freezer. By experimenting, we found that eight hours without power wasn’t long enough for the meats and vegetables to thaw.
I’ve always been something of a worrywart, and besides the fuel, there were other things about our situation bothering me. My concerns prompted me to ask Sam to schedule a meeting in his home. The women, Jessica included, decided a meeting was a good excuse to go all out with a cooking spree. I didn’t have the heart to tell them the subjects I’d be bringing up would be no cause for celebration.
Despite my reservations, the dinner they prepared was without doubt one of the best I’ve ever eaten. Roast beef, mac and cheese, steamed veggies, homemade biscuits with au jus sauce for dipping, and gallons of iced tea. Desert was two blueberry pies. I felt so full and satisfied I suggested having the meeting the next morning.
Becky disagreed. “I can tell by your expression you want to touch on things that won’t be pleasant, but we do need to take a new look at our situation.”
Sam agreed. “We’re getting close to a crisis situation. Food will be short in a week or so and I know we’re going to need more diesel fuel soon. I’ll tell you what. Let’s set the young ones up in the living room with their Nintendo system. We can take the coffee maker into the den and have our meeting there.”
Thirty minutes later, we were in their den, ensconced on the several soft chairs circling the largest game table I’d ever seen. I took a seat and pointed at the table, giving Sam a quizzical look.
“Aw man, don’t ask. I really got into the whole Texas Hold’em thing. I had this dream of playing in Vegas for millions. Only thing is, I’m the worst poker player in the world. Me and a bunch of guys did have some good times in here, though.”
Lucy spoke from the wet bar where she and Becky were preparing coffee. “Yeah, their poker nights turned into ESPN nights with buckets of hot wings and beer to comfort them. God, they could get loud. They were a decent bunch, though, always cleaned up in here before they left.”
“Jerold, do you and Jessica drink coffee?” Becky asked as she set a serving tray holding cups, creamer, and sugar onto the table.
“Jerold does. I brought my tea with me.”
The Two J’s fit in nice with our bunch and it was hard to imagine them not being with us. Becky spent more time with them than any of us. She’d cornered us, me, Sam and Lucy, and let us know that Jessica didn’t want to talk about her parents and to leave that subject alone.
Lucy brought the coffee decanter to the table. I poured a cup, black, and waited for the others to serve themselves before speaking.
“Sam, you mentioned fuel and food. Those are vital subjects that need to be addressed, but there’s something worse that’s bugging me. Security. I don’t know why, but somehow we’ve been very lucky no one has even come near your place. I don’t even know why we haven’t seen any of your neighbors, walking or driving. It’s like we’re in a dead zone.”
Becky added to my statement. “I don’t even hear cars over on the freeway anymore. I used to be able to hear them at night especially.”
I nodded. “Exactly what I’m saying. There aren’t enough people. Hell, the I-75 is a main corridor. Even when we went to pick up the generators, I only saw three vehicles on the road.
“Most everybody’s dead,” Jessica said
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“Mama was a nurse. She was studying to be a doctor before…” A sad expression crossed the young girls face and she paused before continuing to speak. “She worked at the big trauma center in downtown Atlanta. She said this was the strongest virus she ever heard of, that it was a real killer and that the government lied about how bad it was.”
Lucy spoke, shock apparent in her tone. “How could it be worse? What they reported was enough to have the news outlets claiming the plague could be close to an extinction event for
I’ve always been something of a worrywart, and besides the fuel, there were other things about our situation bothering me. My concerns prompted me to ask Sam to schedule a meeting in his home. The women, Jessica included, decided a meeting was a good excuse to go all out with a cooking spree. I didn’t have the heart to tell them the subjects I’d be bringing up would be no cause for celebration.
Despite my reservations, the dinner they prepared was without doubt one of the best I’ve ever eaten. Roast beef, mac and cheese, steamed veggies, homemade biscuits with au jus sauce for dipping, and gallons of iced tea. Desert was two blueberry pies. I felt so full and satisfied I suggested having the meeting the next morning.
Becky disagreed. “I can tell by your expression you want to touch on things that won’t be pleasant, but we do need to take a new look at our situation.”
Sam agreed. “We’re getting close to a crisis situation. Food will be short in a week or so and I know we’re going to need more diesel fuel soon. I’ll tell you what. Let’s set the young ones up in the living room with their Nintendo system. We can take the coffee maker into the den and have our meeting there.”
Thirty minutes later, we were in their den, ensconced on the several soft chairs circling the largest game table I’d ever seen. I took a seat and pointed at the table, giving Sam a quizzical look.
“Aw man, don’t ask. I really got into the whole Texas Hold’em thing. I had this dream of playing in Vegas for millions. Only thing is, I’m the worst poker player in the world. Me and a bunch of guys did have some good times in here, though.”
Lucy spoke from the wet bar where she and Becky were preparing coffee. “Yeah, their poker nights turned into ESPN nights with buckets of hot wings and beer to comfort them. God, they could get loud. They were a decent bunch, though, always cleaned up in here before they left.”
“Jerold, do you and Jessica drink coffee?” Becky asked as she set a serving tray holding cups, creamer, and sugar onto the table.
“Jerold does. I brought my tea with me.”
The Two J’s fit in nice with our bunch and it was hard to imagine them not being with us. Becky spent more time with them than any of us. She’d cornered us, me, Sam and Lucy, and let us know that Jessica didn’t want to talk about her parents and to leave that subject alone.
Lucy brought the coffee decanter to the table. I poured a cup, black, and waited for the others to serve themselves before speaking.
“Sam, you mentioned fuel and food. Those are vital subjects that need to be addressed, but there’s something worse that’s bugging me. Security. I don’t know why, but somehow we’ve been very lucky no one has even come near your place. I don’t even know why we haven’t seen any of your neighbors, walking or driving. It’s like we’re in a dead zone.”
Becky added to my statement. “I don’t even hear cars over on the freeway anymore. I used to be able to hear them at night especially.”
I nodded. “Exactly what I’m saying. There aren’t enough people. Hell, the I-75 is a main corridor. Even when we went to pick up the generators, I only saw three vehicles on the road.
“Most everybody’s dead,” Jessica said
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“Mama was a nurse. She was studying to be a doctor before…” A sad expression crossed the young girls face and she paused before continuing to speak. “She worked at the big trauma center in downtown Atlanta. She said this was the strongest virus she ever heard of, that it was a real killer and that the government lied about how bad it was.”
Lucy spoke, shock apparent in her tone. “How could it be worse? What they reported was enough to have the news outlets claiming the plague could be close to an extinction event for
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