Jamie and Jane were surprised and touched by the offer, and told them so. Jane put her hand on top of Emma’s. ‘Thank you so much for that. It’s a lovely offer and we’ll give it serious thought. At the moment, though, we’re keen to reap the rewards of our labours in the garden this year. But, certainly at the end of the year, it could be something for us to do. We’ll think about it and keep you posted.’
Just then, they heard a vehicle pull up at the front and Jamie went out to welcome Sarah and Georgie. They hugged and he ushered them inside and through to the kitchen. They had brought more eggs, along with honey and a pheasant. Jane hugged them both and introduced them to Bill and Emma and they all shook hands. Bill and the sisters remembered each other and said how nice it was to see each other again.
Jamie went out to call the girls back, while Jane told Sarah and Georgie about Megan. They were shocked and saddened to hear her story and both said what a great thing she and Jamie had done in bringing her back with them. Shortly after, Max came in panting and flopped down on his bed, closely followed by Megan and Sally, smiling and laughing. Jane introduced them both to the sisters, who hugged them warmly and fussed over them, saying how pretty they both were and how pleased they were to meet them.
They ate outside on the patio as the weather was good and everyone agreed that the fish stew was delicious. Jane said that Jamie should take most of the credit for it, especially as he’d gone out to catch the fish.
‘And don’t forget Megan;’ Jamie added, ‘she was the one who reeled in that whopper of a bass!’
Megan gave them a big grin. ‘It was great fun… but I did start feeling a bit sea-sick after an hour. I didn’t puke, though!’ she added, and everyone laughed.
Megan asked Sally if she wanted to play Scrabble and she said yes, so they disappeared into the kitchen to sit at the table. Jamie found his dictionary for them in case of disputes, then opened a bottle of wine and went back outside.
‘They seem to be getting on well,’ Georgie commented, and all agreed that it was lovely to see them having fun together.
They sat in the sun and talked for several hours. Jamie told them of his meeting with the army the day before and the others were surprised and listened with great interest to all he had to say. He told them of the radio broadcasts and what frequency they were on, and also repeated Major Cunningham’s warning to question anyone they might meet about where they’d come from, their state of health and whether they’d had contact with other people recently.
‘It’s a good thing they’ve got the refugee camp set up,’ said Bill, ‘but it’s also a bit worrying about survivors from The Smoke possibly coming down here and bringing new diseases with them. I hadn’t given any thought to stuff like that and we’ll all have to be careful about anyone we meet from now on. Let’s hope they meet the army road-blocks first and get taken to the camp for quarantine and treatment,’ and they all agreed with him.
They discussed transport and fuel lifespan, too. What the Major had told Jamie reinforced the research that Sarah and Georgie’s father had done before his death: that the remaining fuel would possibly become unusable within a year or so.
‘Well, it’s now been well over six months since that fuel was produced,’ said Jane, ‘and possibly as much as eight or nine, which means that we may only have the use of vehicles for another six months, and maybe a lot less… which is worrying. It means that anything we might need for the future that can’t be carried, or that we need to source from any distance, needs to be gathered and stored in the next few months.’
‘You’re right, Jane,’ said Bill, ‘and it looks like I repaired the van just in time!’
‘How much red diesel do you have left in your tank, Bill?’ she asked.
‘Ooh, probably around forty gallons, maybe more. Why?’
‘Well, I was just wondering; is that tank vented?’
‘Yes; it has to be for the pump to work.’
‘Well, that means that the diesel will degrade quicker because of air and moisture ingress; isn’t that right, Sarah?’
‘Yes,’ she replied, ‘at least that’s what Dad told me.’
‘I think you should empty the tank, Bill,’ said Jane, ‘and decant it all into sealed containers. That will stop any more contact with air and moisture and, hopefully, prolong its life. You can then just use a can at a time, when you need it.’
Bill scratched his head and nodded. ‘I think that’s a good idea, Jane; well done. I hadn’t thought about that before. I know where I can get a load of jerrycans from, so I’ll get onto that straight away.’
It came time for the guests to leave as they all had things to do at home. Sarah and Georgie left first, after kissing the girls and hugging everyone. Jane went out to see them off and they waved as they drove off. When she came back the girls were packing away the Scrabble board.
‘Who won?’ she asked them.
‘Well, it was pretty neck-and-neck all the way,’ said Sally, ‘but Megan just beat me at the end with a couple of good scores, and I had a bloomin’ X and a J that I couldn’t get rid of!’ Megan grinned.
They all went out the front and said their goodbyes, saying they’d see each other soon. Jamie said that it might be a couple of weeks, as some of the apples were ready for harvesting and they would be busy. Bill reminded them to think about their offer and they said they would. The two girls hugged each other hard then Sally climbed into the van after her parents and they drove off, waving.
Soon afterwards Jane drove off with Megan to check the snares at another location, coming back later with a rabbit, which was good news. Jane said there had actually been two in the snares, but one had looked sickly so she’d discarded it. While they were gone, though, Jamie sat outside at the patio table, thinking about the future and all they’d talked about that afternoon, writing things in his notebook as he thought of them. There were lots of things for him and Jane to discuss that night, after Megan had gone to bed.
Twenty-three
That night, with Megan in bed asleep, they sat in the conservatory talking and both felt really happy that Sally and Megan had got on so well during the day. Megan had told them earlier that she and Sally had sat on the beach talking and that Sally had held her hand when she told her about losing her parents and her time surviving on her own. She thought they could become good friends, which had made them smile and give her a hug, saying how pleased they were. After talking generally about how nice the day had been they turned the conversation to important matters.
‘So,’ Jamie said, ‘what d’you think of Bill and Emma’s offer?’
‘Oh, God, Jamie, it’s so bloody hard! I don’t know what to think; I love this place and I love being next to the sea. We’ve worked so hard over the last three months to make this place our home and putting things in place for the future. It seems such a shame to abandon it now, after all we’ve done.’
‘I know what you mean and I feel exactly the same; I love this place and what we’ve done here. However: I did some thinking earlier, after you and Megan went out, and I think we have some hard realities to confront. I’ve tried to think about things logically and dispassionately, but it’s not easy. It might be a bit jumbled, but let me just run through it with you.
Yes, we have a good spot here; we’re close to the town and lots of facilities, such as the Sainsbury’s warehouse, clothes shops and DIY supplies, etc. But for how much longer will that be relevant? The food in the warehouse might last another six months or so before it’s unfit for consumption or runs out. I know the tinned produce will last longer, but is it worth staying here just for that when we could take it all with us to the farm? Then there are the builders’ merchants and the materials there: it’s great while we have vehicles, but what about when they’ve gone? I can’t see us carrying timber, cement and other materials two miles or more when we need to make repairs or improvements, etc.