Sally came up and gave him a hug, followed by Emma. ‘Where’s Pete?’ asked Jamie. ‘Oh, he’s busy working on a small project with Phil,’ replied Emma, ‘and he wanted to get it finished today. He sends his regards, as do Phil and Sophie.’
They went through to the kitchen and Jane greeted them warmly with smiles and hugs, while Max barked and jumped up at them all. Megan was standing by the back door, looking both excited and a little shy.
‘Hello- who’s this, then?’ asked Emma.
‘This is Megan,’ said Jane. ‘We met her last week in Sidley. She’d been surviving on her own for about five months so we brought her back to live with us. Megan, this is Emma and her husband, Bill, and their daughter, Sally.’
They said hello and Megan came forward and shook their hands, smiling, saying how pleased she was to meet them. Sally said hi and gave her a big smile.
‘Is it okay if Sally and I take Max down to the beach?’ asked Megan. Sally was keen and the adults said yes, of course. Megan grabbed Max’s ball and the three of them ran off down the garden while the adults looked on, smiling.
‘It’ll do Megan a power of good having Sally to play with,’ said Jane, with tears starting in her eyes.
Emma put her arm around her. ‘And Sally, too, I think. She’s missed having girls her own age to hang out with. So, tell us all about her.’
Jane told them how they’d met on the way back from Sarah and Georgie’s the week before, and how she had spent a month in a cellar and another four months scavenging for food on her own after her parents had died. Bill shook his head and Emma had tears in her eyes.
‘The poor thing,’ she said. ‘What an awful thing to go through! She’s all skin and bone.’
‘You should have seen her a week ago,’ said Jamie. ‘She’s put on a fair bit of weight already since then, hasn’t she, Jane?’
‘Yes, she has, and she already seems like a different person to the scared little girl we met, bless her.’
Bill gave them a bag containing some eggs, milk and fresh cheese and they both thanked them. Jamie made them all coffee and they sat at the table talking about Megan.
‘That was a really good thing you did,’ said Bill, ‘bringing her back with you like that and taking her in.’
‘To be honest, mate,’ said Jamie, ‘we didn’t even need to think about it. There was no way we could have left her on her own.’ Jane agreed with him.
After their coffee they gave Bill and Emma a tour of the two houses and gardens. They were both impressed with all the things the couple had done there, and with all the food they had managed to preserve for the winter. They stood at the bottom of the garden looking out the gate at the two girls playing with Max on the beach, shrieking and laughing. Bill looked pensive.
‘Well, you’ve got a pretty good setup here,’ he said, ‘and a nice spot. Have you given any thought to how long you might stay here?’
Jamie smiled. ‘Blimey! No, we hadn’t even thought that far ahead, to be honest. And just recently we’ve had other things on our mind, too, apart from Megan…’
‘You’re pregnant, aren’t you?’ said Emma; Jane gave her a small smile and nodded.
‘Bloody hell!’ said Bill. ‘I mean… Well, congratulations!’
‘I knew straight away,’ said Emma.
‘Not much escapes you, does it?’ said Jane, smiling fondly at her.
‘No; not a lot!’ she answered, smiling. They all hugged each other and Bill shook Jamie’s hand warmly.
‘Well, it wasn’t planned, as you might imagine;’ said Jamie, ‘but now that it’s happened…’
‘Well, this calls for a celebration,’ said Bill. They went back into the house and Bill produced a bottle of home-made wine that he’d brought.
‘One of the last bottles from last year’s vintage: parsnip and apricot wine, from my old Dad’s recipe,’ he explained. Jane got some glasses and he poured them all a glass, though Jane diluted hers with some water. Bill thought it was sacrilege, but he understood.
‘Any names yet?’ asked Emma.
Jane smiled. ‘Yes- surprisingly! Either Robbie or Annie.’
‘To Robbie or Annie- whichever comes first!’ said Bill. They repeated the toast and drank. Jamie coughed slightly. It was thick, sweet and powerful stuff, more like a strong sherry.
‘Wow!’ he said. ‘That’ll put hairs on your chest!’ Bill smiled and nodded, then looked serious again.
‘Well, I was going to say something before, out in the garden, but your little curve-ball put me off my stroke with your news!’ He looked at Emma, who nodded. ‘The thing is; me and Emma have been talking recently- and this might be even more relevant now, what with Megan and the pregnancy. Well, we wondered if you’d be interested in coming to live with us at the farm? We’re very fond of you both. We’ve got plenty of space there; there’s a wing in the house that’s unused, or we could convert one of the buildings in the top yard. What used to be the chicken shed, back in my dad’s day, even has its own water supply and a hand-pump. Dad diverted the supply to the house about thirty years ago and it still works.
We’d be glad of your company and we could all look out for each other out in times to come, which aren’t going to be easy, as you know. There are acres of land we haven’t used yet and we could grow a lot more crops and breed more animals. We’re going to need to get horses for transport soon as well, I imagine, and we can make stabling for them in the top yard. Also, Megan would be great company for Sally now and we could make a lot of improvements between us. You’re good with your hands, Jamie- and you, Jane- and we could get a lot done to make things better for all our futures.’
Jamie and Jane were surprised and touched by the offer, and told them so. Jane put her hand on top of Emma’s. ‘Thank you so much for that. It’s a lovely offer and we’ll give it serious thought. At the moment, though, we’re keen to reap the rewards of our labours in the garden this year. But, certainly at the end of the year, it could be something for us to do. We’ll think about it and keep you posted.’
Just then, they heard a vehicle pull up at the front and Jamie went out to welcome Sarah and Georgie. They hugged and he ushered them inside and through to the kitchen. They had brought more eggs, along with honey and a pheasant. Jane hugged them both and introduced them to Bill and Emma and they all shook hands. Bill and the sisters remembered each other and said how nice it was to see each other again.
Jamie went out to call the girls back, while Jane told Sarah and Georgie about Megan. They were shocked and saddened to hear her story and both said what a great thing she and Jamie had done in bringing her back with them. Shortly after, Max came in panting and flopped down on his bed, closely followed by Megan and Sally, smiling and laughing. Jane introduced them both to the sisters, who hugged them warmly and fussed over them, saying how pretty they both were and how pleased they were to meet them.
They ate outside on the patio as the weather was good and everyone agreed that the fish stew was delicious. Jane said that Jamie should take most of the credit for it, especially as he’d gone out to catch the fish.
‘And don’t forget Megan;’ Jamie added, ‘she was the one who reeled in that whopper of a bass!’
Megan gave them a big grin. ‘It was great fun… but I did start feeling a bit sea-sick after an hour. I didn’t puke, though!’ she added, and everyone laughed.
Megan asked Sally if she wanted to play Scrabble and she said yes, so they disappeared into the kitchen to sit at the table. Jamie found his dictionary for them in case of disputes, then opened a bottle of wine and went back outside.
‘They seem to be getting on well,’ Georgie commented, and all agreed that it was lovely to see them having fun together.
They sat in the sun and talked for several hours. Jamie told them of his meeting with the army the day before and the others were surprised and listened with great interest to all he had to say. He told them of the radio broadcasts and what frequency they were on, and also repeated Major Cunningham’s wa
rning to question anyone they might meet about where they’d come from, their state of health and whether they’d had contact with other people recently.
‘It’s a good thing they’ve got the refugee camp set up,’ said Bill, ‘but it’s also a bit worrying about survivors from The Smoke possibly coming down here and bringing new diseases with them. I hadn’t given any thought to stuff like that and we’ll all have to be careful about anyone we meet from now on. Let’s hope they meet the army road-blocks first and get taken to the camp for quarantine and treatment,’ and they all agreed with him.
They discussed transport and fuel lifespan, too. What the Major had told Jamie reinforced the research that Sarah and Georgie’s father had done before his death: that the remaining fuel would possibly become unusable within a year or so.
‘Well, it’s now been well over six months since that fuel was produced,’ said Jane, ‘and possibly as much as eight or nine, which means that we may only have the use of vehicles for another six months, and maybe a lot less… which is worrying. It means that anything we might need for the future that can’t be carried, or that we need to source from any distance, needs to be gathered and stored in the next few months.’
‘You’re right, Jane,’ said Bill, ‘and it looks like I repaired the van just in time!’
‘How much red diesel do you have left in your tank, Bill?’ she asked.
‘Ooh, probably around forty gallons, maybe more. Why?’
‘Well, I was just wondering; is that tank vented?’
‘Yes; it has to be for the pump to work.’
‘Well, that means that the diesel will degrade quicker because of air and moisture ingress; isn’t that right, Sarah?’
‘Yes,’ she replied, ‘at least that’s what Dad told me.’
‘I think you should empty the tank, Bill,’ said Jane, ‘and decant it all into sealed containers. That will stop any more contact with air and moisture and, hopefully, prolong its life. You can then just use a can at a time, when you need it.’
Bill scratched his head and nodded. ‘I think that’s a good idea, Jane; well done. I hadn’t thought about that before. I know where I can get a load of jerrycans from, so I’ll get onto that straight away.’
It came time for the guests to leave as they all had things to do at home. Sarah and Georgie left first, after kissing the girls and hugging everyone. Jane went out to see them off and they waved as they drove off. When she came back the girls were packing away the Scrabble board.
‘Who won?’ she asked them.
‘Well, it was pretty neck-and-neck all the way,’ said Sally, ‘but Megan just beat me at the end with a couple of good scores, and I had a bloomin’ X and a J that I couldn’t get rid of!’ Megan grinned.
They all went out the front and said their goodbyes, saying they’d see each other soon. Jamie said that it might be a couple of weeks, as some of the apples were ready for harvesting and they would be busy. Bill reminded them to think about their offer and they said they would. The two girls hugged each other hard then Sally climbed into the van after her parents and they drove off, waving.
Soon afterwards Jane drove off with Megan to check the snares at another location, coming back later with a rabbit, which was good news. Jane said there had actually been two in the snares, but one had looked sickly so she’d discarded it. While they were gone, though, Jamie sat outside at the patio table, thinking about the future and all they’d talked about that afternoon, writing things in his notebook as he thought of them. There were lots of things for him and Jane to discuss that night, after Megan had gone to bed.
Twenty-three
That night, with Megan in bed asleep, they sat in the conservatory talking and both felt really happy that Sally and Megan had got on so well during the day. Megan had told them earlier that she and Sally had sat on the beach talking and that Sally had held her hand when she told her about losing her parents and her time surviving on her own. She thought they could become good friends, which had made them smile and give her a hug, saying how pleased they were. After talking generally about how nice the day had been they turned the conversation to important matters.
‘So,’ Jamie said, ‘what d’you think of Bill and Emma’s offer?’
‘Oh, God, Jamie, it’s so bloody hard! I don’t know what to think; I love this place and I love being next to the sea. We’ve worked so hard over the last three months to make this place our home and putting things in place for the future. It seems such a shame to abandon it now, after all we’ve done.’
‘I know what you mean and I feel exactly the same; I love this place and what we’ve done here. However: I did some thinking earlier, after you and Megan went out, and I think we have some hard realities to confront. I’ve tried to think about things logically and dispassionately, but it’s not easy. It might be a bit jumbled, but let me just run through it with you.
Yes, we have a good spot here; we’re close to the town and lots of facilities, such as the Sainsbury’s warehouse, clothes shops and DIY supplies, etc. But for how much longer will that be relevant? The food in the warehouse might last another six months or so before it’s unfit for consumption or runs out. I know the tinned produce will last longer, but is it worth staying here just for that when we could take it all with us to the farm? Then there are the builders’ merchants and the materials there: it’s great while we have vehicles, but what about when they’ve gone? I can’t see us carrying timber, cement and other materials two miles or more when we need to make repairs or improvements, etc.
We also have to think about where we are now, as a location. Bexhill’s a ghost-town- there’s no one left here. We’ve got Megan and our baby to think about now, as well as ourselves: do we really want to be living here on our own for the next thirty years? Bill and Emma are about four miles away, which is no problem while we have transport, but what about after that? It means walking or cycling there every time we want to see them or even just ask them something. And what if one of us becomes ill? It’s going to be tough for the other to cope with everything. At their place we’d have company as well as support, for us and for the kids. On our own here Megan’s got no one her age to interact with and it’ll be hard on her.
And then there’s the issue of transport: we don’t know for sure, but we have to plan for the possibility that in six months or less we won’t have any. What are we going to do then, when we need to make trips to collect things? How are we going to harvest all the fruit in the area and bring it back for preserving? We could carry a couple of bags each at a time, but look how long it took us to harvest the cherries and preserve them: if we had to do it on foot we’d probably lose most to the birds. If we want to get around any distance in the future, or to transport anything, it’s going to have to be with horses and a cart, and we can’t possibly keep them here in town. We could probably get by without them, but our living radius, so to speak, would only be a couple of miles, and it would be difficult.
And last- but by no means least- there’s the baby, when it comes. You’re due in the middle of March, according to your calculations, and by then it’s possible that we won’t have the vehicles. If we’re here on our own what will we do when you go into labour, especially if you’re early? We’ll have no means of getting over to Bill and Emma’s, or of letting them know so they can come here, and they won’t have any transport anyway. And the same applies to Sarah and Georgie.’ He paused and blew out his cheeks. ‘Well, those are my initial thoughts: what do you think?’
Jane was silent for a while, thinking about what he’d said. ‘Well… wow! You’ve given this a lot more thought than I had yet… as usual!’ and she smiled. ‘That’s one of the things I love about you, Jamie; that you’re so practical. For me, it was initially going to be more of an emotional reason why we might stay here, though I think I would have reached similar conclusions to you in time. I think you’re probably right. I had hoped to have the baby here, but all the things you say make sense, really. I was hoping we
would have a long time living here and enjoying it, but it seems that won’t be the case. Are you dead-set on moving to Bill and Emma’s?’
‘Well, emotionally, no I’m not, hon. I think a lot of Bill and Emma, obviously, but I love being here with you and I love being next to the sea, both for living here and for fishing. But it’s not just you and me now, is it? And then there are all the other points that I raised. My view, regardless of what I feel, is that we have to move to Bill and Emma’s. They’re a lovely couple and we get on great with them, so it’s not as if it will be difficult living there. I’ll miss this location terribly, but I think it’s for the best. Furthermore, I think we need to start making tracks now. Like you, I want to see out most of this year here and harvest all of our crops, but I think we need to make preparations to move to Bill and Emma’s straight away.’
‘Really? So soon?’
‘Yes. We don’t know for sure, but we may only have another three or four months left of the vehicles being usable, and we’re going to have to make use of that time to transport a lot of our stuff over there, prior to actually moving in.’
‘Well, if we’re moving there, then I’d like to be in our own place, rather than in the house with Bill and Emma, so they can have their privacy and family time together, and we can have a bit more independence as well.’
‘I agree,’ said Jamie, ‘and you beat me to it! That will mean converting one of the buildings in the top yard; probably the old chicken shed, as Bill suggested. We’ll have to transport timber and building materials there and do the conversion soon, while it’s still summer and while we still have the vehicles. Also, we’ll need to take the wood-burner from the lounge over there and install it in the new place.’
‘Wouldn’t we be better off with the smaller range from my kitchen, so we have better cooking facilities and an oven as well?’
‘Yes, we would,’ Jamie replied. ‘Only trouble is, it probably weighs a third of a ton and I don’t know how we’d move it! Maybe I’ll have a chat with Bill about it to see if he has any ideas. As you said earlier, we’ll need to gather everything that we can for the future and store it at Bill and Emma’s farm, while we have transport. My idea is to more or less empty Screwfix, B&Q and the other builders’ merchants near us of anything that could be needed for future repairs, maintenance or projects. We’re going to need nuts, bolts, washers, screws, nails, brackets, gaskets, materials for plumbing repairs, cement, sand, ballast, timber, sheet materials, tools, etc, etc.’
The Hoffmann Plague Page 21
