by P. A. Glaspy
He started to sit back down, and I looked at him with tear-filled eyes. I jumped up, rushed over to him, and wrapped my arms around him.
“Of course we’ll help with them. We are going to be one big family now. Your kids are our kids.” He hugged me back, smiled at everyone, and took his seat, wiping his eyes. I went back to my place between Russ and Janet, blubbering. I’m such a softie.
Pete was next to take the floor.
“We feel the same way as Lee about wanting a safe place for our son. We’re staying as well. I can drive any piece of equipment you’ve got or can find. I’m a fair mechanic, too. Sara wants to get a school schedule set up for the kids with a curriculum that is tailored to our new survival way of life. And of course Tony can help with chores. Thank you for the offer. We really appreciate it.”
He sat to a chorus of “yes, thank you” from the rest of the group.
The only ones left were the Scanlins. The Thompson boys didn’t get a vote. Monroe would make them stay, not that they wanted to leave. Russ looked at Sean, who was looking around the table. Sean didn’t stand but he addressed the group and Russ in particular.
“You know, when we first met you and Brian on the road that day we had already been through hell. I think we were kind of shell shocked over everything that had happened and we were just hoping we could get to Luke and Casey’s place. Even though we didn’t know enough to stay off the road, we somehow knew we needed to get out of the city or anything remotely resembling it.”
Russ and Brian shared a smile at the reference to them finding the small family on the road. Sean went on.
“While we do still want to see about them, Kate and I have talked and we believe, as you all do, that there is safety in numbers. We’d like to stay and maybe we can talk Luke and Casey into joining us here, if that’s okay. Their place is about five acres, but their house is nowhere near as big as this one. They also only have fencing to contain their few livestock, and their place is pretty visible from the road. I think this setup,” he motioned around us, “is much more suited to sustainability and security. The skills we can offer are that I know about home brewing. I work – well, worked – for a distilling company, and I have been making moonshine for years as a hobby. Kate’s skill is even better. She’s an LPN.”
With this news there was a lot of conversation at the table. A nurse! We got a nurse and didn’t even know it! And moonshine? We could use that for medicinal purposes…and…relaxing purposes.
Monroe jumped up, full of excitement.
“Sean, wait ‘til you see what I got out in the shed! Got my hands on a nice sized still a few years ago. Fella told me it was once used by Popcorn Sutton, but I don’t reckon that was true. Why would Popcorn have let a perfectly good still go? I been dying to see it in action. Hot dog, we gonna make us some shine!”
The table erupted in laughter at Monroe’s enthusiastic reaction, except for Millie, who just smiled and shook her head.
Russ stood again and addressed the group.
“Then it’s settled. Tomorrow we’ll go check on the Callens, and of course they are welcome to come here and stay; we’ll figure out where to put them. We’ll start working on building the bunkhouse as well. Lee, with your skill set and the awesome job you did on these tables, you get that project. Mike and Monroe will be working on our defenses out by the gate. The rest of the guys will assist with both projects and any heavy lifting that needs to be done. Anything you ladies need the men to work on?”
He looked at me, then Millie, then Janet. I spoke up.
“We are having a Mom’s Meeting in the morning right after breakfast. We want to lay out a chore list for the kids and help Sara get the school curriculum set up. We’ll take the responsibility for the livestock and the gardens, as well as cooking and cleaning. I’d like to suggest you guys work on some alternative energy sources. If we could get some power, we could make it more bearable this summer when the heat really kicks in. The ceiling fans will keep the air moving and maybe keep us all from melting. But the most important thing is electricity will turn the pump on for the well. Running water, fellas – hot showers. Toilets that flush on their own. If we could have those two things, this new lifestyle would be much more bearable.”
Everyone was murmuring their agreement when Mike interrupted.
“I saw you guys have solar panels. Did you protect the charge controllers and inverters? If you have some that didn’t get fried, we might be able to rig up what we need for solar.
Bob replied, “Yeah, we kept most of the electrical parts in faraday cages in a crawl space under the barn.”
Mike grinned. “Great! Let’s go check them out when we’re finished here.”
Russ looked around the table with a satisfied smile.
“I’m happy you’ve all decided to stay. It will take all of us, and possibly even a few more, to protect and defend what we have here. I’m going to work out a patrol schedule this evening, and I want everyone else to get a good night’s sleep. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”
Millie stood and issued orders.
“Everyone take your dishes into the kitchen and set them on the counter. We’ll collect them for washing. Kids, we have a bunch of board games in the attic. Ben and Rusty, you boys go bring them down. After you all have washed up and brushed your teeth, you can set up in the screen porch and play, if it’s all right with your parents.”
She looked the group over, and the grownups were all smiling and nodding. She went on.
“You can play with any of them, just make sure you put everything back in its box when you’re done, so we don’t lose any pieces. And if I hear any fighting, it’s bedtime for everyone. Understood?”
She was met with a chorus of “Yes ma’am, Ms. Millie” from the kids. They rushed to the kitchen with their dishes, then out to the pump to get cleaned up. Sara leaned over to Millie.
“I hope we can get that kind of enthusiasm from them when ‘school’ starts.”
Millie shook her head. “I wouldn’t count on that unless you can figure out a way to make it into a game.”
Sara smiled. “I’ll work on that.”
The men wandered off, some to scope out the spot for the bunkhouse, others to check out the parts for the solar power. The gals grabbed their dishes and headed for the kitchen. Thankfully there was a pump for the well in the kitchen mounted on the sink so we didn’t have to haul water in. Janet got some water boiling, while Marietta and Kate scraped the bowls into the slop bucket that was kept by the back door, per Millie’s instructions. Marietta asked what the bucket was for – that is, why they were scraping food scraps into it. Millie donned her teacher look. A new class was about to begin: Life on the Farm 101.
“Well, dear, on a farm nothing goes to waste. There has been a bucket by this door for the better part of 50 years. When it gets full, we’ll give it to the hogs. They’ll eat pretty much anything you give them, even food that’s gone bad. Saves us a bit on feed as well.”
Marietta looked at the bucket, which had remnants of breakfast, lunch, and supper in it. She looked back at Millie and said, “I’m so glad I’m not a hog. That looks gross.”
Millie giggled, as did the rest of us.
As we washed, dried, and put up the dishes together, talking and carrying on like women do, a thought crossed my mind. Even though we had lost the modern conveniences – electricity, running water, and all the things that go along with them – we had gained something else, something we didn’t even realize we had lost. This is how it was “in the old days”. This is how families lived. This is how they got so close and were so fiercely protective of each other. They were together all the time, working, talking, playing, living their lives. This is how they survived. I knew we could as well as long as we could defend what we had because, unlike the old days, there were people out there who didn’t want to work for it. They wanted to just take it, or kill for it, if the person they were robbing didn’t hand over their hard-earned supplies. Unf
ortunately, there were plenty of those types of people out there who were adapting to this situation in that way. Rather than working to create a life in this new world, they chose to try to take from others who had. Those were the people we were expecting, and we didn’t think it would take them long to find us. Everything from here on out was about our survival and keeping the wolves at bay.
CHAPTER 5
We finished the dishes and brewed up a few pots of coffee. It had been a long, hard day. We gathered the pots, cups, sugar and cream and went out to the front porch to enjoy the mild night air. The porch was eight feet deep, ran the width of the house in front and the length on both sides, around to the screen porch out back. It was one of those real Southern homes with lots of chairs and a few rocking chairs. We do enjoy our porch sitting in the South.
It was still April so the nights were very pleasant. That would be short-lived in Tennessee and could change as early as next month. Lord, I hoped the guys were able to figure out how to get us some power. As I was contemplating that thought, the group that had gone to the barn came back with their arms full of parts. I’m guessing it was the controllers and inverters needed to convert the DC power collected in the solar panels to AC that we could then use in the house. I didn’t know how it all worked but I knew that part. Okay, I pretty much knew only that part.
They walked up to the porch and unceremoniously dumped their loot on the bottom step. The dogs sleeping at our feet jumped up and barked at the unfamiliar sound. After a look around, they decided their protective services were still not needed and went back to their napping. Bob had a voltmeter in his hand and was grinning like the cat that ate the canary.
“Tested and they’re all good to go. You ladies will have hot running water in no time!”
To a chorus of “WOO HOO!” from all of us, Millie clapped her hands together.
“Well, that calls for a celebration. Would you gentlemen like to join us for some coffee?”
Monroe rushed up onto the porch.
“You betcha, Millie darlin’. Did you bring out my ‘special ingredient’, too?”
Millie rolled her eyes at her husband.
“When have I not brought that out with the evening coffee?”
She reached into the pocket of the apron she wore pretty much all the time and pulled out a silver flask. Monroe’s eye lit up, he licked his lips, and reached for the flask. Millie snatched it back.
“Isn’t there something you’re supposed to do first?”
Monroe grinned at her, walked up and planted a big kiss on her, full lip lock. While he was doing that, he slid his hand down into her apron pocket and took out the flask.
He pulled back from the kiss, leered at his wife, and said, “Damn, woman, you still have the softest lips I’ve ever kissed.”
She cocked an eyebrow up.
“And how many women have you kissed, pray tell?”
“Enough to know that when I kissed you I didn’t need to kiss nobody else.”
They looked at each other with love and laughter, and you couldn’t help but be in awe of the devotion they had shared for so many years.
Bob broke the spell.
“Get a room, will ya? No one’s gonna need sugar in their coffee after all that sickening sweetness. C’mon Monroe, pass that flask.”
It was Janet’s turn to roll her eyes.
“My husband the hopeless romantic.”
Bob looked at her with a bit of a forlorn expression and lowered his voice.
“I’m romantic, honey. I just prefer to keep that mushy stuff just between us. Can’t have the guys thinking I’m wrapped or something.”
Russ jabbed him with an elbow.
“We don’t think that, buddy. We know it.”
With that Monroe held up his pinky finger to Bob then went into a knee-slapping, laughing fit, which of course made the rest of us laugh even though we weren’t in on the joke. I wished we could always be this carefree. I knew we couldn’t, but I wished it just the same.
The other group of guys came walking around the corner. Lee was smiling, and the Lawton brothers made a beeline for the coffee.
“Well, I think we have the spot scoped out for the bunkhouse. Monroe, I’d like to get the corner posts set first thing in the morning. I saw some six-by-six beams in the lumber pile. I think those will make great corner posts. Then we can just use whatever lumber we have for the walls. I don’t see us putting up insulation and drywall for this but we’ll need to figure some way of keeping the guys as warm as possible this winter. That’s assuming we’re still in this situation this winter. We may have to scavenge for lumber for the roof trusses. Are we okay to use whatever is available here?”
Monroe put his hand on Lee’s shoulder.
“Son, if it isn’t already part of a building here, you are welcome to use it. I have collected wood, hardware, plumbing parts, machines – I’m not entirely sure what all we have anymore. I do have a lot more lumber in a shed about a half mile from here. You can hook that flatbed trailer up to the tractor and bring it down. I didn’t want too much wood too close to the house in case of a fire. I’m sure there are roof trusses there from a house that was being torn down a few miles from here about ten years ago. I’ve also got an old wood-burning stove in the barn you can use in there. That should keep the fellas warm. No insulation, but I have some old tar paper you can use for the walls. It will help keep some of the cold out. Got some sheet metal you can use for the roof, too. We should be able to fix it up pretty livable. How big you gonna make it?”
Lee thought for a moment.
“I’m thinking fifteen by twenty should do it. That would give us three bunks along each wall about six and a half feet long, then we can go two high which would give us twelve bunks total. That should leave about nine feet in the center for the stove, and maybe a table and chairs, if we make the bunks three feet wide. What do you guys think?”
Russ replied, “Sounds perfect. How many helpers will you need? We can all work on it first thing in the morning if needed.”
“Well, if we all worked together, we should be able to get the corner posts set pretty fast. Then I can probably do the rest with just me, Bill, and Ryan. Maybe one more guy if we can spare the men.”
Monroe spoke up. “Use Matt and Nick. They’re good sized boys and one can do the gopher work. Will that do for ya?”
“That should do it. We’ll get started right after breakfast then. I’m hoping we can have it done in a day or two.”
Bob looked shocked.
“Wow! You can build it that fast? How come it takes so long to build a house then?”
Monroe cackled.
“Well it ain’t like we gotta wait for the building inspector to come out, or the codes guy to inspect it now, do we, bubba?”
Bob grinned at his uncle.
“Nah, I’m pretty sure those guys are trying to figure out how to cook the neighbor’s cat right about now.”
That remark received a mixture of giggles and gags.
Russ sipped his coffee and looked at Mike.
“What will you need for the treehouse and the fox holes, Mike? Hardware, supplies, man power?”
Mike replied, “A claw hammer, or a crow bar would be even better, to take out the front wall. Nails, or something to attach the ghillie material to the roof. I’m not sure how you want to dig the foxholes, but I’m hoping it’s not with shovels.”
Monroe snorted.
“Hell no we ain’t using shovels. We’re using the bucket on my tractor. Pete can drive it.”
Pete perked up at that.
“I’ve been listening to this whole conversation just waiting for you guys to talk about something I could help with. I mean, yeah, I can use a hammer and a saw, but my thing is definitely machinery. If it’s got a motor and wheels, I can drive it.”
Monroe looked him over.
“I hope that’s not just limited to modern vehicles. My tractor is older than you, son, and as ornery as me.”
Bob chimed in.
“That’s pretty ornery, dude. You sure you can handle it?”
Monroe made to swat Bob but he ducked out of the way. Pete grinned.
“Yes sir, I can handle it. Just lead me to it.”
Russ nodded and said, “We’ll work on that in the morning after we get the bunkhouse started. Brian and I will take first patrol tonight, then Bob and Mike will take second. It’s already dark and pretty quiet so I think we can do it in two shifts tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll work out a schedule for two- to three-hour rotations, twenty-four hours a day. We can’t think just because it’s daylight we won’t be attacked. I at least want someone in the treehouse at all times. We might be able to utilize the younger boys for that duty.”
I started to protest, but I stopped myself. They weren’t little boys anymore. They needed to know how to protect and defend us and themselves in this environment just as much as everyone else. I just wasn’t ready to admit my “little boy” was almost a man now.
Instead of protest I offered a suggestion. “I think we should have some kind of training for them first, as well as anyone else who isn’t familiar with or comfortable handling a firearm. In fact, I think everybody should go through some drills, just to make sure they know what they’re doing and we know they know what they’re doing. We don’t need any accidents with no doctors or emergency rooms to go to. You guys can rig up a course or something and everybody has to pass the initial test or get training. What do you think?”
They were all nodding in the affirmative.
Brian spoke up. “I think that is a great idea, Anne. We could set it up similar to what we had to go through to get our carry permits, except tailor it to each person’s sidearm. Just make sure they know how to load and unload, put the safety on and off, and see how they handle the gun. We should also set up a cleaning station, maybe in the barn, and teach everybody how to break them down and clean them. A clean gun is a reliable gun.”
Russ was grinning at me.
“I knew there was a reason I kept you around besides your cooking. You’re a pretty smart gal. That’s a great idea, all of it, yours included, Brian. We’ll get started on that tomorrow as well. Wow, looks like we have a big day ahead of us. Better start getting kids in beds and getting some sleep, gang.”