She assumed that he had been held up when leaving the store. Agnes spoke proudly of her husband as she retold this tale, explaining that he would’ve never handed over what he had, always putting her needs above everything else. It was sad to see how lonely she now was.
It was incredibly difficult for Austin to hear Agnes telling her story, thinking of his own family as she spoke and wondering what would happen if he or Dante were in a similar position. He found his eyes welling up as she spoke of her husband, the tone of love in her voice revealing just how important the man had been to her. To both Austin and Samuel, it was remarkable how well she was coping so soon after her loss. Agnes admitted that she would mourn once it was safe to do so. She remained resilient in the knowledge that her Fred would’ve wanted her to keep fighting.
“Is there anything you need while we’re here?” Samuel offered during a pause in the conversation. “We have plenty to share.”
“I have the basics to keep me going,” Agnes replied stoically. “There’s one less mouth to feed now.”
It struck Samuel on another level how humble the woman was. He couldn’t help but think of his own parents and wondered how they would cope. Could his mother possibly carry on with the same calm demeanor and level of control that Agnes had if something happened to his father? It had been some time since he had tried to get in touch with them.
“I wonder,” Samuel asked cautiously, having noticed the landline phone in Agnes’ hallway earlier on. “Do you think I could use your phone? I want to try and reach my parents; see if they’re okay.”
“Of course!” Agnes beamed in response, more than happy for Samuel to try. “I haven’t even thought of using that. Don’t know who I’d call.”
“Do you think it will work? Cell signal has been down for days now.”
“I know,” Samuel replied, turning to Austin to explain his rationale. “But don’t the old landline phones still connect to the wires? My parents have one in their house which is similar, I think that I might be able to place a call that way.”
“By all means, go right ahead and try,” Agnes encouraged him. “I’ll go and find some blankets for you both to use in the meantime, give you a bit of privacy.”
Smiling in thanks, Samuel pushed himself away from the table and walked out into the hallway, picking up the receiver from the wall mounted phone. He paused for a moment with it in his hand, trying to remember the number. When he was little, his mother had made both him and Jessie memorize their address and phone number. It took him a second to recall it but then he punched in the number and put the receiver to his ear.
“Hello?”
“Dad! Is that you?”
“Samuel? How are you? Where have you been? We’ve been trying to reach you for days.”
“I’m fine dad. Are you guys okay?”
“Yes, yes, we’re fine. We’ve had to board up some of the windows. Things are getting pretty dicey outside. What about you? Where are you calling from?”
“Um…” Samuel paused, “a friend’s place. I’m on my way out of the city, heading to Poughkeepsie. I just wanted to call to make sure you’re both okay and let you know that I am, too.”
“Poughkeepsie? Why are you going there?”
“It’s a long story,” Samuel replied, smiling to himself at his father never being able to leave a question unasked. The old man sounded well though and that was comforting for Samuel. That his mother was safe, too, also made him feel at ease. “I don’t know when I’ll be back. I just wanted to call and remind you both to stay indoors and stay safe. And,” he paused again, “to let you know that I love you.”
There was a moment of silence on the line. Samuel and his parents weren’t usually up for displays of affection, especially him and his father. But it was something Samuel knew he would regret if he didn’t say. He didn’t want to even consider for a second that his parents wouldn’t be around when he returned to New York. But he wasn’t willing to take any chances.
“We love you too, Samuel,” Charles replied on the other end, his voice catching a little in his throat as he spoke. “Whatever it is you need to do, make sure you look after yourself.”
“I will dad,” Samuel swallowed. “I’ll call you again when I get the chance, okay?”
“Okay, son. Take care.”
“You, too. Goodbye.”
Samuel returned the phone to its cradle on the wall and leaned back against the plaster for a second. There was no telling when he would be able to speak to his father again, the phone lines may still be working for the time being, but eventually that technology would fail like almost everything else had. It was likely that until he had returned from Poughkeepsie, he wouldn’t be able to talk to them again.
Perhaps he was better off staying in New York so he could keep his parents safe. Indecisiveness suddenly plagued Samuel, a moment of weakness overshadowing his previous strength. But what could he really do for his parents if he stayed behind?
He could help Austin get back to his family. Already the two of them had been through so much together, he couldn’t change his mind now. He would be far better off helping
