by Kate Morris
He’s proud of Cory, as proud of him as if he were his own son. He’d come to him shortly before he’d proposed and asked his permission, which Herb had gladly consented. He’d asked his brother to be present at the same meeting. Kelly had been genuinely happy for his younger brother.
Unfortunately for Simon, Samantha had gone home to Sergeant Winters’ compound after the party and had not come to the farm for a visit. The poor young buck has been moping about and going for long, contemplative walks in the woods. Herb sees so much of himself in Simon. He, too, had gone through a phase when he wasn’t very good at communicating with people. His Mary had always excelled at people skills. He was always better at research until he met Mary. She taught him so much about communication, and she let him know when he screwed up. She was good at dealing with people, but her greatest achievement was dealing with him. Herb is quite sure he didn’t make the task any easier, either. She was a patient woman.
A commotion outside his office window draws him away from his work, and he rises to investigate. An unusually heavy snow fell last night, and the children are building a snowman. Except that the boys seem more intent on throwing snowballs at one another and less on making a good Frosty. He smiles as he watches Huntley wind up and throw a snowball he’d obviously spent some time packing right at G’s back. It lands with a solid thud. When she spins to see who threw it, her facial expression is not one of great amusement. She runs at him, slips at the last second, and crashes into his waist taking him down. The other children only see it as an opportunity and join in. They make him smile, these grandchildren of his. Even in the midst of such hardship and life-changing events like an apocalyptic societal crash, children can still find joy in simple things like a snowball fight.
He chuckles and turns back to his desk. Derek should be joining him soon to go over plans for their trip. Herb is more nervous this time to leave the farm because he worries that this young man who calls himself the President of the United States will show up wanting to have words with his son, or even more than words. He hasn’t slept well since they found out that the President could be in the area. According to the used car dealer, he does not believe the President is that close yet, but Herb worries that he is either lying or wasn’t kept in the loop on the man’s whereabouts. Either way, it is something that concerns him.
From the other room, he hears Charlotte awaken from her nap with a cry of hunger. Deciding to stretch his back and give his tired eyes a rest, Herb retrieves her from the music room and takes a seat in his wife’s favorite chair near the windows. Sue rushes in a second later.
“Grandpa! Sorry, I had my hands full,” she explains. “I was coming.”
“Not a problem,” he says with a smile. “I’ll feed her.”
She pauses. “Are you sure? I can do it now.”
“Nothing would make me happier, maybe your company,” he says and takes the bottle.
Reagan is in the shed with Simon teaching him a surgical procedure using the carcass of a neighbor’s pig. They all know to save animals that die of natural causes or disease so that the young medical students can get their share of practice in anatomical study and surgical technique. Lucas is also with them, although he would much rather have his eyes glued to a microscope. Simon, on the other hand, would’ve made a fantastic surgeon, much like Reagan. He has very steady hands and is good at making quick decisions. His boyish innocence and indecision are gone. He is a decisive young man and a very good doctor.
“All ready for tomorrow?” his granddaughter asks.
“I believe so,” he answers. “There is much to go over with Robert. Are you sure you don’t want to go with us?”
“Gosh, no,” she says. “I can’t do that to Hannah. She needs my help.”
“Probably true,” he agrees. “Your father said he wasn’t feeling well anyway. Probably not a good idea to risk bringing anything back to the children until we know what’s wrong.”
“From his sickness again? Another flare up?”
“Possibly,” he says and smiles down at Charlotte.
“You’re gonna spoil that kid!” Reagan announces as she enters the room.
“I spoiled you, so why not Miss Charlotte?” he asks rhetorically and gets a snort. “Done already?”
“Yeah, busted the gut sack. Now I’m covered in nasties and shit,” she swears.
“Reagan!” Hannah reprimands in anger from the kitchen.
Reagan only rolls her feisty green eyes and yells back, “Fine! Feces!” She smirks and continues. “Anyway, I’m going to get a shower. You ok with her?”
“We’re doing just fine,” he answers and smiles down at his great-granddaughter again. She momentarily stops suckling and smiles around the nipple of the bottle up at him. “She loves her grandpa. Don’t you? Yes, you do.”
“Oh, brother,” Reagan bemoans and leaves the room with a bawdy laugh.
He turns to Sue and says, “Your father said he’d like to speak with you in person soon.”
This catches her attention, and she asks, “Me? What for?”
“I’m not sure. He said he wanted to speak with you and Derek.”
Herb has a pretty good idea what it could be about but doesn’t speculate it aloud. Also, discussing it with Sue would be difficult because Robert is his son, after all.
“Ok, sure,” she says. “We’ll have to arrange a visit when he’s not sick.”
He nods and looks away, down at the baby instead. Her son Justin comes in and draws his mother away needing help with something he’s working on in the other room. It is the school year, and Sue is strict about her children being educated, for which Herb is thankful. Children need a good education no matter the situation or the world around them. Her son is an avid learner and loves reading. Arianna is another story altogether and is probably the reason the rest of the kids are outside having a snowball fight instead of working on their lessons. She may end up being the President of the United States someday. Herb would undoubtedly vote for her. Or perhaps she may be a dictator, which would be more fitting, to which none of them would have a choice but to vote for her.
There will be room to grow their small community in the spring, so maybe she can rule there. Twelve families are starting their own co-operative farm outside of town. They will be raising chickens, beef, bison, deer, and goats all for meat. Each family has already been raising and breeding animals and increasing their tiny herds which will soon expand into a full-blown operation. In addition, they are going to farm grains. Some of the people already have experience and will be teaching those who only have to offer the sweat equity of their backs. They have chosen a three-hundred-acre abandoned dairy farm between Pleasant View and Clarksville. They will barter their meat and grain products with the people of Pleasant View, Coopertown, and any other trusted communities in the area. Herb believes it is a positive step in the right direction. It has spurred others in town to consider offering a trade service for bartering. One man who used to own a construction company is now training young men the fine art of home building. His first set of projects will be building small cabins on that dairy farm for the twelve families. They will trade work for meat and grains. Another young man in town has studied blacksmithing and is now shoeing horses in exchange for canned goods. Others are teaching children. Two families are going to open a flour mill for processing grain. Their small community is finally turning the corner now that the threat of extermination has passed.
The people they’ve taken in from the highwaymen included two doctors and four former RN’s. Some want to stay, but others have decided to move on. Sam’s uncle could definitely use another doctor, so he sent Dr. Brown to live on Dave’s compound until she leaves in the spring. She’ll fit in well over there. The other doctor is a psychologist, and he’s quite sure she will be kept very busy.
For now, he can relax just slightly knowing all of his children have a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs. Tomorrow is not a given, it is not promised, and he und
erstands that so well. Charlotte has fallen asleep in his arms, and Herb is content to hold and rock her while contemplating the future of his family. At times, he worries that they will eventually fail, that they are living on borrowed time. But sometimes, like now as he holds his great-granddaughter in his arms, he holds out hope for the future and the possibilities that might await them.
