With a glaring smirk, I replied, “You’re not helping.”
Thad nodded. “I know.” And he broke out into that deep laugh.
“Look. They’re sniffing the gator but they aren’t eating it,” Little Bit said. The pigs were cautiously approaching the carcass and sniffing at it, but not one had yet touched it.
“They probably recognize it as some kind of predator,” Thad said.
“Give ‘em a day. I say they’ll eat it,” I said.
“We need to tend to something in a bit, over there across the road from Danny’s house.”
I nodded. “Whenever you’re ready.”
“I’ll come down in a bit,” Thad said.
Grabbing Little Bit by the shoulder, I said, “Come on, kiddo. We gotta head home and check on your mom and sister.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll see you at supper, Thad.”
He nodded. “I think after supper we need to take a moment out at Brandy and Tyler’s grave.”
It wasn’t a happy thought, but certainly one we should address. It was an all too frequently occurring event, standing by the grave of fallen friends.
“We should,” I said with a nod as I turned to walk away with Little Bit in tow.
Danny found Bobbie in the house with the kids. They were sitting on the couch together, curled up tight beside her and fast asleep. He looked at her and smiled. Bobbie ran her hand through Edie’s hair and smiled as well.
“How are they doing?” Danny whispered.
“They’re ok. They seem tired, exhausted. If they’re not sleeping, they’re eating. They don’t seem to fill up. Kay’s been feeding them fresh bread all day.”
Danny looked around. “Where is she?”
Pointing to the downstairs bedroom door, she said,” Taking a nap.”
Danny eyed the place more carefully. “I think you guys are all onto something here. Think I’ll join you.” He sat down into a recliner that he’d salvaged from one of the nearby houses. It wasn’t his old one, but it was a decent replacement. Grabbing the handle on the side, he rocked back and stretched his feet out. The sound woke little Jace up. He sat up and rubbed his eyes and looked around. Seeing Danny, he climbed down off the couch and walked over to him. Danny helped the little boy into his lap where he quickly made himself comfortable and was asleep almost instantly. Danny brushed hair from the boy’s face as he broke out into a smile.
While the events leading to this little union were tragic, they were not without some happiness. The kids were still very young, and Danny promised himself there and then to raise the two children as his own, something he’d always wanted. Sad though it was to happen this way, he would do his best to make the most of the situation. For the kids and himself. He glanced over at Bobbie and saw she’d drifted off to sleep as well. Laying his head back, he closed his eyes and soon joined them.
Taylor was in the living room with Mel when we came in the door. She looked up and smiled halfheartedly. “What’s up, kiddo?” I asked.
“I’m worried about Jamie. Have you heard anything?”
“No, not yet. But I have to go to town tomorrow. I’ll check on her then.”
She perked up a little at that. “Can I come?”
Mel started to say something. I knew what it would be, so I cut her off. “Not yet. You’re not strong enough for that yet. Give it some time and you’ll get back to normal.”
Her shoulders dropped. “It’s just sitting in the truck. I can do that.”
“Unless something happens. I don’t want you out there and something goes wrong and you’re not fully mobile.”
Mel gripped her leg. “We just don’t want you to get hurt again, sweetie.”
Still moping, she replied, “I know.”
Moving closer to her, I stuck my hand out. “Look, as soon as you’re back up to speed, I’ll get you out of here and take you for a ride. Deal?”
She reached out and gave my hand a perfunctory brush. “Deal.”
Little Bit came out of her room with a checkerboard and set it on the coffee table. “Taylor, you wanna play checkers?”
Taylor reached out and pulled the table closer to the couch. “Sure, why not.”
I went to the kitchen for a glass of tea. Mel came in as I was taking a long drink.
“What are you doing for the rest of the day?” She asked.
“I’m going to take some of the gator meat over to Gina and Dylan. They can use it, and will probably trade us some veggies for it. What are you guys up to?”
“Nothing really. Can I come with you?”
Setting the cup down, I smiled and said, “Hey baby, you wanna go for a ride in my new car?”
“Yeah, I’d like to get out of here for a while.”
I looked into the living room. “You think they’ll be alright?”
“We aren’t going to be gone long, are we?”
“No. Just go over there and come back,” I said.
“They’ll be fine. They’re playing checkers.”
“Alright then. Let’s take a ride. Let me go over and get some of the meat, and I’ll be back.”
“I’ll be waiting when you get back.”
I went over to Danny’s and tapped on the door before walking in. They were stretched out snoozing. Danny looked up and I whispered what I was doing. He gave me a thumbs up, and I went to the kitchen and pulled the meat out of the small fridge. There was quite a lot, and I took a few pounds and placed it in a double plastic grocery bag. Funny, that even now the bags were still around. With my trade goods in hand, I tiptoed out and quietly closed the door.
Mel was out by the Suburban when I got there and asked what Danny and Bobbie were doing. I told her they were napping with the kids.
“That’s good. It’ll be as good for them as for those two poor kids,” she said.
“Yeah. Danny’s always wanted kids.”
“Even Bobbie is happy. She was doing Edie’s hair earlier when we were over there.”
We pulled out onto the road and headed towards the bunker. The girls were walking down the road with Aric and I stopped beside them. “What you guys up to?”
“Nothing. Sarge and Dalton took over, so we’re going to take a break,” Jess said.
“Where are you guys going?” Lee Ann asked.
“To trade some meat for some veggies,” I said.
“Can I come?”
“Sure, hop in.”
She looked at the group. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.”
“Ok,” Fred said and looked at Aric. “I think we’re going to take a nap.”
Lee Ann got in and we headed off. Mel spun around in her seat. “You alright?”
Lee Ann smiled. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
“Have you met Gina before?”
“I don’t think so.”
“You’ll like them. Both of you will. They’re good people,” I said.
Once out on Hwy 19, I decided to go up to the store and see what was going on there. Plus, I thought Mel and Lee Ann would enjoy getting out and browsing the offerings. As we drove, we passed a couple pulling a wagon down the road. They waved as we passed, and Mel waved back. She looked at the wagon and asked, “Where are they going?”
People could still be seen walking down the road. Though it was different now. We didn’t see so many looking like refugees. The people we saw now looked more like they were out trying to make a living in one way or another. They didn’t have the same hopeless look to them, and they moved with some semblance of purpose. It was a nice change.
“Probably the same place we are,” I replied.
“Where are we going?” Lee Ann asked.
“Up to the Kangaroo store. Thought we would check out the market a
nd see what’s going on.”
“Oh really! I haven’t been there before,” Mel said.
We pulled into the parking lot and parked, and got out to check the trade offerings. I was seeing a change in what people were offering, and mentioned it to Mel. More actually useable items were being offered up. Lots of food items in various forms were on display. Clothes, shoes and boots were popular items, as well as hand tools. Without electricity, they were the only really useful items for the kind of work now common.
“What did they have before?” Mel asked.
“You name it. Lots of electronics. Lots of stuff that was valuable before, but is useless now.”
“Hey, Dad. Look, they have butter,” Lee Ann said.
“Where?” Mel asked.
Lee Ann pointed to a table, and we walked over. A couple in their late fifties I guessed had a table set up with jars of butter and farmer’s cheese, honey and other food stuffs. Mel quickly picked one of the jars up and inspected it.
“That’s fresh honey butter.” The woman said.
“What kind of cows do you have?” Mel asked.
“We’ve got a small herd of Jerseys.”
“How have you managed to keep them?” I asked.
“We’re kind of out in the boonies. But me and my son keep watch on them. The dogs help too,” the man replied.
“You’re lucky. Anyone with livestock has an advantage now.”
“Yeah, but it’s a lot of work. We have to move them around to graze and bring them in to milk. I’ve got fields in hay that I’m going to have to put up by hand. It’s a huge task,” he emphasized.
“How much is the butter?” Mel asked.
“Well, that depends. What’cha trading?” The woman asked.
Mel looked at me. I smiled. “How about a couple pounds of fresh gator meat for a jar of butter and some cheese.”
“Gator meat, you say?” The man asked.
“Yeah, we just butchered it.”
Rubbing his chin, the man said, “Let me see it.”
I went to the truck and separated the doubled grocery bags, then split the meat into the two bags and carried it back over to the man. Opening the bag, I showed him the cubed meat. He inspected it and said, “That works for me. A change in diet is always nice.”
“Oh, thank you. This will be really nice,” Mel said.
“You’re welcome. Come back anytime,” the woman said.
“Do you have any milk?” I asked.
“We do, but we’re out. Folks with little ones really want the milk. But we have it every morning,” the man replied.
“I’ll check back then,” I said with a wave as we walked off.
With her treasures in hand, Mel said, “Let’s see what else we can find,” and led the way through the market.
I stopped by the stall of the man I’d talked with before. He’d set up a nice wet wheel to sharpen tools. Now, in addition to the sharpening tools, there was an assortment of various other tools offered for sale.
“How’s business?” I asked.
The old man wiped his hands on a rag and came out from behind his grinder. “Good, good. Can I interest you in an axe or a saw?”
“No thanks. I’m good there. Just wanted to see how business was going,” I replied.
“Oh, it’s pretty good.” He patted his belly. “I ain’t getting fat, but it’s keeping me in vittles.”
I laughed. “That’s about all you can hope for these days.”
“Yes sir, it sure is. Come see me when you need some sharpening done.”
“I will,” I said as I turned to leave.
I found Mel and Lee Ann looking at some jewelry and told them I wanted to get to Gina’s before it got dark. I was kind of curious why Mario wasn’t here, but I’d be seeing him tomorrow anyway. As we got back in the truck, Mel was looking at the jar of butter.
“This is going to be so good with the bread Kay makes.”
“I want to try that cheese. What kind is it?” Lee Ann asked.
“It’s a soft cheese. But I bet it’s good,” Mel said looking at the bag containing the cheese.
As I turned onto Gina’s road, Mel commented on the oak trees hanging over the road and how nice it looked.
“Yeah, it’s like old Florida,” I said as I pulled up to the gate at Gina’s.
Dylan came out from around the side of the house. He smiled and waved when he saw us. “Hey, Morgan!”
“Gina, Morgan’s here!” Dylan called out.
Gina came out of the house, a big smile spread across her face when she saw Mel. Coming out on the porch, she said, “You must be Mel.”
Mel greeted her with a hug. “It’s nice to meet you finally!”
Holding Mel’s hand, she asked, “Would you like a cup of tea?”
“That would be wonderful. Come on, Lee Ann. Let’s go inside,” Mel said, waving. Lee Ann followed them into the house as the two chatted away.
Dylan looked at me and smiled. “I’m glad you brought them. I think she gets tired of talking to me.”
Slapping him on the shoulder, I said, “It ain’t just you buddy.”
Dylan jerked his head. “Hey, come here. I’ve got something for you.”
I followed him back to the greenhouse. It was warm and humid inside. Everything was damp, even the ground felt spongy. It was like entering a jungle. If a monkey were to drop down onto my shoulders, I wouldn’t be surprised. Well, not much anyway.
Dylan pointed to a large basket on a bench sitting along one wall. “You take these with you. We’ve canned all we are able, and got nowhere to put any more of them.”
Walking towards the basket, I asked, “What is it?” Seeing over the top of the basket, it was full of tomatoes, red, green and yellow peppers and onions. “Wow, Dylan. That’s a lot of veggies, man. You sure?”
With a dismissive wave, he said, “Hell yes. If I have to blanch one more mater, I’m going to lose my mind. We can eat canned maters every day for every meal for a year!”
“I really appreciate this. It’s a lot of produce. I’ve got something for you too. I was hoping to make a trade, but this is way more than I expected. Come out to the truck.”
He followed me out to the truck and grabbed the bag of meat and held it out. He took and opened it, “What is it?”
“It’s gator meat. The old man killed one. We butchered it today. It’s fresh,” I said.
“Oh, man! I love gator meat. Thanks, Morgan. I can’t say how much we appreciate you bringing this kind of thing over to us. I mean, we’ve got plenty of veggies, but no meat. So this really helps out a lot.”
“We try to get what we can, and I always think of you guys,” I replied.
“Let me take this into Gina. She’s gonna love it!”
“I’ll go get the basket and load it in the truck.”
As I was stowing the basket in the back of the truck, everyone came outside. Gina and Mel were still chatting away.
“Thank you guys so much for the meat. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate it,” Gina said.
“Don’t worry about it. Remember what I said about the butter too. You should go up there and trade for some.” Mel said.
Gina looked at Dylan. “Mel said there’s someone at the Kangaroo selling butter and cheese. Can we go up there and trade for some? Butter would be so good.”
“Of course. We’ll go tomorrow.”
“We have to go guys,” I said.
“Mel, thank you so much for coming by. It’s nice to talk to another lady,” Gina said. Looking at Dylan, she continued. “I love Batman, but we’ve been together so long there really isn’t much to say to one another anymore.”
Dylan snorted. “You sure talk an awful lot for someone with not
hing to say!”
Lee Ann started to laugh, giving a little snort. Gina smiled. “You just wait. You’ll see someday. I bet your momma and daddy run out of things to say.”
“You’re half right, Gina,” I said. Mel backhanded my shoulder. “Use your words, honey,” I said.
Dylan laughed and Gina shook her finger at me. “You better watch it, mister.”
I gave Gina a hug and shook Dylan’s hand, thanking them for what they’d done for us. This was yet another in a long list of lopsided trades. Gina hugged Mel and Lee Ann as well, telling them both to come back soon.
Once we were in the truck and headed back towards home, Mel said how much she liked Gina.
“She’s so sweet.”
“They’re nice people for sure. Every time we do any trades with them, they give far more than they get,” I said.
“We need to help them as much as we can,” Mel said.
“I like her. She’s really funny.” Lee Ann said. “I’d like to go visit with her.”
I looked at her in the mirror. “You and the girls should drop in on her. It would do her good. It’s close enough to walk to.”
“Or, we could use the four wheelers.”
I smiled. “Or you could use the four wheelers.”
We took the food we’d collected to Danny’s house. Lee Ann went off to find Fred and Jess. Miss Kay was puttering around in the kitchen when we came in. Her face beamed when she saw me carrying the large basket of produce.
“What do you have there, Morgan?” She asked as I set the basket on the island.
“We did some trading and got some good veggies.”
Mel set the butter and cheese down. “We also got these.”
Kay snatched the jar of butter up. “Butter? Where’d you find butter?”
“There’s a couple trading it down at the market. They said they have milk too, but were out,” Mel replied.
Kay’s mouth fell open. “Milk, I’d love some milk.” She turned her attention to the basket. “Look at all these tomatoes. There’s more here than we can eat, so I’ll can them. I’ll also make up some sauce. This will be so good.”
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