Settling In

Our next project required us to build doors of sorts to block the entrance to unwanted intruders.  Considering that we were now cavemen and women, we had no desire to share our sleeping quarters with a bear, or other wild animal.  Another danger also lurked in this area - rattlesnakes.  We had to be very cautious about snakes, because at present, at least, we had no anti venom if someone were bitten.   Making certain that the openings were tightly closed off, particularly near the floor, was essential.

Lise began to spend more time around me, asking if she could help or come along when going for a walk or some other activity.  I didn’t mind as she had always been welcome company.  As I was preparing my front door, Lise took the initiative to be my helping hand.  She soon learned to use a saw and a hammer and nails, as together; we created a door that would fit tightly into my cave entrance.  While I might have been happy with just a door that pulled into place at night, Lise on the other hand, felt that it should be on hinges.  She talked me into going back to town and getting whatever it would take to do a good job.

On the drive, Lise road shotgun, as only she had come along.  We soon located a lumber yard, where we picked up enough studs, cement, sand, hinges and all the other little things we would need.  We even picked up a wheelbarrow and shovel for mixing the cement.  I had owned another minivan at one time, a gift from a friend who couldn't keep it up.  It had two, three-seater benches that folded down, but unfortunately, took up a lot of room.  When I needed to load anything big in the van, or if I was going camping with it and intended to sleep inside, I had to remove the benches.  How I loved these newer vans where the seat just slid into the floor!

Lise talked a lot on the return drive - about her family, her friends, and even reminisced about some of the enjoyable school days we had spent together.   Whenever I could take my eyes off the road and glance her way, she seemed cheerful, in spite of herself, in spite of her losses.  She also seemed to be looking my way most of the time and averted my gaze each time, quickly turning away.  With the night goggles, she was aware that I could see her.  It was good to see her becoming happy once again. Yet, she didn’t sing anymore, one of her attributes that I really missed and was concerned about.  

The first job was to dig a rectangular hole at the entrance that spanned the opening.  Lise didn't know what she was in for when she decided that the job had to be done right.  That hole had to be at least eighteen inches deep so that the bottom was below the frost level.  Otherwise, the door was going to heave with the ground during the spring thaw and I would be either trapped inside or outside my home.  It also had to be wide enough to attach a two by four. 

Water!  We needed water to mix the cement.  Lise had dug the hole and we had measured and cut all lumber to make a frame large enough to cover the entire opening.  We had also made a small frame around the outside of Lise’s trench.  Our next step required us to pour the cement into the hole.  This was a tedious part of the project as we had to carry the water from a distance.  However, the cement was poured, the bolts put in place.  When the cement hardened, we fitted the large frame into the opening and drove extra large spikes into the two by fours to give the cement on the wall behind them something to hang onto.  We had to make some adjustments on the door to get it to fit into the frame, but when it was finished; it was a close fitting enclosure.  None of us were really ready for this kind of labor and blisters soon appeared on everyone’s hands who dared to pick up a shovel.

 The next problem to solve was another suggestion from Lise.  “So, Mr. W., when can we start doing the same thing for our room?”  I should have seen that coming.  All in all, it was a reasonable request, but I was sure Lise didn’t miss my sigh, in spite of how quiet it was.  It was probably written over my face, too.  I was tired, but she was right.  Winter would arrive soon enough and each house would need to be weather tight.  No one wants a snow drift in their bedroom.  

“Don’t worry, Lise.  We’ll take care of it.”  The familiar smile returned to her face.

She stuck by me as I worked on the other entrances, but more as a shop foreman this time around, telling each person what he or she needed to do or get.  It was a good thing we weren't building a subdivision for I wasn’t sure the others were taking too well to Lise’s bossing.  With a group of people working at assigned jobs, much like an assembly line, we were able to finish in two days.  When all was accomplished, we attached emergency blankets to the outside of the doors.  Eventually, we would match the paint to the emergency blanket color and just repaint the doors as the old paint wore off.

The finishing touch was to dig a long trench along the front of the escarpment, to allow water to flow away from our doors.  Otherwise, when the snow melted in the spring, we might find ourselves living in swimming pools rather than caves.  Fortunately, the land fell away from the escarpment.  The ground was not deep and we ran into rock sooner than expected, but at least we had the dry bed for spring runoff.  It measured about two feet wide by a feet deep.  We built small bridges to cross over to our doors. 

***

Shopping was easier these days, with no lineups at the checkout and with the new, super-low prices, everything was affordable.  We were living on canned meats and vegetables and dried products, as there were no fresh or frozen foods that remained fit for human consumption.  Although what we gathered was life sustaining, we really needed some fresh fruit and vegetables.  We made plans for a garden in the spring, but no one in our group had any experience growing their own food.  We would be on our own for this project.  We picked up what seeds we could find that had not been put away in the stores and waited for the next growing season which was several months away. 

It was doctor Manning who remembered a market gardening area located on a highway north of a large metropolis and probably no more than an hour and a half from our location.  We had no idea what they had planted there for sure, but we both remembered that the soil was black, probably from a reclaimed swamp or marsh.  Some things tend to keep well if left alone in a garden, so, taking a chance that we wouldn’t be seen, four of us headed out, taking back roads as much as possible.  What we found cheered us up.  There was a lot of spoilage, but as we hoped there were some root crops that were in great shape.  We picked up cabbage, turnips, onions, carrots, and a few stalks of celery.  The lettuce had long gone to seed.  There were no tomatoes or peppers anywhere and probably would have been killed by a frost by now anyway.  This would at least get us through the winter.  If we could just figure out where we could get potatoes we would have really been grateful.  As it was, we had to adopt rice as our main source of carbohydrates.  It was unfortunate that the gardening area was so exposed, because it would have made a great spot to live considering the proximity to a food source. 

When we returned, we located another cave that went deep under the escarpment, cleared it out of small rocks, built bins from the rock slabs and sealed this off from the outside.  The interior temperature so far inside stayed reasonably cool and with the occasional sprinkling with water or snow, would keep the supplies from drying out year round, like a good root cellar.  Finally, we had something other than salt beef to put in the stew.

***

It was Bruce and Tammy who found it.  It was our only hope for some fresh protein.  It was fed by a spring coming out of the escarpment.  The water was clear and cool.  And, it appeared to contain fish.  It had been obscured by the thick brush and reed and cattails surrounding it, but this marsh could provide us with more than just fish.  It also contained edible roots.  But that is another story.  This discovery necessitated another drive into the bordering town to pick up some fishing equipment, which Bruce volunteered to do.  Tammy went along.   It seemed like hours before the pair returned, creating some worry back at the camp as to their safety, but they finally arrived.  The equipment Bruce retrieved was high quality and would serve our purposes nicely.

It was hard to tell in the dim light of our flashlights, but Dr. Manning seemed to be taking a really good look at the two and poked me in the side.  When we were out of ear shot, she remarked to me, “This is a date that I'm going to put in my journal.” 

“I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.  What's so special about today?” I said, surprised by her suggestion. 

“Did you notice his collar?  His shirt was buttoned up wrong and Tammy’s face was rather pink, don’t you think?”

“Now that you mention it, I did notice her color.  I just chalked it up to the cool night air.”

“It’s not that cool.”

“Well, what’s the difference?  Someone has to start rebuilding the population.”  I thought about what I was saying and added, “But I guess we really should be careful about this.  Just because the world has changed radically, doesn’t mean that we should discard marriage, or some form of it.  We need to continue the idea of commitment to one another in a relationship.  Don’t you agree?”

“Exactly my thoughts.  So, are you going to talk to them, or should I?”

“I think that first of all, we need to have a general talk to all of them.  Carol, they've had to grow up really fast."

“Warren, we don’t need unwanted kids or pregnancies.  Right now, that would be a burden.  It could also end badly for the mother, considering that she’s so young.  And, if you remember your baby Moses story, you must realize that we don’t need an uncontrolled baby crying when or if visitors decide to come for a look see.”

“True enough!  But in spite of our observations, or rather your keen eyesight, we don’t know for sure what their relationship is all about, so let's begin by asking questions, rather than jumping to conclusions and accusing them.  Let’s find out where they’re plans are, like maybe tomorrow morning?”

“I was thinking, how about right now?  I don’t want Tammy slipping into Bruce’s quarters tonight and getting herself in a fix, if you know what I mean.”  I silently nodded and followed Dr. Manning as we hunted for the young pair.

Meanwhile, I was thinking, “Bruce and Tammy?  Tammy and Bruce?” Circumstances can really play havoc with one’s sense of direction.  I would've never suspected Bruce of having any interest in Tammy.  She wasn’t like him at all.  The only thing I wouldn’t put past her though would be falling in love with him.

“Well, Bruce, would you like to tell us why you're so late?” I asked.  “We've been pretty worried, wondering where you were, what was taking you so long.”  Tammy, who was sitting on a large rock, just lowered her head and appeared to be staring at the ground. 

This didn't escape Doctor Manning’s notice.  “Tammy, perhaps you could tell us what took you so long.”  Tammy raised her head a little as if she were going to say something, but then lowered it again.  The Doctor got an idea in her head that perhaps Bruce had forced himself on her, not something that I would've suspected, but Tammy was behaving rather peculiarly.  “Tammy, did Bruce hurt you?” the doctor continued.

Tammy replied, but so softly that neither of us could hear her.  “Please speak up, Tammy,” the doctor prodded.

Tammy then indicated that Bruce had in fact hurt her.  I looked at Bruce, whose mouth was fully open, but he wasn't saying anything.  “Tammy, just how did Bruce hurt you?”  It seemed like a reasonable question for me to ask.

Suddenly, we heard from Bruce.  “Tammy, tell them the truth.  Tell them how I hurt you.”  Then suddenly, Bruce figured out what we were thinking and added, “Tell them how I slammed you around several times, how I pinned you down on the ground and had my way with you, and about all the wild sex we had afterwards in the van on the way back.” 

Now it was Tammy’s turn, but she was livid, not at all like Bruce had been.  “We never did anything of the sort.  What kind of girl do you think I am?”  She looked at us two adults, astonished that we could even think such thoughts.   “Bruce never laid a hand on me.  Well, that’s not true.”  Doctor Manning and I looked at Bruce who was now sporting a wide grin, then back at Tammy who wasn't finished with the story.  “When we were driving around looking for the fishing stuff…(Stuff, she used that word a lot)…We happened upon a martial arts studio.  I asked Bruce to teach me some Karate, which he did.  Before we knew it, it was starting to get dark, so we went to the store, picked up the fishing stuff and drove back. And that’s all there is to tell you.”

“Are you sure about that?” I asked.   

“Positive,” they both said.

“Then why is Bruce’s shirt not buttoned up properly.”

Tammy, who should have noticed something like that fixed her eyes on Bruce’s collar and burst out laughing.  I thought she was going to cry, she laughed so hard.  “He told me to grab him by the shirt just below the collar.  Then he showed me how to break the grab and toss the person off.  The person was me.  That’s when he hurt me…and that’s when I ripped his shirt, nearly off his back.  We picked up another one at the store.  I don’t suppose you noticed that it was new?”

Doctor Manning and I took a close look, and feel.  It was obviously new, it still had the creases that new shirts have right out of the wrapper, but Bruce, not having a mirror, and being in a hurry to get back hadn’t noticed that he had started at the wrong button.  Bruce, now aware of why Tammy was laughing, began to rebutton his new shirt.

Ignoring any possible objections that Doctor Manning might have I spoke to the two of them.  “My young friends…” I could no longer call them kids, for they were now taking on the responsibilities of adults, “our profoundest apologies for this interrogation and lack of trust.  Have a good night. And thank you for picking up the equipment.”  And as an afterthought, “Bruce, would you be able to teach some of what you know to the others?  This too, might come in handy.”  He didn’t speak, but simply nodded his head.

I walked off with the doctor.  “Do you believe them?” she asked me.

“Do I believe them?  Of course I do.  I'm a pretty good judge of body language, not as good as some people, but an even better judge of tall tales.  Don’t forget, I’ve been a vice principal for quite some time.  But I’m reasonably certain that the crazy story we just heard wasn’t made up.”

“At one point, I thought she’d been raped,” she said.

“Yeah, I was wondering what Bruce was going to say just them.  But that didn’t seem like Bruce.  Do you think we’ve suspected the wrong things about our adoptees?” 

“I'm still concerned about the relationships they develop.  Given time, especially time together and they have a lot of that here with nothing to do, Bruce is going to pair off with someone and that someone, as strange as that might seem to you, appears to be Tammy.”   

"He could do worse.  I have some mixed feelings.  I'm not going to encourage it, but pairing off may not be such a bad thing."

"Warren, I don't want to be delivering a baby for a teen."

"They won't be teens for much longer.  And who's to say when they're old enough?  I'd like to see them married first, though.  We need to have a frank talk with our young friends.  But tomorrow's soon enough.  I'm going t' bed."