The women went inside and gathered in the kitchen to decide what to fix for lunch. The men all went out to the front yard and stood around the porch talking. John was the only guy that chose to not participate in the conversation. Instead, he went to the side of the house where the children were happily listening to Beetle reading and sat down between his daughters. He needed to be close to them.
“I really appreciate you guys helping out today,” Harold said to his neighbors. “I don’t think we could have done it without ya’ll. I owe both of ya'll big time.”
“Glad to be of assistance,” James said. “It looks like we’re going to need each other if we’re going to make it through this alive.”
“That ain’t no lie,” Calvin said. “There ain’t no tellin’ what’s comin’ our way. We just thought it was hard to tell who you can trust before. Can you imagine how hard it’s goin’ to be now? Folks are gonna’ be real skittish about strangers from now on.”
“I just thank God for good neighbors like ya’ll,” Harold said. “If there is ever anything ya’ll need, just let me know. If I have it, it’s yours.”
“Well,” James said, “if you guys could spare a little water we could sure use it at my place. I never believed anything like this could happen and, to be completely honest, haven’t got a Plan B. We ran out of bottled water last night and I don’t know what we’re gonna’ do.”
“You got a five-gallon bucket over there?” Harold asked.
“Sure,” James said. “A couple of ‘em.”
“You can bring ‘em over here and fil ‘em up from our well any time,” Harold offered. “We have a hand pump on the well and you’ll have to pump the water yourself, but you’re welcome to it.” He knew that this neighbor and his wife were raising their grandson, who was about the same age as Ryder.
“That would be awesome,” James said. “I can pay for the water.”
“Dude,” was the response, “you just helped me bury my mother. You can have water any time you need it. When I said I owe you, I meant it. Providing you with water is the least I can do.”
“God bless you,” James said as he reached out his hand. Harold took it and shook it, cementing the gentleman’s agreement.
“Who’s that, Uncle Harold?” Jake asked, looking up the road to see a solitary man walking toward them. All three men turned to look in that direction. It was Freddie Costner, the neighbor who lived at the intersection up the road.
“Hey, Freddie,” Calvin said. “How’s things?”
Freddie approached the small group of men. “Hey Calvin,” he said. “Harold. James.” He called each man’s name as they shook hands. He turned and extended his hand to the man he didn’t recognize.
“I’m Jake,” the man said, shaking hands with the newcomer. “Pleased to meet you.”
“I was wonderin’ if you had some water to spare?” Freddie got right to the point, looking directly at Harold. “And maybe some coffee you might be willing to sell.”
“I can offer you a little water if you have a bucket to carry it in,” Harold said. “You’d have to talk to my wife about the coffee, though. I don’t mess with her kitchen or her pantry.”
“Sounds good to me,” Freddie said. “I’ll go fetch a bucket or two an’ get with your wife when I come back, if that’s alright?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Harold said.
Freddie turned and started walking away. “I’ll be back shortly,” he said over his shoulder. He never was one much for formalities.
“O. K.” said James. “I guess I better go and get my buckets, too. Gentlemen.” He nodded at the men and turned and walked in the opposite direction.
Harold looked at Calvin. “I’m sure Kay’s fixin’ something for lunch if you’d like to stay long enough to fill your belly. I know it’s not Roxie’s cooking, but it should be edible.”
“Wait ‘til I tell her what you said,” Jake joked. “You’ll be sleepin’ in the doghouse tonight.”
“You say a word to her and you’ll be sleepin’ at your own house tonight,” Harold shot back.
“Ya’ll can threaten each other all you want,” Calvin said, “I’ll choke down whatever she fixes. Anything’ll be better than what my ol’ lady would fix.”
Harold and Jake looked at Calvin with sympathy in their eyes. The often joked about their wives cooking but had a feeling that Calvin wasn’t joking.
It wasn’t but a couple of minutes before James and Freddie both came walking up the road from opposite ends. Both of them had a five-gallon bucket in each hand. Jake showed them where the well was and how to use the hand pump while Harold went inside to talk to Kay about the coffee. Calvin walked across the road to load the basket of the bike with a few things he figured he would need for his road trip.
While Ashlyn and Allie continued making sandwiches with the last of the bread, Harold pushed Allie out the back door and down the ramp. The went over where the men were filling their buckets with water.
“Harold told me you were wanting some coffee,” Kay said to Freddie, who was waiting his turn for the pump.
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered. “I’d be willing to pay twice what it sells for.”
“Money wouldn’t do us much good now, would it?” Kay replied. “What you got that you’d be willing to trade for enough grounds for two pots of coffee?”
“I like barter,” Freddie said. “Let me think a second.” James was watching and listening to what was going on.
“Looking at the stack of cans over there,” James said, “I’d guess somebody here likes Dr. Pepper. I’d give you a case of Dr. Pepper for a pound of coffee.”
“Whoa,” said Freddie. “Wait just a minute. I was tryin’ to talk a deal with the lady.”
“Make it a half-pound of coffee for the case and you’ve got a deal,” Kay said. Freddie jerked his head around and looked at Kay.
“Deal,” said James. “I’ll bring the drinks over when I get through here.”
“And I’ll have the coffee weighed up and in a baggie when you get back,” Kay said.
“What just happened here?” Freddie asked, looking back and forth at the two people who had just sealed their deal. “What about me?”
“What you got to trade?” Kay asked.
“How about a four-pound bag of sugar?” he asked. Kay stared at him and didn’t say anything. “And a bag of flour.”
“For a half-pound?” Kay asked. Freddie was hoping to get a full pound of coffee, but he knew he was dealing with a hard woman. He sure wanted some coffee.
“Deal,” he said.
“I’ll have yours weighed and bagged when you get back,” she replied. “Is there anything else you men need?” Both men shook their heads side to side.
“You want to take me back inside now where I can bag up their coffee?” she asked Harold.
“Yes, Dear,” he answered and pushed her back into the house.
“Is she always that tough?” Freddie asked when Kay was out of sight.
“You bet she is,” Jake said honestly. Kay’s reputation with barter had just been established. It was also established that coffee was the new gold.
Chapter 6
Lindsey landing
The common area of the wood-frame house was full as the group of people gathered together for a lunch of sandwiches and potato salad. For the kids, this was a great meal. They had their choice of pb&j, ham and cheese or bologna. Everyone drank either Kool-Aid or water.
Harold, Jake and Calvin ate on the front porch where Harold could complete the transactions involving the coffee with the neighbors. He was glad his wife was watching out for him and made the trade for the Dr. Peppers. He could give up his coffee but not his favorite cold drink. He knew he would have to hide those and ration himself very carefully.
Before they were even through eating, Calvin said he had to get going and that he sure appreciated everything his neighbors had done for him. He told Harold that if there was anything he needed from his place he was welcome to
it. That was a generous offer since he had piles and piles of treasures spread out all over his two-acre yard. There were several outbuildings that were filled to the brim with things that even Calvin didn’t know about or remember.
With no fanfare, Calvin mounted the three-wheeled bicycle and rode away.
Allie walked out onto the front porch and joined the two men who were finishing up their lunch. “Burn a bowl?” she asked. Both men nodded. The trio walked around the house and made their way to the little patch of woods where the familiar stump waited patiently for them.
Harold reached into the breast pocket of his overalls and pulled out his trusty pipe. He twisted open the top and made sure it was sufficiently full before replacing the top and flicking his Bic. He then passed them to his left, holding his breath until the smoke in his lungs expanded to their limit and caused him to exhale.
Harold only took one hit but Jake and Allie each had a couple. They were much younger, after all. Peering out through the brush, Allie spotted motion in the garden. She pointed that way as she handed the spent pipe back to Harold. Three pairs of eyes looked over to the garden and saw a stranger by the tomato plants, picking cherry tomatoes off the bush one by one and popping them into his mouth.
“Hey!” Harold shouted as he walked out of the woods, followed by the younger couple. The young thief on the other side of the garden looked up and then took off running in the opposite direction, dropping cherry tomatoes as he sprinted away.
“Looks like we need to build a fence around the garden to keep thieves from stealing our food,” Harold said. “I worked too hard on this garden to provide for my family to sit back and let stranger reap the rewards from it. I know that I’m supposed to share the bounty of the harvest, but even God doesn’t approve of thieves.”
“I saw that pile of t-posts and wire,” Jake said. “Is that what you want to build the fence with?”
“I guess the Lord provided those materials for this reason,” Harold answered. “I’m not too sure that a fence will stop everyone from getting in the garden, but at least it may deter most. I guess there’s no time like the present.” He looked around the garden to make sure there were no other intruders and then started walking up toward the back yard where the posts and fencing materials were stacked.
“I’ll go inside and get Beetle to help me harvest whatever is ready to be picked out of the garden,” Allie said. “It doesn’t look like there’s a whole lot, but we should make sure to get what we can before anyone else has a chance to take it.”
“Sounds good, Sweetheart,” Jake said. He held his wife’s hand as they followed Harold toward the house. As they walked, they could hear a vehicle driving up the road toward the house. It turned out to be the same old truck that had left hours earlier. It looked like there were more people in the truck now than when it had left.
The people inside the house all came outside to find out who was driving up. As they pulled in beside the house everyone was pleased to see that their group had just grown in size.
Roxie bounded out of the driver side door with a big smile on her face. “Look at what I found,” she said.
“Hey little brother,” a familiar voice said as he bounced out of the back of the truck. It was Ray Lynn, Harold’s older brother. He lived in Caney Head and frequently came for visits. He had a backpack slung over his right shoulder and was carrying a rifle in his left hand. He looked like he had just come from deep in the back woods; which he had.
Harold walked over and gave his brother a hug. That was an unusual greeting for the brothers. Ray Lynn knew that something must be up. Harold pulled his brother away from the crowd and to the back of the house where he told him about their mother. Ray Lynn was disappointed, but not the least bit surprised. They had all known the day was coming.
Two other people climbed from the back of the truck, Tommy and Ellen. Tommy was John’s dad. The two men also embraced. Tommy was concerned with the burns on his son’s head and hands right away. John assured him that they looked much worse than they really were.
Arlene walked around from the passenger side of the truck and over to John. “Mind if I take a look at those burns?” she asked with concern in her eyes. John looked at her like she was crazy.
“It’s aight,” Roxie said,” she’s a nurse – and a dang good one, too.”
John seemed to accept that and relaxed a bit. “It’d be nice if you’d take a look,” Ashlyn interjected. “My grumpy husband would appreciate it, wouldn’t you, Honey?”
John recognized that tone. “Yes, ma’am,” he said as he smiled at his loving wife. “I’d appreciate that a lot.”
Ashlyn grabbed her husband by the shirt and pulled him toward the house. John followed without a word. Arlene grinned and followed the happy couple. She could sense the love between them, even through the tough facade they both projected.
Tommy and Ellen stood there, apparently not sure if they should follow his son to face the two women or find something else to do. They opted for the latter.
“Where did you find those strange people?” Kay asked from her perch on a landing on the wheelchair ramp.
“Oh,” said Ellen, “We was just out for a stroll and this crazy woman almost ran us over. Guess she felt guilty and offered us a ride since we was both headin’ in the same direction.”
“I didn’t know old people could move so fast,” Roxie added. “Found the other one in the parkin’ lot at Caney Head Assembly handin’ out beef jerky to people. It sure was good jerky.”
“Ya’ll come on in and get yourself something to drink,” Kay said. “I’m sure John is gonna’ need somebody to be on his side in there.”
Tommy and Ellen started walking toward the house. “I brought some stuff with me,” Roxie said. “Where should I put this stuff?”
Kay looked over and finally realized that the back of the truck was full. “Better ask Harold when he’s through talkin’ to his brother,” she said. “Come on in and tell me about your trip for now.”
Roxie walked inside with the others. The kids were all playing on the swings. They were obviously having a great time together. The little boy from the end of the road had joined them.
Once inside, after everyone had a jar of something to drink (everyone was using mason jars since there were plenty of those around), Roxie talked about the morning’s adventure taking Levi home. Surprisingly, the trip was pretty uneventful. The people they passed along the road all watched them pass by, some waving, others not. Nobody attempted to stop them or impede their travel.
They had gone to Levi’s mother’s house first. She was so drunk that Roxie wasn’t even sure if she understood about her son’s death. She spent more time asking if they had anything to drink than anything else. She didn’t want them to unload the coffin, saying that it “creeped her out.”
Betty Jo, on the other hand, seemed heartbroken. She was so distraught that they almost didn’t want to leave Levi with her. If her parents hadn’t been there to console her, Roxie figured, that poor girl would have gone off the deep end right before their eyes.
The girl’s parents were very appreciative to Arlene for making sure Levi completed his journey home. There were many tears and hugs. Roxie could tell that Arlene had created a strong bond with the dead boy in the short time they were together, but Levi was a good kid, so she could understand it. Arlene cried as they unloaded the coffin from the back of the truck, but she regained her composure and comforted Betty Jo before they parted ways.
They then drove to Roxie’s house to check on Kenneth. He still hadn’t made it home, so she loaded up all of the food and drinks in the house, as well as two tubs full of clothes, three or four gas cans full of fuel and a few other things in the back of the pickup. The heaviest thing, and hardest to load, was the freezer full of still-frozen meat. She figured it would come in handy.
She left Kenneth a note telling him that she was at work (he would know where she was with those words) and to come get her when he got home. She
hated to say goodbye to her house, but she knew she would be better off at Kay’s place because they had prepared for disasters like the one they were going through now; more or less. And they were the only people she knew that had fresh water available.
After leaving Roxie’s house, the duo took a different route than they had come from. When they passed by the Assembly of God church, they had noticed a strange man with long hair and a disfigured cowboy hat standing in the parking lot with several people around him. He was handing out baggies of something from his backpack.
As they drove closer, Roxie recognized the man. They stopped and asked him if he needed a ride to his brother’s house. He gladly accepted. He handed each of them a baggie before he climbed in back of the truck. The baggies were full of beef jerky. Both ladies had emptied their bags before they reached the highway several miles up the road. It was good.
They were almost back to Kay’s house when they met up with Tommy and Ellen. When Roxie made the turn off the highway and onto the blacktop road leading to Kay’s place, the walking couple were in the middle of the road heading west. She slammed on her breaks, almost running over them. If Ray Lynn hadn’t been hanging on he would have flown out of the back of the truck.
“You think you could take me to my place to grab a few things?” Tommy asked after Roxie had finished her recap. “That is, if there’s room for us to stay here and there’s a place for us.”
“Of course, ya’ll can stay here,” Kay answered. “I’m sure we can find room.”
“I’ll have ta ask if I can borrow the truck,” Roxie said. “I ain’t real sure who I should ask, though.” About that time Ashlyn, John and Arlene walked into the room from the back bedroom.
“Is that your pickup, Arlene?” Roxie asked.
“Well, I guess it really belongs to Bailey,” she replied, “or Beetle, or whatever ya’ll call her. She’s the one who, um, confiscated it from the two boys who had it first.”
All eyes turned toward Arlene. Most had questioning looks on their face.
“We needed a way to get Levi some help and a couple of boys were trying to, um, be friendly with her,” Arlene tried to explain. “They weren’t really friendly, though. She kinda’ convinced them to let us use their truck with a little help from my friends, Smith and Wesson.”
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