Worth Saving

by G. L. Snodgrass

  He told them about meeting me in the mountains two years ago. How he’d tried to find the end of the road just so he could say he’d been to the all the way to the end and was surprised to find me there.

  “This is truly wonderful,” the Tinker said to Clair. She smiled her thanks and seemed to relax. “People are starting to have to live off the land again. Most of the preserved foods have disappeared. It’s getting harder and harder to find them.” We nodded in agreement. That was why it was so important that we get Margaret’s gardens working.

  “You all are probably one of the biggest groups I’ve seen. Most people are still living as individuals, occasionally couples, or an adult with a younger person. Except for the Compound of course.”

  An uncomfortable silence descended over the table with the mention of that place. Shuck, who had a tendency to be oblivious to those types of things, asked him about the Compound and Big Jake and why did they let the Tinker roam free. The Tinker’s spoon froze over the top of his bowl on the way to his mouth, for several moments he looked at the spoon and then addressing the young boy, said, “Big Jake figures he can get more out of me on the road that he can working his fields for him.”

  That seemed to satisfy Shuck who returned to attacking his stew.

  “Everyone eat up, we have fruit salad for desert,” Claire said, trying to change the subject.

  The table fell into an uncomfortable silence again for a few minutes until the Tinker started asking Hector questions again about his water system and whether he could find enough parts to build another.

  I watched them discuss the water system back and forth, and wondered, ‘Why did they let him travel, what was in it for them?” It couldn’t be trade; they just took whatever they needed. How much did I really know about him? He seemed like a nice guy, quick with a funny story and Susan couldn’t stop smiling at him, but really? What did we know?

  The entire group followed him down to his wagon after dinner. Claire said that we could get to the dishes later.

  When we got to his wagon, the Tinker lowered a set of steps at the rear end and climbed inside where he split the side into two horizontal partitions, lowering one part to form a table, and another to form an overhang. The setup would protect his display if it rained.

  “In addition to the stuff you see, I offer services such as knife sharpening, Horse shoeing, and card tricks at parties,” he said with a smile. “Here my dear, for a truly wonderful and delightful dinner, a royal scarf of subtle purple tone. Made for an empress but only because they did not know of you. It has found its true home basking in your beauty.” He said to Claire, draping a stunning silk scarf over her shoulders.

  "Thank you," Claire said with a shy smile. Her fingers stroking the soft silk.

  I was sort of surprised; I didn’t think she’d like that kind of stuff. I leaned in and whispered “You do make it even more beautiful.” She looked at me in shock and then buried her head in my shoulder, right there in front of everyone. I could have lifted a building single handed, climbed a mountain, or jumped to the moon.

  The Tinker was busy passing out things to the others, packages of seeds to Margaret. He handed two Nerf guns, the multi-shot kind that fired rubber tipped foam pods to Schick/Shuck. They looked disappointed, they had crossbows, true full grown man weapons for hunting live animals.

  “You can use them indoors.” The tinker said with a knowing twinkle in his eyes. "The person with the most hits on the other wins." The boy’s faces lit of with the possibilities. I knew I’d have to restrict the activities to the apartment building.

  He turned around and dug through several boxes before coming up with two toy horses, each with long mains and tails and a miniature brush set. He passed them to Ellen and Jenny who squealed and hugged them.

  “Hector, for you, something special,” he said, reaching under the counter and pulling out a black box with wires coming out of both ends. “An AC/DC converter,” he said as he retrieved a black panel about two feet square. “And a Solar panel, figure out how to hook it up and you should be able to get enough juice to recharge flashlights and stuff.”

  “Wow, I didn’t even think about this. Maybe I could …” Hector said, his mind obviously racing with ideas. “What do you want for all this?” he asked.

  “How about those books I found earlier, and four hundred yards of fire hose?”

  “Great, we can do that,” Hector said with a huge smile, relief pouring from his body.

  The Tinker turned his attention to Susan, who seemed to relax a little when she saw that she wasn’t going to be forgotten.

  “For such a lovely woman, it’s hard to find the right item. Everything would be overwhelmed by your beauty, but I think I have just the thing,” he said, pulling out a long, velvet black box and opening it to show a gold necklace with matching bracelet and earrings. “These were worn by the Governor’s wife at the last inauguration. I picked them up the last time I was in the capitol, didn’t have any idea what I was going to do with them until I saw you. Only someone so beautiful should wear something like this,”

  Removing the necklace he smiled as he gently placed it around her neck. She removed her small diamond earrings and gingerly replaced them with the stunning golden pearls from the box, and placed the glittering gold band around her left wrist.

  Tinker pulled out a mirror from behind the counter and let her admire herself.

  “You can get tho…” Schick started to say before I squeezed his shoulder to shut him up.

  “Stay out of it.” I whispered.

  Claire and the others all told Susan how wonderful she looked. Spending several minutes admiring each other’s acquisition.

  The light was fading so people started mingling towards the front door, although I noticed Susan hanging back. “You want to come in, we’ll make up a place for you in one of the rooms I said.”

  “No, No, I usually sleep in my wagon, I have a nice set up in here, all the comforts of home. How about we go fishing tomorrow? I want to talk to you about some things,” He asked.

  “OK, tomorrow, I’ll get you real early and we can head down to the river,” I said and turned for the library, “You coming Susan?” I asked.

  “I’ll be there in a minute, I want to talk to Tinker for a little bit,” She said, looking in the wagon.

  “OK,” I said, and headed up the stairs. I knew she’d safe out here for a while.

  .o0o.

  I was up before sunrise and gathered my fishing gear, wondering what Tinker wanted to talk about. I had an idea it was about the Compound and Big Jake.

  The library was quiet, everyone still asleep, I snuck down the stair and was reaching for the front door, when it gently opened and Susan walked in carrying her tennis shoes. She was as shocked as I was to run into each other like this but she recovered quickly, I didn’t know what to say or where to look. “I’m going fishing,” I said.

  “I know,” she said, smiling like a very content woman.

  “Are you going with him?” I asked.

  Her eyes got a faraway look as she stared off into the distance. “I don’t know, he asked me too, I don’t know. We’ll see.” She seemed to come back to reality, and patted my check and then kissed me on the forehead. “Oh Kris, life is so funny some times. There was a moment when… oh well, then Claire… never mind, I don’t know what I’m going to do.” She said and turned and started walking up the stairs, those mesmerizing hips swaying back and forth.

  I pulled myself away and met Tinker outside by the wagon. He had a fishing rod and was standing there, sort of nervously, waiting to see what I was going to say. I decided to let him squirm a little, and didn’t say anything, just started walking to the river. Susan was an adult woman, she had every right to make her own decisions. It surprised me how not upset I was. Ever since that kiss with Claire, Susan hadn’t taken up as much of my imagination.

  We’d settled in on the bank and had our lines baited and out, both of us sitting there watching the wat
er roll by.

  “You know you’ve stuck a stick into a bear’s eye,” he said.

  “Didn’t have much choice, it was either that or let him take Claire and Ellen.”

  “I know, I wanted to make sure you knew what was what,” he said.

  ‘I’m not a total idiot, and I’m not some little kid, playing fort. These people needed someone to look after them, they’re no worse off, in fact, I think they’re better, and they think so too.” I knew I was getting defensive but I couldn’t stop myself. I wasn’t sure. He probably thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I hated being thought of as too young, like some kid. Didn’t he realize what was going on, how dare he judge me?

  “Okay, okay, I understand,” he said, returning to stare at the water

  “So, how many men does he have?” I asked.

  “About thirty men, he’s got three women on his own and another twelve for the rest of the men. He’ll have to leave fifteen to guard the thirty people he has working the fields. So figure fifteen that he could take with him.”

  I thought about Jenny’s Mrs. Thompson, I wondered if she was one of those twelve women. “Do you think he’ll come for sure?” I asked, and was sort of proud that I hadn’t whined about it.

  “He can’t afford not to.” Tinker said, “Plus he wants something else,” he added as he picked up his rod and started reeling it in to check the bait.

  I thought about it and figured he was right. We weren’t going to be able to avoid trouble. I wondered if it was better to split up, to let everyone find their own hiding place, maybe take Claire and Ellen to the mountains. Would she come?

  I thought about all the work we’d done, the home we’d made. It wasn’t fair, we couldn’t leave, not now, but could I risk their lives?

  Chapter Thirteen

  Susan didn’t leave with the Tinker. He hung around for three days hoping she’d change her mind. I could tell he was itching to leave though. On the third morning he hooked up his wagon, climbed onto his seat and looked down at her, giving her one last opportunity. She backed up a step and stood next to Claire, smiled and blew him a kiss.” Take care Tinker, and hurry back,” she said,

  He smiled back, a touch of regret crossing his face, and flicked the reins to start his huge horses out the fence. The boys closed the fence behind him and we all went back upstairs for breakfast. The kids teasing each other and racing up the stairs, Susan quietly followed, not talking, still part of the group.

  I was glad she stayed, and yes I had fantasies about me and her. Mostly I thought about being with Claire. That seemed like that was all I ever thought about, sometimes I thought about Susan. What can I say, I was an eighteen year old boy. I had no control over the thoughts that kept popping into my head all day.

  I couldn’t tell how Claire felt about Susan staying, or about her spending the last three nights with the Tinker. Claire didn’t talk to me very much since that kiss we shared. I’d thought everything would get easier after the kiss, instead it just got more confused, and I had no idea why. She avoided being alone with me, like she couldn’t trust me or something. She shouldn’t have felt that way, I’d never do anything to hurt her, and it upset me a little to think she thought that way.

  We fell into a nice, simple routine after the Tinker left. The discussion we had down by the river was never far from my thoughts. I decided to start making plans, going over ideas. I didn’t say anything to the others. I was worried enough though to do some scouting around, looking for options and alternatives.

  Susan, Claire, and I were sitting in the shade of the gazebo on the roof when Hector approached us, pulling an orange extension cord with his left hand, waiving at us with his right as a huge smile spread across his face. “Amigo’s, you are not going to believe this,” he said, reaching down to plug the cord into the black box the Tinker had given him.

  A reverberating base beat exploded all around us as four speakers let loose a cacophony of noise from each corner of the roof. Hector quickly ran to make some adjustments on another piece of equipment until the sound was acceptable. A popular song I remembered from the radio six or seven years ago wafted across the roof. Susan and Claire squealed like little girls and both jumped up to hug Hector, making him blush, something he says in impossible for Jewish Mexicans.

  “It took two days to charge some old car batteries enough. I ran some power cords up here and ipso facto, music. Great huh?” Hector said, having to talk a little louder over the music.

  “You are a true genius, our genius,” Susan said, giving him another hug.

  “I've missed music so much; I didn’t know how much, it’s unbelievable, thank you. Parts of me have been brought back together,” Claire said, her eyes misting a little as she started swaying in time to the music, her hips rocking back and forth, shoulders and arms twisting and accentuating her steps as she twirled about. I’d never seen Claire like this, free and happy down to her soul. I sat there and watched her, until she stopped and held out her hand for me to come join her.

  I was flummoxed, and desperately looked around for some kind of honorable exit. I don’t know the first thing about dancing, and am probably never going to learn. I looked at Susan for help. All she did was laugh and help push me onto the impromptu dance floor. Claire’s face lit up as she held my hand and twirled under it, I tried to keep some type of rhythm. Mostly I moved back and forth and watched Claire. For the first time I saw the teenager she truly was, free of worries and concerns, someone who was enjoying life at that moment. I swore to myself then and there that I’d make more of these type of memories for Claire and the others.

  It didn’t take long for the kids to make it up from the street. Ellen burst onto the roof at a full run asking “What’s that? What’s that noise?” Her eyes as large as saucers, she wore a confused but excited look and kept turning her head trying to figure out where it was coming from. Jenny had pretty much the same expression as she followed her through the roof’s door.

  They’ve never heard music before I thought in amazement. My god, they had no idea of what they’d lost. The rest of us at least had some idea, some experience, we could compare and contrast the two times. These little girls would never know which was better, would always wonder about what might have been, what came before. It was a different way of looking at the world.

  An old Chubby Checker tune came on. Where did Hector find this stuff? Susan showed the kids how to do the twist. They loved it, swinging their hips side to side, lifting a foot and seeing who could go the lowest. Even Schick/Shuck joined in the dancing, taking turns with the younger girls and trying to outdo each other.

  I sat back down and leaned over to Hector and “Thank You, this is great.” He smiled, nodded his head and closed his eyes, enjoying life.

  I looked at the group, my family. I considered all we’d accomplished, the sanctuary we had built and how it made life a little better. The chickens across the way. The bridges and gardens. I have to admit that my chest puffed out a little. I couldn’t help but be proud and I knew my dad would have been proud of me. I’d made the right choice.

  Claire sate down next to me, close, and without saying anything slipped her hand into mine and leaned against me. Life couldn’t get better than it was right at that moment.

  I sometimes think that day was the high point of the summer. Oh we’d still have a lot of good times, but that was the best, after that day, things started to turn.

  .o0o.

  I was helping Margaret tie up some tomato plants that were threatening to take over the planter when Schick came barreling onto the roof, stammering something about Shuck being missing. I had to calm him down to find out what it was all about. He looked scared and sheepish as he breathlessly told me the story. The boys had been out scavenging, and had gone a little farther than normal, about four miles from the house, out by the outskirts of town. They’d split up to search a warehouse, something they weren’t supposed to do, agreeing to meet back at the front entrance in about thirty minutes.


  Shuck had never shown up. “I searched, the place is huge, and he didn’t answer. I didn’t know what to do,” he said, looking lost and very frightened.

  I gathered Hector and Claire and every weapon we could lay our hands on and followed Schick as he started jogging towards the distant warehouse. I stopped the group when we reached the parking lot. It was empty of cars, a huge asphalt covered open space divided by thousands of fading white lines. We slowly got our breath back while I tried to get a sense of things. Everything seemed normal.

  The warehouse was huge, three stories high and several city blocks long. The building was made of cinder blocks and tan stucco, standing there like a lump on a log, quiet and imposing. Several bay doors where open and I realized why Schick had come for reinforcements, Shuck could be anywhere.

  Weak light spilled through the broken windows and open bay door. It smelled of dust and a faint mechanical oil aroma that reminded me of my dad’s workshop. The parts and inventory were stacked on giant metal platforms rising all the way to the roof. The platforms were set in squares making a grid pattern and were filled with boxes, some of them on wooden pallets and wrapped in plastic.

  “SHUCK,” Hector yelled. We all stopped moving and listened. A hollow silence answered.

  “Let’s start at one end and work our way down the rows, staying together, I don’t want to lose anyone else,” I said.

  We spaced ourselves out and started creeping down the major aisles. Occasionally someone would cry out for Shuck. We each had a powerful flashlight, using recharged batteries from Hector’s solar contraption. The rows towered over us and blocked out the weak light, I tried to read what was written on the boxes. This section was made up of car parts. My stomach hurt as I wondered what could have happened to Shuck. It wasn’t like him to get into trouble. OK sure, he could do things that were less than smart, but they were always intentional, and never anything like this.