by Stalter, D
“Then I’ll sleep on the chair,” Jaden said. “I asked my dad if I could stay here tonight but he said that I shouldn’t disturb Allison if she didn’t want to be disturbed.”
Allison gave her a sad smile. “You would never be disturbing to me. How about if Mary sleeps in the spare bedroom and we’ll go talk to your dad and let him know that I’d be happy to have you spend the night.”
“You don’t have to come with me to tell him,” Jaden said.
“Actually, I’m feeling much better than I was. I know how concerned everyone was for me. I think they would feel better if they could see that I’m going to be fine. Let’s go together.” She pulled her coat from the hook by the back door and shoved her feet into her boots. She tucked her pajamas into the top of the boots.
Jaden giggled. “Aren’t you going to get dressed?”
“A situation like this demands a little loosening up.” Allison smiled. “Let’s show them that even in my worst moment, I can be strong and they don’t have to worry about me. Come on.”
The common room after supper was entirely different from what Allison had ever seen. Usually, after supper was done, she went back to the house to prepare for the next day. She’d missed seeing the group together in relaxation and fellowship.
When she stepped in the door, the first thing she saw was a group of men playing cards at one of the tables. At the next table a group of women played another game of cards. Back in the corner of the room, several men sat on the couches whittling. Will and Riley were among that group.
“Whoa!” she heard Will exclaim. “You can’t tell me that you didn’t sneak a Dremel in here. How did you do that?”
It was Rolly who said, “You just have to know how to work the blade, my friend. Here, let me show you.”
The room quieted as group members realized Allison had entered. Then, as one, they rose and welcomed her. The women at the card table were the first to approach her, arms extended, sad smiles on their faces.
“I’m okay,” Allison said with a genuine smile. “I just came to thank you all for being there for me – and to ask Jaden’s dad if she can spend the night. Where is Bill?”
“He’s in his room,” Sam said. He turned toward the back and called up above, “Hey, Bill!”
Bill stepped out of his room. His eyes lit up when he saw Allison standing next to Jaden.
“Look, Dad, Allison wore her pajamas over to ask if I could stay at the house tonight. Now you have to say yes.”
He hurried down the stairs and wrapped Allison in a hug. “I have to say yes?” he asked.
“Well,” Allison said with a shrug. “We want you to say yes. And I like these pajamas.”
“If you really don’t think she’ll be in the way…”
“Well, she’s committed to finishing the laundry while we have the generator running. I agree. It’ll be nice to have clean clothes without the backbreaking work that our laundry ladies do. It’ll give everyone a little break. Jaden’s welcome to sleep on the couch.”
“And, Daddy, just think. If I can wash and dry the towels in the machines, they will be soft instead of stiff and hard like they normally are.”
“Ahhh. Soft is nice.” He looked into Allison’s eyes. “If you are absolutely sure…”
“I am.”
“Then, okay.”
Jaden jumped up and down. She grabbed Allison’s hand and started pulling her to the door. “Come on. I’ve got laundry to do.”
Allison felt her heart lighten. Life will go on, she thought. I can be sad without being weak. I can mourn without being consumed. I can’t change what happened, but I can make life better.
She laughed a genuine laugh. “Thank you, Jaden for being you.” she hugged Jaden and kissed the top of her head, then turned back to the group. “I want to thank you all for being here for me. I’ll get past this. Now, Jaden and I will go back to the house so she can do all your laundry.” With another laugh, she led Jaden out the door.
The warm house greeted them when they slammed the back door behind them. “I never realized how much I missed central heat,” she said. “I’ve gotten so used to the living room being toasty warm and the bedroom being so cold.”
“I like having the warm bathroom and a toilet that flushes,” Mary said. “Speaking of bathroom, I took Bella out.”
“Thanks. James used to take her out for the last time every night.” Allison’s smile faded.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Mary said. She wrung her hands. “Uhm, if you show me where the sheets are, I’ll make up the spare bed and get some sheets out for the couch.”
“Come on, let’s do it together.”
Mary said, “It looks like Bella is anxious to go to bed.” She pointed at Bella who was standing in the master bedroom with her paws on the mattress.
“Oh, James doesn’t like her to sleep on the bed. He says she takes up all his space.” Allison stopped. “I guess she can sleep on the bed now. James would probably like that.”
“I’m sure he would approve,” Mary said.
“Will it bother you guys if I did a couple more loads of laundry before I go to bed?” Jaden had come around the corner from the kitchen and was folding a t-shirt while she walked.
“It won’t bother me,” Mary said. “In fact, I’ll stay up and help.”
Chapter 22 Riley
“Is this a good spot?” Will pointed at a small copse of trees in the middle of a clearing. The house looked over this clearing, situated to the west at the top of the hill. The river flowed to the east, down another hill.
Riley nodded. “It’s high enough above the river that flooding won’t be a concern. It’s a peaceful spot. I think she’ll like having him buried here. Now, we just need to see how deep the ground is frozen. Let’s get it set up.”
They pulled the sled loaded with shovels, plywood and charcoal closer to the chosen spot. Using the shovels, they cleared the snow. They laid a bed of charcoal on the ground and lit it. They walked around gathering small branches which they piled on top of the charcoal.
When they had a nice fire blazing, they set the plywood up in a pup tent configuration.
“Want to check out the animal trails while we’re here?” Will sat watching the fire.
Riley stood next to a pile of wood ready to go on the fire. “You go ahead. I’ll collect more wood and feed the fire. I have no idea how long this will take to thaw the ground. I told Mary that we’d have it dug by this afternoon with any luck.”
Will tossed the twig he’d been absent mindedly whittling onto Riley’s pile. “I’ll be back.” He stood and slid his backpack onto his shoulders.
Riley used the shovel to reach into the makeshift plywood tent and scrape the fire so that the heat was evenly spread across the future grave. He tossed more wood on the fire, appreciating the hissing of the steam, and then went to collect more.
When Will returned two hours later, Riley had removed two pieces of plywood and was digging into the ground. He looked up at Will’s approach.
“The ground doesn’t seem to be frozen very deep,” he commented.
“Yeah, I was hoping for that. We were lucky that we had the snow we did early in the season. It helped insulate the ground. The sunshine did it’s work too. Are we ready to put the fire out and dig?”
“Let’s put the plywood back and let it cook until the wood I’ve got in there is burned. Then we can start at this end and work our way back.” Riley leaned on the shovel, his left hand clutching the top of the handle and his right elbow resting on his hand. “It should be about lunch time, how about we head up to the bunkhouse and eat? By the time we get back, maybe we can start digging.”
Chapter 23 Allison
Allison filled the last of the water jugs before telling Rolly it was time to turn off the generator.
She watched as he pulled the switch that would power it off. “I do miss having electricity,” she said. “But I have to tell you, the sound of that generator running all night, even though it is
muffled, kept me awake. And every time the furnace kicked on, I jumped out of bed.”
“Mrfph,” Rolly muttered. “There’s a lot of things I miss about the old days, but sometimes I sit back and think how much easier life is now. It’s more physical, but at the end of the day, you have time to appreciate what you’ve done. You have fellowship with the gang.” He scratched his ear. “I know the rumor is that we’ll have electricity by spring, but I’ll miss this life. This life has a lot more meaning than the old life.”
“I agree.” Allison couldn’t help but look over at James’s workbench - the workbench that held all the tools he’d never get to use again. The chair that sat next to it, where she had spent hours chatting with James while he worked on one project or another. The book she’d been reading, but hadn’t been that interested in, sat where she’d laid it months ago, before the flare.
She realized that Rolly was speaking. She hadn’t heard a word he’d said. “I’m sorry.” She shook her head. “I was lost in thought.”
He looked at the workbench. “James’s bench?”
“Yeah.”
“I understand. I was just asking if there was anything else you needed. Do you want me to send Mary over with lunch a little later?”
Allison took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “No, I’m fine. I need to keep moving forward. I will be over for lunch and plan on helping with supper. It’s better if I keep doing what I do. I don’t want to lose myself to this.”
“Well, if there’s anything you need, you just ask.”
“There is one thing.” she felt her shoulders slump. “Do you know when we will be having the funeral?”
Rolly nodded. “Will and Riley are digging the grave today. We thought that tomorrow before lunch will be a good time. Chief McCall and a few people from town want to be here. James had a lot of friends in town. If we wait until just before lunch, it gives them time to get here after the day has warmed up a little. Don is bringing his tractor first thing in the morning to clear a path to the gravesite.”
“Where exactly is the grave?”
“Come on, I’ll show you.” He led the way past the security details’ beds and up the stairs to the living room. He walked across the living room to the sliding glass doors on the east side. “See that clearing?”
She nodded.
“See the smoke there in the center next to those trees?”
She nodded again.
“That’s Will and Riley heating up the ground so they can dig the grave. A couple guys will go down after lunch and help. They chose that spot because you said you wanted James by the river and that spot could be seen from your windows. Plus, it’s an ideal location for a grave.”
She bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered.
She motioned him towards the door. “I’ll be over soon. Tell Mary that I’ll carry over the rest of the folded laundry.”
Rolly shuffled his feet before reaching out to place his hand on her shoulder. “Everyone loves you, Allison. Everyone wants to help. Please don’t hesitate to let us know what you need.”
She felt her heart flutter. “I love everyone back,” she said. “I’ll see you in a little while.”
When she heard the back door close behind him, she let the tears flow.
Chapter 24 Allison
Allison opened her eyes. A foreboding feeling washed over her. The bedroom was pitch dark. She moved her hand to the other side of the bed and felt the soft muzzle. Bella moaned and stretched, turning her head so that Allison could scratch her chin.
Allison threw the covers off, shivering in the cold room. Her hands scanned the foot of the bed searching for her snuggly blanket with arm holes. Finding it, she flung it over her shoulders and snapped the front closed, then shuffled her feet until she found her fur lined slippers.
Once the chill had been taken care of, she shuffled in the dark towards the dresser. Her fingers wiggled as she felt for the top of the dresser. There! The battery-operated lantern. She switched it on. The wind-up clock on the headboard said it was 5:30.
Bella slid off the bed and stood at the door, her tail swinging like a pendulum.
Allison sighed. “Okay, baby. But try to be quiet. Jaden is sleeping on the couch. Let’s not wake her up.”
Bella pushed through the door as soon as Allison opened it and made a beeline for the couch. Her tail wagged so hard that her whole body swung from side to side. She leaped onto the couch causing Jaden to scream and then giggle.
“I love you, Bella,” Jaden screamed in joy as only a child can do. She scooched herself to a sitting position. Bella snuggled against her and licked her face. “Ugh, she’s getting really heavy.” Jaden raised her eyes to Allison.
“Bella, come!” Allison commanded. Bella jumped off the couch and followed Allison through the kitchen to the back door.
She’d just closed the door behind Bella when she felt a presence behind her. Whirling around, she came face to chest with Will who had just come up the steps from the basement.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
“Time to grab a quick breakfast and go relieve the overnight security details.” He indicated the other men behind him.
“Oh, yeah,” Allison stammered. “I guess it is that time.”
“You want anything? I can bring you something over before I take off.”
She hesitated. “No, thanks. I really don’t think I could eat anything.”
He nodded. “I understand, but you should have something. Today is going to be pretty stressful. I will be coming to the funeral. We are going to work with half-man crews for the funeral, so I’ll be coming back. Are you sure I can’t bring you some coffee?”
“No, really. Thanks anyway. I will go over in a little bit and get something to eat. I promise.”
“Okay. Then I’ll see you at the funeral.” He turned sideways to go past her, the other men followed suit.
As he passed, Riley said, “My thoughts will be with you today.”
She felt that nudge in the middle of her back - the nudge that told her there was something off about this guy. She’d felt it the first time she’d seen him.
She looked at the floor and muttered, “Thank you.”
By the time the men had walked to the bunkhouse, Bella was ready to come in.
The sun peeked over the horizon. Allison walked through the house opening curtains to allow the daylight in. She stopped at the fireplace and stirred the coals before adding more logs.
Jaden stood and stretched. “I’ll go get more logs so we don’t have to do it later.”
“Thanks so much. I’m going to go back to my closet to choose what to wear for the funeral. Then we can walk to the bunkhouse and get some breakfast.”
Fifteen minutes later, Allison returned to the living room wearing flannel lined jeans and a blue sweatshirt.
“Are you wearing that to the funeral?” Jaden asked, her mouth hung open.
Allison laughed. “No, but considering that we will be walking through snow down a hill, I might end up wearing the jeans and a black sweatshirt.”
“I never thought of that,” Jaden said. She pointed at the logs she’d brought in. “Is that enough to get through the day and night?”
“More than enough. You really are a great help.” Allison walked to her and gave her a hug. “I’m so glad you were here for me.”
Jaden hugged her back - hard. “I’m so glad you let me be. My dad kept saying ‘Don’t pester Allison. Don’t get on Allison’s nerves. Don’t bug her.’ I just remember how I felt when my mom died and I didn’t want you to feel as lonely as I did.”
Allison felt a tear run down her cheek. “I’ll never be lonely when you’re around, Jaden. No one will ever fill the hole in my heart that James left me with, but having you here with me has been a godsend.”
Jaden sniffed. “I really loved James. I did. But I just keep telling myself that there will be plenty of time to mourn him. That, for now, I have t
o be strong for you.”
Allison smiled through her tears. “And that is exactly what I keep telling myself. It’s what has gotten me this far. Thank you for being strong for me. Let’s keep being strong for each other.”
Chapter 25 Allison
By ten o’clock, the common room was packed. Allison had requested that several of the women change their clothes. “Wear jeans,” she said. “Be comfortable.”
Don’s familiar ATV putted into the yard. His sons jumped out and unloaded a kerosene heater which they carried through the stable to the arena. Several men separated from the group and followed them. They set up bales of hay for seating while the Schmidt boys got the kerosene heater running.
It wasn’t long before Frank McCall’s police vehicle came down the road followed by two school buses. A white SUV followed behind the buses. When the vehicles pulled into the driveway, Mary sucked in her breath.
“There’s a FEMA car out there,” she told Sherrie.
“Seriously?”
“The seal says U.S. Department of Homeland Security and big letters read FEMA.”
“Don’t they know we’re having a funeral?”
“I’m going to go out there and turn them boys around. I won’t have them ruining this.” Mary didn’t bother putting a coat on. She stalked out the door and straight to the driver’s door of the FEMA vehicle.
A tall man in a dark suit and a black, knee length coat stepped out. He gave her a smile.
She glared at him. “You need to get back in that car and leave. We’re having a funeral here today. We don’t need the extra stress. Come back another time. We’ll deal with you later.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” he said in a soft voice. “I’m here to pay my respects to a great man who I’m told has contributed significantly to the local efforts. Frank McCall and I are friends.” He looked past Mary and smiled.
Mary turned and almost ran into Frank who had come up behind her. “Mary,” he said, “I’d like to introduce the head of our local FEMA. Jeff Jensen, this is Mary Thomas. Her husband, Rolly, owns the lumber yard in town. They were one of the first ones to move out here and start building.”