by Stalter, D
She opened her notebook to a blank page and looked expectantly at Allison.
“For tea,” Allison started, watching Jaden write, “put water and elderberries into a saucepan. If desired, you can add cinnamon and/or turmeric. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes and then strain. Does very well combined with raw honey.”
Jaden finished writing and looked up at Allison. “I don’t understand. The people who live in town have good medicine. Why are they asking you to make them herb medicine?”
Allison smiled. “Most of the medicine that comes in pills is invented by mimicking the chemicals in plants. If you know your plants, and their properties, you have a healthier version of what the drug companies sell.” She wiped the top of the jar. “By the way, let’s go ahead and add notes to your paper.” She watched as Jaden bent her head over the page once again.
“I’m ready,” said Jaden.
“Elderberry is antiviral and antioxidant. May lower blood pressure so people who have low blood pressure should not use. People who use immune-suppressing drugs and corticosteroids like prednisone should not use. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding you should not use. Children under two or three years of age can take elderberry, but since they should not have honey, maple syrup is a good sweetener. Have you got all that?”
“Almost.” Jaden’s tongue peeked out from between her lips. “Okay. I got it.”
“Just one more note to add. This is for the elderberry syrup.”
Jaden carefully wrote the words.
“One half to one teaspoon for children per day. One half to one tablespoon for adults per day. If you already have the flu, take the normal dose every three hours instead of every day. Like all herbs, do not use every day for long term. Give your body a break.”
Jaden finished writing and smiled. “I should go see if Mary needs anything.”
Allison held her hand up. “You sit there and take a break. I’ll go see if Mary needs anything.” She turned and walked to the door of the room they were using as an infirmary.
Tapping softly, she eased the door open and stepped inside. Mary looked up from the chair she was sitting in. Her tired smile indicated just how exhausted she felt.
Allison looked from the woman on the bed to her husband on the cot next to her. Both slept. The woman was gently snoring. Mary rose from the chair and pointed to the door which Allison opened to allow them both to exit.
Jaden sat at the table. She stared into her mug ignoring Kim who stood over her, hands on hips.
Kim looked up as Allison and Mary approached. She pointed at Jaden. “I caught her sitting here drinking tea like she didn’t have a care in the world. If you are going to make me work like a dog, you need to make everyone work.”
Mary pushed past Allison and reached Kim in five long strides. “You get out of my kitchen,” she hissed. “Don’t you ever talk about Jaden like that. That girl does more work before you get out of bed in the morning than you do all day. Get out of here.”
Kim turned away and mounted the stairs to her room. She slammed the door closed.
Allison turned to Jaden who was still staring into her mug. Her neck was bent, her frizzy hair draped over her face. Allison placed her hand on Jaden’s shoulder. “Are you all right? I’m so sorry I wasn’t here to stop that.”
Jaden raised her head. The grin on her face showed that she was no worse for the tirade. “Boy,” she said. “That’s a great example of the pot calling the kettle black. She called me lazy! I had to bite my tongue.”
“Aww, honey.” Mary hurried over and wrapped Jaden in a hug. “You are the smartest twelve-year-old I’ve ever met.”
“I’m thirteen.”
“What!” Allison’s eyebrows rose.
“When did that happen?” Mary put her hand on her chest.
“Today,” Jaden said. “My dad said he had something special for me. I wasn’t sure if I’d get a birthday present since there aren’t stores anymore, but he said he has something special for my birthday.” Her smile warmed Allison’s heart.
“I’ll find you something special for your birthday, too,” she said.
Mary contemplated the kitchen. “I think I have time to bake a cake after I get lunch out of the way. We’ll have a celebration at supper.”
“Oh, no.” Allison looked at Mary. “You’ve done enough this morning. I’ll take care of lunch. I’m not the cook you are, but I won’t kill anyone with my cooking. How many people are we cooking lunch for?”
Jaden picked up a clipboard and ran her finger down the top page. “It says we’ve got ten coming in for lunch. Fifteen people took lunch with them this morning.”
“All right. I’m going to go up and talk to Kim, then I’ll come down and see what I can put together for lunch. I want you two to relax until after lunch. Go read a book or something.”
She found Kim laying on her bed reading a magazine.
“Where’s Kelly?” she asked looking around.
“I don’t know. Probably with the other kids. I heard them talking about picking corn.”
Allison nodded. The corn field that separated the highway from the farm had been left standing. It provided a good screen from passersby. Crews had been going out to gather the dried ears of corn and bring them in for livestock feed. The kids were perfect for this task, requiring only a couple adults to supervise and keep the children safe.
Allison cleared her throat. “We need to talk.”
“What,” Kim snapped. “You gonna throw me out?”
“You have no where to go. I can’t throw you out. But we need to work this out. You can’t expect to stay without doing your share of the work. No one has complained about Kelly. She seems to fit in great with the other kids.”
“Yeah. She’s always had an easy time making friends. Me… not so much. They all hate me.”
“Kim,” Allison said. “No one here hates you. They might resent that you aren’t stepping up and doing your share of the work, but they don’t hate you.”
“But, Allison, every time I try to help, they give me shit jobs.”
“What shit jobs?”
“I tried to help in the kitchen and that fat bitch told me to peel potatoes. I tried to help in the greenhouse and that jerk told me to go help fill potato buckets. I don’t even know what a potato bucket is! I tried to help clean the common room and that Denise chick told me to find boxes. I don’t know where the damn boxes are. When I try to help, people just push me away.”
Allison shook her head. “So, when Mary asked you to peel potatoes what did you do?”
“I told her told have the little Jaden girl do it.”
“And what did you do when you were told to help fill potato buckets? Did you go help?”
“No! I didn’t even know what a potato bucket was.”
“Why didn’t you ask?”
“Because the dude had a chip on his shoulder. He’s always hated me.”
Allison placed her shoulder on the edge of the door and leaned on it. “How do you know he’s always hated you?”
Kim sniffed. “Twice I tried talking to him and he completely ignored me like I wasn’t even talking.”
Allison frowned. “Tell me where you were when he ignored you.”
“I was in the arena.”
“Where in the arena?”
“Next to the greenhouse.”
“And where was the ‘dude’?”
“Standing next to me.” She rolled her eyes.
“And was this dude a little on the heavy side with a gray beard?”
“Uh huh.”
“And was he standing on your right side?”
“Yep.”
Allison shook her head. “He’s deaf in his left ear, Kim. He wasn’t ignoring you. He didn’t hear you.”
Kim puffed her cheeks and blew out a gust of air. “And how was I supposed to know that? He should have told me.”
“So, you think that whenever someone is near you the
y should say something like ‘My name is Jack. I’m deaf in the left ear?’ or ‘Hi, I’m Susan. I can’t shake your hand because mine is broken?’ You need to stop perceiving people as hateful and start acting like you fit in.”
“That might work if they didn’t all hate me. That Denise chick is a bitch.”
“Okay. And when Denise told you to find boxes, did you ask her where to look?”
“No. I didn’t want to get yelled at. I just went to my room and read. She was obviously trying to get rid of me.”
Allison moved across the small room and sat on the edge of Kelly’s bed. “Kim, I’m going to lay this out as plainly as I can. Imagine you were running the kitchen and a new member to the group asked if they could help. Would you step away and turn the most important job over to someone you didn’t know?”
Kim shook her head.
“You’d be happy that they could take any task off your hands. Peeling potatoes was an important task. It wasn’t a shit job. I do it myself when I have time. Mary and Jaden have their hands full getting everything else together. If that had been you running the kitchen and a new member to the group refused to do something, would you appreciate her?”
Kim looked at her shoes and shook her head.
Allison continued, “If you were running the greenhouse and someone refused to do what you asked them or if you were cleaning the common room and thought you had help, but that help just walked out on you, would you appreciate them?”
Tears ran down Kim’s cheeks. She shook her head.
Allison softened. “What do you need from me so that you can start pulling your weight around here?”
“Tell me what to do. I’ll do it. But I don’t know how to do most of this stuff. Nothing is like it used to be.”
“I’ve told Mary and Jaden to take a break and I’ll fix lunch today. I’m fixing lunch for ten people. Will you help me serve?”
Kim nodded. “Will you tell me where to find everything and what to do?”
“Of course! If you aren’t sure, just ask. Nobody will bite your head off. I promise.”
She stood and stepped towards the door. “And, Kim, all you have to do is work hard and be friendly. When people see that side of you, I promise they’ll be nice. You just need to let them know that you are friendly and want to be friends.”
“Okay.” Kim sniffed.
Allison smiled as she came down the stairs. She glanced at the windup clock sitting on a shelf above the sink. 10:00. She had about an hour until she needed to start putting lunch together.
She picked up the clipboard that Jaden had checked earlier. Lunch today was smoked ham sandwiches and chicken with veggies soup.
Chapter 7 Allison
The front door swung open and Don pushed his way in, a large box in his arms. Steve followed with his own box.
“Where do you want these?” Don asked.
Allison nodded at the table.
“I’ve got the daughter of the couple that was shot,” Don said. “She’s waiting out by the truck. I think she’s a little intimidated. Do you want to come out and invite her in? She’s worried about her parents.”
“Of course!” She slipped through the door and looked towards the north before she turned and walked around to the front of the barn. A small girl stood next to Don’s truck. Her spiked hair stuck straight up on one side but was flattened like she’d slept on it wrong on the other side.
“Hi,” Allison said, reaching out to shake the girl’s hand. “I’m Allison.”
The girl turned her head up to look Allison in the eye. Her smile was quick. “Beth. Where are my parents and my brother and sister?”
“Your brother and sister said they wanted to join the team picking corn. They should be back in about an hour for lunch. Your parents are inside. They are fine. Mary tended to them and I think she’s sitting with them now. Last time I looked, they were both sleeping. Do you want to see them?”
“I would.” She followed Allison into the bunkhouse. She paused to take in the large room. A cookstove dominated the space eight feet from the door. A wooden counter had been built between the stove and the door. Shelves on the bottom held plastic totes filled with dinnerware and silverware. Several plastic dishpans were tilted to allow them to dry. The smell of the woodstove was the first thing that struck her. Then exotic scents drifted from pots steaming on the stovetop.
A waist high table was positioned between the stove and the rest of the open area. A mason jar without a lid sat steaming on the table. The rest of the huge room was filled with picnic tables. Beth counted eight. On the far side of the room, three couches were grouped together in a U-shape with a large coffee table between them.
Around three sides of the room, a mezzanine had been built. Both the ground floor and the mezzanine featured door after door to what Beth assumed to be bedrooms.
Allison led her to a room on the ground floor. She knocked softly and then opened the door. She stepped in and moved to the side to allow Beth to walk further into the room.
Both parents were awake and their smiles spread when they saw their eldest daughter. The woman’s head was wrapped in white bandages, as was her left arm. The man’s head was also wrapped in bandages, only his eyes, nose and mouth were uncovered, but that appeared to be the only injury.
Beth went to her mother’s bed and knelt. “I was so worried. How are you feeling?”
“Very weak, honey. All I want to do is sleep. Mary says its mostly because of the blood loss and I’ll feel better soon.”
Beth looked up at Mary, who offered a wide smile from the chair. “They’ll be fine. We’ve got chicken and veggie soup for lunch today. If you want to feed them, it would give you time to spend together. I’ll leave you guys alone. When the younger kids return from the field, I’ll bring them in. I think we have room to set a small table in here so you can eat together as a family.” She turned to follow Allison out of the room.
“Wait,” the woman whispered, her voice weak. “Were you able to get all the supplies out of the house?”
Mary looked at Allison who said, “They just arrived with the truck.”
“Did they get our personal belongings? I don’t want them stolen.”
“If not, we’ll make sure they get them.”
The woman closed her eyes. “Thank you. We’re so lucky you guys were there this morning.”
Mary smiled. “Get some rest.”
Allison started peeling potatoes while Mary added water to a pot and sliced carrots. “Cut those potatoes small,” she told Allison. “I’ll be right back with the chicken and ham.”
“Where is Jaden?” Allison asked.
Mary rolled her eyes and laughed. “When I told her that she was done working for the morning and needed to go find something fun to do for a couple hours, she headed out to the corn to see what she could do there to help.”
Allison grinned as she dumped the chopped potatoes into the steaming pot.
“I’ll start hauling these boxes Don and Steve brought in,” Allison said. “I’m not sure we have room for all this food in the pantry. It’s a good thing we still have a couple of empty rooms.”
She lifted the lid on one of the boxes. “Mary! Look what I found.” She pulled two jars of spaghetti sauce out, holding them up like trophies. “And there’s more! And spaghetti noodles and lasagna noodles! Do you think we could have spaghetti tomorrow?”
“Yum!” Mary said. “I’ll check with Chuck and Bell and make sure they don’t mind if we eat some of their food.”
Allison looked up when the door slammed. Steve stepped in and cringed. “I’m sorry. It got away from me.” He was carrying another load.
“Could you just haul that back to the first empty bedroom?” Allison asked. “The pantry won’t hold all this food.”
Don stepped inside with another load. “Just a couple more boxes and then we need to head back for another load.”
Allison paused from wiping the table. “Don,” she said. “I don’t think we ha
ve any more room. Do you have room at your place?”
“Yeah, I could keep some of it there. Do you have an appliance dolly? They’ve got ten fifty-gallon garbage cans filled with flour and sugar. I can drop a couple here and store the rest at my place. It’s going to save us a lot of work. I was going to suggest that we get a crew together to grind some flour. Now we can put that off for a while.”
“Thanks, Don. You are the best.” Allison finished wiping the table. “Oh! And we just found out that today is Jaden’s thirteenth birthday.”
“Her dad told me last week. I’ve got something special for her.”
“Bring the family down for supper. Mary is baking a cake this afternoon.”
“We can do that. Same time as always? Right before security shifts change?”
“Yep. And before you go get your other load, why don’t you stay for lunch? It’ll be ready in about fifteen minutes.”
He looked at Steve who shook his head. “I’d like to get back there and clean that place out. No telling how long it will be before scavengers realize it’s an empty house.”
“We’ll save you a bowl of soup and a sandwich.”
The sound of a car door slamming caused them all to look towards the door. It swung open and Riley, Will and Frank McCall entered with grave faces.
“Did you turn that McClain guy over to the FEMA boys?” Don asked.
Frank nodded. “But, it’s looking like this family wasn’t the first ones hit by that gang. The FEMA guys were doing farm checks on the west side of town yesterday and they found two farms that had been attacked. The first one was the Harrington place. Both Harringtons were laying on the kitchen floor. Dead. The house had been ransacked and cupboards were empty. In the basement there were empty shelves where her canned goods were stored.”
He shook his head. “A couple miles north of there, they found another place with both adults murdered, but this time, there was a little kid about two years old. His throat was slashed. House was ransacked.”
“Who was it?” Allison moved her hand to her throat.
“The guys didn’t know. No one recognized them. I sent two of my guys with the FEMA guys to start doing welfare checks on all the surrounding farms.”