“Oh no Brian, I’m so sorry. Oh god, I’m so sorry.” She felt horrible for it and hugged him again. She’d worked at the hospital and she’d met Christa, a fellow nurse. Then when Christa had gotten breast cancer, it had been a hard time for the couple. Christa had gone through chemo and she’d had gotten to know Christa and Brian better, and they’d become close friends. When she’d gone to Boston, she’d kept in sporadic touch with them, through social media.
She’d been so thrilled when Christa had beaten the cancer and gone into remission. But now, it would seem, that the Vermilion virus had taken her. Her eyes filled with tears.
“Yeah, it was hard at the end. I wasn’t sure if I could go on, but then Cooper, my next-door neighbor’s son, came over and kinda saved me.” He shrugged helplessly. Cooper came running and grabbed onto Brian’s leg and looked around at Emma, she was enchanted immediately. The large blue eyes stared up at her with curiosity. She grinned down at him.
“Hi Cooper, I’m Emma. That is my friend Paadi, we came to live here in the woods.”
“Hi Emma.” He grinned shyly, then looked over to Paadi, who was walking toward them. Buddy had gone over to meet the large German Shephard, both animal’s tails wagging enthusiastically. Then the shepherd went down on her back in a submissive posture.
“That’s Daisy.” Brian grinned, watching the two dogs.
“That’s Buddy. We found each other in Boston. I met Paadini Sullivan, a former Boston police officer, on the road. Paadi, this is Brian Philips, I guess now, a former firefighter from Lancaster. I knew he and his wife, Christa.”
Paadi reached over, a broad smile on her face and shook Brian’s hand. Then, she reached and ruffled the child’s blond head.
“Good to meet you Brian, you too Coop!” She said in her heavy Boston accent. It brought a grin to Brian’s lips and Emma stifled a snigger. Her eyes triangle with humor.
“So, you settling here as well Brian? Great minds think alike. You didn’t want to set up in one of the cabins?” Emma asked, looking around at the supplies and garden, as well as the odds and ends sitting around.
“The best and most open place is here, for planting a large garden. I’d have to travel back and forth to get water and it just seemed the best idea to turn the Beach House into our home. You know, it’s a big building and I’m planning to put up walls inside. You two are more than welcome to live there as well. It will be easier to defend if we’re all together. Plus, I’m going to see about getting some solar panels and see if I can’t get a little power going, for running water.” Brian invited graciously.
Emma looked startled and then at Paadi, who was looking around and nodding. A slight smile on her face and a speculative look in her dark brown eyes.
“You know Emma, he’s right. With all those seeds you picked up, it would be easier to grow here in this wide-open space. And, we’d not have to carry water back and forth, like he said.”
“But there aren’t any beds there, at least the last time I was here, there weren’t. But, I guess, it’s a solid idea.” Emma said, a speculative look in her eyes now.
“Hey, I picked up mattress and box springs for Coop and I, maybe later today, we can go back to the mattress store and pick some up for you two? Also, maybe pick up some furniture. While I have the gas.” Brian offered.
“Well, heck. I think that’s a damned fine idea. Let Paadi and I unload the truck and get things inside the house and we’ll help you with this garden. I see you already have plants. Just so you know, I’ve got canning stuff. Figured that would be the only way to ensure long term food. Not so much now, but next year, we’ll have gone through all our provisions.” Emma said.
“Great minds do think alike. You’ll see a bunch of stuff in there from me as well.” Brian laughed, shaking his head.
Emma and Paadi began to unload the truck, with Brian’s help. It took less time to complete the task, than it had to load. The Beach House was a large structure, but was now filled with the combined belongings. Emma could see that with his U-Haul, Brian had quadrupled the amount of food stores. That had been smart and she could kick herself for not thinking of it. She saw numerous metal trash cans and looked inside one. It held a fifty-pound bag of rice. Smart. Perhaps while they were out getting a mattress later, she’d have him swing by one of the big box stores and they could pick up more rice, flour, sugar, beans and whatever else they could get their hands on.
“Wow, this guy isn’t playing around.” Paadi whistled, looking down into the can.
“Yeah, no kidding. I should have thought to get a trailer as well. We could have really picked up a lot of stuff.” Emma grumbled.
“Hells bells, we’ll pick some up today, on our way. There was that SAMs we passed on the way here, I think I remember about where it was. If there is stuff there, we can load it up along with the mattresses.” Paadi laughed and Emma grinned, her friend was thinking along the same lines.
“I was thinking the very same. Let’s get out there and help get that garden started. I can taste the fresh veggies now.” Emma laughed and both women went back out.
While Brian moved the tiller back and forth, the women began to pull out clumps of grass and shake the dirt free. There weren’t many weeds, and Emma hoped the park didn’t
