In the Midst of Tribulation (23 page)

"Shame, girl. I won't cheat your people." He snapped his teeth at them. "I only bite strangers."
"Accepted. What would be a fair exchange?"
"I need to dig out a new privy."
"One day's work?"
"Maybe three. The ground is all rock."
Jay turned to Piper. "Your choice. It will take three days of hard labor but, in return, he'll show you everything you need to know."
"Just me or could several of us learn?"
"I'm not used to having a lot of folks up in my business. I can teach one, you can teach the others."
Nodding, Piper stuck out her hand. "You've got a deal." She nearly withdrew it when Josh spit in his and reached out. She looked at Jay who grinned at her discomfort. Gritting her teeth, she spit in her own and they clasped on it.
"Come up when I get back and we'll do it then." Josh scratched his bearded chin and held out a bag. Jay took it and opened it up. "Shit, man."
"Yeah."
Jay handed the bag to Piper who whistled and handed it to Martha. It was filled with homemade nails. "How'd you get so many?"
"Made them. I finished the forge last winter. Using scraps for those."
"What do you want?"
"You decide."
"What?"
"You got a better location for growing things. You and me trade for some of your vegetables."
Running her fingers through her hair, Jay shook her head. "Like what?"
"Tomatoes and beans." He smiled. "I could use some beeswax, too."
"I suppose we can spare some," responded Jay with a grin of her own. "Six quarts total and a two pound block?"
"Done." Josh pulled out several animal pelts and set them in an overlapping pile. "Can I tempt you with any of these?"
Jay looked around. She saw several faces gazing greedily at the fur.
Eva petted the rabbit pelt. "How do you keep it so soft?"
"Make sure all the flesh is off. Air dry and salt. It'll need another soaking and then a good scraping and scudding."
"Scudding?"
"I use an old hacksaw blade to scrape and the back of a knife to scud. One takes off the flesh and the other takes off the final tissue layer. If it's not removed, the hide will spoil."
"What about these?" Eva picked up a couple pieces of soft leather.
"After slaughtering, I soak the skin in ashes and water for up to three months. All the flesh comes off and I either work in fat or brains, depending on what it's to be used for."
"Why?"
"Cause tanning the hide makes it stiff and waterproof. Depending on how you intend to use it, you know, clothes versus shoes, you've got to treat it differently." He glanced at Jay and waggled his eyebrows. "I could teach but you'd have to supply your own furs."
Doris interrupted, "I don't think that will be necessary."
"But, Mom! Touch it. They're so soft."
Clearing his throat, Josh shrugged. "Don't sweat it. Another time, perhaps."
"We'll let you know." Jay glanced at the remaining boxes. "That everything?"
"Yep."
"You want to stay for dinner?" Jay asked.
"Can you spare it?"
"Sure. I wouldn't offer it couldn't."
"Okay." Josh stood up and walked over to the pond without another word.
Piper watched him go. "That was interesting."
"He's a character all right," answered Jay. "Cody, could you go into the secret room and fetch three more bottles of wine? The cabs in the lower left corner."
Doris spoke for the first time. "Why?"
"We need something to drink with dinner." Jay beckoned the other's closer. "I noticed that several of you coveted the furs. The big question is what would you do with it when you had it and what are you willing to give for it?"
She stood up and stretched. "Think about it realistically."
Heading into the house, Jay called Carol over to help bring up several jars of honey, the canned vegetables and a block of wax. She pulled twelve venison steaks out of the freezer and carried them up to the kitchen.
"What's for dinner?" asked Susan.
"We can grill some steaks, cook a few potatoes and have a salad." Jay set the packages of meat on the barely warm stove. "Josh won't come into the house, so we'll eat this as a picnic outside."
Doris stepped into the kitchen. "Why are you feeding that man?"
"He's a neighbor. I won't let him make the trek home on an empty stomach." Jay glanced under her brows at the scowling woman. "I would have thought that you'd be pleased to have a single man at the table."
"What's wrong with him?"
"Nothing. He's just been out here alone a long time."
Doris wandered over to the window and gazed speculatively at the swimming man. "I see."
The dinner that night was a low-key affair as Josh talked about as much as Piper did. Doris flirted shamelessly with him but he was very gentle in his rejection. He headed back to his home with a promise to return in two days time.
At the end of the meal, Jay gathered everyone together. "I've got stuff downstairs that I'm willing to spare for a good cause."
"What kind of stuff can we get?"
"Whatever your heart desires and is available for trade."
Martha's voice was low in reply. "Painkillers."
"That might be a good idea." Jay opened her arms. "Think about what you want. It's very likely that it will be available at the fair. People come down from Oregon and even from across the border. The last couple of years there have even been sailors from China."
"What do you want?" asked Susan.
"Books. I've got a pile that I want to trade. You all should go through it and anything you want to read can wait until spring festival." Jay stroked her chin. "I also want to get some nuts. And more salt."
"What about animals?"
"What do you mean?"
Susan ducked her head shyly. "I was thinking that a few chickens might be a good idea. We could have eggs and even the occasional chicken."
"Hmm." Jay pondered on that. "You know, that might be a good idea. I'm just not sure if heading into winter is the best time to start something new like that. It also might be better left for spring when it's our turn to make the trip and get exactly what we want."
"Yeah, you're probably right. We don't even have a coop."
"Don't be discouraged. It's a good idea and I don't want any of you to think that you can't make plans for this place." Sucking her teeth, she walked over to the bookcase near the bathroom and searched through the shelves until she found a specific volume. She carried it over to Susan. "This book has couple of chapters on raising birds. Why don't you review it and we can make plans for the new year."
"Great. Thanks." Susan took the book with a genuine smile.
"So, any other ideas?"
"Chocolate," Carol requested. "I haven't had any since we left the Bay Area."
"They still have coco down there?"
"I think she had connections south of the border." Martha grimaced. "It costs an arm and a leg."
Jay took hold of Carol's hand. "Come with me." She waved her arm to indicate that the invitation included everyone. "Let me show you something." She led them downstairs into the storage room. On the way in, she switched on the light. At the back corner, she twisted the light bulb in the socket to flood the dark area with illumination.
In front of them was a narrow rack. The top shelves had boxes labeled holiday decorations but the rest of the case was loaded with mason jars and cardboard boxes filled with all manner of things. One entire shelf was filled with seeds bottled with small packs of desiccant. On another shelf were boxes of sewing needles, fishing hooks, honing oil and sharpening stones, dental floss, and razor blades. Below that shelf was a smaller shelf of water filters, light sticks, and packages of wicks and mantles. On the floor was a case of several different strengths of reading glasses.
"I'll be the first to admit that Y2K was blown all out of proportion. But it did open my eyes up to the 'end of the world as we know it' planning of the various militias. Online, I found a number of websites loaded with supply guidelines and suggestions for what would be the most use in bartering."
She looked around the group. "I think everyone should make out a dream list. I'm sure this stuff will come in handy and, if what you want is available and easily portable, we should see if Josh can get it."
The happy smiles of her housemates convinced her that she was doing the right thing. She left them to their dreams and went upstairs to take another nap.
The day before leaving, Eva came downstairs to find her mother packing up their bedroom. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"We're getting out of here."
"What?"
"I need you to find your pack and put this stuff in it."
"Mom, are you serious? You're leaving?"
"We're both going, sweetie," corrected Doris. She tightly rolled up her extra clothes.
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"I said no. I like it here. This place is so much better than Oakland."
"We'll find some place else. You'll see. You can be happy somewhere else."
"No. You can go if you want but I'm staying here."
"Don't be silly, girl."
"I am. My home is here."
"You're just like your father. You can hardly wait to leave me."
"That's not true, Mother. I'm not the one leaving; you are."
"Don't you understand that I have to get out of here? This isn't the place for me."
"You could make a bigger effort."
"I don't want to outstay my welcome."
"No, I think you'd always be welcome here."
"I don't think so. They can't wait for me to be gone."
"Believe what you want. Did you even ask to see if he would take you?" Eva pulled her clothes out of Doris' hands. "I think this is bad idea."
"This is a perfect plan. I spoke to Josh and he said that he'd be happy to take us with him."
"I don't care. I'm not going to leave."
Doris's arms fell to her sides. She stepped toward the door. Looking back over her shoulder, she begged, "Please don't hate me."
Dropping her load, Eva threw herself into her mother's arms. "I could never hate you, Mom. I love you."
"Don't tell the others what I'm planning."
"I think they're going to figure out when you walk out of here with all your stuff."
"Until then, I don't want to have them preaching at me."
"That should be the least of your concerns. You don't know anything about him or where he's going."
"Obviously someplace with lots of traders and that's all I need to know."
Eva sighed. "I think you're making a big mistake but I'll keep quiet about your plans."
"I just can't live like this anymore."
"Like what? Free from fear or hunger? What is so terrible that you would even consider a life back in a nightmare like we left?"
"A life free of perversion."
"And that's more important than being around people who love and support you?" Eva started to cry. "More important than me?"
Doris pushed her daughter away. "I have to do this for me. If you don't want to come, that's your decision." She left the basement room and trudged up the stairs, every step taking her farther from the sound of her child's broken heart.
Chapter Twenty -- Just a Closer Walk With Thee
Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.
Words: Unknown author. Music: "Closer Walk," traditional folk song
"Jay! Jay!" The shout shattered the mid-afternoon quiet.
The women in the garden looked at one another and then to the top of the cliff in almost fearful fascination.
"What now?" Piper muttered.
"Susan doesn't generally get too excitable. What do think she wants?"
"Do you think we should go up there?" Carol and Eva spoke at the same time.
"Hey, Jay!" Calling again, Susan appeared at the top of the stairs.
"She's not down here with us. I think she's in the dome." Martha called back. "What's up?"
"You've got to come see this." Susan waved excitedly and jumped up and down.
"What in blazes are you yelling about?"
"There's a guy up here and a whole bunch of goats." She glanced over her shoulder. "And when I say a whole bunch of goats, I mean more goats than I've ever seen in one place."
"Cool." Eva looked at her aunt. "Can we go see?"
"Sure. It's not like I'd get anymore work out of you now that goats are involved."
"Like you're not dying of curiosity," Piper added.
"That's not the point."
Susan shouted, "What should I do?"
"Keep yelling. If Jay's in the county she'll hear you." Martha led the group up the stairs. "Why don't you two go over and check the dome."
The girls raced each other past the pond to find Jay trimming herbs in the biodome. They told her about the goats between panting for air.
Jay laughed. "That's Frankie."
"Who's Frankie?"
"I'm sure I told y'all about him. He and his family live on the next mountain over." Jay wiped her hands and began to walk toward the house.
"What's that about the goats?"
"He brings his small herd over to cut our grass three times a year."
"Why?"
"There is always the danger of fire up here. That's why I've cleared the area around the house and stacked the wood so far away. The goats eat everything and that includes enough of the scrub growth and ground litter gives us a sufficient a firebreak. They also give us a good quality manure and you can't discount the milk to make cheese."
"What does he get out of it?"
"Beside that nice warm feeling from helping his neighbors?" asked Jay sarcastically. "It's all barter. We need to find out what he wants and if we can supply it."
"It would be good to have some cheese."
"Only if you're willing to milk the suckers." Jay wiped her hands on her pants. "Let's go do some business."
The other members of the household follow her down the driveway where they can watch the four-legged invasion. About twenty goats are milling about the yard, munching everything in their path.
Glancing over her shoulder, Jay yelled, "Shit. Cody, Eva, Carol. I need you three to go back down to the garden and bring up the roll of chicken wire."
"Sure but why?"
"The little buggers are eating my rosemary tree." Jay stomped over, waving her arms and scaring the goats away. She turned her glare on her housemates as they all fell over themselves laughing at her. "Fine. I hope you all pee on yourselves."
After the minor catastrophe was averted, everyone sat on the patio with the bandy legged herder. Jay encouraged the others to discuss barter possibilities with him.
"While I'm here you can have all the milk." He spat on the ground. "Of course, you've got to do the milking."
"Can you show us how?"
Frankie nodded. "Sure. For dinner," he added, slyly.
"I would've fed you anyway." Jay glanced at Susan. "Any ideas? It's your night?"
"Fish?"
"Yeah, that'll be good."
"We're going to be inside. You can show them how to milk while we get dinner ready."