‘Don’t even think of it; I understand completely.’ He smiled at her. ‘Good. You can have the third bedroom; there’s a single bed in there. The largest bedroom, as you saw, I’ve turned into a store-room along with the study, and I’ve got the second bedroom. I plan to build some more shelves for the other rooms for storing jars of preserves.’
The afternoon had flown by with their conversation and it was now early evening, so they agreed it was time to prepare a meal. She went outside to pluck the duck while he built the stove up. There were still plenty of glowing embers so it didn’t take long to get going again. After Jane had prepared the duck he took her back down to the promenade, telling her of his discovery about sea beet and sea kale. She was fascinated by this and he showed her how to identify the sea beet with its glossy green leaves; the sea kale was pretty obvious. They picked a few handfuls of sea beet leaves from different plants, along with some new leaves and young stems of sea kale, and then went back to start cooking.
The duck went into a small cast-iron casserole pan with some seasoning, which he placed in the stove to roast. He prepared a casserole with the sea vegetables and some tinned potatoes and carrots. There was a bit of pancetta left from that morning, which he threw in for extra flavour, along with some parsley he’d found in the garden, which was mature and a bit overgrown around the borders. He made a mental note to have a good look around sometime soon, to see what other herbs might be lurking in the undergrowth.
While it cooked, he went into the cellar to fetch a bottle of wine as he hadn’t had any from there yet, and now seemed like a good time. It was a mature Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon and they said Cheers, clinked glasses and took a mouthful.
‘Oh, wow! That tastes good,’ she said. ‘I haven’t had any wine in months and have missed it!’
‘I’ve had a small supply, but it was getting low; I found eleven more bottles in the cellar. I’m hoping there will be a lot more in the warehouse at Sainsbury’s. We’ll need to visit there and make an inventory of the food and drink that’s left,’ to which she agreed. She made a face and reached down to touch the back of her right leg.
‘Jamie, would you mind having a look at my leg again? I think some of the wounds are weeping.’ She turned around on the chair and stretched her leg out and he bent down to have a look.
‘Yes; three of them need new plasters and probably a swab.’
He fetched the first-aid kit and a bottle of surgical spirit then removed the plasters. After cleaning the wounds he dried them and put on new plasters. There were yellow-purple bruises developing around all the wounds, adding to the orange staining from the iodine, so he dabbed them with witch hazel as well. She thanked him and they sat back around the table. He toyed with his glass for a few seconds, took a mouthful of wine and cleared his throat.
‘Jane, I’ve been thinking today; well, not just today, obviously, but especially today since we met. I’ve realised this week what a daunting and difficult task it’s going to be to survive and become self-sufficient, and damn-near impossible on my own; there’s just so much to do! In fact, I don’t mind admitting that I’m terrified at the prospect. My biggest fear is of getting injured or becoming ill and not being able to fend for myself. All it would take is a twisted ankle, for God’s sake, and I could be stuffed for days, maybe; unable to gather food, or fish, etc.
There are so many skills that we need to learn – skills that we haven’t really needed in the modern world until now; things that our ancestors took for granted because they’d grown up being taught them. What are you – late thirties?’
‘I’m thirty-eight.’
‘Okay; well, I’m forty-two. We have no way of knowing what the situation is in the rest of the country; but, based on what we’ve seen so far, it doesn’t look good, to put it mildly! I’ve only seen seven living people so far in Bexhill, including you, in over two months. From the news reports on TV and radio before the services failed it seemed to be the same everywhere in the UK; I don’t recall hearing of anywhere that was unaffected. There’s no infrastructure left and no utilities. There are bound to be other survivors somewhere, but we’re faced with the probability that it won’t get any better than this.
If we live that long, we may have another thirty or forty years of things being this way! In a matter of months we have – virtually – been taken back to the Stone Age, or at least the Middle Ages: apart from cars and some other stuff, but you know what I mean. We’ve relied on technology and service industries for so long that, as individuals, we’ve lost the basic skills necessary for survival and for making things. We’ve taken everything for granted up until now because they’ve always been available; but how many people know how to produce or make even simple things like vinegar, salt, candles, or fire?
…And what about more complicated things like metal for tools, etc.? How many people left alive will know how to locate and mine metal ore, build a furnace to extract the metal, and then forge it into knives and other tools? It’s mind-boggling when you think of the implications!
We have no electricity and will have to live without it, pretty much, for the foreseeable future. I know I’ve picked up two generators, but the fuel I can gather for them will only be used for essential stuff, when it’s needed.’ He paused.
She was looking at him intently. ‘Go on.’
‘What I’m getting to is… Well, what do you think about teaming-up and becoming kind of partners; to work together and to help and support each other in the future? Based on today, we seem to get on well, and I think we’re going to need each other. Now, don’t get me wrong; I’m not talking about moving in together and playing happy families and all that crap! I don’t know if I want that or am even ready for something like that; but what about, maybe, moving in next door, or at least a house nearby? What are your thoughts?’
She looked at him for a few seconds and then looked down. She was silent for a while and then her bottom lip quivered and she wiped tears from her eyes. She drank some wine and looked at him again, a tearful smile on her face.
‘I can’t tell you how pleased I am to hear you say that! Today started out as the shittiest day of my life: being shot and then knowing I was going to be gang-raped… I’ve never been so terrified. And then you came along, and it turned into the best day I’ve had in many months, since this whole fucking thing began! I don’t just mean about you saving me; it’s more than that. I’ve thought about some of the things you’ve just spoken of and, like you, I’ve been terrified at the prospect of trying to survive on my own.
Hearing you talk today about planning for the future and what we need to do has highlighted to me that I hadn’t given nearly enough thought to what would be involved, and that made it even more scary for me. I’d maybe assumed that you were just being a good and decent man in helping me today, and that afterwards we’d go back to our own lives. I’m relieved that’s not the case, though, because I like you. So, yes, I’d really like for us to become friends and partners in survival!’
She got up, came around the table and gave him a quick hug. They both felt a little embarrassed, while also feeling very relieved. She sat down again and he raised his wine glass.
‘To new friendship and new beginnings!’
‘New friendship and new beginnings!’ she repeated.