“Where the hell have you been?” she scolded, looking at me with a pretty evil eye. Dozer was standing behind her, with his fists on his hips, looking at me like he was going to take my head off. I was kind of afraid that he might have been able to do it.
“Baby, don’t bitch at me in front of guests. I got into an accident and totaled the truck. I got trapped inside and couldn’t get out. Buck here happened to come along and save my life,” he said as he directed attention to me like Vanna White showing off a new car.
Amanda turned and hugged me, kissing me on each cheek. “Thank you for saving my idiot’s life. I hope you’re going to be staying with us for a while.”
“I think I might.” I said. “I need a rest, a wash, some clean clothes, and some food in my gut.”
“Well, all of that we can do for ya.” She grabbed my hand and walked me to the house, leaving Norman to fend for himself.
We walked in the front door to a clean and well-kept house. The front foyer had a set of stairs going up to a living room, kitchen, and a couple of bedrooms. The downstairs was a family room and another bedroom. The carpeting in the house was a light brown, almost a tan, with off-white painted walls. There were family pictures hanging up and some in frames on the end tables. It looked like any normal all-American home, but after the few weeks I had spent sleeping on the ground, it sure looked comfortable.
Amanda took me upstairs and led me to one of the back bedrooms. It was the same color scheme as the rest of the house. It held a bed, a dresser, and a closet, and had its own bathroom. As she walked into the room, she pointed at the bed then at the bathroom.
“You can drop your stuff there on the bed. The bathroom has a tub. Norman was able to rig some plastic drums outside the two-bathroom windows, so we kinda still have running water. You can take a bath, or wash up. The water’ll be cool, but at least you’ll be clean. We’ll eat in about an hour or so. Thanks again for bringin ’im back to me.” She hugged me again and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.
I dropped my pack on the bed and dug out my hygiene kit. It wasn’t major, just some toothpaste, a toothbrush, some camp soap, a straight razor, and a washrag. The bathroom was small and basic. It had a tub, a sink, a toilet, and a mirror. The bathroom was your normal working-class bathroom, nothing extravagant. I looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was usually high and tight with shaved sides and a goatee on my face. But now, I had a full beard and a full head of hair. I used the camp soap to lather up my face and the straight razor to clean things up. I didn’t shave the beard off, just cleaned up the perimeter. Once that was done, I went to the window. There was a two-inch rubber hose running in through a gap in the window, running from a blue fifty-five-gallon drum that Norman had rigged to a platform outside. The hose had some kind of garden faucet on the end of it. I turned on the faucet, and water started to drain into the tub. I smiled at the invention. It was pretty cool.
I put about an inch of water in the tub. I didn’t want to waste the water, because I didn’t know when it would rain again. I crawled into the tub. Amanda was wrong, the water was actually warm. I assume from being in the plastic drum, the sun had been able to warm it up some. Taking a bath felt wonderful. Before long, the water was brown, and I was clean. I got out and dried myself with a towel that had been on the tub when I came in. I walked out to the bedroom and dug the Wrangler pants and black 5.11 shirt from my pack. I also dug out a fresh pair of socks.
It felt good to be naked. I’m not sure why, but it did, so I stayed that way for a while. I took my camo clothing into the bathroom, dumped some camp soap into the tub, and then ran some more water into it, again only about an inch. I agitated the water, and then put the camos and socks into the tub, agitating them as well. I let them soak in the fresh water.
I went back into the bedroom and got dressed in my civvies, to include my boots and my 1911. I picked up my AR and walked to the door. When I opened the bedroom door, the smell from the kitchen was fantastic. I must have used the entire hour because Amanda was putting the food on the table. We were having some ham, mashed potatoes, and salad.
I looked at the setup they had rigged in the kitchen, and found it as ingenious as the bathroom water idea. Norman had cut a two-foot round hole in the top off of the stove. He rigged a smoke escape, using wood stove piping, which ran to the kitchen window. Now they could actually build a fire in the stove and use it to cook using the grates in the stove.
I wasn’t noticed at first, but as I stood there looking at the cooking setup, I got caught.
“Wow, you look differ’nt,” Norman said, causing Amanda to turn around and look.
“Yeah, you clean up nice. Here, you sit at the head o’ the table,” she said as she pulled out my chair. I walked to my chair and leaned my AR against the wall behind me. Norman sat down to my right, with Dozer to his right. Dozer had still not said a word to me and kept watch over me like a hawk looking for prey. Amanda sat down on my left.
“Are you a religious man, Mr. Buck?” she asked.
“First, it’s just Buck, no Mr. needed. As far as religion goes, I want to be. Before all hell broke loose, I read the Bible every day and prayed twice a day. When I left my place, I couldn’t afford the weight of a Bible in my pack, but I have still been prayin’ every night before I sleep. I don’t know if he hears me or not, but I like to think he does. I’m still alive, and I’m still healthy, so my guess is he’s lookin’ out for me. My only problem is I can’t get used to turnin’ the other cheek.”
“Well, Buck,” she said. “I am religious. God heard my prayers about bringin’ Norman back to me. So if you’d be so kind as to say grace.” She clasped her hands and bowed her head.
I clasped my hands together and took a breath. I always get nervous when I was put on the spot and wasn’t prepared. I was a planner and always tried to make sure I had some kind of idea what I was going to do. I never prayed before my meals, so I wasn’t really sure what to say, so I went basic.
“Lord, I thank you for the food that’s on the table here before us. In this world today, food will become hard to come by, so this abundance now is a gift. I thank you for giving Amanda the strength to prepare it, and I thank you for giving Norman the heart to live through the trial he has had over the past few days so that he could get back to his family. Lastly, I thank you Lord for giving me the strength and skills to have survived as long as I have, and I ask that you keep all of us safe as this tribulation continues. Amen. Oh, one more thing, Lord. Please let Dozer lighten up a little. I’m not the bad guy he thinks I am.”
As we ate, Dozer did lighten up. He asked me questions about my guns and where I had gotten them. Amanda, Norman, and I talked about what was going on in the city where I had come from and what my future plans were. We discussed what we thought had happened, and I expressed my concerns about what the future held.
When we were finished eating, Amanda cleaned up the dishes in a wash basin. I offered to help but just got a look of disdain as an answer to my invitation. Norman and I moved to the living room where we lit some candles and continued to talk. After Amanda had finished with the dishes, she joined us in the living room. After about an hour, I could feel my eyelids getting heavy.
“Brother, I think it’s time for me to hit the hay,” I said as I got up. I walked over to Norman and shook his hand.
“Amanda, thanks for a wonderful meal.” I bent over and kissed her on the cheek. With that, I walked back to my room. I put my gear on the floor, my AR against the wall beside the bed, and my 1911 on the bedside table.
I went into the bathroom and finished washing my camos, hanging them over the curtain rod. I then went back into the bedroom and lay down. I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. I slept all night long and into the next day until about noon. When I woke, I could hear Amanda, Norman, and Dozer outside. I got out of bed, brushed my teeth, and went outside to the back of the house.
“Morning, sleepyhead!” Dozer yelled when I walked out. I gave him an ugly face and laughed.
“Good