by Chris Pike
“What’s that?”
“Please keep it a secret.”
“I will. I promise,” Tatiana said. “You have my word.” She scooted her chair back and stood. Changing to speaking in English, she asked, “Who would like more pie?”
“I do,” Uncle Billy said. He picked up his plate, licked it, and said, “You can put it right here.”
After Tatiana excused herself to the kitchen, Uncle Billy poked Nico in the side and asked, “So what did you say to her? I’ve never seen her in such a good mood.”
“Yeah, Nico,” Kate said, raising an eyebrow. “Tell us.” She leaned forward expectantly.
His gaze steady on Kate’s, Nico said, “I can’t. It was said in confidence, so don’t bother asking me or your mom.” His tone was serious and indicated a rather firm warning not to bother asking anymore questions.
Kate had only once experienced that particular demeanor of Nico’s. Understanding what he meant, she crossed her arms over her chest and sat back in the chair, her eyes blazing.
“Well,” Uncle Billy said, taking two forks in his hand and thumping them on the table to get everyone’s attention, “if there’s one thing I know, it’s that Russians can keep a secret. Who cares when there’s more pie. Let’s eat!”
Chapter 13
The night passed slowly, and Kate had been restless. Around midnight or later, she wasn’t quite sure what time it was since clocks had stopped working, she wandered downstairs to the kitchen. Reload padded alongside her.
Kate was surprised to see her mother sitting at the kitchen table, lit by candlelight, reading a book. “Mom? What are you doing here? You can’t sleep either?”
Tatiana dog-eared the page, closed it, and set the paperback on the table. She removed her reading glasses and rubbed her eyes. “I’m too wound up to sleep.”
“What are you reading?”
“Nothing. Just something to pass the time.”
Kate noticed the book had been set front cover down so she couldn’t see exactly what kind of book it was. “Can I get you a glass of wine? I read somewhere that wine affects the same part of the brain that anxiety drugs do to make you relax.”
Tatiana laughed. “I would need an entire case of wine for that.”
“I know where Uncle Billy keeps his hidden stash,” Kate said. “There’s a bottle with your name on it right over there in the—”
Tatiana waved her off. “I’d have one heck of a headache in the morning if I drank an entire bottle. Besides, we’re getting low on Advil, so I’ll pass. Thank you, though.”
Kate sat down at the table opposite her mother. Reload squeezed under the table and sat down at Kate’s bare feet. He sensed the tension between the two women, and while Reload didn’t understand their relationship, he did understand they acted familiar around each other in the way they talked and their body language. While the verbalizations meant nothing to him, he recognized the tone of the words being spoken. Kate needed him.
Reload nudged her feet with his warm nose until Kate wiggled her toes enough to massage his ears.
After an uncomfortable few seconds of utter silence, Kate asked, “Are you still angry at me?”
Tatiana shook her head. “Not anymore. I was for a long time, but the longer you were gone, the more I realized the only thing I cared about was your safety.”
“I’m sorry for not calling you when I was in San Antonio.”
“It doesn’t matter. Your father was able to track you down at the Minor Hotel, and we had decided to go get you and bring you back when—”
“How’d you know where I was?”
“A credit card company contacted us to confirm how long you had lived here. You used this as your previous address on the application form.”
Kate shrugged. “I needed a new credit card after you and dad cut off the one you had given me.”
“We thought if you didn’t have any money, you’d come back.”
“Mom, you should know me better than that.”
“I know. You’re quite self-sufficient. We were at our wit’s end and didn’t know what else to do. We were about to travel to San Antonio to get you when the EMP struck.”
“I’m glad you were delayed.”
“Why?”
“Because of Nico. Otherwise, I would have never have gotten to know him.”
“Tell me about him.”
“There’s not much to know other than he’s a decent guy, and he helped me get over what I had been through.”
“What was that?” Tatiana’s motherly concern had taken over, and all the previous disagreements she had with Kate didn’t mean anything anymore. She studied her daughter, who had changed from the angry buck-the-system girl to a woman who understood life, including its disappointments and exhilarating moments. “I know something bad must have happened. Please tell me.”
Kate explained how when she first got to San Antonio, she visited the Alamo, which was where she met Ben. She gave a brief rundown on their life and how he had been killed in an armed robbery at a bank. As she spoke, her chest tightened at the images of Ben dying, and from her inability to help.
Tatiana reached over and put a hand on Kate. She gently squeezed her arm. “It’s okay. I’m your mother. There’s nothing you can’t tell me.”
Taking a deep breath, Kate explained she had a hard time coping after Ben died, which led to her being diagnosed with severe anxiety and borderline post traumatic stress syndrome. She recounted how she found Reload starving in the alley behind the Minor Hotel, and after gaining his trust, she rescued him, then had him qualify as a service dog.
Reload was alert, ears cocked, listening to Kate’s tight words and he sensed her angst. Rising, he gently rested his muzzle on her thigh. Her hand naturally gravitated to him and she petted him in long strokes starting at his head, down along the ruff of his back, taking in handfuls of fur. She massaged Reload’s ears, then stroked him between his eyes and up to the flat part of his head. When she stopped talking about Ben, she unconsciously withdrew her hand, and when she began talking about Nico, Reload sensed her anxiety dissipating. He lowered himself to the floor and placed his snout on her foot.
“Nico and I spent the winter alone at the hotel.”
“Just the two of you?”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t you get bored?” Tatiana asked. She couldn’t imagine staying the entire winter in one place with only one other person.
“Not at all. Nico and I have a lot in common and never ran out of things to talk about. He’s an interesting guy and has lots of stories to tell, especially about border patrol work. We also work well together as a team.” Kate took a breath. “We left because we were running low on supplies…and because it was time for me to come home.”
“You know you can stay here for as long as you need to,” Tatiana offered quietly. She put her elbows on the table and rested her hands in supplication.
“Thanks, Mom, but I can’t. Nico and I are leaving tomorrow.”
“Do you mind if I ask why?”
“He inherited property in East Texas. He thinks the house is still okay, and he stocked it with non-perishable food the last time he was there. He said grocery shopping is no fun when you’re trying to get to your destination.”
Tatiana didn’t acknowledge Kate’s last statement about grocery shopping. In a worried voice, she said, “His house might have been ransacked by now. Or maybe someone is squatting in it.”
Kate let out a sigh. “If someone is there, he’ll throw them out. He learned a lot working in border patrol.”
“I have no doubt he is a capable man. Do you know where in East Texas his property is located?”
“Not really. You’d have to ask him about it.”
“I wonder if it’s close to where your older brother is?”
“Chandler is in East Texas?” Kate’s voice intonation rose in surprise. “I haven’t seen him in so long.”
Tatiana scooted her chair away from the table and opened o
ne of the kitchen drawers. Rifling through it, she found what she needed. Coming back to the kitchen table, she shook open the Texas roadside map and laid it out flat.
“Your brother is there,” she said, tapping the eastern part of the map, close to the Louisiana border. “Near the town of Hemphill.”
Kate leaned into the map. “Never heard of the place.”
“Your brother knows all about it. For a sleepy little Texas town, there sure was a lot going on there. Chandler mentioned the reason he had gone back there after his deployment was over, was for a couple of reasons. One, he had a girlfriend, and two, he was going to work on a drilling rig. There’s a lot of oil in East Texas.”
“That’s what I’ve heard,” Kate said.
Tatiana folded the map in half so the east side of the state was on top. “This is where Dillon and Holly live.”
“Who?” Kate asked.
“Dillon and Holly. They’re friends of Chandler’s, and if I know my son, he’s probably at their house helping them out.” Tatiana addressed her daughter. “Kate, I’ve got work to do. Go on back to bed. I’m going to trace this, and in the morning I’ll give it to Nico. If it’s not out of the way from where you’ll be going tomorrow, you can stop by. I’ll make a goodie bag for everyone, then you can give it to Chandler and the others. They’ll be so glad to see you. I wish I could be there.”
Kate yawned. “Okay, thanks, Mom. See you in the morning.”
“One more thing. Can you put this book in the bookshelf?” Tatiana asked, handing the paperback to Kate.
“Sure.” Kate took the book, flipped it over, curious what it was and wondering what her mother was reading in the middle of the night. Kate laughed when she read the title. The Willful Child.
No doubt about it, Kate had been the willful child.
* * *
Early morning snuck up with low beams of the day’s first sunlight filtering into Kate’s room through the open window, casting the night aside. A breeze fluttered the sheer curtains, and a rooster crowed at a nearby house.
Kate rolled over on her back, yawned, stretched, and became aware of the weight on the mattress next to her. She blinked open her eyes to find Reload had wiggled in between her and Nico, who was snoring softly. She briefly considered waking Nico, then decided he needed as much sleep as he could get, so she threw the light cover off her. Reload lifted his head, his eyes fixed on Kate.
“Shhh,” she said, putting a finger to her lips. “Stay.”
Nico woke and groggily asked, “What are you doing? Come back to bed. We can catch a few more winks.”
“I’m going to take a shower. Go back to sleep.”
Nico scratched the stubble on his chin. “Okay. Don’t use all the water. I think I’ll shower after you’re done.”
Kate sat on the bed, and ran a finger over Nico’s chest. She teasingly said, “I thought you were going to say you’d join me.”
Nico propped himself up with an elbow. “Umm, have you seen the shower?”
“On second thought, you’re right. There isn’t much privacy.”
“Be safe, and take a gun with you.”
“In the shower? It’ll get wet and then it’ll rust.”
Nico yawned and put his head back on the pillow. “Okay. Be careful.”
Kate slipped on a pair of shorts and didn’t bother to change the T-shirt she had been sleeping in. Checking herself in the mirror, she ran her fingers through her hair then headed downstairs, deciding she needed a trip to the outhouse. Uncle Billy, John, and Luke had made an outhouse by digging a 4x5 hole, topped with a foundation which supported the wood structure. Openings for two windows had been cut on the insistence of Tatiana. She found several stained glass windows in the old shed which would allow some light in the outhouse while providing privacy. It was located on the other side of the fence line, away from the orchard. It was quite rustic, and partially made using reclaimed wood collected from a recent flood on the Colorado River. A bowl of wood ashes was available to sprinkle in the hole after each use to encourage faster decomposition.
The outdoor shower had been constructed using flotsam and surplus boards from a neighbor’s fence built before the grid went down. Before the neighbors had abandoned the house, they told Tatiana she could use whatever she needed. Uncle Billy had built the shower similar to how a fence was built with posts and runners to nail the boards into place. About eighteen inches of open space was left at the bottom so feet and knees could be seen, but everything else was covered up once the shower was occupied. A big cistern placed on a platform on top of the shower structure collected rainwater, and a pulley system had been rigged so when water was needed, all that had to be done was to pull on the cord.
A spasmodic shiver ran down Kate’s back, and she briefly considered waiting to shower until she and Nico had settled in at his place in East Texas. Then again, she wasn’t sure of the water situation at Nico’s. She decided the best course of action was to bathe quickly.
She hastily grabbed a towel, a bar of soap, and shampoo from the upstairs bathroom, then quietly tiptoed downstairs.
Chapter 14
Stepping into the outdoor shower, Kate pulled the door shut and placed her towel over the top. There were two shelves for soap and shampoo, and other items such as a washcloth or a razor. A mirror was attached to one of the boards. The slatted wood floor had been constructed so water would flow through the cracks and onto the ground.
It was quiet and the neighborhood had not yet woken in the early morning hour, and as Kate removed her clothing, she had time to reflect on the previous day’s events and how she and her mother had come to an understanding. A great load had been lifted off her shoulders when Tatiana had given her blessing to Kate and Nico on their decision to go to East Texas. Kate now saw her parents as people with their own dreams and faults, and she recognized the hard work her parents had done in providing a home and a safe haven for Kate and her brothers to grow up in.
She had a lot to be thankful for. She bowed her head and took the quiet opportunity to say a prayer of thanks. Afterward, she lifted her head and mouthed Amen.
She pulled the cord and a rush of cold water showered over her. Goose pimples prickled her skin and she shivered. She squirted shampoo in her wet hair, massaged it in, then soaped the rest of her body. She gritted her teeth and steeled herself for the shower of cold water she’d have to endure. This cold water was much worse than jumping into a swimming pool at the start of the summer season, and Kate was so focused on enduring the frigid shower she didn’t notice the door had opened.
Gathering the courage to douse herself with more water for a good rinse, she pulled the cord, and a miniature tsunami of water splashed over her. Her muscles tensed and she shivered again.
Kate had her eyes shut tight as she ran her fingers through her hair untangling it. Two freezing cold minutes later, and two more drenchings of rainwater, she was satisfied all the soap was out of her hair. She ran her hands over her face, smoothed her hair, and blinked the remaining water out of her eyes. She reached for her towel only to find it missing, and when she turned around to find the door wide open a squeak of surprise escaped her lips.
In an instant, her face morphed from shock to horror to the scolding look of a mother who had caught her child’s hand in the cookie jar.
Oliver, a ten-year old boy, who lived two houses down the street, was standing outside the shower, holding the door open with one hand and Kate’s towel in the other. His eyes were big, and he grinned wide and mischievous, knowing his hands were in the cookie jar.
“You little twerp,” Kate blurted. She covered herself with her hands the best she could then slammed the door shut. Peeking through the slats, she snapped, “Give me my towel.”
“Come and get it,” Oliver said. He wiggled the towel for emphasis so Kate could see it.
Kate opened the door a slit and thrust an arm out as far as she could, but Oliver stepped away just far enough to be out of reach. “I swear I’m gonna tan
your hide if you don’t give me my towel! If you don’t I’ll tell your mother.”
Oliver snickered. “If you want your towel, you have to come and get it.”
“Where are my clothes?”
“I put them on the picnic table. I didn’t want them to get dirty.” Oliver tried to sound as innocent as possible. He moved over to the table and gathered her clothes. “Here they are.”
Kate was so angry she had forgotten how cold she was, and she mulled over her choices. Scream and scare the entire household that something was terribly wrong? Stay in the shower until someone came to give her some clothes? Or take her chances and run after the little twerp? If she decided on option one, someone might come out of the house guns blazing and that certainly wouldn’t end well. Option two wasn’t exactly a good idea because she’d freeze waiting. There was option three, but if she took off running after Oliver, the entire neighborhood might see her so that was definitely out of the question. Perhaps she should just streak into the house, giving Oliver an eyeful while she ran. On the other hand, if she surprised Oliver she might be able to—
Oliver squealed like a piglet caught for the roasting pan.
Kate peeked through the slats and cracked a big, satisfied smile. Nico somehow had managed to sneak up on Oliver. He held the kid by the waist, and propped him on his hip. Oliver kicked and squealed. “Let me go! I’m going to tell my mother.”
“I don’t think so,” Nico said with a hint of delight in his voice.
“I will!” Oliver pounded his fists on Nico’s thighs.
Nico released his hold on Oliver, set him down, and before Oliver could run away, Nico gripped him tight by the arm.
“You’re hurting me.”
“Stop whining like a little girl. Tell Kate you’re sorry.”
Oliver shook his head.
“Okay. Your choice.” Nico jerked Oliver away from the shower and took a few steps toward his home.