turned on but now, with no electricity, Henry reached for a case holding a fiddle. He began to play a happy tune and while he played, they drank from their glasses. All of Erika’s pains began to melt away. After a while their glasses were empty and Henry put down the fiddle to refill them.
“Now that we are all feeling better, let’s hear that story of yours, little lady.” Henry was full of anticipation.
“Before she starts, why don’t we go down onto the porch to enjoy some air? It just feels wrong to sit inside on the Fourth of July with no fireworks blasting away down in the city.” Carol stood up and went to get the lantern in the corner so the three of them could bring it along. She was moving with more grace and ease. Probably the alcohol was having a pain-relieving effect on her too, Erika thought.
“Sounds like a wonderful idea to me, darling; I’ll bring along the fiddle so we can have some music too.” Henry packed his fiddle back into its box and started heading for the stairs.
Erika got up too. She was still dumbfounded by the fact that it was the Fourth of July. Usually, she would be one of the people blasting off those fireworks in the city. Even though they lived in the country, Erika, Vince, and Dexter had always gone down to their friends’ house in the city for the Fourth. They would all pitch in and buy one or two of those gigantic boxes of fireworks that they have for sale at the roadside stands. Then they would all delight in setting off fountains, smoke bombs, and sparklers until the road in the city looked like a war zone, with explosions going off in all the driveways and the street filling with the smell of sulfur. Erika never really thought that the Fourth in California was all that great. You weren’t allowed to fire any fireworks into the air because of the wildfire risk. Since Erika hailed from Michigan, where there were all kinds of fireworks going off every Fourth, she didn’t think that the fountains were all that spectacular. Plus, Erika hated the new sparklers. They were designed to be safer but they sucked. They didn’t light well and would burn out quickly. She longed for the old-school wire sparklers. Sure, they burned you a little, but they stayed lit for a lot longer and burned a lot brighter.
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