“I’ve been thinking about the note he left,” I continued, leaning ever so lightly into Mark’s comforting embrace. “John and I knew each other a long time before he came to stay with me last winter. We were close friends, not lovers, not until he moved in. I thought that would make our relationship strong. He kept leaving me anyway. I think he asked me to wait two weeks for his return that he knew would never come, so you and I could get to know each other first, before we became intimate. In his own way he was looking out for us.”
The ominous black clouds rolled chaotically across the heavy sky. Thunder boomed in the distance and then closer. A flash of lightning split the sky with an ear shattering crack, and the rain started coming down in torrents.
I turned within the circle of Mark’s arms, reaching up to thread my fingers through his dark curly hair, and pulled him down so I could reach his lips and asked, “Are you going to leave me too?”
“No, I’m not,” Marked kissed me with a depth that left me breathless.
I pulled back from the embrace and smiling said, “Good, because my heart can’t take any more.”
I took his hand and led him to my room, where we undressed each other painfully slowly. Sliding under the covers with him, his skin was so hot it left a blazing trail where it touched me.
We spent the rest of the afternoon talking and kissing, loving and exploring, and even napping a little wrapped tightly against each other. For a moment I thought how John was tender and gentle, and while Mark could be tender and gentle too, he was also passionate and playful and exciting. Then John slipped to the back of my mind, and to the back of my heart.
The storm outside raged on, pounding against roof and against the windows in a relentless quest for entrance.
Hours later, I reached for my robe hanging nearby.
“And just where to you think you’re going?” Mark reached out grabbing my belt in a vain attempt to pull me back to the bed.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving!” I smiled down at him, laughing, really laughing for the first time in what felt like forever. I playfully swatted his hand away and stepped out of his reach.
In the kitchen, I was drawn to the glass door again. The rain was pelting the lawn just as hard as it had been for the last few hours, but I didn’t seem to mind it as much, and the sky wasn’t as gloomy even though it was just as dark.
Mark came up beside me, slipping his arm around my waist and pulling me possessively closer to his side. “So what’s for dinner?”
“What would you like? I was thinking something with pasta.”
He looked quizzically in my eyes. “You seem to be glowing, Allex, absolutely glowing. I do hope I’ve had something to do with that.”
I laughed. “You’ve had everything to do with that, doctor.” I gentled my voice and said “I feel … happy, Mark, content and… at peace.”
* * *
While we had the generator going for much needed showers, I tried the TV and actually found a news channel.
“…latest on the seismic activity along the Ring of Fire has indicated an increase not only in the number of tremors, but the force. In the past five days, there was a 6.9 on the Richter scale quake off shore in Northern California; a 6.1 in Japan; and both Peru and Chile suffered 6.3 quakes, the Chile quake caused a tsunami warning to be issued. Geologists and scientists are still unsure what this might mean.
“Meteorologists say the ash cloud that has blanked much of the U.S. should be passing out of the region in the next few days, and some are already experiencing clear skies again.
“In other news, the rioting in Detroit, Chicago and other major cities has escalated today with the announcement of the imminent collapse of the dollar.” The anchorman looked at the camera and said, “Spend it while you can!”
Then the screen went dark.
I almost laughed thinking of all that money in my drawer that was now totally worthless. Maybe I should frame that check, to prove I was once a millionaire.
CHAPTER 33
JOURNAL ENTRY: July 29
It was incredibly gorgeous out this morning. The thunderstorms had moved out during the night and the day blossomed with blue skies! Not quite as rich of a blue that I’ve seen here in the past, but blue is blue and it filled me with joy.
* * *
“I need to talk to the boys today about the deer hanging in the barn,” I said to Mark while we sipped our morning coffee and munched on toast. Mark had become very fond of my blueberry jam, and it almost dripped off the edge of his bread.
“What about the deer? And that is a deer you helped Jason harvest, don’t forget about that. It’s as much yours as it is his.”
“Yes, I know.” I took the hand of this man across from me, a man I’d come to love very quickly. “And that’s why I want to give it away.”
He looked stunned, then grinned. “That’s my girl!”
* * *
“Are you sure about this, Mom?” Eric asked while Mark was bandaging his foot and calf.
“I’m absolutely sure. We already have so much to be thankful for that I want to share the goodness my heart feels.”
Jason had been quietly listening to us, not saying anything, just watching us closely. “Who do you want to give it to?” he finally asked.
“That’s a good question. We have so many friends that could use the extra food, who do you want to give some to?”
Emilee was the first to make a suggestion when she blurted out, “Joshua and Martha! They’re nice.” I wrote that down even though I already knew everyone they were going to suggest.
“And Bob and Kathy, Ken and Karen,” Eric added.
“How about Pete and Lenny?” Mark suggested. “They’ve been so busy with… things, I’m sure they haven’t had time to hunt.”
“I’d like some to go to Anna and George. Anna has been a good friend. Oh, and Pastor Carolyn, too.”
“Mom, I think your list is just about all that are left in Moose Creek,” Amanda commented. She was right. Most everyone else had gone to town, or had died.
“That we know of, Amanda. There still might be some at camps or in the woods, but they must be taking care of themselves or we would have heard from them.”
“Maybe you should take some of the smoked fish too,” Jason suggested, getting into generous mood we were all feeling. “Not too much though, Amanda likes it.”
“So when are you going to do this?” Eric asked.
“Just as soon as we get that deer cut up into sections. Jason, when will you have time to come over and help us cut and portion out?”
“In an hour?”
* * *
Mark and I set the tables up one more time for butchering. I covered the two tables with the sheet of plastic and Mark sanitized it with spritzes of bleach and wiped it down. I set out the knives and he sharpened them.
“Did you notice how chilly it was when we walked back from the boys’?” Mark asked.
“Yes. I think it was mostly from the storm, though soon it will be from the ash cloud in the upper atmosphere. Although one could be deceived by the current blue sky, the sun is being blocked.”
“I meant to ask you about that, if you had a theory on why we suddenly have a blue sky?” he asked, setting down a freshly honed knife.
“Well, the cloud is moving from west to east, so we got it first. As it keeps moving east, it will come back around after covering Asia, but they won’t get the fallout we did. So right now we’re on the back side of it, although it will catch up to itself before long. Or at least that’s how I understand it.”
* * *
“So how do you want this divided, Mom?” Jason asked. “We normally cut it into four quarters, however, we need more than that this time.”
“We’ll need six sections. Your family should get a nice haunch, something to eat fresh over the next week,” I said. “So, there are two shoulders, two hinds, two hind shanks, and all the ribs plus the front shanks. The ribs and front shanks I’ll
cook and can. We need to keep some too,” I said when they looked at me. “So what we have left are two shoulders, two hind shanks and one hind, that’s five sections.”
“Plus some fish,” Jason added.
“Plus some fish, yes, not too many though, not if Amanda likes them,” I said. “I’ve noticed she doesn’t eat much of the venison, and she needs protein too.”
We set to work.
It went quickly since we were just separating the sections, not cutting the meat up, that would be left up to the others. Thankful I had kept all the plastic grocery bags over the years, we wrapped each section and tied the handles closed. Because all the awkward bones had been disjointed, all of it fit into one cooler, where I also placed a thawing ice pack. That should be sufficient while we made the deliveries.
The first stop was to Joshua and Martha since they were closest.
“Joshua, how good to see you!” I gave the young man a hug.
“Oh Miss Allexa, how nice of you to come by,” he smiled at me and shook Mark’s hand.
“I thought while we were here I would see how Martha is doing,” Mark said, holding up his new little black bag.
Joshua’s whole demeanor shifted.
“Martha…Martha passed away in her sleep last week,” he stated quietly. “I know I should have told you, but there didn’t seem to be any point. I knew there was nothing that could be done. She knew she was dying soon. She told me so.”
There was a sadness in his eyes that tugged at my heart.
“I buried her in her flower garden, just like she told me she wanted. I hope that was okay,” Joshua said, taking a deep breath.
“I think that was a lovely gesture, Joshua,” I told him sincerely. “And I’m so very sorry for your loss. Martha was a good woman.”
“How are the animals?” Mark asked, quick to change the subject.
“Right well, I think. They seemed to like living in the garage, but I think they’re even happier to be back outside,” Joshua replied. He looked at me with a sudden frightened look. “They’ll be okay, now won’t they, Miss Allexa? Being outside I mean.”
“They should be fine. The ash cloud has passed for now. A cloud will be back, though it will be one in the higher atmosphere, and shouldn’t hurt them,” I replied. “You still need to keep watch, and if the ash returns, get the animals inside quickly.”
“In the garage?” Mark asked.
“I moved the truck out and filled the garage with straw bedding and hay, and even moved in the cage with the baby chicks. That way I could tend and water everyone without me going outside,” Joshua explained.
“That was brilliant, Joshua,” Mark complimented him.
“Now, for the next reason we stopped over,” I continued on, knowing we had lots to do today, “is to bring you some fresh venison. We managed to harvest one last deer before they all succumbed to the ash, and we wanted to share it with our friends. I also brought a dozen eggs, on Emilee’s suggestion and some smoked fish from Jason.” I selected one of the hind shanks from the cooler, since now it was for only one person and three of the fish.
“That’s right generous of you Miss Allexa! I do appreciate it. I’ll have to hide it from Bossy, she gets upset when she smells me cooking red meat,” he said in all seriousness.
* * *
Our next stop was to Ken and Karen, since we were trying to keep the deliveries in order of where everyone lived.
As we pulled into their driveway, Ken stepped out with a shotgun, and then lowered it when he saw it was us.
“What a nice surprise!” Karen said from behind him. She came forward and gave me a hug, whispering, “Where’s John?”
“John left and went back to Indiana to be with his daughter,” I said so all could hear. I didn’t feel like explaining my new relationship with the doctor, so I changed the subject. “We were able to harvest two deer since the eruption, and the second one we want to share.” Mark opened the cooler that sat in the hatch, and brought out a shoulder section, which he handed over to Ken.
“I also have something extra for you,” I said with a grin, and handed Karen a baggie filled with ground coffee.
Her eyes got wide and moist as she accepted the gift.
“We have other stops to make, so we can’t stay,” I told them. I gave Karen a parting hug, and I slipped something into her hand and gave her a wink. She returned the big smile when she saw the mini-bottle of whiskey, and I think she was touched that I remembered she liked adding it to her coffee.
* * *
Anna and George were next on the list, and likewise we were initially met with a loaded gun. After gladly accepting our gift, I asked Anna if she’d heard anything from the county offices.
“Not a word. Although there have been two calls that came in to the office, no messages were left. So I’m hoping your ruse was successful! It would be good if they just left us alone. Although …” she looked pensive, “one of these days we’ll all run out of food and we’ll have to seek help.”
“Well, let’s hope we can keep that from happening, Anna.” We said our goodbyes and headed over to Pete’s house.
* * *
“I’m surprised we weren’t met with weapons drawn,” I joked when Lenny answered the door.
“No need to. Pete had the car in his sites from upstairs before you got within a half block!” Lenny laughed. “Of course we both recognized your car, Allexa. What can we do for you?” he asked, as Pete approached from behind.
“Remember that venison shoulder you brought me last December?” I asked, and when he nodded, I went on. “I’ve come to return the favor.” Mark handed him the second shoulder section.
His big pale blue eyes, magnified by his thick glasses, swam with grateful tears.
“What goes around comes around, Lenny,” I said with a smile as I remembered that cold and snowy day so many months ago.
“Oh, and here’s an extra gift,” Mark said, extending a plastic quart jar filled with rice and a bag of dried macaroni into Pete’s hands.
I intentionally made Bob and Kathy our last stop, so we could spend some time with them.
“Pastor Carolyn! How good to see you. I didn’t expect to run into you here!” I gave her a hug. She looked… hollow, and sad.
“Bob and Kathy were kind to take me in after… after the horrible mistake I made,” she said, on the edge of tears. “Oh, how I rue the day I didn’t listen to you!”
“Pastor,” Mark said softly, “every one of those people made their own decision. It wasn’t your doing and certainly not your fault.” He placed his hand tenderly on her shoulder to emphasize his remarks.
“We’ve come bearing gifts!” I said, hoping to change the somber mood. “Mark, would you bring the cooler over here please?”
We had settled ourselves on their deck overlooking Lake Meade. Even though it was a little cool, it felt good to sit in the sun and breathe fresh air without fear.
Kathy pulled her chair closer to mine and whispered, “What’s up with you two? And where’s John?”
I whispered back to her, “John left, again. Mark has moved in.” Which got a shocked look from her, just as Mark came back, carrying a much lighter cooler.
“Allex and Jason went out after the attack and harvested one more deer. We’ve been making the rounds all day sharing it,” Mark stated.
“Attack?”
“What happened?”
“Who attacked you?”
The questions came from all three of them.
“Jason and Eric were out hunting and were attacked by a band of wolves,” I told them. “Eric was badly injured, but Mark saved him. He performed some fancy surgery – on my massage table! Instead of losing his foot, Eric is well on his way to recovery.” I looked over at Mark with love and gratitude.
“Anyway, two days later, Jason and I went back out and found one deer still alive in the herd. It was a joint decision that we would share that meat with our friends,” I announced. “And here is your share. There i
s a hind shank we were going to offer to Carolyn and the rump to the two of you. Since she’s here, we’ll leave it all with you.”
“That’s a lot of meat, Allexa,” Bob said, stunned.
“I hate to sound corny, but that’s what friends are for!” I told him.
While Bob was retrieving a bottle of wine from his dwindling cellar, Kathy and I put the venison in their refrigerator, along with the melting block of ice, and a bag of smoked fish.
“How’s Carolyn doing, Kathy, seriously?” I asked in private.
“Not well. She really does blame herself for all those people dying,” Kathy said grimly. “We had to physically restrain her from going out to join them when she heard the screams. It was awful.” She set five wine glasses on a tray and turned to me. “What’s with the doctor and what the hell happened to John?”
“John decided he needed to be with his daughter, so he went home. Before he did, he asked Mark to take care of me,” I said, still not believing all that had happened. “So he moved in, and before you ask and I know you will, yes, we’re sharing a bed now.” I’ve always been honest with my friend, and it was good to share that with her.
“Well, you look absolutely radiant, so he must be good for you!” She gave me a brief hug and we joined the others on the deck.
* * *
Back at home, I stood at the glass door watching the blue sky fade and the ash move in again.
Our reprieve was over.
“It’s starting again?” Mark asked from behind me.
The Journal: Ash Fall Page 28
