“You really think this isn’t going to go back to normal?” She asks, wide eyed with fear.
“We just don’t know.” I shake my head, still trying to absorb the possibilities, still shocked. Going back in time to living like Laura Ingalls isn’t what I’d call fun. “It’s mind boggling just trying to absorb the possibilities. We have to plan for the worst, put up as much food as possible.”
“I’m sorry, Mom.” She hangs her head as I reach over, pulling her into a hug.
“I know, sweetie. I know. I love you.”
We head back in to find they’ve divided up into two groups, one to load food into the cellar, the other to make pickled beets. Jedaiah is on a stool “helping”.
I head down to the cellar with a box, nearly bumping into Jose on the way out. “How’s the organizing going?” He asks, touching my arm.
“The cellar is getting pretty full,” I acknowledge. “Since cold weather is coming, we could probably store food in the front half of the chicken coup or maybe in your shop?”
“Sure, if necessary. You can store stuff in neighboring houses,” he reminds me.
“What are you guys working on?” I ask him.
“We’re digging a well,” he says. “You always wanted to, so we figured we’d do it now while the government is too busy to care.” He laughs. We talked about digging a well long before this. “Luckily, I researched this before the flu so I think we’ll find water. Rob and I stopped on the way to get a drilling machine.” I notice how filthy he is.
“Could I get some water? We’ll build a reservoir if we don’t find water,” Jose explains. “Worst comes to worst, we’ll have to retrieve water from the creek. We’ll find a way.”
“I appreciate your determination.” I hand him a glass of water, appreciate his hard work. It seems so much easier to live with him now, in this crisis. With community around us, he can do his traditional work, and I can do mine with help. It reminds me why it worked so well in the beginning when the kids were young. In those days I fought postpartum depression because being a homemaker with a baby kept me isolated. Now, we have this community banding together. I’ve noticed Eli and Dixie flirting with each other, Simon and Morgan also.
“Well, your cooking is amazing,” he emphasizes his compliment with a steady gaze, one he’s rarely used before. “I knew I had it good when we were married but I never expressed it enough. You cook like a chef in an expensive restaurant. I’m glad to be back under your roof.” He’s touching my arm again, causing a flutter in my belly.
“Thank you. It’s nice to hear.” That’s putting it mildly. “I better check that we have meat defrosting, speaking of dinner!” I head into the kitchen. “Did you guys get something out for dinner while we were gone?”
“We did.” Gracie points to it. “We got out ground beefalo to make tacos. We can make fresh salsa and guacamole. We’ve got the last beets in the canner so we could start cooking.” Gracie knows my ways.
“That’s right! We got a case of avocados!” I’m excited just thinking about it. It’s fun to cook with friends. “We should have a party. We have chips, guacamole, salsa. We can make a bean dip. We have sour cream! We have tortillas. Let’s do it! Maybe after dinner we can dance and play Cards Against Humanity! We might as well have fun!”
“Want ice cream!” Jedaiah adds.
“Wow! This is my lucky day!” Jose says, walking in the kitchen. “We’ve got the petrol stored and know how to switch the stove over when the gas quits coming. I can’t imagine it will last much longer. “Dios mio, I’m hungry!”
“Any luck with the well?” I pray they’ll reach water. Looking at Jedaiah I say, “Maybe we can make ice cream!”
“We’re not deep enough to know yet, but as wet as it is around here, we’re going to get it!” He sounds confident.
We hear a loud banging sound in the garage and go quickly to see what it is.
“Stay back! Don’t hurt me!” Jake is yelling. I don’t know what the bang was, but he clearly needs more meds.
“Jose, please get Seroquel and water,” I whisper. Then quietly to Jake I say, “I’ll stay back. We’re here to help. No one will hurt you here.” I hear Sheba behind me growling low. “She‘s growling because you’re yelling.” I think she’s growling because he’s threatening me and I’m nervous. He keeps advancing, his arms up in a threatening posture.
Jose returns, asking, “What should I do with this?”
“Back off! Don’t hurt me!” Jake is nervous, coming at me. Sheba attacks, grabbing his wrist in her mouth, dragging him to the cement floor. “Aagh!” He screams as Sheba holds him down.
“Jake, she’s just trying to protect me,” I explain. “We’re not trying to hurt you. I have some medicine that will help you feel better. Will you take it if I bring it to you?”
“I don’t trust you!” Jake yells. “Why would I trust you?!”
“Jose, can you go crush this with jam, please?” I ask quietly.
“Sure.”
“Hurry!” My muscles are tight with worry. Jose returns with Simon and Eli.
“Dad brought back up,” Eli jokes.
“Okay. We need to get this into him. Can you hold him down?” They nod, moving to Jake’s side. Jake starts thrashing. Sheba is growling at him, holding tight to his right wrist. Simon grabs the other wrist, with Jose and Eli on each ankle. Jake continues to thrash. “No, stop. Let me go!” I sit near his face, spooning the jam and medicine mixture into his mouth. “Eat this. It will help.” I say it quietly. He quiets to taste it. I hold my breath until I see him swallow.
“Let me go!” He yells. I scrape the edges, holding my breath again, until I see it going down.
“It should work faster like this since it’s crushed, but you’ll probably have to hold him down until it does, just like before.” I stand up, trying to decide what else to do. “I’m going to sing. Don’t laugh!” I begin to hum Pachabel’s canon, hoping it will calm him. I watch his body relax briefly while he listens but then he starts thrashing around again, trying to escape his captors. I suddenly wonder about Nick and Jonathan. “Do you guys know where Nick and Jonathan are? I should make sure they’ve had medication.”
“I think they’re loading stuff in the cellar still,” Eli says.
“I’ll be right back.” I run into the kitchen to get more Seroquel and juice, heading down to the cellar. “Nick, Jonathan, are you guys here?”
“Yeah, we’re here. This is getting to be a real pain in my ass,” Nick says.
“No kidding,” Jonathan says harshly. “This is hard work and this place is a mess.”
“Hey guys have either one of you had more medication this afternoon?” I ask.
“We were going to take it before bed,” Jonathan says, irritably.
“Well Jake just freaked out. Maybe all the hard work makes you need it sooner? Or maybe twice a day isn’t enough?” I ask, gently so as not to irritate them more. I can tell by their tone that they’re escalating.
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to take some. We’ll be upstairs soon,” Jonathan concedes.
“I have some here.” I offer some to each of them. “This just makes it easier, right? Then you can keep working if you want.”
“Okay.” Nick takes it from me as does Jonathan. I feel like I’ve averted disaster. I realize that this isn’t surprising, when I remember my clients with Bipolar Disorder, many of whom took medication three times a day. I watch them swallow their meds.
“I’ll see you guys upstairs when you’re done. Thanks for helping so much down here. It’s a blessing we have so much food for now, but it does require organization.” I head back upstairs, sit on the couch in the back room to take a few deep breaths as Jedaiah races in from the back yard. I didn’t realize how tired I was as heaviness descends encasing me in exhaustion. Finally, I drag myself into the garage, checking my watch. It’s close to four so Jake’s had about half an hour to respond to the medication.
“How’s he doing?” I ask, ent
ering the garage, holding Jedaiah’s hand.
“He’s not thrashing anymore, but he still feels stiff,” Eli says.
“I can speak for myself,” Jake retorts.
“How are you, Jake?”
“I still feel threatened,” he acknowledges, “but I know you guys won’t hurt me. It’s paradoxical. I can feel one thing yet be aware of a different reality. Does that make sense?”
“It totally makes sense from my perspective,” I assure him. Eli, Simon and Jose release his limbs, staying close.
“Do you think you can be safe?” Jose asks.
“Yeah. Thanks, man.” Jake shakes out his wrist. “This wrist hurts.” Sheba has let go leaving a bite mark.
“Let’s get you inside so Katie can fix you up,” I suggest. “Sheba had to get you down. You were trying to assault me so she had to protect me,” I explain, hoping he won’t be upset that she bit him.
Jose gives him a hand up. “Yeah, that’d be cool,” Jake agrees, sounding humble.
We head inside, finding Katie in the kitchen working on beets. “Hey, Katie, could you look at Jake’s wrist? Sheba bit him.”
“Absolutely. What happened?” She walks with Jake to the kitchen table. “Have a seat and I’ll get some supplies.”
“He got agitated and was threatening me. Sheba was protecting me.”
“Oh, wow, the meds wore off?” Katie asks.
“Yeah. Thanks,” Jake sits down. I join in the beet production, while Katie cares for his bite.
“It doesn’t look bad. With Eliana’s salve, you’ll be in great shape shortly.”
“I’m gonna swing,” Jedaiah says, heading back outside, still in his coat.
I give him a kiss, zipping up his coat before he runs off. “So, how far along are you guys?” I ask.
“We’ve got the prep work done, one set in the canner. You wanna help with the next set?” Dixie asks, bouncy as usual.
“Since you guys have this under control, why don’t I start with the cabbage?”
“Sound good. We probably only need two on beets,” Gracie adds.
Katie and Morgan join me to work on the cabbage. “How’s Faith doing?” I wonder. “She’s been unconscious, hasn’t she?”
“She seems to be improving slowly,” Katie explains. “The cut was deep. I had to fix her up from the inside and I’m not sure how well her muscle will recover,” she sighs. “She’s been surfacing for short periods, drinking a little. She’s using all her energy to heal. The infection is much better. She must have gotten something in it off the knife.”
“Thank God,” Morgan sighs. “I don’t know what I’d do if she died. She’s all I have left of my life before this. “You guys have been up to Twenty-Fifth Street. I’m wondering…” She pauses, looking down, seeming unable to continue.
“You’re wondering if we could go by your house?” I ask.
“Yeah. Is it too dangerous?” She peeks out from under her lashes.
“There’s always a risk, but I don’t think that area has been too bad.” I say, not actually knowing. “I was even thinking that we might be able to get out and walk in groups. What do you think, Sam?”
“It hasn’t been that bad up there. There are some crazies, but not a big group or anything,” Sam agrees. “Why don’t we talk about it over dinner?” Just then, Jonathan and Nick appear at the doorway.
“We’ve got things pretty well organized down there. Here’s the inventory list. Do you want this in the pantry?” Jonathan asks.
“I think that’s a good idea. How are you guys feeling?” I wonder if they stayed in the cellar until they felt better.
“The freak outs have gone,” Nick jokes.
They join us in the kitchen, one group working on the sauerkraut and cortido, another finishing the pickled beets.
“We might use our dinner hour as a meeting time, to discuss community needs and plan future missions. What do you all think?” I ask.
“I like that idea,” Sam agrees. There are murmurs and heads nodding around the table.
“I can take notes,” Morgan offers.
“We never made it to Hummingbird and although we’re in pretty good shape for food, I think it would be a good idea to go there tomorrow to get what we can while it’s still available.” I look around the table at each member of our community, Jedaiah under one arm. “Someone else could discover it if we wait. Also, Morgan would like to go to her house if we think that’s safe enough. Did you want to get some of your belongings?”
“I’d like to, if it’s possible,” Morgan admits timidly. “I’d like a picture of my parents. I’m sure Faith would too.”
“I think we should gather the dry goods while we’re there,” Sam points out. “They’ll last a long time in the cellar. Also, food won’t last as long with our growing community and then the food at Hummingbird could be gone right in the middle of winter when we need it most. How’s the space down in the cellar?” Sam looks pointedly at Jonathan.
“There’s quite a bit of room there, now that it’s organized better,” he says, confidently.
“We could just run up to the ladies’ houses briefly before going to Hummingbird,” Simon suggests, smiling at Morgan.
“You should go with us, Eliana, since you’ve been to Hummingbird,” Rob says, pointedly.
“I could stay back tomorrow to help with projects here so you can go, Morgan,” Jessie offers. “Could you pick things for Faith?”
“I think so,” Morgan acknowledges.
“This food is incredible!” Jose raves. “Imagine having guacamole, salsa, and fabulous tacos. We’ve got to treasure these since we may never see avocados again!”
“This is fabulous,” Rob says animatedly. “Who made this guacamole? It’s incredible.”
“This is Eliana’s famous guacamole and salsa!” Sam says, complimenting my cooking. She’s a staunch supporter.
“After clean up, we’ll have salsa class and then cards!!” I say, aiming to distract us from reality. “It’s the best we can do to celebrate Hallowe’en.”
“Any booze?” Alex asks.
“Not tons, but some,” Jonathan assures him. “We’ve been gathering what we can find. It’s enough for a good party.” He punches Jake, playfully.
“Yeah, woo! Party down!” Jake says, fist punching the sky. Jessie looks away, frowning.
“Some of us probably shouldn’t drink,” Jonathan warns, “namely me, you, and Nick. It won’t mix well with the medications and worse yet, it could exacerbate the symptoms. None of us needs that.”
“Well that sucks!” Nick says, dejectedly.
Jake pounds his fist on the table. “That really fucking sucks.”
“I’m glad I didn’t get the flu, cause I wanna get wasted,” Alex grins, rubbing it in. “I have some Indica you guys could have. Don’t you think that would be okay, Jon?”
“I think Indica would be safe in small quantities,” Jonathan agrees. “It would be a way to join in the fun. Does anyone want to bake something yummy?”
“Dixie, let’s bake cookies!” Gracie suggests. Dixie jumps up, following her to the kitchen along with Morgan and Simon.
“I won’t want much alcohol, it just isn’t my bag,” I announce. “But we can try to make drinks. I have some Everclear we could mix with grape juice. It’s probably not a drink you’d find in a bar, but it’s what we have.” Drinks get poured. Jose and I, Gracie, and Eli begin teaching basic salsa steps, Jedaiah following along, then racing in circles, arms extended, making airplane sounds.
Within an hour, people are getting tipsy, others are mellow on Indica, and the dancing is a hit. “Wow, you guys know some moves!” Rob says, complimenting Jose and me.
Nick scoops up Jedaiah. “Let’s fly to the bathroom!” He takes him off to get ready for bed.
“I would hope so, after twenty-five years of dancing!” I laugh.
I watch Simon dancing Morgan out of the kitchen. It’s obvious they’re attracted to each other. Eli is teaching Dixie an
d I’m pretty sure there’s a spark between them, too. Jose dips me as a rush goes to my head, causing a light, almost dizzy sensation. As he rights me, my belly tingles with excitement and I hope he’s flirting with me.
At some point, Alex turns the stereo off. “Let’s play cards!”
Rob draws the black card to start. “Blank, kid tested, mother approved.”
“Oh, I got a good one!” Alex slaps a card down. Morgan giggles, adding hers to Alex’s.
Nick sniggers, adding his.
“Who wants cookies?” Dixie dances into the room, passing cookies around.
Everyone adds theirs as Rob scoops them up. “Is this all of them?” Eli hands him his card, grabbing a cookie.
“Okay. Here we go. A fart so powerful that it wakes the giants from their thousand-year slumber, kid tested, mother approved. Oh, yeah! More laughter erupts. “I’m going with balls, kid tested, mother approved. I love the double entendre. Whose was that?”
“Mine,” Eli says, gloating.
“What a great end to the evening!” I exclaim at as we’re cleaning up. “Hey, Jonathan, while you’re taking your meds, could you check in with Nick and Jake about theirs?”
“I can,” he says. “Come with me as back up in case either of them get agitated, okay?”
“Hey Nick, did you get your Seroquel for this evening?” Jonathan asks.
“The last time I had some was in the cellar,” Nick responds.
“How are you feeling now?” I ask.
“Kind of agitated. I just want to be alone. I think some quiet time might help.”
“That’s understandable. It’s been a big day. Let’s go upstairs and you can have some more Seroquel,” Jonathan says. We follow him up the stairs and Jonathan gets a glass from the kitchenette, handing it to Nick. “Here. This should do it.”
Nick swallows it. “When you come up to bed, just be quiet, okay?”
Considerable Destruction Series (Book 1): Evasion ( Page 22