She must have been shaking her every day, calling to her, grabbing for her. That was evident by the tiny hand indentation in the woman’s decaying flesh.
Falcon took the curtain that was used as a tent and covered the woman’s body.
He returned to his children, grabbed hold of the baby and simply told them all, “Let’s go. Let’s go home.”
They were close.
It wouldn’t take long. Another day… maybe.
11. Final Stretch
With the search for the tire and finding the baby, they were in Louisville longer than Falcon thought.
Lilly named the baby girl Belle. Mainly because she thought it would be easier for the baby to say. And Lilly tried diligently to get the child to speak.
She said, ‘Ma’ and even giggled at Lilly.
It was dark faster than Falcon expected so he kept his eyes open for an abandoned car. They were crucial when out in the open. No matter how broken or old, they provided better shelter in case of a dust storm than the Vike could. When he spotted one he pulled the Vike over and made a small camp about twenty feet from the car. Someone else had done the same at one point. The car wasn’t encrusted in dirt. He told the kids that when they woke up, they wouldn’t have that long to go before they got home.
They were close.
But it was just too dark to go any farther. The moon wasn’t a light on this night; it seemed hidden.
Falcon made sure that Belle was eating. He gave her small portions; he didn’t want to overdo it. Water was important; she couldn’t get too much of that.
She had a cough. It sounded like the croup at times. Josh used to get that. But it was a bit wet. Being a father, Falcon wasn’t worried too much about the cough. When they got back home, he’d find the doc and have him take a look at her or Mrs. Gleece. She was a midwife.
He was certain the child was weak from not eating for days after her mother died, and how long before that had she eaten a proper meal he couldn’t guess.
The thinness of her body didn’t come about in a couple days.
It was getting late and he could tell by the yawns the kids were tired with the exception of Belle who had finally perked up some. Lilly treated her like her own personal baby doll. But Falcon had to tell Lilly, not too play with her too much. It seemed every time Belle got excited she coughed.
Josh was telling a story, sipping on his water ration and making it last.
Falcon loved when Josh told stories. He made them up and did so as he went along. Sometimes they made sense and other times they didn’t.
He loved when he incorporated things from the old world, but didn’t understand their uses. His current story had a refrigerator as a place where people stored their extra shoes.
“You mean they had more than one pair that fit?” Lilly asked.
“Oh, sure,” Josh said. “People in the old world, they had hundreds of shoes.”
“What for?” Lilly asked. “Why do they need that many shoes?”
“Because the ground was radioactive and they had to change their shoes to new ones every day.”
Falcon laughed.
Then a huge, rolling ‘boom’ caused the children to scream and jump.
“Dad?” Josh asked. “Dust storm?”
As Falcon peered up the sky flashed brightly and the thunder rolled with a mighty crack.
Another flash of light but it was an odd color, almost white.
Belle cradled to Lilly.
“Looks like it’s gonna be a doozy of a dust storm, let’s get in that car,” Falcon instructed. “Go on. Hurry.”
“Dad?” Josh asked with a bit of fear. “We ain’t been out in a storm. Will we be okay?”
“We’ll be fine. The car is good shelter. And the wheels are still on it, so we’re good from lightening. Go on. Just let me get our stuff.”
Falcon gathered the small amount of items and the wind that whipped about had a chill to it. He was fearful of being out in the open. Using his foot, he kicked dirt and doused the small fire while saying a prayer. “Please, God, let this be a small one.”
Arms full, fire out, Falcon rushed to the car as the storm grew louder. He tossed the items inside then hurried to the Vike. He fought against the whipping wind to secure the canvas and he double checked that the horse was secure to the car. “Sorry, pal,” he said to the horse. “I hate to do this to you. But hopefully it’ll pass.”
He gave a soothing pat to the horse and ran to the car. The back doors were closed and he made the children get in the back seat and he huddled there with them. The seat was falling apart, but better than up front. The driver’s door wouldn’t close all the way.
The noise of the storm was deafening and he could see the looks of fear on his children’s faces. Belle seemed numb to it, still trying to play with Lilly’s hair.
“We’ll be fine,” Falcon said. “We’ll be…”
Pat.
Pat. Pat.
It started slowly. Little tapping sounds at first and then it continued, growing louder and faster.
“Dad?” Josh asked.
“Oh, my God.” Emotionally the words seeped from him. “Oh, my God. It’s raining.” Excitedly he turned around, placed both hands to Josh’s cheeks and squeezed. “It’s raining!” he kissed him then turned to Lilly. “It’s raining!” He kissed her as well and then followed with a kiss to Belle. “It’s raining Belle. Rain!”
Both the children started to cheer. Lilly’s hand shot to her mouth and she played her enthusiasm with the highest dramatics.
“Can we go out in it?” Josh asked. “Please. Can we?”
“Not yet,” Falcon said. "When the thunder and lightning stops, you can.” Falcon’s heart pounded in his chest. His arms grabbed for his children and he brought them close as he lifted his eyes. “God, forget what I said about making this a small one. Make it big. Make it long.” He closed his eyes with gratefulness bringing his family into him. “Thank you for the rain.”
12. Home
It would take a lot more than a night of rain to end the drought, but Falcon knew if his farm took a rain pounding like they did on the side of the road, then it would do wonders for the wells. And a little replenishing would go a long way to work a piece of land for a late planting of something other than tobacco. There was coolness in the morning air that Falcon hadn’t felt in a long time. It also had a fresh smell, a much needed fresh smell.
The night before, Josh and Lilly had danced in the rain, while Falcon held Belle inside the car.
Her cough had worsened and as soon as the sky began to lighten Falcon headed home.
He couldn’t figure it out. Belle wasn’t fevered and she wasn’t fussy.
Actually, she giggled, and not far from Landen, she was playfully restless, jumping and reaching until she had to stop to cough.
By the time they pulled into town, Belle had gotten tired. She lay on the backseat, her head resting in Josh’s lap, her feet on Lilly. It was ironic, before they found Belle, Josh and Lilly were engrossed with a treasure that was Falcon’s, and now on the journey they had found their own treasure.
That was fine. Belle was a great treasure to find.
Town was buzzing and it wasn’t ration or barter day. People moved about, placing their hands in the few remaining puddles, splashing themselves with water and smiling as if it were the greatest thing in the world.
At that point in time, it was great.
Falcon saw Bill Gleece standing outside the barter stop. He watched people; perhaps it was a form of entertainment for him.
He stopped in front of Bill.
“Hey, there, Falcon,” Bill said. “Glad you made it back safely. Did you get what you went for?”
“Yes, sir,” Falcon said. “Give you a full report to update your maps.”