Jade hesitated. “Yes.”
“By my father’s invitation?”
Jade eyeballed her, then nodded and took a long drag, smiling uncomfortably. “You know, normally, I would be appalled at this. But this whole day has been a far cry from normal, and I’m making an exception because of who you are. You’re just like your father—big on the truth, no matter how sacrosanct, and that’s fine. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know, because that’s fine too—my reputation here doesn’t mean shit, so why not?”
Lauren’s eyes crinkled into slits. “You can tell me whatever you want, but keep your voice down.”
“Sorry.” Jade exhaled, recalling where she was now. “I’ve met thousands of people in my life, but not a single person like your dad. He’s a diamond in the rough. And your mom is lucky as hell to have him. To lose him like that, for as long as she did, I don’t know how she lived through it. Seeing them reunited a few minutes ago was magic. I’ve never felt more satisfied in my life. It was like I finally accomplished something good for a change.
“Your father was the first person to ever show me he cared and never once turn his back on me. And he had no reason to do that. He owed me nothing; he just did it anyway. He gave me a chance that no one else ever bothered to. And no one has ever made me feel more like a person than he has. I didn’t come here to cause problems, Lauren. I swear I’m not here to toss a wrench in your parents’ marriage. I came because I have nowhere else to go. And yes, your dad invited me to come and be a part of this.”
“A part of what?”
Jade hesitated, now on the verge of tears once more. “Family. It’s a long story, lots of unpleasant details, but I’ve…never known one myself.”
Lauren regarded her counterpart thoughtfully. No person was truly invulnerable, not herself, or even Jade. Eventually, there comes a time when humans feel the need for companionship, for fellowship, and that which exists exclusively within the realms of family. The universe was built that way by design. If we chose, one of us could wander the world and fight our way through life’s tangles on our own, but it just wasn’t meant to be that way.
“Well, it appears you do now,” she said. “Dad always speaks his mind, but everything he says comes from his heart. And when he says something, he means it.”
“Boy, do I know it.” Jade smiled at Lauren, receiving one in return, and the two women shared a stare, both realizing their eyes were the same color.
“I won’t grill you anymore about this,” Lauren said. “But I needed to know. Dad told me there’s nothing between you, and I believe him. But that’s only his side of things.” A pause. “In the future, you might do an enhanced job of masking how you feel.”
Jade smirked. “Sounds like good advice.”
“Also, if you wouldn’t mind keeping a line of communication open between us, I’d appreciate it. It might help me better understand my dad’s ailments.”
“You can call on me anytime,” said Jade. “For now though, I think I’m going to make myself scarce. I need to check on Ken’s progress and get back to the Marauder and get our things situated.”
“Sure you won’t join us for breakfast?”
“Maybe some other day. I’m not much on family reunions, and it’s probably best to give your parents some space.” Jade looked away a moment. “Would you mind passing a message to your dad from me?”
“Not at all.”
“Tell him I said promise fulfilled. And thank you.” Jade smiled. “He wants to credit me for saving his life, then he deserves the same for saving my butt this morning. I don’t think Ken would disagree.”
Lauren’s brow furrowed as she switched gears. “Wait—what happened this morning?”
Hearing her tonal change put Jade on alert yet again. “We had a…mishap. How much do you know about what’s materializing on the other side of that mountain?”
Lauren went stone-faced. “Plenty. Why?”
“Then you know about the DHS and FEMA presence?”
Lauren’s jaw clenched. She nodded. “We’ve had our own mishaps with them. Is that how Ken got shot and you got hurt?”
Jade nodded, then recounted and disclosed the most recent turn of events along their trip here.
At the culmination, Lauren’s eyes grew wide with patent urgency. The southern barricade had been left wide open upon their hasty return, and it mustn’t remain that way. Jade’s report needed to be passed along and distributed. Woo Tang, Fred, Neo, Christian, even the likes of Richie needed to be briefed on this, and in due course, every soul in the valley had to be brought up to speed.
She turned away and started off. “I’m sorry, I have to go. Excuse me.”
“Lauren, wait. Was it something I said?”
“Absolutely.”
Jade hopped from the porch into the yard and gave chase. “Hey! Hold up. Let me give you a ride.”
Chapter 29
The cabin
Trout Run Valley
Friday, January 7th. Present day
The day had been spent getting Alan acquainted with the acreage spanning the valley, his neighbors, their livelihoods and the routines occurring within, which also involved reacquainting him with old friends and their families. In doing so, a primer on the ins and outs of daily life had been afforded, and Alan gathered that living here was nothing short of an ongoing struggle. Hard work was an obligation, and survival and subsistence was the name of the game, both requisite rules of nature in their world. But the efforts put forth bolstered commitment, created trust and solidarity, and were therefore rewarding.
During his tour, Alan had grown to think of his new home much in the way he had Camp Hill. The communities were proving to have a lot in common, though the valley did have more room and more familiar faces, while holding no hellishly steep roads on which to stumble and relearn his walking stride, and no Valerie with whom to raise dispute.
The Russell family, no longer divided, elected to put together an evening celebration, something that hadn’t been done since being here. Michelle made her rounds and invited every two-legged beating heart in the valley to the cabin for an impromptu coming-home party for Alan. Kim Mason and Kristen Perry helped to arrange a feast for the attendees; and as the confines of his home crammed with guests, Alan was put on a pedestal to answer questions, overhear stories of the past, and converse with those he hadn’t spoken to in over a year’s time, though he failed to recall ever having chatted with any of them.
Michelle went against protocol and had broken out the remaining airplane bottles of liquor her husband had amassed long ago in their preparations, for use as currency and for barter. The invaders who had appropriated the valley over a month prior had partaken from the cream of the crop for their amusement, but that didn’t hinder any guest from enjoying a cocktail or two, or more.
Friends gathered together after dark in the Russell cabin to enjoy each other’s company amidst glowing lanterns and candlelight. They talked and told jokes, laughed, carried tunes and even danced. They spoke of old memories, trying times and hopeful futures.
Alan did his best to be hospitable and find enjoyment as the party’s guest of honor, but the commotion soon became a little too much for him, and he excused himself.
Escaping from the crowd, Alan went outside to the front porch, failing to put on a jacket first. He swirled around the drink he’d brought with him and stared into his yard, into the cold, shadowy woodlands beyond, wondering for a time if everything that had happened recently, and was happening now, was even real.
It felt as though he’d spent a lifetime away from these people, the friends he was getting to know again, and even his own family—his devoted wife of many years and his two exquisite daughters. It was a lot to swallow in one sitting; the former existence of Alan Russell was no more and a new one had begun. He was home now, but everything and everyone felt foreign to him, though the feeling of unfamiliarity itself was far from being so. Alan attributed all this to his infirmity, this damned amnesia, and while sipping
the sweet, stinging emulsion from his glass, he stirred internally and wondered if a day would ever come that might return to him all that he had lost.
Alan knew that outside his grievances, he was indeed a lucky man. This chapter in his life had found a satisfying conclusion; he’d made it home to his estranged family after swindling death. He had tried second-guessing the future, attempted to plan for every worst-case scenario imaginable, and then some. But in the end, all that planning and preparing hadn’t counteracted the inevitable. Alan’s wife and children had been torn from his grasp, and him from theirs; and what had ultimately served to reunite them was his love for them and theirs for him. Undeniably, he knew of no other force more powerful or more capable of doing so in the known universe.
Alan wasn’t aware of what the future held from this day forward, but he was surely never to forget that; just as certain as he was never to leave this place or those he loved ever again. Not without having their souls forcibly pried from his cold, dead hands.
Michelle had seen Alan move away from the crowd and make his way outside. She had seen everything he’d done throughout the day, having never taken her eyes from him. She figured it possible he’d gone to look for some fresh air, or like every other man she knew, to use the outdoor facilities. But after being gone for a time longer than she’d expected, she grew uncomfortable and went looking for him.
Michelle put on a jacket, took another for her husband and went outside to the porch, relieved to find him there. She glowed both inside and out at seeing him, and at the sensation of his presence. She’d never thought this day would come, that this man who’d pestered her with his silly orations on conspiracy theories, hidden political agendas and potential end-of-times scenarios would return to her.
Michelle called to mind the times she’d hated him for it, when all she’d wanted was to find some way of shutting him off. And she recalled the times she’d given up and left him to his devices while pretending to enjoy some book or pointless show on television so she wouldn’t have to listen to his ramblings.
Looking at him and considering all they had been through, it astounded her how differently she felt now. Though it hadn’t gone off as he’d planned, the preparations in which Alan had invested and procured, in unison with the plans he’d crafted, had bestowed his family with a buffer. And that buffer had enabled them to continue life beyond that of the majority, in the wake of the collapse of civilization.
This man had also done something else Michelle couldn’t put into plain words, something that still, even to this day, threw her for a loop. Alan had involved Lauren in this and had made her an integral part of his plan, to include a list of undertakings he’d concealed from his own wife. Much of the specifics remained a mystery, but his doing so had been one of the key reasons his family had remained unharmed to this day. Their youngest possessed extraordinary talents that kept her and those around her alive, accentuated her courage and made her strong—stronger than anyone Michelle had ever known. And this man, this husband of hers a short time ago returned, had perpetuated all of this.
She wanted to despise him for it. She wanted to hate him for all that he’d done, hadn’t done, and hold against him everything he’d screwed up, but Michelle couldn’t bring herself to feel that way. Alan was here now, and that in itself was a miracle. He’d somehow come home to her, and the thought of that alone brought peace to Michelle’s soul and soothed her aching heart, bringing an end to a searing pain that had begun on the day he’d failed to return.
Michelle was beginning to recognize that his purpose for going to those lengths were far more intrinsic than for which she’d originally given him credit. He hadn’t done all this for his ego, it wasn’t avarice, and it hadn’t been just so his family could reign superior or simply outlive, outgun, and outlast the underprepared and less fortunate. Rather, he’d done so merely because he loved them and wanted the best for them. Alan Russell had wanted his family to live their lives safely and happily, come what may, should the worst of times ever befall them. And who was she to condemn him for wanting that?
Michelle moved in behind her husband and encircled him with her arms, slipping the jacket she brought for him over his shoulders. “Hey…you’ve been out here a while. Aren’t you cold?”
Alan shivered and a brow shot up. “Now that you mention it.”
“Are you doing okay? Looked like you were having fun in there.”
“I was, and I’m good,” Alan said. “It’s just a little overwhelming. I’ve grown accustomed to interacting with people who know me, when I know nothing about them. But tonight, there’s been a lot more of them than I’m used to.”
“You were never good with crowds, or large groups of people, if it’s any consolation.”
“That sounds about right. Every time I opened my mouth, I got nervous and my throat dried up like a desert.” Alan slipped his arms into the jacket sleeves. “In addition to these tasty adult beverages, I know I’ve put down at least a gallon of water tonight; more than I’ve drank in months.”
Michelle gestured to his glass, noting the emptiness. “Want me to warm that up for you? Or make you a nightcap? I don’t mind.”
“No, I’m okay for now,” Alan said. “I’ve been meaning to thank you for everything you’ve done today. You’ve gone out of your way to get me settled in and help me feel at home, and it’s working.”
“Alan, I’ll do whatever it takes. I know this is a lot for you to deal with. Everything and everyone is…foreign to you. And the last thing I want is you wandering around and getting lost.” She squeezed him. “And you’re welcome.”
Alan grinned. “You might consider hunting me down a map, just to be safe,” he said. “The area around here is beautiful. And the cabin and our property is markedly cozy. I think I’m going to like living here.”
“That’s good, I’m glad you think so. I don’t think we’ll be moving anytime soon.”
“And believe it or not, I’m perfectly okay with those plans.” Alan finished his drink off. “It was thoughtful of you to allow Jade and Ken to stay here. That really means the world to me. We’ve been through a lot together.”
Michelle’s brows raised. “So I’ve gathered. Conveniently enough for them, we had two vacancies open up recently,” she mused. “Ken’s a little unusual, but after learning to cope with Christian’s quirks, it’s nothing I can’t handle. And it wouldn’t be right of me to let your girl sleep in the yard.”
“My girl?”
Michelle nudged him and grinned sheepishly. “I’m kidding, sort of. You promised her a place here…and I suppose, as your wife, I have an obligation to abide by that.” A pause. “But it’s not easy for me. I don’t know much about her, and I’m not particularly fond of another woman living under my roof who’s…seen as much of you as I have.”
Alan snickered. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“I know. You’ve said that.”
“It’s the God’s honest truth, Michelle. I was either comatose or catatonic the whole time. What’s more, a urinary catheter was involved,” Alan clowned, “making foul play highly unlikely, if not downright impossible.”
“Foul play?” She punched his arm. “For fuck’s sake, Alan! We need to work on this—there are certain things a man should never say to his wife, even teasing.”
The couple shared a laugh. Alan reached for her and Michelle snuggled into him. They swayed together and vocalized their devotion for each other for the umpteenth time since reunifying.
Alan placed his lips against her temple, sensing her quickened pulse. “I saw Christian take Grace downstairs a while ago, but I don’t remember Lauren leaving. Feels like I haven’t seen her in hours.”
“It probably feels that way because you haven’t. She’s a lot like her father when it comes to crowds. You must’ve rubbed off on her at some point.”
“She’s already gone to bed, then?” Alan asked.
“I doubt it.”
“Where is she?”
Michelle’s features softened as a grim smile set in. “Knowing her, she’s as overcome by all this as you, but in her own way.” She glanced right to the porch’s edge, to a set of fresh boot prints in the snow. They intermixed with a jumble of others deposited by their party guests hours ago and split off, moving away in single file toward the bridge over Trout Run. Michelle reached for Alan’s arm. “Come with me.”
She led him behind the cabin to the bridge, where the prints went missing in the areas shoveled out and reappeared on the opposite side. They tracked them together past the shed until they disappeared in the darkness marking the tree line.
“If I know my daughter, those belong to her,” Michelle said.
Alan squinted. “What’s back there?”
Michelle shrugged her shoulders a tinge. “I’m not sure. Solitude? Tranquility? Enlightenment, maybe? I’ve asked, but Lauren’s never given me a straight answer. I doubt she ever will either. She’s always felt at home amongst nature…we practically raised her in it, but most of what she knows about it is owed to you.” A pause. “But I think this place is different for her.”
Alan homed in on Michelle’s tonal change. “What makes it different?”
She ushered him inbound. “You should ask her,” she said, then patted him on the butt. “Go. Find your daughter and talk to her. Then come home…and bring her with you.”
“I think I’ll do that,” Alan said, somewhat shocked at the smack she’d given him. He literally could not remember the last time he’d been on the receiving end of such an unprovoked attack from a loved one.
Alan followed the set of boot prints, taking his time to allow his eyes to adjust to the dimness. He wasn’t sure how far he’d be able to go at first, as it was almost proving too dark for his maturing eyesight. After a hundred yards or so, he caught sight of a gleaming light in the distance.
Arms outstretched and hands held before him, Alan used the light to guide himself between trees, and after a few minutes, the terrain leveled and opened into a grove. The light he’d been following had been the smoldering mantels of a dated Coleman lantern, one that was now suspended from a branch, serving light to areas around and below. A few feet away, swathed by the lantern’s flickering radiance, her face concealed inside her hood, was Lauren.
Indivisible Page 32
