The Hoffmann Plague

by Tony Littlejohns

  By mid-afternoon, though, Megan’s arm was hurting and she’d suffered a couple of dizzy spells, so they left after hugging everyone and thanking them for lunch. Back home, they gave Megan some painkillers and she went off to her room for a sleep. Jane made some coffee and they sat in the conservatory with the sun coming in through the tomato plants, talking about their new home.

  ‘I can hardly believe it’s the same place I saw three weeks ago. You two have done a fantastic job and I’m really proud of you,’ said Jane, kissing him.

  ‘Thanks, hon. I’m pleased with it, too, and I’m looking forward to moving in and making it our home. I know we’ll have a lot less space than here, but we’ll get used to it.’

  ‘I’m glad about the composting toilet! I was wondering for a while what we were going to do. I had visions of having to tramp off across a windswept field to some bushes every time I needed the loo!’ she added, and they both laughed.

  ‘Moving away from the sea will be my biggest regret, though,’ said Jamie. ‘I’m going to miss the sound of the waves breaking on the beach in the evening.’

  Twenty-seven

  As they moved into September, summer started giving way gracefully to autumn. Megan’s condition continued to improve and the spells of dizziness and nausea grew less frequent. Her arm improved greatly, too, and she was able to manage without the sling, though it was still rather stiff and painful.

  Many apples and pears in the area were now ready for harvesting and they made several trips in the first two weeks to pick them.

  ‘How do we know if they’re ready for picking?’ Jamie had asked Jane beforehand.

  ‘We cut one open and look at the pips; if they’re dark brown then they’re ripe and if not then we leave them.’

  They didn’t go mad like they had with the cherries, but collected several large bags. They stored some for use over the next few months, ensuring only perfect ones were kept, as any blemishes or bruises would cause them to rot and spoil the others. These ones were wrapped in newspaper or straw and placed in boxes in the cellar. The remainder were preserved for future use: half were made into purees and bottled and the rest they cored, sliced and dried in a low oven, which was a long and laborious process. Now that the weather had turned cooler it wasn’t practicable to dry them on the racks as they had with the cherries. Back at the farm the whole household there was also busy with their own orchard as fruit became ready.

  Megan helped with the fruit preparation but had to take regular breaks when her arm became painful. Having been inactive due to her injuries, by mid-September she had put on several pounds and was getting back to a more normal weight for her age and size. One day, they were all in the kitchen working when Jane asked Megan to do something for her.

  ‘Okay, Mum,’ she replied. Jane and Jamie looked at each other.

  Megan caught the look and said ‘What?’

  ‘You called me Mum, honey.’

  ‘I know I did. Do you mind?’

  Jane was moved and looked at her lovingly. ‘Oh, Megan, of course I don’t mind, if you’re happy calling me that. I’m touched that you think of me that way and it’s lovely. Jamie and I love you like you’re our own daughter, and that’s how we think of you now.’

  ‘Well, it’s the same for me, too. I still miss my parents and I think of them often, but I love you both and think of you as Mum and Dad now… You’re my family.’

  She hugged them both tightly and they got a bit tearful. Jamie held her for a long time, remembering their ordeal at the retail park and how she had saved his life.

  In the middle of the month there was a bit of an Indian summer for well over a week, when it grew hot again and the sun shone from almost clear blue skies. They ate outside every evening during that time and on one occasion Jamie was looking up at the sky with a glass of wine in his hand, looking pensive.

  ‘Look at the sky,’ he said to them. They looked up and both said it was a beautiful, clear blue sky.

  Jamie nodded. ‘Yes, but what’s missing? Apart from clouds, I mean.’

  They both looked stumped for a few seconds and then Megan smiled. ‘Planes! There aren’t any planes!’

  Jane tutted and shook her head. ‘Of course! Well done, honey; you’re right.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Jamie, ‘and I can’t remember the last time I saw one, or any vapour trails. It’s been that way for as long as I can remember. When was the last time you saw any?’ Neither of them could remember.

  ‘Well, I’m guessing it must have been back near the start of the year, or thereabouts. That means the plague was global for that to happen; it’s not just the UK that was affected, but everywhere.’ It was a sombre thought and they went quiet for a while thinking about it, then Jamie shrugged. ‘Sorry! I didn’t mean to put a dampener on things… it just suddenly occurred to me.’

  In the coming weeks they made several trips to the farm to move their furniture and possessions into their new home. Between the Toyota and the Land Rover they managed to fit everything in and didn’t need to use Bill’s van. They took their favourite sofa, one of the armchairs, the double bed from their room and Megan’s single bed. Jamie and Jane slept afterwards in the spare bed in the other bedroom until they were ready to move in, and Megan said she was happy to sleep on the other sofa in the lounge until then.

  By this time Jane was about three months gone, and even though she barely had a bump Jamie was still a bit concerned about her lifting heavy things. She waved him away and told him not to fuss. ‘I bet no woman in Neolithic times ever said “Can you lift this for me, darling, as it’s a bit heavy and I’m pregnant.”!’ Jamie laughed; he still looked a bit concerned, though he left her alone.

  They also took the coffee table from the conservatory that they all liked and the dresser from the kitchen, but left the kitchen table and chairs until they were finally leaving. They took most of the crockery and kitchen equipment, too, leaving just enough for them to get by with in the interim. They decided to leave a few things there for when they came back for a fishing trip or to spend a day by the sea sometime. Jamie would leave the fishing tackle in the garage and they picked out some older kitchen utensils and pans that could stay there, along with some tinned food, matches for lighting the stove and a few other bits.

  On one morning Megan knocked on their door after she’d heard them stirring. ‘Mum, can I talk to you, please?’

  ‘Of course, honey; just let me get dressed and I’ll be right with you.’

  She went into the lounge to sit on the sofa with her and Megan told her that she’d had her first period. She was a bit shy and embarrassed about it, but Jane put her arm around her and reassured her, saying there was nothing to feel any embarrassment about and that she could talk with either her or Jamie about anything. She got some sanitary towels for her and they sat and talked for a while, then Megan smiled in gratitude and hugged her.

  They still had a lot of vegetables to harvest and preserve before they left, along with the remaining tomatoes. Not all had grown as well as they’d hoped but they’d still had a good crop. They had been eating them in salads or making tomato sauces and the flavour was wonderful.

  They’d not long returned from a trip to the farm one afternoon when Sarah and Georgie turned up for another visit to see how Megan was doing. Jane welcomed them inside and the sisters made a fuss of Megan, saying how pleased they were to see her looking so much better. They went out to the patio and sat down while Jamie made them all tea.

  The sisters asked how the move was going and Jane said it was almost done, apart from the things they’d left at the bungalow until they were ready to move in. Sarah and Georgie were delighted and said they would come over soon to see the place. They then took turns telling them what they’d been doing in the last few weeks. They had finished the stables at their place and now had four horses and a pony that they had collected from the surrounding area. They had been around horses most of their lives, so it was nothing new to them. Jane and Jamie were plea
sed to hear it and congratulated them.

  ‘Two of the horses and the pony are for you to take to the farm when you’re ready, and we know where we can get more. We thought the pony would be good for Megan and Sally when they’re ready. We’ve got saddles, bridles and all the kit that’ll be needed for them,’ said Sarah. ‘Have either of you ridden before?’

  Jane said she had done a fair bit in her youth but not for many years, while Jamie had never ridden before. They knew that Bill and Emma had been around horses for many years, though they hadn’t kept any at the farm before. They would need to convert a building in the top yard into stables, which they planned to do after they had moved there in mid-October.

  ‘Well, once you’re settled in and the stables are ready we can bring the horses over between us all and we’ll give you some instruction on riding and looking after them,’ said Sarah.

  ‘That’s brilliant, thank you,’ said Jane, smiling, and Jamie agreed. Although the vehicles were still running fine they were aware that it might only be a few more months before they started having problems with the fuel. None of them knew for sure, of course, but it was better to be prepared beforehand. They suspected that the petrol vehicles would be the first to suffer, but that the diesels might go on for a lot longer; at least that was what they hoped.

  Megan went into the house and came out with her bike. Now that her concussion and the associated dizzy spells had almost gone she had been out a few times on it, being careful to take it slowly at first.

  ‘Dad?’ she said, after waiting for a break in the conversation, ‘Would you mind carrying my bike down the steps for me, please? I want to take Max out for a run along the promenade.’

  ‘Of course not, honey, but don’t forget your helmet,’ Jamie replied.

  Megan nodded and went back inside, coming out wearing her cycling helmet and fixing the strap. They walked off down the garden with Max and the sisters looked at Jane, who beamed at them.

  ‘I know… She calls us Mum and Dad now, which is really touching. She’s changed an awful lot recently and is growing up quickly. We don’t know if it’s because of the shooting or just her hormones.’

  ‘Maybe it’s both. I could see a change in her as we came in,’ said Sarah. ‘It’s lovely to see her doing so well and I’m so pleased for you.’

  Georgie agreed and Jane told them that Megan had also recently started her periods. Both women said ‘Ah, bless her!’ in unison.

  In the third week of September, on a trip to the farm, Bill and Jamie decided they should sit down together and make a list of all the materials and tools they would need to get and bring to the farm for the future, while they still had use of the vehicles. They agreed, jokingly, that as this was “man-stuff” it needed to be done in a pub! After lunch, Jamie, Bill, Phil and Peter walked to the village pub three-quarters of a mile away and broke in. Bill hadn’t been there since before the plague, but he knew the owners had died early on. It felt strange at first sitting there in an empty pub, but it didn’t last for long.

  The beer on tap was undrinkable, of course, but there were still many bottles left on the shelves, along with many spirits. They all got drinks and sat at a table by a window, and pretty soon it almost felt like old times. They spent a couple of hours going over things and making a list of everything they might want, and talking about the machinery at the farm and what spares might be needed. They also discussed things they would need for converting one of the barns in the top yard into stables.

  After nearly three hours they were all rather drunk; Peter was only seventeen and was the first to flag, followed by Phil. By the end the writing on their list wasn’t very legible. They staggered off home with Bill and Jamie singing Bohemian Rhapsody, which Phil and Peter thought was a bit old-school, but they joined in anyway. Back at the farm the women tut-tutted at their condition, but Emma and Jane glanced at each other and smiled, knowing it had been good for all the men to get out together for once and let off steam.

  During those last two weeks of September Jamie, Bill, Phil and Peter made many trips to all the DIY stores and builders’ merchants in Bexhill, bringing back huge stocks of everything they thought might be needed in years to come. They also visited the gun store on the outskirts of Hastings and picked up several more shotguns and rifles, along with most of the ammunition left there. There were some smaller twenty-bore shotguns that they picked up, too, which had become more popular in recent years as they were lighter and had less recoil, and they would also be good for the girls to practise with as they got older.

  They collected many racks and shelving units and erected them in two buildings in the top yard to use as storerooms, after clearing them of junk that had been in them for years. All the timber and sheet materials they collected were put into the big barn in the main yard. There was a lot more timber that they wanted to pick up from several places in town, but they would continue to make trips over the next couple of months. They stored screws, nails, washers, brackets, gaskets, nuts, bolts, tools, and all manner of other useful things in plastic storage boxes on the shelves, along with glues, sealants, chemicals and plumbing supplies. They also collected materials like sand, cement and ballast for making concrete, for any future projects or repairs. Another place they visited was a garden centre, where Jamie picked up two flat-packed greenhouses and other supplies, as he and Jane wanted to create a garden in the field behind their place where they could grow herbs, tomatoes and other plants.

  They erected the greenhouses far enough back from their building that they wouldn’t be in its shadow and would get full sun. The tomato plants from the conservatory that were still producing fruit were transported to the farm and put into the greenhouses, and Jane dug up the perennial herbs from their garden and put them into containers temporarily, to be planted in the new garden when they were ready. She also thought it would be a good idea to dig up a few sea beet plants from the beach behind the bungalow to transplant into the new garden.

  It had been a rather hectic six weeks for them, but by the middle of October it was all done. Their preserved food was now spread between their new kitchen and the unit next door, which was now filled with the converted wine racks from their cellar and many other shelf units for storage. Jamie had also fixed hooks high up around the edges and across the ceiling and there were many string bags hanging there containing onions, root vegetables and fruit. There was a space set aside for all his tools and their bikes were against the wall near the door. Outside, near the hedge, was a covered storage area for logs for the stove and the range.

  They had brought the Toyota pickup, the BMW and Jamie’s Seat to the farm, along with the Land Rover, but Jane decided to leave her Golf in the bungalow’s garage as they didn’t need it. The dining table and chairs from the bungalow’s kitchen were brought over and now sat in the space allocated for them in the living area. They’d also found a small round high table and two bar stools that fitted in the kitchen, and the patio table and chairs were in the yard in front of the building. Through the gap between their row of buildings and the ones on the yard’s adjacent side they would be able to see the sun going down at certain times of the year. Max hadn’t been forgotten about: he had a lovely rattan dog-basket filled with thick fleecy cushions and blankets to snuggle-up in.

  Finally, there was just one more trip left to make to pick up the last few bits and pieces before it got dark. Jane asked Megan if she was coming but she smiled and declined, saying she was happy pottering about the place with Max, unpacking and getting her bedroom sorted. Max was lounging in his new bed and looked like he wouldn’t be doing much pottering for a while. She kissed them both and they drove off in the Toyota. Secretly, she had wanted them to have time on their own together to say goodbye to their old home. As soon as they had driven off she put on her coat and walked off across the yard to the farmhouse.

  It didn’t take them long to load the last few things into the truck then they went back into the bungalow. They walked from room to room hol
ding hands, remembering things that had happened in the five months or more that it had been their home. It felt like they had lived in the place for years with all the things they’d done and achieved there, as it had been their first step on the road to survival and self-sufficiency. They had tears in their eyes and held each other as they remembered the day they’d met, when Jamie had come running down the road with the shotgun and saved her life.

  They went outside and walked around the gardens, commenting on things they’d made or done and remembering successes and failures with growing food.

  ‘God! D’you remember the evening you came running back in your dressing gown after finding Max half-dead on the beach?’ said Jamie, shaking his head.

  ‘How could I forget it? We were so lucky to find him, and that he survived. He’s been a fantastic companion.’ Jamie smiled and agreed with her.

  She sniggered. ‘And what about our mad drive along the seafront to Galley Hill in the RS2000?’

  ‘… Singing Summer of ’69 at the tops of our voices!’ he added, and they both laughed.

  They kissed and then walked back through the house to the truck and drove back to the farm. They parked in the yard, walked to the door and went inside. Megan had lit the stove and also the range in the kitchen and the place was warm and cosy, with candles burning on the walls. She was standing there smiling in the green dress she’d been wearing when they met her. Behind her on the wall was a banner she’d made with Sally’s help, which said Welcome to our new home, Mum and Dad! Jamie and Jane smiled and then got tearful, as Megan came over and held them both tightly.

  Twenty-eight

  When they got up in the morning, having been woken early by the crowing of cocks and cockerels, they weren’t sure what to do with themselves at first. After the sustained activity of recent months they seemed to have come to a sudden stop. Over the last five months at the bungalow they had got into a routine, with regular work and tasks that needed doing every day. Now that all the vegetables had been harvested they had no garden work to attend to, there were no containers to collect salt from and refill every day, and no rabbit snares to check or move around.