Chapter 7323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9J2MFDVE0q
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Apa7pyJla
As tired as I was I still didn’t sleep long. For some reason I kept imagining that I was hearing Daniel up and wandering around … and dreaming that he got into something that hurt him … or Jeff going outside and never coming back. Even at thirteen I knew it was all psychological because I was anxious but no way would those words have left my mouth exactly like that.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmoQ21eotM
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMdrz52wRK
It was more tiring jumping up and down than it was just to go ahead and get up. Besides I knew it was time I let it out and cry in private or I was going to wind up doing something embarrassing in front of Jeff and scaring Daniel in the process. I wandered around the cave in my socks and scuffy slippers, noticing all the things that Dad had mentioned doing that he’d never get a chance to and seeing all the things Momma meant to put away and hadn’t had time to. I wanted to go into their bedroom but I just couldn’t do it; it was hard enough running across the family pictures that Momma had stacked in different places meaning to hang them up just as if we'd simply moved into a new house.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH51IzwFFgz
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6vXGhPZe6u
Every once in a while my eyes would get watery but that was about it. I missed them but at the same time it was kind of comforting to know that they were out of all of this and with each other. It felt like they were some place waiting for us and that someday I’d see them again. It was when I looked in on Daniel that I got upset.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSl4QWFhEla
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1OLDecphnr
I didn’t know how I was going to take care of him. I knew it was my place more than it was Jeff’s. I also knew that Jeff would leave … maybe not tomorrow but eventually he would leave. I think he needed to as much as I had needed to do those things at the re-education camp. But I was thirteen and Daniel could be a handful for Momma and Dad to manage and they were parents and grown adults. He only minded me when he felt like it. How was I supposed to suddenly become both parents to him when I still needed my parents myself?323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFEqIFIH2Av
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZf5p1FezX
Then I just switched it off. I didn’t stop thinking about it exactly but it was either box it up and put it on a shelf or lose it and make things even harder. I walked into the kitchen area and before I even realized what I was doing I was making one of Daniel’s favorite desserts.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzT84SCGON
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOVpNTwo5L5
When Daniel was really little they wondered if he was like he was because of allergies and one of the allergies they tested him for was dairy proteins. I remember that and when they tested to see if he was allergic to wheat and corn. It was awful. Momma thought that if Daniel had to suffer through it then the rest of us did too. About the only good thing that came out of those tests was some recipes that Momma kept making. One of them was a cake recipe this real old lady in our church gave us that she said came from back around the Civil War.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1mqNg1vEZ7
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9nD5GiUg1F
You start by putting a cup of brown sugar, a cup of cold water, one and a half cups of raisins, a third cup of shortening, a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg, a half teaspoon of cloves, and a half teaspoon of salt in a big pan and heat it up and then boil it for three minutes solid. At the end of three minutes you take it off the burner and mix in a teaspoon of baking soda that you’ve dissolved in two tablespoons of water, two cups of flour, and a half teaspoon of baking powder.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBDNcqqeEhB
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Hm8Vm1Y6y
Takes a pretty strong elbow to do this but once you’ve done it, you pour it into a prepared cake pan and bake it thirty-five to forty minutes in a 350 degree F oven … or if you don’t know exactly what your temp is like you are cooking in a cranky wood stove or fireplace, it is finished when a toothpick stuck in the middle of the cake comes out clean.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡep3SzMPKCs
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlo7az8sERZ
While the cake baked I made easy potato soup. First I brought eight cups of water to a boil and then I dumped in three cups of instant potato flakes, one cup powdered coffee creamer, one package of chicken gravy mix, two tablespoons of dried parsley flakes, a quarter cup of Parmesan cheese from the shaker, two tablespoons of Italian seasoning, one teaspoon of dried minced onion, and half a teaspoon of pepper. I stirred it a minute until it thickened and then took it off the heat.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv5vLBGh5YA
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FBSXsSPkU
I turned around and ran smack into Daniel. I don’t know how long he’d been standing there but he was soaked through, lucky for me it was just from sweat.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPfZVKZrA72
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDCA9Maqts
“Jeffy’s sleepin’.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3e3HIz4N7
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4zdKQDECa
“I know, he’s tired. He helped us get home.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4SSpKHGyq
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxtRyOGzad
“This is the cave.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmhCtHVxWal
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjbLBnkAry
“Uh huh.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ599qrxmgUH
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp6rJBi515i
“This is the cave. The house is home.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZl2FL2Ao52
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfk4OlQomL
Uh oh. I wasn’t ready for this.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6UAH85Tt0I
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkdX45ex3m9
“Remember? We brought all our stuff here so this is home now.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Z1DlXLvOv
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzegkKMUouo
“This is the cave.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5nGoA9cINu
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDPGZumJaI
I wasn’t going to argue with him, not when he was finally talking again so I decided just to get him dressed and try and get him to let me do something with his hair. Forget the scissors, as soon as he saw them out of the corner of his eye he jerked away from me.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcZ9vzLpvH
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TJGQWYrTo
“Oh all right Daniel but your hair is full of knots. It’s going to hurt for me to try and comb them out.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5s7qIPScM9
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzZQn0aDBz
“Daddy went to Heaven.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xNl9HgOjX
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2YKefpeU7I
I couldn’t even breathe so I ignored what he said.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvIyIkbZ7CU
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLMp10JjIa4
“Mommy went to Heaven.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvlCXMgbB9
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkCRHblSkMq
He was waiting for me to say something. Finally I managed, “They’re up there together.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPthsJqSBTp
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmDFzIFscKK
“Yep. The man told me.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfRyn0uQpwC
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMV8v9eyAQY
Suspicious I asked, “What man?”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpi39x8nQD
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzcEv4QzoBy
“The man with the red X on his purse.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7SdauwmwR5
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8IZL5tD9z5
I figured he meant one of the red cross workers. Jeff, who’d woken up too stood in the bathroom door and said, “What did the man look like?”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRb9ELHK0TC
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HFTjDtVYT
“He had a red x on his purse.” I looked at Jeff and he shrugged like it had been worth a shot. Daniel didn’t really see people, he saw things and apparently the only thing about this man that he’d noticed was his red cross bag.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPmkkxGjwTd
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhV3xbDajlf
“I’m hungry.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlN3bF86qWs
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUp2zLdDNpR
I’d done just about all I could with Daniel’s hair so I said, “Then come on. Let’s eat.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcdJZk1BMV
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmEaa7xugzO
Daniel nearly fell asleep in his plate again so Jeff carried him to bed and once he was down he didn’t move.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxhXGfzaBFP
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwqADGa9t8
“Any more soup left?”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5IcEE18og
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRvoY8sJqW
“About half a bowl. You want it?”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPR6z8KLkF
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9DeE2JbaB
“You didn’t eat did you?” he asked. It was more a statement than a question.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6GiMFbQFE
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjuBsVxArfa
“Almost a whole bowl so don’t be an old fuss budget.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoeBdEwP1en
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpLVIJeLvGB
“Dacey, if we’re going to work together I wish you wouldn’t be so … so snarkey.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfeHkjo5zag
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKOBXf9T0Br
Knowing he was right and admitting he was right wasn’t the same thing but I finally said, “I don’t really mean to be Jeff. Things are just … just …”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Ey1jwk7Hl
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxfZ4hsnxi2
“God awful. Yeah, I get that. Remember, it wasn’t that long ago that my own dad died. I wish I could tell you that it gets easier but it doesn’t, it just gets different kinds of hard. But it does stop … stop feeling like your brain is going to explode … eventually anyway. I miss Uncle John real bad too. He did more for me in less than a year than … than my dad did for most of my life. I loved my dad Dacey and Uncle John let me go on loving him even though I got dumped on him with no warning. Your dad was a good man. And your mom was cool too. They were good people and I know they never meant for you … for any of us … to wind up like we have.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjr2RA3YpSo
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjk10JVpWM8
I shrugged. “I don’t blame them if that’s what you think. I blame the blue hats. And I blame our so-called friends that didn’t stop the Blue Hats even more. What happened isn’t fair but it isn’t my parents’ fault.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jkqUuvvu2
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYg7V8XzTUs
“Ok. I was just wondering. I … well … I blamed my dad for stuff but your folks … you know?”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkWJ7Kq0AEZ
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJEFZLmvE8
I shrugged again. I seemed to be doing it a lot. “Yeah, I know.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4gIox3Yrr
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8Ye6Jrja8
He finished the soup and I did the dishes again. Momma and I had always done the kitchen clean up. Looks like it was going to be my job alone from here on out.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYG74C7zQcn
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXByhV6tlnD
“Dacey?”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVPNu866pq
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLPogpVpbKs
I turned around and looked at Jeff who was standing in front on the pantry. “You still hungry?” I asked.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaCf8S17ERK
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqGK9IfPCO
No … well, yes but that’s not what I was asking about. Didn’t Uncle John have a big notebook around here with that inventory he kept up?”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFXEGN4chBx
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcF6SoKHF4z
“Probably in the file cabinet by his desk. Why?”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmp9DInATwJ
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ88kz6UvCfn
“Come on Dacey, you know why.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy57h48FYfY
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtB8TYjk2f
I did know, I just didn’t want to think about it. “You think it is going to get bad here like it is every place else in the world and that we’re going to run out of food.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86qBXT4VUL
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw7IVK58nWi
“I don’t know about run out of food. Uncle John seemed to have a pretty good plan.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmJFm5MbkFB
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZEy9vjIeeA
“Over three years.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLyIwXXcGXe
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflV7Ka1e36
“What?”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGLi3ye6wBF
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhtPIfqCOGP
“Momma said that there was enough grain and canned goods to last more than three years plus all that weird stuff Daddy bought online. But that was before y’all slaughtered the cows and pigs and we had to preserve all of that on top of everything else we already had. I heard her and Dad talking about it. Momma thought he was going a little over board and he was telling her … I don’t wanna talk about it.” I said turning away.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3wNfjpXfQ
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42Ok1Rv9Zr
“Dacey, we gotta talk about it. Things have changed; Uncle John isn’t here to make the plans anymore. I know I’m the oldest and I’m supposed to do it since he isn’t here but I don’t think I can, not without … you know … you helping. Your parents raised you to do this stuff, I only know enough to barely get by.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQFrhJAVXXO
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEidKhneJ0a
I looked at him and saw how it must have hurt his pride to say it so I figured it must really be true. “I guess neither one of us has a choice.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡke5vJQS9tQ
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYuS8BYtUJ5
“Sure we do. We can sit down and feel sorry for ourselves and let the bad stuff win.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jE5DAsJJA
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfbG9L8SIz
I rolled my eyes, “Forget it. You might be able to swing Daniel like that but that hasn’t worked on me since I got into middle school. I’m not stupid Jeff.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY0AvVfPNat
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqrej3VXdLj
“I didn’t say you was.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rTQdbK2a7
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNISgDb1bth
“No … but maybe I was acting like it. And maybe you’re just trying to work me around so that when you leave you can do it with a clear conscious.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8N9qC8ou8f
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGdJOfzfAaW
“Hey …”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWddQbysgz
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4OqWwN2u2b
I walked over and opened the filing cabinet and pulled the big D-ring binder out and then put it on the table before sitting down. “You are going to leave. We both know it. We just don’t know when you are going to leave. But maybe before you leave we could figure some stuff out.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqmjo04ECz
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5g3pGqNVBc
He sat down in one of the other chairs. “You’re mad.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHMmw10CSZ
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyGWHM6RYhO
“I was. But I’m not right now. I might get mad again. Depends. So maybe you need to go. Maybe I need to let you go. Maybe that’s just the way things are … people have to leave. Some of them come back, some of them don’t. But I’ll be like really made if you leave and don’t come back sometimes at least.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XiO9ElA5a
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIp4gDe54gv
Jeff sighed and then said, “Dacey I swear you make my head hurt. How about this? I won’t leave until I’m sure you and Daniel will be OK, or at least as OK as things can be.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCAXbBmxlg
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfuSvXGvWV
Something made me say, “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6YOv5Qvd3
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtPYPRdNNGv
“Now what’s that supposed to mean?”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUmPT3ZTuey
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5lGDaBkZ1N
“I don’t know. Sometimes I just … it just seems like after what happened to Dad and Momma … and Daniel … it is bad luck to just make promises like that.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAjKTttWr8m
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnBijRsagnW
He didn’t say anything to that but instead started looking at the binder. “I wasn’t here when Uncle John started doing all of this but he showed it to me. I guess he wanted me to know that I was really family.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCcvccDkmDM
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTur9UDYoJi
“Yeah. That’s what he told me. He said you were going to be like our big brother and that’s the way we should think of you.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsCGeL1zPeP
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWllX92iVIQ
Jeff got a funny look on his face, “He said that?”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEXW1ZrCfpR
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY9ZtIpTIfq
“Sure. It’s not your fault that your dad made choices to … um … be wild and junk.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCYyOXF0hs
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJt0rP1jLc
He didn’t have anything to say about that either.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNjuthg8RVE
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD9YV6ccqZC
“Dacey, how come you can cook like you do? Monica can’t cook worth nothing. Jackson was always ribbing her about it.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8GFrxF5xgl
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRMspoiv8W2
“Yeah, well Momma wasn’t our housekeeper, she was our Momma. And Momma was real nice about some stuff but you know she could be a real bear about things too. No mud in the house, everybody had to help with laundry, if you put food on your plate you were going to finish it or you wouldn’t get anything else until you did, and even Daniel could make his own bed … sorta.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD42ERQOxO5
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0rJQM1xl5
“Your mom was totally nice. I never ever heard her holler about anything.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2Z60sa6Cy
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCJDLuyEDp
“Sure she was. But that’s because I wasn’t stupid enough to go around breaking the rules just because I could. See she …” and with no warning it hit me and I did what I said I wasn’t going to do; I started crying. I missed Momma. I missed her bad. I realized that she wouldn’t be around to tell me what to do anymore, that I’d have to figure out everything on my own. I’m not a big noisy crier like some girls are, my tears just kind of leak out … but the hurt settles in my chest and makes it hard to breathe.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCC2jocupMV
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHJAgAdgDJo
I think I remember Jeff patting me on the back and telling me to go lay down for a while and that we’d talk later. All I know for sure is that I woke up in my bed with Daniel in there with me and something smelling like it was burning coming from the kitchen.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwnaegSZJNv
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7GXNu18U0
I jumped and ran down to where the kitchen was. Jeff was trying to cook some eggs and having a hard time of it.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RZt5AthOb
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡepiufWMVx5
“Stove’s too hot,” I told him as I took the skillet from him and moved it away from the heat.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡepSRU488mG
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHaOwPu85b
“How the heck do you tell?! I only put a little bit of wood in it. There aren’t any knobs on this thing,” he said in obvious frustration.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQdKZCfi5oZ
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrsJIaGFUc
“Practice. Lots and lots of practice. Just pretend you are cooking over a campfire and adjust from there. Where’d the eggs come from?” I asked thinking he’d gone out without telling me.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbvkYCLn4Ii
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTi9cm5aTO
“The cooler. Everything in there looks OK except for a few pieces of sliced cheese that are hard on the corners.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWRiz3YY6fu
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfEpuQwQBnT
“Did you check to see if the warning light was on … the one Dad set up to come on if there was a power interruption?”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJw1rSeX7dV
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhcqMCHLWhI
“Yes Granny,” he teased, relieved I think to see I was over crying for a while.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ36cEQzFAVq
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrqXDaV3jBt
The eggs were a little crispy around the edges but they weren’t bad. I fried up some canned potatoes and made some pan biscuits to go with the eggs and even Daniel held out his plate for more. It was the first of many good signs. Instead of going back to sleep or acting like a zombie Daniel pulled out his blocks and started playing with them without even being encouraged to do so. He even put on the fleeze scuffy slippers that Momma made him wear around the house when it was cold outside. While he did that Jeff and I went over the cave and everything in it.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznD6hM6d17
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKOIuTLKTxL
When we were through Jeff said, “I’ll finish putting the shelves together and nail up all of the molding your dad already cut, but not tonight. I need to check out the house and I think it is better that I do it at night.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6umy8kbjIu
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ66qVZ2zvR9
“Don’t you mean we need to check out the house?”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNZ5cLzmpB
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllMjRnd1ZY
“Dacey, let me go the first time by myself. I promise that if everything is all right we’ll try and all go tomorrow or the next day.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ7cMCfdua8
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR57SE0cNhM
I wanted to argue but maybe I was starting to learn so I didn’t. It was real hard to let him do it his way but I did.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡki29gNAEBl
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRKsT4u1CI
“I don’t plan on being there long. Figure half hour there and back, plus half hour or so at the house, so call it two hours more or less. You cool with that?” He acted like I was Daniel's age.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEjrDiSc8Nj
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZpbzb732p
“Relax Jeff. Dad made sure I could spend the night in the cave by myself before you came to live with us. That’s one of the reasons Momma made him put the door on the cave before he got it all prettied up. When she wasn’t around he used to fuss about how much trouble it was getting wide stuff through the doorway.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYDxUDM4RF
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbBFahVLzH
“Seriously?”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡymzpMpyezI
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCYdRZnDiYU
“Seriously. Dad is … I … I mean … he … Dad was really cool,” I finally managed to stutter out.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59snv1EdJu
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMKafK4Lex
Jeff nodded solemnly and said, “Yeah, yeah he was.” After sighing sadly he hefted a lightweight backpack he had set aside earlier. He was walking towards the exit door when he did this weird kind of dance that made him look like he was having a seizure. “Rrrrr!” he growled while slamming his fist down on his thigh.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnpxrfpP8Tt
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NjFtbBUhY
“What?!”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtzBJGQKcN
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1f64sKVtF
“Dang it. Dang it, dang it, dang it!! Stupid. Geez!!”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPV4peCCUY6
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2DdYclrvn
“Yo Jeff!! You’re kinda freaking me out. Enough being weird already.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe1fpXoZ4Mi
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡglqftPELLV
He was smushing his hat down over his ears. “The radios.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdojOfPeY2
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBxQQqlz7lf
As soon as he said it I felt pretty stupid too. “Oh.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfJnc916A0
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH3SOJk5aN1
“Yeah. Oh. Look, while I’m gone put the radios to charge. I’ll run the antenna up the trees tomorrow. Maybe we can hear what is going on, get a better idea of how bad things are.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXno6jSiJM
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhmHyUdchuk
Walking over to the cabinet where the little hand held radios were kept I said, “Uh huh, and find out if we can pick up stuff from the grocery store or if they are closed.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgEwf2L0ziY
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rPjtRrnFg
Jeff shook his head. “Dacey I don’t think we could get to the grocery store even if it is still open. That would be a good way to get picked up by the Blue Hats all over again.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9oSADDv0S9
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBymSxDxRA
“I know that, but we still need to find out if there is any food out there. Dad used to talk about that a lot. Remember he said that if the grocery stores closed it would be the straw that broke the camel’s back.”323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3hzr9qDWeM
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9VHbkUNsZE
“All bets would be off at that point. Yeah, he explained it to me. He said people in general will follow whoever has the food. Control the food, control the people.” I handed him a canteen of water and a Clif bar to still in his pack then he left making sure that I locked it behind him.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk4OSmsOvgu
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBFPcnS0ZL6
The situation we found ourselves in started feeling bigger. When it was just my parents it was just my world and I didn’t have to share my fear or sadness with anyone, it was mine and I could be selfish with my fear. It was mine and no one else could understand it. If the problem was more than just my parents being gone then I had to accept that other people scared and sad too and that maybe I couldn’t control things the way I wanted to. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZp6P1VDxZY
Penana
search
Loginarrow_drop_down
Registerarrow_drop_down
