“Dad and some of the others have already started planning,” I said.
“I heard about that,” Ted said turning toward me. “Wells reopened and a big bonfire last night.”
“Wood ash,” Dad said simply.
“Means latrines, then,” Ted said. “Good, that gives me a little less to worry about. Sounds like the south section is being taken care of.”
“And graves,” Dad said.
Ted looked back at him. “And graves. I hope we don’t need them soon, but we need to lay in as much ash as we can. One outbreak and we will need it by the ton.”
“A bad enough outbreak…” Dad lifted his hands as he let the thought drift by.
A small crowd was starting to gather where we were standing. Most of the neighbors had heard me say Ted had taken charge in town, and now he was here a few miles south of the town itself, they were curious to hear what he had to say.
“I better go check on my wife, Ted,” Dad said as he motioned to the gathering people. “You have an audience it looks like.”
I hesitated between going with Dad and staying with Ted. As neither man indicated what I should do, I decided I would go in the house and let Ted deal with the questions by himself.
I went through the garage and into the kitchen. I heard my parents in the living room. Mom was upset and Dad was trying to calm her down.
“It’s okay, Abbey. I’ll pick it up.”
“I wasn’t upset or anything, Pat. I just forgot the power was out and when the vacuum wouldn’t come on… I was putting it up when I bumped the table. That’s how the table got knocked over.”
“I know, that table has been in my way many times”
I watched from the back of the kitchen. This was something I had tried to ignore for several years now. I couldn’t imagine how Dad kept it together like this day after day.
Dad set the table back to where it was and Mom picked up the bowl, doily, and other items that had been sitting on top. She gave them to Dad and then carefully put away the vacuum cleaner.
“David,” she said as she looked into the kitchen. “I thought you were outside.”
“I was, but I wanted to see if you needed anything else.”
“I don’t think so,” she answered. “Pat? Is there anything you need David to do?”
Dad looked up at me. His eyes were rimmed in red and he let out a long sigh.
“Thanks. Would you mind getting a clean five-gallon bucket from the shed and go get more water? Your mom wants to boil a few potatoes for dinner, and we will need to get that started soon.”
“Sure, Dad,” I said. I waited until Mom had taken the vacuum down to the hall closet before I walked into the living room.
“Is there anything else I can do?” I asked as I drew near to him.
He stood from his work on the table and shook his head. “No, this is a good day, all things considered.”
“Okay,” I said. I left the house through the kitchen door and went through the garage to the shed. The crowd around Ted and his horse seemed in a good mood. Hearing what had to be done was one thing, hearing it from someone who had authority behind him was something else.
I went to the shed and found several five gallon buckets stacked together. I pulled one free of the collection and walked past the crowd toward the street.
“Hey stranger, Dad have you working all day?”
I turned to see Anne riding toward me on Bonnie. Kenny was behind her riding Clyde. He looked very ill at ease on top of the horse.
“We looked for anything that might work. I expect most people around here wasted the morning doing that.”
“Find anything good?”
“A few items might work. They run on gas. But Ted got here before we could test them.”
“Anne, I need to get off your horse now,” Kenny insisted.
I set my bucket down on the side of the road and took Clyde’s reins. I offered a hand to Kenny, but he just tumbled from the back of Clyde almost knocking me down as he fell.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “Just don’t like riding. Told her, told Ted and now I’m telling you.”
I helped him to his feet and tried not to smile too much at his discomfort.
“Good to see you again, Kenny.”
“You too, David. I need to go help Ted now.”
I watched as Kenny dashed across my yard to attend to Ted.
“Everything go okay in town?” I asked Anne.
“Yeah, Ted really knows what to do. Wells and latrines were the two big items on his list today. Sounds like your dad and his buddies were on the right track yesterday. What are you doing?” She nodded as I picked the bucket back up.
“Mom needs some water for dinner, so I’m going to the well to get some.”
“I need someone to come out and get my well working again. I have some bottled water left, and there is a water tank for the animals that was filled last week, thank God.”
“Do you have anyone who can fix that for you?” I asked.
“I don’t know, I’ll ask around today. I guess we will be pushing wells and food rationing.”
“And latrines. And wood ash for the latrines.”
She wrinkled her nose.
“What a great topic to bring up to people. But, it’s better than them not knowing.”
“Go on to the house,” I said. “I will get the water and be back in a few minutes.”
Anne led the horses to my parent’s front door and I turned back to my chore. The well was about sixty feet from the road and surrounded by people. Several adults and a few children waited in line to pump water from the old Anderson well. A few of the women kept looking at the crowd around Ted. Their anxiety was clear as they waited their turn for fresh water. I’m sure they were all curious at what he was telling their husbands.
By the time I was able to fill the bucket and start back across the street, the crowd around Ted was breaking up. I was surprised at how heavy the bucket was after it was filled with water. I would definitely prohibit Dad from fetching any more himself.
As I staggered up the side of the ditch to the road, I heard the unmistakable roar of a motorcycle. I had to shield my eyes from the bright afternoon sun as I looked to the south. There came a man on a motorcycle that sped toward town. As he passed, I could hear him yell in a sort of victory roar. He turned around about a mile later and came back.
This time, when the crowds came to marvel at what had been normal two days prior, they were not stunned into silence. They yelled and waved and jumped up and down. Men and women, grandparents and children, they all celebrated some guy on a motorcycle.
I pulled myself out of the ditch and onto the shoulder of the road. I was stronger than I was a few minutes before. I stood taller. I looked at the sky, with its slight shimmery waves of greens and blues, and smiled. The pulse of energy may have knocked us down, but for at least today, it hadn’t knocked us out.
I crossed the street and brought the bucket of water into the house.
“Did you see that?” Anne asked as I came in.
“Yes, who is it?”
“I don’t know,” Dad said. “I think he moved into the Mitchell’s place a couple of years ago. I saw him in the crowd at Bill’s this morning. He must have realized he never checked to see if his motorcycle would work.”
“Wow,” said Ted as he stood in the front doorway. I had left the door open when I brought in the water.
“That was something, alright,” Anne said. “I brought the horse over for David, but maybe that guy could be used since he has some real transportation.”
“We’ll find a way to use him,” Ted said. “You guys ready to spread the word of what needs to be done today?”
“Yes,” I said as Anne nodded.
“Good. Let me add an extra bit for everyone. Tonight people need to set out any clean buckets or containers they can. We might get some rain in here, and we want to gather as much water as possible. But remind them any water they drink or cook with needs to be boiled for ten minutes first.”