The Last Tribe (21 page)

Todd and Emily’s house was cold in
the mornings, not as cold as it had been in the winter, when the entire family
moved mattresses down to the living room to sleep next to the fire, but cold
enough that all of them wore heavy shirts or light jackets inside. 

“The standing house rules,”  Todd
began.  “The first person awake puts a fire bundle in the fireplace along with
two logs, let’s Hubba out, and presses the coffee maker button.  The coffee
maker runs on batteries, it was by far my greatest find.  Emily can endure a
lot of hardship, but not having coffee is not one of them.”

Todd made the fire bundles in
advance, forming small sticks, dry leaves, and old newspapers into a loose mass
of tinder.  There were typically a few coals left from the night before, the
fire bundle, when put on the hot ashes, would catch after a few minutes, and was
a safe way for his young boys to start the fire each morning.  Emily did not
like her six and seven year olds playing with fire, but realized that her new
reality meant the boys had to learn how to make and sustain fire safely. 

The adults said their goodnights
and were asleep before 10pm. 

Todd was usually the first one up,
or he would wake when he heard Jay or Brian go downstairs.  If Todd was up
first, he would make the fire from scratch, conserving the fire bundles.  If he
came down with one of the boys, he would walk them through making the fire. 
This morning was different.  Todd heard Jay come out of his room talking to his
cousin, Craig.

“We have to start the fire to heat
up the living room, then let Hubba out, and then press the coffee button.  You
do not want to see my mom if she doesn’t get coffee.  Seriously, she’s like a
bear.  We call her mommy bear if she doesn’t get coffee.”  Their voices trailed
off as they went downstairs.  Todd rolled over and looked at Emily.  She was
smiling.  Her eyes were still closed. 

“He’s right about that.”  Todd said
to her. 

She opened her eyes.  “Are you
going to talk to John about Hanover?”

“He has to go.  His son is up
there.  There is no option for him.  If he and the boys go, you know I believe
we should all go.”

“I know, but we can’t live up
there.  It doesn’t make any sense.  It’s too harsh.  We can’t grow anything,
and there’s no reason to put ourselves through those conditions.  My boys are
too young.  Hanover was fine when we thought other people might be alive, when
we were concerned about lawlessness or chaos.  Everyone is dead.  We can live
anywhere.  We can live here.”

“Emily, you and I have talked about
this.  We are going.  We don’t have a choice.  Greg is up there.  Hank and Paul
are up there.  If we end up back here, or down in Florida or somewhere like
that, okay, but I think you have to resign yourself that we are staying
together, and that means going to Hanover.”

“You need to talk to John before we
go, so he understands it will be an up and back excursion.  Maybe float the
idea that you two go alone.  I can stay here with Matt and the kids.”

“Okay, okay.  Let’s feel out the
situation.”

Halfway through the short but cold
North Carolina winter, Todd reconsidered a move to New Hampshire.  As he and
Emily discussed their options, it made sense to live in a place like North
Carolina or Virginia, where the winters are mild and the growing seasons are
long. 

A place like Florida created the
opposite problem to New Hampshire.  The summers are too hot and oppressive. 
Todd and Emily discussed the topic endlessly, deciding the mid-Atlantic states
were their best option.  They wanted to settle and get seeds in the ground as
soon as possible.

On one of their many family days
out, they visited a family farm amusement park.  Emily picked the park because
it had big slides and fun buildings, rather than mechanical rides requiring
power.  Similar to Pullen Park, the farm had a diesel train Todd was able to
get working.  The train went around a large oval, and was considered “lame” by
Jay and Brian.  Todd agreed about the ride, but what he noticed during their
trip around the track was the antique farming equipment on display.  The owner
had an incredible collection of old-time tillers and seed row makers, things
that Todd thought would be useful in their new life.

He went back to the farm the next
day and unbolted several pieces of equipment, loading as much of it as he could
into a U-Haul van.  The equipment was in a neighbor’s driveway, ready for use
this spring.

The farm amusement park also had
livestock, which Todd and Emily adopted.  Goats, chickens, roosters, and
rabbits lived in their neighbor’s backyard in hutches and coops built last
fall.  Goats were a source of milk and easier to manage than cows, and they ate
just about anything given to them.  The chickens were a source of eggs and
meat.  The rabbits were delicious.

Todd and Emily were not eager to
leave their safe and sustainable family compound to brave a northern New
England winter.

Todd got out of bed and went
downstairs.  Jay took Craig next door to gather the morning’s eggs.  Their hen
population was growing thanks to Emily’s incubator.  There were more than
enough eggs for the three additional mouths. 

The coffee was done.  Todd placed
sugar in a cup and poured himself a steaming mug of morning energy.  He moved
from the kitchen to the living room, where the fire was warming the cold
morning air. 

John came down the stairs and sat
in a chair across from his brother and near the fire.  “We had a solar powered
house in Charleston, right next to the bay.  It was fantastic.  We fished for
our meals, kept the house warm with electric heat, ran lights at night.  I
believe we could have lived down there for quite a while.”

“Until a hurricane slammed into you
without warning.”  Todd replied.

“Well, yes, until a hurricane
came.”  John pointed to the coffee.  “Do you mind?”

“John, you are not a guest,
everything we have is yours.  We have to think as a single family or unit, not
two families that are visiting each other.  Yes, take some coffee.”

“You don’t have to freak out
because I politely asked for coffee in your house.”  John was not used to Todd
being the serious one.  Todd was the youngest, the funny one, the sarcastic
brother who was seldom if ever serious.

“You know what?  Now you can’t have
any coffee.”

“Good luck with that.  I’m taking
the coffee.”

The men watched through the back
windows as Jay and Craig walked towards the house with a basket of eggs.  Jay
was non-stop talking to Craig, telling him about everything he could.  Craig
smiled and nodded.  He was a great older cousin, and understood his role.  They
opened the back door and walked in.

“So you have to be really careful
with the goats, because they are mean sometimes, and hiss at you, but we still
milk them.  You put their heads in this wood thing that my dad made, and then
you can milk them. “

“So where’s my goat’s milk for my
coffee?”  John asked Jay.

“I don’t milk the goats alone.  I
was just explaining that to Craig.  It’s a two person job, and we usually do it
in the afternoon, when it’s warmer.”  Jay was a fountain of knowledge.

“There is milk in the fridge in the
garage.  The food stays cold in there right now.”  Todd offered to John.  “It’s
on the shelf below where you got the beer.”

“Oh, okay, I was just kidding, but
I’ll take it.  Great.”  John got up and walked into the garage to get the milk.

Todd went onto the back porch,
still in his slippers and robe, to light his pizza oven. Designed by a famous
American cook, the oven was large enough for several items, but small enough to
light every day without burning too much wood.  Todd made bread, pizza, and
roasted meats.  This morning he was going to bake bread from dough he made before
going to bed.  He placed a large cast iron pan on one side of the oven to pre-heat
for an herb frittata. 

He came back inside to knead the
dough into shape.

“I will repeat my accolades from
last night.  That is one sweet pizza oven.”  John was in awe. 

“It’s portable, and is coming with
us wherever we go.”

“We’re going to Hanover though,
right?”  John looked at his brother after the “wherever we go” statement.

“Of course, but if we pick a place
after Hanover, it goes with us.”  Todd did not avert his eyes, he answered
firmly, directly.

“Okay.”  John replied slowly. 

Craig and Jay did not pay attention
to the exchange, they continued to talk about “stuff.” 

“We usually have toast and eggs, or
maybe pancakes and eggs for breakfast.  I guess we’re having fresh bread, which
can take a while, ‘cause my dad needs to heat the oven.  He usually lets us
have a granola bar or a cereal bar or something like that until the big
breakfast is ready.  Do you want one?”  There was no one more excited to talk
to other people than Jay.  He was a chatterbox.  The previous options of Mom,
Dad, and brother knew all his stories, introducing new people gave him a new
audience.

“I’m good.”  Craig replied.  “You
want to go kick the soccer ball around until breakfast is ready?”  Craig was
equally excited to meet up with younger people who would play.

“Yes!”  Jay did a gesture with his
arm, making a fist and pulling it down so his arm was bent. 

“I’ll call you when breakfast is
ready.  Have fun.”  Todd said as Jay and Craig pulled on heavier coats.

“Okay,” they both replied, running
out the door.

“We have a good life here, the
growing season is longer, the winters are mild.  The summers are hot, but not
horrible.  It’s a nice place, John, a great place to consider.” 

“Wait a second,” John started. 
“Wasn’t Hanover your idea?  Aren’t we heading up there because you suggested it
six months ago?  Now you don’t want to go?”

“A lot has changed, John.  Look at
the animals I’ve gathered.  Look at the weather here in February.  You know
there are still snow storms headed towards Hanover.  Six months ago I didn’t
know how this would all shake out.  Now we do know.  There aren’t roving bands
of marauders that we have to avoid.  There hasn’t been a military crackdown. 
Six months later we’re it.   Emily and I need support to raise our kids.  You
need support to raise your kids.  I can’t make this decision alone, but I can
tell you, Hanover is not the best option for survival.”

John nodded.  He agreed.  “We screw
up in New Hampshire, we have no options, we’re dead.  We screw up here, miss
the harvest, bugs eat our food, we can get to the coast and eat fish.  I know. 
Up there, we freeze and starve.”

“Let’s forget about long term for
now.  We have to go.  Your son is up there.  Our brothers are meeting us
there.  I’m not saying my house is the best option, maybe your solar house on
the coast is better, but we have to discuss our future.  Emily and I are not
going to move to Hanover just because we said we would during the chaos of a
pandemic.”

“So today’s discussion is not where
to live, it’s when we leave.”  John said as he drank his coffee.

“Yep, right now we talk about
getting up there.  We’ll talk about where we live later, as long as you agree
it isn’t Hanover.”

Brian came downstairs asking where
Jay and Craig were.  Todd and John pointed outside and said one word,
“soccer.”  Craig pulled his shoes on as fast as he could, screaming “thanks!”
as he ran out the door.

Emily was next into the kitchen. 
She walked straight to the coffee pot.  “Who has been drinking my coffee?”  She
stared at John.  “You brought your own pot and coffee, right?”

“Nope.”  John said, taking a long,
dramatic sip from his cup.

“It’s only the second day, but I’m
not sure this is going to work.”  Emily said to Todd.  “He’s your brother, so
please talk to him about the rules.  Rule one, don’t touch my coffee.  Rule
number two is to follow rule one, and you’ll do fine.”

Todd turned to John, “Don’t drink
all the coffee.  We need Emily to drink her coffee.” 

“Apparently.”  John replied.

Emily smiled as she poured herself
a cup.  “So what’s on the agenda today?”  She asked bluntly.

“I say we enjoy ourselves for a few
days while we try to plan our next steps.  Is that what you are thinking?” 
John answered.

“That sounds like a great idea.  We
have a lot to talk about, and a lot of decisions to make.”  Emily knew her
husband broached the subject of Hanover and where they should settle.  “But
first, let’s figure out how we are going to feed our kids, and what sort of fun
we want to have.”  She took a sip from her mug.  “There is a lot of fun stuff
we can take Craig to today.  We have working trains, slides, paddle boats,
fishing.”

“I think he’ll be happy to play in
the street with his cousins all day.  It has been a while since he’s had other
kids his age to kick or throw a ball with.”  John looked out the front
windows.  He smiled at his son playing with his cousins.  “He’s had a hard
time.  I love that he can finally play.”

Todd spread olive oil and salt over
the top of his bread, getting ready to put it in the oven outside.  He poked
his fingers into the top and sprinkled sliced shallots and rosemary onto the
focaccia.  “Well, you’re here now.  We’ll let the kids enjoy a few days before
we talk about next steps.”  He continued to work, cracking a dozen of the eggs
into a large bowl with a fair amount of goat’s milk.  He began to whisk the
bowl, stopping to add salt and pepper before whisking again. 

Todd had the dough in a pan on a
large pizza paddle.  He picked it up to walk out to the pizza oven and start
baking his morning bread.  It would not take long to cook.  He had enough dough
to make four pans of bread, two for this meal and two for lunch or supper.  In
the new world of finite fuel and materials, he always utilized a hot oven for
multiple baking.