When everyone was done eating, the tables were pushed back enough to create a dance floor. Again, my stereo was used, but this time to play dance music. The three newlywed couples got up for their first dance together. After a few minutes, other couples got up to dance as well. Even the kids were dancing. People who were not dancing were sitting in little groups talking and smiling. I was having a grand time rocking my grandson and watching people dance. Billy and Allie Roland looked like they must have done a lot of dancing in the past, as they were really good. It was fun watching my friends and their husbands dance, and seeing both my sons with their beautiful wives dancing up a storm. Lynn and Top were sitting in one corner, having an animated conversation with a lot of smiling and laughing. It was good to see Lynn relaxed and happy. Lionel and Kiara were dancing together and made an incredibly striking couple. Red and Zoe were really cute, as Zoe looked like she was afraid she would hurt Red's bad shoulder, and he was trying to be macho about it. Even our teens were dancing with each other. After a while, Tom came over to sit next to me, and we chatted about the dancers, the evening, and how successful our Christmas plans had been. A few minutes later, Stacy came over to claim her son, and Tom asked me to dance. The Moody Blues "Nights in White Satin" was playing, and Tom said, "I know this is one of your favorite songs, so you have to dance!" All of a sudden, I felt like I was back at my senior prom, and just relaxed and put my head down on Tom's shoulder. We danced through that song, then through "Unchained Melody" by the Rightous Brothers, and finally through "You Are So Beautiful" by Joe Cocker. I was having a lovely time dancing with Tom. I was only a little surprised when the song ended and Tom leaned over and gave me a gentle kiss. Then, everyone applauded. I did not realize that by the last song, we were the only ones dancing!
It was getting late, and the little kids were starting to get sleepy, so everyone started to clean up. Our three wedding couples left to go have some private time together, since honeymooon trips to Hawaii were not too likely right now. The older kids took the younger kids back to the house to get ready for bed, and the rest of us moved tables back and cleaned up from the wedding feast. It was a wonderful day, and I was sad to see it end.
Late that evening, I was sitting in my office enjoying a quiet cup of tea, and Tom came in. "Denise, I am so glad I found you here. I wanted to give you something, but I wanted to give it to you in private." He handed me a small box, about four inches square and tied with a ribbon. I looked at him questioningly, and he said, "Go on, open it!" I slowly undid the ribbon and lifted the top. Inside the box, sitting on a piece of red velvet was a beautiful filigree bracelet. Made of fine strands of silver twisted and formed in a delicately intricate pattern, it was very elegant and quite beautiful. "Oh, my word, Tom, this is amazing! But..."
He put his finger on my lips, and said, "No buts. I saw this when we were in Asheville, and knew it was made for you. Merry Christmas, my dear." I could feel my eyes filling with tears as he put the bracelet on my wrist, and suddenly Tom put his arms around me and held me close. I pulled back, looked at Tom, and suddenly realized that Tom was becoming more than "just" a friend, and that my feelings for him had grown a lot. He smiled at me, kissed me gently, and then told me to sleep well and we would talk in the morning. Before I could say a word, he was gone.
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The next morning, I wore my beautiful new bracelet to breakfast. Of course, the girls noticed it right away and immediately pounced on me, wanting to know where I got it. I told them that Tom gave it to me last night, and Marcie exclaimed, "It s about darned time! That man is crazy about you and it is about time you noticed!"
I had to laugh. I told her that I guess I was a slow learner, but I was catching up fast. Everyone started talking at once, but I put my hand up and told them now was not the time, as I had a lot to do, and we could all chat later. The truth was, though, I wasn't talking to anyone until Tom and I could talk. I grabbed a biscuit and a cup of tea and headed to my office, shutting the doors behind me.
A few minutes later, Tom came into the office with his tea, sitting down across the desk from me. We both looked at each other and started laughing. I thanked him again for the bracelet, and he reached over and took my hand. "Denise, you have always been my friend. Being here with you through all of this trouble, though, I realize you have become more than a friend to me. I care about you very much, and I think you care about me, too. I'd like to see where this takes us."
I looked at him and smiled. "I have been so focused on our survival through all of this, that I failed to see what was right under my nose. I care a lot about you, too, and would like you to be more than a friend." I pointed to my bracelet and asked, "Does this mean we are going steady?" Tom broke out in laughter.
"I guess it does! Are you ready to face the day, as well as all the people who have been watching us through the French doors?" I turned around, and there were at least seven or eight people in the living room watching us and grinning. I turned back to Tom and winked at him, and then stood and kissed him full on the lips. Both of us were trying to look romantic and not giggle, without much success. We turned toward the doors and everyone had mysteriously taken off. Tom smiled and suggested we needed to practice that more and maybe this evening we could find the time to do that. I told him it was a splendid idea, and that I was looking forward to spending some time with him this evening after dinner.
For the rest of the day I could tell the girls wanted to talk, but were afraid to bring up the topic, and I just kept my thoughts to myself and kept a mysterious smile on my face. I needed to keep these new feelings to myself for just a little while until I could work my way through them.
Chapter 23
The weeks after Christmas were busy on the farm. Home schooling all of the kids took on a new life after the holiday, and everyone was involved. We assimilated the animals scavanged from our neighbor's farm, and began planning our crops for the spring. It was still too cold and snowy to start putting up the greenhouses we bought on our trip to Asheville, so instead we mapped out our gardens and drew up plans to build additional living quarters. We knew we would need to go into town to get supplies to build, and we were not sure when it would be safe to do that.
Meanwhile, my relationship with Tom was blossoming. I dreaded talking to the boys because I did not know how they would feel about me embarking on a relationship, but when we finally sat down and talked, I learned that both Jon and Chris were thrilled that Tom and I were together. I was afraid they would think I was trying to replace their father, and they both told me I was being silly.
Chris grabbed my hand, and said, "Mom, we've been waiting for you and Tom to get together since even before all of this happened. You are good together, and he makes you happy. We know that Dad will always have a place in your heart, but it is time you moved on and we absolutely approve." Of course, that brought tears to my eyes. Then Jon added, "We've already had this talk with Tom and gave him our blessing, so what are you getting all weepy about? You are too young to spend the rest of your life by yourself, and we've got better things to do than to take care of an old spinster mother." He started laughing as he hugged me. "Go be happy, Mom!" I hugged them both. I am so blessed!
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By the last week of January, our soldiers decided it was time they checked out Riverdale to see what was left of the town. The snow had finally ended, and it was mostly melted, so they thought the streets would be passable. We had no idea if the gang was still in town, but we knew we had not seen any evidence of them out near us. We all wanted to go to town with them, but Mark correctly stated that the first trip to town needed to be conducted like a military mission, and that only his Rangers would go. They got the MRAP cleaned up, put the M2 Browning back on, and loaded their combat packs. They set out early in the morning, and promised to call in periodically during the day to let us know what they were finding.
Their first call came about forty minutes after they left to let us know they were on the outskirts o
f Riverdale. They said they did not see a soul on the way to town, and only saw one or two places that looked like people were living there. Their plan was to observe the town for a while before moving in.
Their next call was two hours later. They had moved into town and were in the hospital parking lot. The hospital looked as though it had been bombed and then burned, with windows blown out and some of the walls caved in. They still had not seen anyone on the streets, although there was some evidence of people being in town. They also saw a few stray dogs roaming the streets.
After observing for a while, they said they were going to move to the southern side of the city. This part of town used to be the rougher side of town, with most of the bars, clubs, and cheap hotels. Mark said they would call again in two more hours.
Two hours passed, and then three, and still no word. Patty was chewing her nails worrying, until finally the radio squawked. We were relieved to hear Mark report that they were all fine, but they had found the gang – at least what was left of it. As the MRAP rolled down the city street, about thirty gang members came pouring out of one of the bars. Instead of attempting to flag the vehicle down and talk to the soldiers, they came out shooting. Of course, the MRAP is heavily armored and their bullets didn't do anything except give the guys inside headaches, but it did inspire Jimbo Wyatt to open up with the M2. There was not a lot left of the gang after they were sprayed with a few thousand 50 caliber rounds. Once the Rangers were confident the majority of the gang had been put down, they left the MRAP and went into the bar to see if there were any gang members left. The two gang members who tried to defend the bar did not have a chance. The Rangers were horrified, though, to find four women tied up and held as prisoners in a back room. The women were filthy and had been grossly abused by the gang. As soon as they were untied, the men tried to offer the women food and water, but the four women said all they wanted was to get back to their homes and see if any of their families had survived. The Rangers loaded the women into the MRAP and drove them to their farm south of town. It was hard to get the big MRAP in through the narrow lane to the farm, but as they got close, the women were ecstatic to see that the farm had survived. The MRAP stopped at a barricade, and two men called out to them to ask what they wanted. One of the women shrieked, as she recognized her husband's voice. Mark called out that he was opening the door to let Laura out, and to please not shoot. Laura ran to her husband, and Cindy, Julie, and Debra followed her. For women who had been held hostage, starved, and abused, they sure ran fast down the farm lane to get to their families! Mark said that they were on their way back, and would be at the farm in an hour or two and would give us all a complete report of what they found when they got back.
When the guys arrived back at the farm, everyone wanted to hear about their adventure. They reported that other than the gang that had been holed up on the south side of town, the rest of the town seemed just about deserted. There was a lot of damage to the town, but some of the stores not in the center of the city seemed to be in decent shape. They specifically checked the lumberyard, and surprisingly, it looked like it had been left alone. The big hardware store also looked like it was not in bad shape, although it did have some damage. They also drove past some of the homes belonging to members of the group. The sherrif's office had been destroyed, and the entire neighborhood had been burned to the ground. Marcie was in tears to hear her home was gone, but Frank reminded her that everything important to them was right here on the farm. Likewise, the condos near the hospital had also burned. Samantha just shrugged and said there was nothing there for her anyway.
Overall, Mark and his troops decided it would be safe for them to take small groups into town to scavange for items we needed to continue to survive. They suggested we make a list of our top priorities so that the first couple of trips could be planned. We all discussed priorities, and decided our first priority should be to get as much lumber and construction materials as we could find so that we could start building additional places for people to live. Since the hardware store and the lumberyard were in pretty good shape, we ought to get what we can from there first. A second priority would be to see what we could find for clothing for all of our new folks who did not bring a lot of clothes with them. Third, we needed more beds and more furniture, especially once we started building additional residences. Fourth, we needed more fuel if we could find any. That included diesel, propane, and even gasoline. Fifth, if there was feed left in the feed store, we should try to get what we can. Then, we had a list of other things that would make our lives easier over the coming years. Naturally, we wanted to scavange anything available: food, medical supplies, paper products, fabric and other sewing tools, garden supplies, seeds, animals, ammunition, baby supplies, cleaning products, school books, microscopes and other science equipment, and the list kept going on and on.
We planned our first trip to the lumberyard and hardware store. All of the Rangers would go, along with Tom, Tim, Marty, Jose, Red, Kiara, and me. The Rangers would hook their trailer onto the MRAP, and we would take Tom's box truck with a trailer, Tom's pick up with a trailer, James' truck with his 20' enclosed trailer, and Frank's truck with a trailer. The convoy to the lumber store was pretty solemn. We passed the neighboring farm that had been burned out, and as we entered the town, we saw the results of the violence that had taken over the town. We only saw one other vehicle moving, and they were headed the opposite direction. They sped up and passed us quickly without looking at us or waving or making any other kind of contact. There was destruction everywhere, and it was awful to see.
We arrived at the lumberyard and were very happy that although the doors had been shattered, the store itself looked pretty much undamaged. Since Tim, Tom, Marty, and Jose were most familiar with the lumberyard, they mapped out the various areas the night before and all of us had specific products to look for. The Rangers would take turns keeping watch outside and helping us load items into the trucks and trailers. Kiara and Red would head to the electrical department while the rest of us would start with lumber. We hoped that there would be a forklift to help us load maximum amounts in the shortest time. Once we got as much lumber loaded as we could, we each had individual assignments. My assignment was to fill as many carts as I could with nails, screws, hinges, door knobs, locks, and other hardware. Once I was done with that, I was to load flat carts with boxes of flooring. Tom would head to the roofing department and fill up as many flats as he could with roofing materials. Tim would head to the plumbing department to get pipes, fittings, faucets, toilets, sinks and other plumbing supplies. Marty was chosen to load as many flats as possible with insulation. Jose was assigned to get siding, doors, and windows. The good thing was, as soon as we brought something to the front of the store, the Rangers were right there to take it and get it loaded. We were also lucky to find a forklift that worked, so we were able to load a lot of the heavy lumber pretty quickly. We spent about seven hours in the lumberyard and it seemed like we were able to get everything we wanted - enough to build quite a few houses. Of course, that makes it sound like the shelves were full, and they were not. I would guess that there was about fifty percent of the merchandise normally found in that store. Still, for us, it was a lot of stuff, and we needed it all! We were able to clean out a lot of areas, but we still had some room left in the trailers, so some of the group headed to the garden area to get bags of fertilizer, seeds, wheelbarrows and garden carts, shovels, and hoses. Kiara and I went to the cleaning products area and emptied the shelves of any cleaning products that were left. We also swung by the rug department and filled a flat with as many area rugs as we could manage. Those would be nice on cold basement floors in the wintertime. The two of us were also able to get an entire roll of wall-to-wall carpeting. Our rationale was we could use it in the pole barn.
Finally, the Rangers told us that we couldn't fit anything else in the trucks and trailers, and it was time to head home. We had a quiet trip back, and everyone was astounded at the volume of stuff
we were able to find just at the lumberyard. It took everyone's help and more than a few hours to unload all of the stuff we were able to get. Judy, of course, was right there taking inventory and keeping our records straight. Knowing exactly what we had would help us when we started planning exactly what we would build.
A few days later, we headed to the furniture stores and to several clothing stores. This time, in addition to the same crew as last time, Jon and Chris both came, as did Lionel, Amy, and Lynn. We went to the furniture store first. They did not have a lot left in the showroom, but we found a warehouse behind the store and that was pretty much untouched. We were able to get plenty of beds, chests, tables, couches, and chairs. While the men were loading furniture, we girls were able to grab many packages of bed linens, blankets, and even a few cartons of pillows. The men loaded every single mattress in the storeroom, too.
After the furniture store, we headed to the Walmart in town. There was a lot of damage there, especially on the side of the building that had the pharmacy and the groceries. The Rangers cleared the building for us first, and warned us that there were quite a few bodies in various places in the store. We again split up into a couple of teams. My team went to the clothing aisles, where we took all of the socks, underwear, shirts, pants, and sweaters we could find in both adult and kid sizes. Since it was fall when the collapse occurred, there were still jackets and coats on the racks. After we filled quite a few carts with clothing, we went to the shoe aisle and took whatever shoes, boots, and slippers were left on the shelves.
From the shoe department, we stopped in the baby aisle. There was barely anything left there, but we did get about a cart full of baby clothes and toys, a couple of car seats, four high chairs, and some baby wipes that were hidden under a shelf. We then headed over to fabrics and took as many bolts of sturdy fabric as we could. Amy grabbed an empty cart and started filling it up with thread, needles, buttons, zippers, and other things that we would need to begin making our own clothing. After fabrics, we took our full carts to the front to be loaded and then headed to the houseware department with empty carts. We loaded every towel, washcloth, blanket, sheet, and pillowcase that we could find. We also grabbed all of the shower curtains and shower rods, as well as toilet paper holders, towel racks, and soap dishes.
Premonitions (Book 1): The Farm Page 24