by T. Rudacille
***
James returned just as the sun was beginning to set. I had been in the throes of nicotine withdrawal for several hours before a fellow smoker took pity on me and offered one of his own cigarettes. I was just finishing it when I saw the group returning. They were talking loudly and hauling several bags. After willingly changing my eyes over to enhance my vision, I stood up from the porch-swing I had been sitting on. I needed to make sure he was with them. They were carrying on enthusiastically, clearly bonding over their joint mission and raving enthusiastically about their huge load and safe return. I saw James carrying on with Quinn and some other guys. I turned and walked over to the swing again after flicking out my cigarette.
“Hi, Brynna.” The men and women greeted me as they passed. Quinn outstretched his fist to me; I pounded my own against it and actually chuckled softly.
“Yeah, I’ll be in in a minute.” James called after them when they said that they were getting dinner. He sauntered over to me, grasping a pack of cigarettes in his hand. After sitting down beside me, he opened the pack and extracted two. I took one when he offered it to me and smiled slightly when he struck a match and lit the end of mine before lighting his own.
“So, I can see that you are enjoying camaraderie amongst your band of brothers.”
“And sisters. There are ladies in our group. This is an equal opportunist establishment, my dear.”
“I know it is. There are guys working in the kitchen and cleaning, too. I do so enjoy when traditional gender roles are trounced in favor of new-age equality.”
James laughed as he slid his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him. I nestled my head against his chest.
“I’m sorry,” He told me softly, “I shouldn’t have said the things I said.”
I looked up at him.
“I am sorry, too. You are right about Don and this place. I suppose that while I am looking down upon those willing to unwisely take this arrangement at face value, I am doing just that. It is hypocritical, like you said.”
“But my reaction was over the top. And calling you cold-hearted…”
“And a female dog…”
He looked down at me and I grinned up at him. He exhaled smoke as he laughed.
“That, too... It was wrong of me, and I’m sorry.”
“We were both very upset. You have never given me reason to believe that you speaking to me that way is going to become commonplace. I am just so glad you’re back,” I rested my head on his chest again and held him tighter, “I was worried about you today.”
“Were you?” He asked, sounding bemused.
“Very much so. You know how I need to keep my eye on the people close to me constantly. When you all aren’t in my sight, the darkly creative side of me churns out countless horrendous scenarios. That tendency was hard enough to cope with on Earth. Now, we face threats every day. They are threats that we are unfamiliar with, also, which heightens my level of anxiety substantially. We are constantly in danger of being killed.”
“I know we are.”
“So, tell me news of the outside world, Vespucci.”
“Vespucci? That's an interesting choice.”
“Well, he did discover America. Would you prefer that I call you 'Columbus?’ I am sure you are aware of the rumor that has long circulated about him.”
“I am aware. Vespucci is fine.”
I giggled softly and closed my eyes, being soothed so wonderfully by the way he was rubbing my back.
“Alright, then. Spill the details of your brave excursion.”
“Well, the campsite is a ghost town, obviously. The bodies are still there. We all feel awful about that. They’re going to ask Don if we can go back and bury them.”
“And you are not angry that they are requesting Don’s permission to do something that should have been done immediately? Actually, that they are requesting his permission at all?”
“No. I’m not mad. I’m done being mad. I know that we can’t trust him, at least not completely. But I’ll give the guy a chance. That’s what you were suggesting last night, I know. I agree with you. We need to give this a chance.”
“Indeed, we do. What else happened?”
“The place has been turned over by the Bachums’ people, I assume. Tents were destroyed. The ship was broken into.”
“Well, they must not have stolen all the supplies. You all were hauling plenty of bags.”
“They didn’t take everything. There’s so much stuff down in those storage rooms, baby. It will take weeks to bring it all back. We’re going out again tomorrow but we're bringing the wheelbarrows with us. We’ll be able to transport even more than we did today.”
“What about the guns? Did they get those, too?”
“They cleaned out most of them, yeah. But we managed to find five.”
“Just five?” I looked up at him in slight alarm, “You mean to tell me that those radically religious dimwits have the rest of the guns?”
“That is what I mean to tell you. It’s unfortunate…”
“It is more than unfortunate. They could storm in here any day and we would not stand a chance!”
“They’re not going to do that, though.”
“Really? That is exactly what I would instruct my empty-headed minions to do, if I were directing their little Guerilla Bible Club.”
“The fact that they’re a Bible Club might work in our favor, if you…” James started but upon seeing the look that I gave him, he backtracked. “Right.”
“You know exactly what I am going to say, so I am not going to say it aloud, lest I wish to become very irritated. Of course, it goes both ways, doesn’t it? Don’s group seems to be all the people who don’t care about religion or government or anything at all, really. That can be just as dangerous as the other extreme.”
“It can,” James agreed, “But let’s not worry until we have to worry, okay?” I looked at him for a long moment. “Okay? Okay?” I smiled, laid my head against his chest and closed my eyes when he began to soothingly rub my back again. My arms tightened around his middle. “Let’s just enjoy this charade of safety and security for as long as humanly possible.”
“When you put it like that, you make it very difficult for me to pretend.”
“I apologize for that from the bottom of my heart, my dear.”
“You do not, you terrible scourge of a man.”
“I do so, you abominable wench.” It was not even a second after the words had left his mouth that we were doubled over, laughing loudly and hysterically. “That was so bad. I'm sorry, baby...” He managed to say as he continued to laugh.
“Oh, my God...” I was wiping the tears of pure, joyful hysteria from my eyes. “That was so boldly simplistic and impassively spoken...”
“What?!”
“Guys!” Violet came running onto the porch. We both jumped up, all signs of our merriment from just a moment before erased. Given her abrupt arrival, we thought that there was some terrible emergency unfolding inside.
“What's happening?” I demanded quickly.
“Nothing,” Violet chuckled to herself, “Everything is cool. Dinner’s ready. What are you two carrying on about out here?”
“Oh, nothing, darling,” I replied as I wiped at my eyes again, “James is very humorous.” I held James’s hand as he flicked his cigarette out with the other. Once the ember was off, he put the cigarette on the end of his thumb and prepared to flick it onto the lawn. “Don’t you dare litter!”
“Whoa! Pump your brakes, crazy!” He exclaimed as he and Violet both laughed, “A raging environmentalist, my girlfriend is.”
“Your inverted syntax, I love, Mr. Maxwell.”
“You love Mr. Maxwell?” He asked, and I reached back to slap him lightly in the chest several times.
“You are hell-bent on driving me insane!” I exclaimed but I couldn’t fight the smile that had spread across my lips. He always brought out that breezy, easy-going side of me. It was refreshing after
so many years of smiling only when absolutely necessary and laughing never.
He was walking behind me with his arms wrapped around my neck. He kissed my cheek as we hobbled along towards the dining room.
“You’ve been driving me insane since the day we met. This is just revenge.”
“Yeah?” I asked, “I hate you.”
We had reached the dining room. He kissed my cheek one last time, prompting an ugly glare to come our way from Elijah. We were standing in the doorway, observing the dinner scene. Everyone was crowded around at least fifty tables that had been arranged in a long, curved line. The massive dining room was full to the brim with the people of the house. The laughter and loud discussions of those great many individuals filled our ears as we noted the warm light cast by the torches that lined the wall and the orange glow of the sunset streaming through the many windows. The sight would have made an interesting, very aesthetically-pleasing painting. I could not help but feel the faint glow of hope inside of me that everything would stay picturesque, just like that. I was amazed by how soothing the sight of those people and that place was.
“You hate me?”
“Yes, I do.” I replied, but I was still observing the room.
“That’s very sad.” He told me dryly before whispering in my ear, “Because I love you.”
I actually gasped out loud. He took my hand and led me into the dining room before I could respond. When we sat down beside Penny and Violet, he did not look at me. I was incredulous at his confession. I thought that it would be ages before he felt the same level of affection for me that I felt for him. My heart soared and I bit my lip, trying not to beam like a moronic simpleton.
Randomly, I reached over, turned his head gently and kissed him.
“I love you, too.”
“That doesn’t make you want to run for the hills?” He asked with a wry smile.
I shook my head.
“No. You are stuck with me, Mr. Maxwell.”
“Well, Ms. Olivier,” His lips grazed mine for another sweet, gentle kiss, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”