by Reed, N. C.
Callie Weston was washing dishes when she heard the sound of an ATV stopping outside the house known by everyone as The Orphanage. She wiped her hands and was on her way to the front door when she heard a knock. She opened it to see a small group of people standing there.
“Hello,” she smiled nervously.
“Callie, we need to talk to all of you for a bit,” Franklin George said as he and the rest filed inside. She was about to tell them that two of the women were at the school when Tammy Denmark and Trisha Bonham walked in behind them.
“Joselyn is asleep,” Weston told Franklin. “She worked last night.”
“I'm sorry, but you’ll have to wake her,” Franklin said. “Hopefully, she can get back to sleep once we're finished, but this has to be done.”
“I... I’ll go and get her,” she nodded and disappeared up the stairs. She returned two minutes later with a groggy Joselyn Moore in tow.
“Is something wrong?” Moore asked, blinking.
“Not as such, no,” Franklin said reassuringly. “Nothing that hasn't been, at any rate. But it's past time we had a talk with the four of you, so that's what we're here to do. All of you, please sit.” All four women did so as Brick brought in a folding chair for Leon. He sat down and took a minute to catch his breath as everyone got settled.
“Ladies, we have a problem,” Leon said without preamble. “The problem is how do we trust the four of you? You came here with a group that was part of an effort to overtake us, and even when you had the opportunity, you didn't bother to warn us. You were allowed to stay despite that because we needed help to watch over so many unattended children, and you had small children of your own we didn't want to simply kick aside.” All four nodded, remembering all of it well.
“We need to be able to trust you and just you saying 'you can trust us' won't get it,” the Old Man continued. “Truth is, the fact that we can't trust you is a pain in the ass and we're tired of it. So, here is the plan. Starting tomorrow, two of you will be working somewhere else during the day while Malitha George and Lila Webb watch this house. I know two of you usually go to the school with the children and one stays awake at night so from now on Lila and one of you will take the children to school while Malitha watches the little ones that ain't old enough to go to the day care or school. That will rotate, either day-to-day or week-to-week. You can decide so long as it works out, or else we’ll decide if your plan doesn't. This ain't negotiable before you ask,” he added.
“We're trying to find a way to trust you girls,” Franklin put his oar in the water. “What we came up with was to try and give you more responsibility than just watching the children and see how you did. Trust has to be earned and we're going to try and give you a chance to earn it. You four can't continue to hold us up like you are, with us technically unable to leave you unsupervised.”
“We haven't done anything wrong,” Trisha Bonham said into the silence. “We've tried to be on our best behavior since we've been here.”
“And that's appreciable, but not enough,” Leon was direct in his reply. “We need to be able to trust you completely as a part of this community and right now we can't do that. So, we're doing this to try and get to that point. You ain't been here long so being on your best behavior since then don't really count for much, but it did count enough to try this. It's because you've done well so far that we've giving you this chance and not tossing you off the ranch.” All four flinched at that thought but nodded.
“Franklin will assign what you do based on what needs doing so expect the jobs to change day-to-day. We’ll be watching you to see how you do. Don't screw up,” he warned. “You're already more or less on probation due to the circumstance of how you came to be here. You don't need any more black marks against you. You four got any questions?”
“How long is it going to be like this?” Tammy Denmark asked.
“Until we say so,” Leon replied bluntly. “If you don't like it then the same road that brought you here will take you someplace else. Anything else?”
“This almost sounds more like you're punishing us than giving us a chance to prove ourselves,” Joselyn Moore said.
“If we was punishing you, you'd be on your way down that same road,” Leon shook his head. “Everybody on this farm works at least two jobs and some do more. While you four got a handful up here, it's still no more work than everyone else is used to doing. You're going to have to step it up to be considered part of our community. This is your chance to do that. Anything else?”
“How long will this last?” Callie Weston asked quietly.
“From now on,” Leon replied. “Like I said, everyone works at more than one job. You four ain't gonna be no different. Can't be, really. You've got to earn our trust, and you can't do that sitting here doing something you got to do no matter what because you got a child here as well. Simple as that. How you work elsewhere will be a big factor in determining how much trust we can give you. I trust you all understand how important this is to you?”
All four nodded, muttering a chorus of 'yes sir' along with the nods.
“Good deal then,” Leon got to his feet. “I’ll leave it to Franklin to do the rest as needed. If he has any trouble or difficulty from any of you at all, you may as well start getting ready to head out,” he warned. “We just ain't got a place for trouble makers or people who won't work. And first time I hear 'unfair' or any derivative thereof, you're gone. I just don't aim to tolerate it. Rest of us do it, you can, too. Brick,” Leon said as he started for the door. Brick merely folded the chair and followed Leon out, trailed by everyone else, leaving the four to look at each other. Once alone they would discuss the changes and what they meant for themselves and the children in their care.
-
“Jessups now?” Gordon asked as the group gathered.
“I can't,” Leon admitted. “I'm at my rope's end for the time being. Brick will take me home. You all want to speak to 'em now without me, be my guest. Might get further without me, anyway. Brick, let’s go. I got to get home.” With that the Old Man settled onto the golf cart and Brick at once started for home. Gordon watched them go in concern, then turned to the others.
“Now?”
“Good a time as any,” Franklin sighed.
“So, it is,” Beverly agreed.
“Well, let’s do this, then,” Robert urged.
-
Nadine Jessup looked as if she hadn't had a shower in a good while. Her hair was mostly a tangle of epic proportions, there were bags under her eyes and those eyes were bloodshot. Harley Jessup was semi-drunk, laying half on and half off their sofa, bottle in hand. The cabin stank and was a mess.
“Good grief,” Robert waved a hand in front of his face.
“Or something,” Meecham nodded. “I knew it was bad, but not this bad.”
“Nor me,” Franklin admitted. “Harley, I think you've had enough to drink for one day, haven't you?” he said louder.
“Nadine, you need to go and clean yourself up,” Gordon said. “This is no way for you to be around your children.”
“My child is dead,” Nadine replied automatically.
“One of them, yes,” Beverly nodded. “You have three others, Mrs. Jessup. They need you, too. And they need you to look after yourself better. That includes hygiene. In this kind of life bad hygiene can kill. You should go and get a good shower and put on some clean clothing. Once you do that we can talk.”
“Talk about what?” Harley slurred.
“About whether you two stay here or not,” Gary Meecham said, taking the hard line with Leon gone. Both Jessups looked up at that.
“What?” Nadine asked.
“You two have got to get a hold of yourselves,” Gordon said. “You have three other children to look after and neither of you is doing any work around here at all. Not even taking care of yourself or your children or your living quarters. It's got to stop.”
“Who are you talking to anyway?” Harley Jessup stood up clumsily. “You k
now what happened to us?”
“I do,” Gordon nodded. “And I also know you were the one insisting that Bryon be put where he was. That has nothing to do with this mess,” he waved at the unsightly mess in the cabin. “Enough is enough. Both of you need to clean up and you need to sober up. Today. Now.”
“Or what?”
“Or you're gone,” Meecham didn't hesitate. “We can't carry you any more, Harley. Enough is enough. We’ll be back tomorrow. You two had better have changed this up by then or else we’ll make a change of our own. Both of you get a shower and clean this dump up. And Harley, no more booze. You can't handle it, you can't have it. We see you drinking again you're in trouble.”
“You can't tell me what to do!” Harley Jessup's voice boomed.
“Just did,” Meecham assured him. “And it ain't just me, it's the whole crowd. Your time is up, Harley. Time to clean up and start getting back to work. Both of you. This is your warning. We’ll be back tomorrow, and things better have changed by then. Let’s go,” he told the others. “This is disgusting and there's no need for us to have to endure this. Or their children, either. They can sleep at the Orphanage tonight, or with someone else, but not here.”
“What?” Nadine Jessup heard that if she didn't hear anything else. “You think you're taking my children?”
“Yes,” the entire group replied as one, making her lean back in the face of it.
“For now, it's just for tonight,” Beverly said. “But they have to have a clean and stable environment, and you aren't giving them that. As Gary said, enough is enough. Clean up your act, sober up, and get this filth cleaned up. We’ll be back tomorrow.”
“At which time we’ll be discussing your future here,” Franklin George said softly. “If you have one.”
They didn't give the couple time or opportunity to object, instead leaving them behind. Once outside all of them were gasping the clean air.
“I have been in some terrible homes,” Beverly said finally. “Part of my job at the time. But that was bad.”
“And if we don't shock them out of it, it will just get worse,” Robert chimed in. “Good work, Gary.”
“It's got to stop,” Meecham said simply. “I hated to do it, but this has got to stop. It's got to.”
“Will we kick them out if we find things unchanged tomorrow?” Gordon asked.
“If they've made at least some progress and Harley is sober, then I'd say not,” Beverly spoke first. “They didn't get this way overnight and they won't get over it in one night, either. But I want to see some solid progress before I say they can stay. And that leads us to another problem.”
“Their children,” Meecham nodded.
“Yes,” Beverly replied. “Their children are in grade school. They have to have at least some parental supervision and assistance, and they can't be getting it from them,” she nodded toward the Jessup's door. “If we kick them out, the children stay.”
“I don't know if we have the authority to take someone’s child away,” Robert frowned, not in argument but in thought.
“There is no real authority outside us, anymore,” Franklin George sighed. “We have allowed this mess to get like this in the wake of what happened. And no, I'm not saying we're to blame,” he held up a hand before anyone could object. “But we all knew this was an issue. I at least should have checked on them before now, and I didn't. I have no real excuse for that, I just. . .didn't.”
“We need to change the dynamic up here,” Beverly said into the silence. When the men all looked at her she tried again.
“We need some fresh faces here,” she clarified. “You don't have enough people up here to help you. Even the presence of steady people will influence what happens here. More than that, we have to stop seeing ourselves as three communities instead of one. If we don't, we aren't going to make it.”
“What do you mean?” Gary Meecham asked.
“There's those of us at the Troy farm,” Beverly ticked off on her fingers, “the Sanders family and their guests or dependents or whatever category you'd like to place them in, and then up here,” she held up a third and final finger. “We aren't a community of one, we're a group of three communities that aren't congregating as we should be. When we first started this, remember how we celebrated Christmas and New Year’s together? When was the last time we did anything as a group? I can't believe I haven't considered this before,” she sighed, shaking her head at her own negligence.
“What?” Robert asked. “I mean I get what you're saying, but what are you considering now?”
“Isolation,” Beverly said simply. “Franklin has already said that he hadn't checked on the Jessups. Have you?” she asked Meecham and received a head shake.
“Neither have I, and I counseled their son,” Beverly admitted. “The fact that we've all been incredibly busy is no real excuse, either. If we don't become one solid, unified community then our days are numbered, gentlemen. Maybe not tomorrow, or next week or even in the next month, but sooner or later the fact that we are so divided will hurt us, and I mean badly. We better fix that problem before it does.”
“You got any suggestions other than a big cookout?” Gordon asked, interested in what she was saying. She had made several good points in just a few short sentences and he wanted to hear more of what she had to say.
“It has to start with inclusion,” Beverly said. “I suppose a cookout is as good a place to start as any, to be honest. But it has to go beyond that. We need some semblance of normalcy here. We try to give it to the children with school or daycare and play times, but we do nothing of the sort for the adults. Where are the sewing circles, the quilting bees, the horseshoes, the card games, all the things we took for granted before this happened? Church service, for example.”
“Church?” Franklin George frowned. “That's something I have thought on, to be honest, but. . .I always end up putting it aside for another problem.”
“We need to stop putting it aside,” Beverly decreed. “People need normalcy. They need things to look forward to. Right now, we got nothing to look forward to except another attack. We can't prevent that from happening, but we don't have to just pull our heads in and hide, either. We can't. . .” she paused, searching for the right words.
“We can't exchange having a life for just living or surviving,” Gordon offered and Beverly nodded rapidly.
“Yes! Thank you! That's it exactly. We have got to get out of this rut we are in and find some solid, level ground.”
“Well, son,” Gordon looked at Robert, “what say we go and cut out a calf to smoke?” he smiled slightly.
“It's a start,” Robert nodded. “Need to make a lot of bread, I guess, and maybe some fixings.”
“Today is Tuesday,” Gary Meecham pointed out. “Wait for Saturday?”
“We don't have to do that anymore,” Gordon shook his head. “And I think this young woman has the right idea, and I think she's right about the urgency. I say we get everyone concerned together and plan to do this Thursday. School can be out, no work details other than what has to be done, the kids can gather at the daycare, the ones too young to help, anyway. We make this an all hands operation, save for those who are doing needed jobs and the men and women who are doing security. They have enough on them as it is. Franklin, you and Gary are welcome to help me and Robert and probably Ronny roast a steer,” he grinned. “We’ll dig a pit, put it somewhere out of the way and keep it, line it with rock, and we can use whatever hickory we've cut for firewood to cook it. May have to feed some other wood in there to stretch it, but we can do it.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Franklin nodded. “I'm in.”
“I was in as soon as you said food,” Gary chuckled. “Bachelors never turn down home cooking, even when we know how to cook ourselves.”
“That doesn't alleviate the immediate problems,” Beverly noted, “but it's a fine start. Meanwhile, I need to go and take the Jessup children out of school and talk to them. I'm amazed they haven't alr
eady said something to Miss Jerrolds.”
“For all we know they have,” Robert shrugged. “Like you said; we haven't done a good job of being a community lately.”
“We're going to. though,” Gordon said and Franklin George echoed it as the two older men spoke almost in unison.
CHAPTER SIX
-
“Can you do it?”
Clay looked at Leon for a moment, realizing that this was important or else Leon would never have asked him to do it.
“Are they going to stay, then?” he temporized. Leon had just asked him about sending a team to retrieve whatever of the Webb's belongings could be found.
“They are, and I think be good members of the community,” Leon nodded. “Samuel and Lucas both got good heads on 'em, and they know who was to blame for what happened to them and more importantly who ain't. They're keeping John in check as a matter of fact. I expect Daisy is going to be fine, or at least as fine as a woman what's been through what she has can be,” he added darkly. “Jury's still out on Jasmine but she looked pretty good at least. Was responsive and even smiled a bit. That's something.”
“True,” Clay nodded. “Leon, you realize that those homes are still. . .I mean the bodies. . ..” His sentence dribbled to a halt as he tried to find the best way to put it.
“The bodies are still where they were,” Leon nodded. “I know. That's why I ain't asking none of them to go. And why I'm thinking that once you get everything you can outta them houses, you set fire to 'em. Bodies been there long enough now them houses won't be fit to live in. And they can't go back there no way.”
“I don't. . .how do they feel about that?” Clay asked.
“I ain't asked 'em,” Leon admitted. “But you know well as I do they can't make it on their own. Couldn't make it with all of 'em, sure can't make it now. Cortez burned his ships when his men hit the beach in the New World so as to motivate them to work hard to survive. No going back. If they try to go back and see there ain't nothing there, then that will settle that.”
“Cortez?” Clay blurted, not having heard much after that.
