“We’ll be able to cook for a long time. We got plenty of wood in the barn for the woodstove, though I’d suggest we bundle up more and keep the fire low. At some point, the wood will get harder and harder to come by.” Bart said, draining his coffee cup. He went to the sink where there was a tub of soapy water. They had a water pump outside that had the old fashion pitcher pump. It was mostly used for the animals, but since the power had gone out, was now used for the house as well. The old outhouse had also been opened back up for use. Laura’s mother had cleaned it up and both women had spent the previous afternoon, painting the interior.
Allain and Alexa had been nervous about using it, so Laura had suggested they paint it, make it bright and inviting. The girls had gleefully helped with the painting. They painted white on the interior and then used her mother’s acrylic paints to paint flowers, butterflies and Laura wasn’t quite sure what else, since the girls were in conflict about what their paintings were. Bart had put a five-gallon bucket of water in the bathroom. This was to be used for the toilet, only at night. Each room had an old fashion ewer and bowl, for spit baths, there would be no more regular bathing.
“Guess you’d better get going, it’s about an hour drive there on that old tractor.” Milly said, getting up from the table.
“Guess you’re right, honeybunch. I’ll take a can of diesel with me, just in case.” Bart got up and kissed his wife on the cheek. Laura smiled at her parents. Milly had grown up in Kansas and had gone into the marines when she’d gotten out of high school. She and Bart had been stationed in Naples, Italy and had fallen in love there. They both eventually gotten out of the marines and had come back here to take over the family farm. They were both still in love and she’d seen them walking the property, holding hands. Her eyes misted, thinking of Hogan, and knowing that he might as well be on the moon, she’d never see her husband again. She’d been grieving but hadn’t really known it. She’d held out hope until now, that Hogan would find his way home.
With dead zones, there was no way for Hogan to get to her, nor she to him. Hogan was a wonderful man, her man, but he was no superhero. He was a man; an ordinary and modest man and it would be an impossibility for him to attempt the suicidal trip. Simply walking to her parent’s home had been grueling, seven hours and she had Randy following behind her for part of that trip. She shivered at the thought. Bastard. With no one coming to help them, she knew that chaos would follow shortly, if it hadn’t already in the city. She’d seen the programs on TV about end of days. How people went crazy, killing each other over a can of soup. Would it be that bad? What would she do to protect her daughters? You would have shot Randy in the street, her mind whispered.
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Kansas City, MO
Baby lunged forward, but Hogan stood still. The massive dog fell at his feet and turned over onto his back in a submissive roll. His heavy tail thumped on the ground and his mouth opened and the dog grinned up at him with impressive teeth. Hogan almost had a heart attack. He bent down and cautiously rubbed the dog’s belly. The other dogs whined, wanting the same treatment. He walked toward them and let them sniff his hand, and they too were happy to meet him.
“Sorry about that. He’s still young yet.” Trish apologized.
“It’s okay, as long as I didn’t lose a hand, I’m good.” Hogan grinned, holding up a hand and wiggling his fingers. They walked up the steps to the house. Hogan looked around, it was a nice property, though the house looked a little dilapidated. It was in need of a good painting, but looked solid enough for all that.
“I have set you up in the back bedroom. I hope you don’t mind, I put my husband’s clothes in there for you. You’re about his size.”
“Oh. Okay.” Hogan said, feeling a little awkward.
“He was killed in a car accident eight years ago. I just haven’t been able to get rid of his things. Sorry. I’m not a hoarder or anything, but, well, I just couldn’t.” She shrugged and smiled lopsidedly.
“I’m sorry. And thanks. I guess I need something other than the clothes on my back. Thanks. Maybe I can pick up some things, in the next few days. When I’m up to it.” They walked up the stairs to the second floor. It had a long narrow hallway.
“I doubt it. If you don’t have cash, you must have a local driver’s license if you use a credit card. They aren’t taking any out of town credit cards. I was behind a guy in Big Lots, he was from somewhere in Kansas, but had a credit card. The store manager said that because of the affected areas, they could not be sure that the credit card company would pay, since they didn’t know about the billing situation in Kansas. It got kind of ugly, so I went to another register. I got out as fast as I could, in case it really went south.” Trish said, opening the door to Hogan’s new room.
Inside the room was a twin bed. The room was neat and clean. It had a large window, framed by white lace curtains. The room had a small dresser, nightstand with a brass lamp and there was a small closet. It was simple and unadorned. There were no pictures or paintings on the
