by N. C. Reed
“There's plenty of room down here to do that,” Malitha George declared. “There's no reason to put them with us.”
“Facilities are already in place up there and the square was designed for it,” Clay countered easily. “We don't have anywhere we can tie in to an existing system here and we don't have enough fixtures to provide a bathroom for them either. We used the majority of everything we had along those lines setting up the central buildings at the cabins. We have a few things still in storage but those are reserved for repairs, not new construction. Once they have to be used there's no way to get more. No sinks, toilets, pipe, shower head, you name it. When it's gone, it's gone.”
They didn't like it, having things thrown back at them. Angela looked as if she were about to bust open.
Time to twist the knife a little.
“Another thing to consider is that we are facing an inevitable attack on this farm by Hyatt Holman. He wants this place and intends to have it. Because of that, the security team is on full alert for the time being. That means that none of us will be available for other jobs. You all will have to assign security to keep an eye on those women. If you want them to stay then you have to take responsibility for ensuring they can't hurt us.”
“Well that's not our job,” Carlene Goodrum retorted, looking as if she had bitten into something sour. Her son would be one of the people likely to be assigned to that duty.
“It's not anyone's job because we've never had this situation before,” Clay pointed out. “We weren't supposed to have it at all. While we have appointed Greg to be our lawman he's only one man, and he does have other duties. That means someone else is going to have to do it. And since you all want them to stay here you're going to have to take responsibility for them. We can't do that while we're trying to be ready for an assault on this farm. Simple as that. There just aren't enough of us.”
“I can have Gordy do it,” Angela threw in, but Clay was ready for that.
“You can try to have Robert or Ronny do it,” he corrected. “Gordy works for me. He won't be standing guard on them because he’ll be standing guard somewhere out there,” he made a motion in the general direction of Jordan.
“You seem determined not to do this,” Angela accused.
“I am,” he freely admitted. “But if you're all determined to see it done, I just want to be sure you know what it entails. You are going to be responsible for anything the five of them do that's detrimental to this farm or its defense. I don't have the manpower to get it done. I honestly don't have the manpower to defend the farm.”
“Are you saying we aren't safe?” Nadine Jessup asked. “Because we were told it would be safe here.”
“Safer,” Clay emphasized. “That doesn't mean safe. And until I have some idea of how many people Holman can bring to bear against us and how well armed and trained they are, I don't know how safe we will be. It all depends on what he does and how he goes about it.”
“So, there it is,” he stood up, stretching. “Factoring all that into the decision, how do you want to proceed?”
“Where will they stay until we can build them a house?” Malitha asked.
“We have a few tents that can-”
“They are not living in tents!” Angela interrupted him.
“Then I guess they're staying at my parent's house,” Clay shrugged, unperturbed by his mother's outburst. He had been expecting it.
“What were you going to say?” Deborah asked, remembering her first stay on the farm.
“That we have a few tents we can put up inside Building One on a temporary basis, like we did when you visited,” he nodded. “And I mean temporary. One week, ten days maximum. After that they have to go somewhere. I can't have them around our supplies like that. I won't. I don't trust them and until and unless they can prove themselves trustworthy I will not have them in a position to cause us harm. I’ll expect you to arrange for security for them, and that will have to be around the clock while they're in that building. Once they're in their own place then you can do as you please but remember; whatever they do is your responsibility. I can't be responsible for them on top of everything else I have to do.”
To say they didn't like it was an understatement, but he had played them perfectly. Not only would they be forced to deal with all of the details, they would also have to watch out for the women in question and ensure they didn't do anything to hurt the farm. And on top of that he would always be able to point back at this moment and say he had given in before but wouldn't again.
Leon was a frigging genius.
“I guess we have no choice then,” Deborah Webb sighed. “We need to go and pick out a place and get them working on a suitable dwelling.”
“Make it big enough for all the children,” Clay told her. “If those five are going to live here, they have to work just like the rest of us. There's a group of children who need caretakers. Give them the job. But warn them that they have to take just a good a care of the orphans as they do their own. No playing favorites with meals, chores or anything else. Plus, that will keep all of them where it's easier to keep an eye on them.”
“We’ll need to plant another garden,” Angela said. She was still smarting from her apparent defeat at the hands of her youngest child. “I will get some help organized for that today. I’ll ask Ronny to turn over the soil so that we can try and start planting day after tomorrow, assuming the weather cooperates.”
“Sounds like y'all have it covered,” Clay clapped his hands, rubbing them together. “I’ll ask the Duo to break out the tents. I imagine the women will be glad to help set them up, since the alternative is sleeping on the floor. See you folks later,” he smiled and made a break for the door before anything else could start.
Yes sir, Leon was the man!
–
“Leon, you're a jackass.” Marla Jones exclaimed.
Clayton had just departed after giving Leon a report on how things had gone with the ladies over the five women and all those children. Now Marla was looking down at him with a severe look on her face.
“What's in your bonnet now?” he asked tiredly.
“How could you two even pretend to be willing to force those young women back out into the cold like that?” she demanded.
“It's not cold,” Leon shot back. “Damn near eighty degrees today. And I wasn't pretending. Don't imagine the boy was either.”
“That doesn't answer my question!”
“You want to feed them?” Leon demanded shortly, his voice suddenly harsh. “You miss the point where they were part of a plan to undermine this place? Where they had the chance to tell us what was happening and chose not to? Or did you miss the part where we're using supplies that were meant for my great grandchildren and their children, like those vitamins? Maybe you missed the part where I told Clayton to see that those children were cared for even if I had to go without to do it? And do you think he wouldn't go hungry himself to keep them fed? Any of his men would do the same, too.”
“You and some of these others that are not thinking about this better start and you better start sooner rather than later,” Leon continued on his mini-rant. “We were never intending to be a charity, Marla. We made plans based on our own needs and then spent ourselves broke trying to make sure we had them. We missed a lot, and some things we didn't get at all. I spent every penny I had in cash to stock this place in the little time we had once we knew what was happening. That money was spent specifically to provide for my great grandchildren and a few select others. Now a great deal of all that is being spent on other people. And I'm not talking about the people I actually invited here before you bring that up.”
“Now Clayton has it right, like it or not. This place will only feed so many. And that is just hard science and not some kind of conspiracy. On top o' that, Hyatt Holman is waiting out there somewhere to swoop in here like a hawk and take everything we own, and those damn women were playing a part in it, coerced or not!”
“You bunch all want
to be Good Samaritans, that's fine and dandy. I can't always afford to be because someone around here has to be thinking about the consequences of those kinds of acts! It would be the simplest thing in the world to use that kindness against us, as we've seen today. And that leaves aside what I just said about trying to feed so many.”
“So far, we've tried to do any and every thing that everyone wanted to do,” Leon let up a little, his breathing becoming strained once again. “Clayton and his men have run themselves ragged doing all this while the rest, the people who refuse to see what's happening, haven't done shit! Well that's ending, today. From now on if you want something done then you better be willing to do it yourself and take responsibility for it! And you better start thinking about the future of our own people!”
“What does that mean?” Marla demanded, hands on her hips.
“What if Lainie comes up pregnant?” Leon demanded. “Alicia already is. Abby may find someone willing to put up with her crap and settle down. Leanne may find one of these young bucks attractive some day and so might Janice. When they start raising a family what happens when we've gave away all the stuff we meant for them? Vitamins, medicines, food? We can't replace the first two and we can only produce so much of the second. You want to look at a great grandchild of yours and admit they're doing without because you gave what was meant for them to someone else?”
Marla lost some of her belligerence as Leon ticked off all the reasons for his being a 'jackass'.
“Hadn't thought of any o' that at all, had ya?” Leon demanded after a few moments. “Well I don't get that luxury and neither does Clayton. We have to think about it every damn day because none o' the rest of ya bother!” He had to stop as a coughing fit overtook him. Marla just looked at him but Janice ran to Leon's side and gave him a rag to cough into. She looked up at Marla and the older woman was shocked at the look on the normally pleasant young woman's face.
“That's enough,” she almost snarled, her voice low, vibrant with anger. “He's not in any shape for this and you know it. If you've got any more problems with how things are being done you need to take them to Mister Clayton.” Without waiting for an answer Janice turned back to Leon.
“Take a small drink of this, Mister Leon,” she held a cup with a straw up to his mouth so Leon could get some water. He drank a little and then made a half grab for his oxygen mask. Janice instantly grabbed it and helped him get it on. Marla noted how gentle she was in dealing with Leon and thought about how Leon had always responded to the girl. Her fussing over him always left Leon at a loss, which was funny most of the time. It wasn't funny right now.
“Just lay back and take it easy Mister Leon,” the teen soothed. “Can I get you anything? Are you hungry?” Leon shook his head and patted her arm lightly, then closed his eyes and breathed the oxygen in, allowing it to help him. Janice watched him for a minute to make sure that Leon wasn't in any distress, then turned angry eyes on Marla Jones.
“Don't do that again,” she warned and then stomped away without waiting for a reply. The entire episode with Janice was so out of character for the girl that Marla was caught completely by surprise.
“Leon is the closest thing she has ever had to a true father figure,” Brick's voice was soft and Marla jumped at the sound of it, not having heard the big man enter the room. “It shouldn't surprise you that she is protective of him.”
“I wasn't trying to make him sick,” Marla semi-defended. “I'm just tired of the way he does things.”
“Then why stay?” Brick asked calmly. “If you don't like how he does things you can always depart, can't you? But. . .he has treated you well, hasn't he?” His tone wasn't really mocking, but it was so very close there was no way she could miss his point.
Yes, he had treated her well. She didn't bother to say it, but it was true and everyone knew it. And it hadn't started just when the lights went out, either. Leon had been there for here many times, as had his late wife Elizabeth. Whenever she had been in trouble, Leon had always been there for her.
“It's not about me,” she half protested. “Those girls-”
“Were part of a plot to hurt us,” Brick's voice was firm. “Clay was right. They had ample opportunity when under armed guard to let someone know what was happening and they didn't. While that might not make them an enemy, it definitely isn't something a friend would do. They chose Holman over us despite our good treatment of them.”
“And if others want them cared for then they must learn that comes at a price. In this case, a sacrifice not only of resources but of time. Being responsible for the decisions you make. For the actions of those you choose to allow around you. If I did something terrible on this farm who do you think would be blamed? Were it not for Leon I wouldn't be here and you can bet that would be mentioned almost at once.”
Marla said nothing to that, but her silence might as well have been agreement. She hadn't considered those things. She had merely assumed that helping someone else was a given. She had allowed no thought at all to how helping so many others might put a strain on their resources. She doubted anyone else had either.
She left the room without any more talk, her mind occupied with everything that had been said in the last few minutes. Maybe, just maybe, she had been wrong.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
-
It took six days, with substantial prodding from the group Clay had secretly dubbed 'The Matriarchs', to get the new dwelling up. Furnishing it had taken another two days and had revealed yet another problem.
“We don't have any mattresses. No pillows and no mattresses,” Angela informed everyone. “We can likely come up with sheets and blankets enough between us all, but we don't have any mattresses whatsoever.”
“We can make some old-style mattresses with the proper materials,” Deborah Webb suggested. “But we'd need down, or maybe sheep wool. Cotton would also work if we had enough of it.”
“And we would need a great deal of cloth for the outer shell, so to speak,” Angela nodded. “I don't think we can do it.”
“My grandmother told me they made pillows from pine boughs when she was a girl,” Malitha George said. “Might not be as comfortable as modern pillows but better than nothing?”
“I didn't think about all this,” Angela hated to admit since it was another example of what Clay had been talking about. “I don't see any way to provide for them unless we can find some mattresses somewhere.”
“No idea where that would be at this point,” Nadine Jessup made a gesture of helplessness with her hands. “The nearest furniture store was in Peabody. Leaving aside the fact that we can't just go diddy bopping into town like we used to, Peabody is likely full of hostile people and we don't know if Hunter's Furniture Store survived the fire. If it did there may not be any mattresses at all left there.”
“All good points, and there's no way that Clayton will agree to going into town anyway,” Angela nodded.
“What about the park?” Malitha George said suddenly.
“What?”
“The state park,” she repeated. “Specifically, the group camp and group lodge. There may be people staying there and it may have been looted, but if not then there will at least be some thin mattresses for those twin beds. I don't think they have linen but there may be some pillows. I'm not sure.”
“You're forgetting the problem of getting Clayton to go and get them,” Angela reminded her.
“What if we could get others to go?” Deborah asked. “If Clayton will just provide an escort I'm willing to ask some of my boys to go. Others might help too.”
“It's worth a try I guess,” Angela almost sighed. “But don't get your hopes up.”
–
“No.”
“Clayton, can you not give just a little here?” his mother asked him. “Please?”
“I already did, didn't I?” he replied. “They're staying, aren't they?”
“Clayton, this isn't about those women,” Angela tried another tactic. “It's about tryin
g to provide for all those children. They need mattresses if we can find them, and Malitha says there may be some twin mattresses at the park lodge or group camp. We're asking for volunteers to go and do the labor. Surely you can provide an escort for something like that. Just enough to ensure their safety?”
“What part of I can't even be sure we can defend the farm did you not hear?” Clay asked her. “We are stretched so thin it's ridiculous. If I send enough to keep a work party truly safe and Holman chooses that moment to hit us, we're done.”
“Clayton, it seems like you're just being deliberately difficult about this!” his mother finally lost her temper. “Now I'm tired of this and I want it to stop!”
“My job is to protect this farm and the people on it,” Clay refused to give in or back down. “That's my job. I warned all of you, repeatedly, how bad things would get when this happened and not a one of you listened. Most of you even told me how ridiculous I was being about the whole thing. Now you're able to see the truth for yourself but won't. You're tired? Try my shoes on for a while. I stay tired trying to keep you from ruining everything with your thinking that the world around us is still doing just fine. You and the others have been protected from what's happening away from this place and that makes you think conditions are still almost normal. Do yourself a favor. Talk to Amy, or Samantha or the Haley girl. Talk to those five women you wanted to let stay here so bad. Find out what the world out there is really like.”
“I want you to provide an escort for the volunteers who are going to get those mattresses,” Angela said stubbornly.
“You haven't heard a word I said, have you?” Clay shook his head in exasperation. “You don't even know that there are mattresses there to start with. Or if there are, what shape they're in. These kids are probably better off on the floor.”
“Clayton Sanders!” Angela exploded, “I raised you better than that!”
“You also raised me not to be stupid,” Clay retorted. “You're asking something that isn't possible right now. I can't spare-”
