Hidden (Final Dawn) (19 page)

     “We knew that after a seven year freeze, a lot of trees wouldn’t come back at all. The more established the root system, and the heartier the tree, the more likelihood we’d have of our orchard coming back.

     “We planted ten trees each of apples, peaches, pears, apricots, plums, pecans and walnuts. We don’t know if they’ll come back, but if they do, they will bear fruit within two years.”

     Sami asked if there was a backup in case none of the trees survived.

     Hannah looked at Karen and asked, “Karen, can you take it from here?”

     Karen stood up and said, “Yes. We recognized early on that there was a chance that none of the trees in the orchard would survive. Mark and Bryan planted them as soon as they could, but their root system was less than three years old at the time of the freeze. That may have worked against them. Or, it’s possible that their youth might have helped them, in the same way a teenager is stronger than an old man.

     “The problem is, the earth hasn’t been through a seven year freeze. At least not since humans have been around. So we just aren’t sure what will happen. We can guess and speculate all day long. But in the end we’ll have to wait until the thaw comes, and see what happens.

     “Having said all that, we recognized the need for a plan B. So when we came in here, we brought with us seeds from all the plants I mentioned before. A year in, before the seeds were too old to be stable, I planted two of each type of tree in the greenhouse. I’ve been careful to keep them cropped to keep them from growing too big and taking over the greenhouse. Each of them is only about three feet high.

     “We will transfer them to the larger greenhouses, where they will be allowed to grow freely. If we get most or all of our orchard trees back, and if they bear fruit, that’s great. If we don’t, we will take these trees and transplant them in the orchard when it’s safe to do so. We can also use the seeds from the fruit they bear to plant additional trees in the orchard.

     “That’s what makes the answer to your question so complicated, Brad. There are so many factors we simply don’t know. The best case scenario, of course, is that all of the orchard trees come back and bear fruit the following year. If that happens, fruit and nuts should be plentiful except for the citrus which will take a little longer.

     “The worst case scenario is that few or none of the trees come back. If that happens, then fruit and nuts will continue to be scarce for the next three to four years.”

     It wasn’t the quick answer to his question that Brad had hoped for, but the girls had explained it well.

     “Thank you.”

     “You’re welcome. Are there any other questions about fruits and vegetables, or about our countdown calculations or anything?”

     There were no other questions. At least half of the group was punch drunk with elation, and hadn’t heard much conversation after the breakout announcement.

     Mark stood up again and asked, “Is there any other new business?”

     There was none.

     “Very well. I’ve been informed that Sarah and Bryan have an announcement they’d like to share with you.”

     Sarah held her place at the front of the group and
Bryan joined her. Mark and Hannah returned to their seats. Mark looked at his wife and saw tears in her eyes. Hannah loved romantic moments.

     Sarah asked
Bryan if he wanted to speak, and he took a slight bow to give her the honors. Sarah faced the group and said, “Bryan and I have finally set our wedding date. It will be on December 24th. I asked Bryan what he wanted for Christmas this year and he said he wanted my hand in marriage.

     Joe yelled from the back, “Yeah, but what’s the cheapskate giving you?”

     Sarah looked at Bryan and said, “His last name.”

     Then she kissed him. Everyone smiled and some of the women in the group dabbed at their eyes. Mark and Hannah looked at each other, not realizing they were thinking the same thought. They both wished that Phyllis was still there to share the moment.

Chapter 31

     Little Markie walked out of his one room schoolhouse and went bounding home, where he found Hannah cleaning the RV.

     He was proud of himself, and felt all grown up that he was allowed to walk the hundred yards home each day.

     “Hey Mommy! Mommy, guess what?”

     “Hi, little sailor. What?”

     “Today we took a field trip.”

     She smiled. She knew in advance about the elementary school’s excursion. But she pretended not to. It was much more fun that way, and gave little Markie so much more joy.

     She feigned a look of surprise.

     “A field trip? Wow, that is so exciting! Where on earth did you go?”

     “We went to the greenhouse. Aunt Karen showed us all the plants. And do you know what she gave us?”

     “No, what?”

     “Strawberries! Two of them. She gave each of us two of them. Julie ate the green part but I didn’t. I’m smarter than that. And besides, after Julie ate the green part Aunt Karen told the rest of us not to.”

     “Wow! That’s amazing! And what did you think about the strawberries? Did you like them?”

     “Oh, Mommy, they were so yummy. They were sweet but kinda sour. Have you ever had strawberries?”

     She scratched her head and pretended to fall into deep thought.

     “I think so. But it’s been so long I don’t really remember. Did you bring one of them home to share with me?”

     He looked at his feet and tried to find a good excuse.

     “Well, I was going to…”

     She laughed and cut him off.

     “That’s okay little man.” She kissed him on the mouth and said, “You still taste like strawberries. So you shared with me after all.”

     He smiled for a moment. Then his smile turned to chagrin, and he said, “Ah, mom. I’m too old for kisses. I’ll be six soon.”

     Her shocked look returned, and she put her hands on her hips and pretended to scold him.

     “Mark David Snyder! You will never ever ever be too old for your mother’s kisses.”

     “Not even when I’m a million?”

     “Not even then.”

     He smiled, suddenly okay with it.

     “Okay.”

     “Now, then. What else did you do in school today?”

     “I wrote my numbers. Starting at one and going through ten. Miss Helen said it was very good. Except…”

     “Except what?”

     He looked down. “Except… I wrote my seven backwards. But Miss Helen said that was okay, that we would work on it.”

     Hannah hugged him and smiled.

     “Do you want to know a secret?”

     Markie loved secrets. He equated secrets with the spies he sometimes watched on the “Spy Kids” movies.

     “Yeah, what?”

     “Remember, it’s our secret.”

     “Okay, Mommy. What?”

     “Your Daddy is thirty years old, and he still writes his sevens backwards.”

     “For the reals?”

     “Yup. For the reals.”

     He suddenly started laughing uproariously. Hannah aggravated the situation by tickling him, and Mark happened to walk in the door at that exact moment.

     He shouted in mock alarm, “Don’t worry, Markie! I’ll save you from the tickle monster!”

     Mark jumped in the middle of the fray and held Hannah’s arms so little Markie could get his revenge. Hannah wasn’t really ticklish, but pretended to be. The whole idea of tickling his Mommy gave Markie so much joy, she wasn’t about to deprive him of it.

     When Markie was all finished, the three collapsed in a heap, worn out and laughed out and tickled out. But not loved out. Not this family. Not ever.

     Markie said, “Mommy, how come cousin David has a sister and I don’t?”

     “Well, honey, God just hasn’t thought it was time to give you a sister yet. Do you want a sister?”

     “Yes, please. I think a sister would be cool. Would you ask God if I can have one?”

     Hannah looked at Mark, who just smiled.

     “Sure, honey. We will ask Him. And you can ask Him yourself if you want to, when you say your prayers tonight.”

     “Okay.”

     “But you realize that God might think you need a brother instead of a sister. Would it be okay if he sent you a brother instead?”

     “Sure. But I’d rather have a sister.”

     “Why?”

     “So we can name her Phyllis. I miss Grammy. I think Grammy would like it if we named her Phyllis. Don’t you think?”

     Hannah had to turn away.

     Mark picked up his son and hugged him.

     “You’re right, little man. I think Grammy would like that a lot.”

Chapter 32

     Bryan and Sarah had asked the elders for a private audience. They went before them and tried to explain their predicament. There was no longer a government on the outside of the mine. Might never be one again. And they didn’t want to wait that long to be married anyway.

     “We want to be married on Christmas Eve, but we want it to be official. Since there is no government and no license and no preachers, we want to ask your permission to proceed. That will make it official enough for us.”

     And so began the clan’s tradition of going before the elders to ask for permission to marry. No one knew it yet, but in the years ahead, it would become one of the most cherished of all the traditions passed down from the mine to future generations.

     But that was the future. Here, now, in the mine, Sarah and Bryan were nervous. What if the elders decided for whatever reason it wouldn’t be a good idea? What if they asked the couple to wait until the breakout, to see if somehow the local government was still up and running? What if they insisted that they find an ordained minister on the outside, after the breakout, so that the marriage would be legal in God’s eyes?

     But the elders merely asked, “Do you love each other, and will you place one another above all else, for the rest of your natural lives?”

    
Bryan said, “Yes. And even longer.”

     Sarah looked in his eyes and said, “Until the end of time.”

     The elders looked at each other in agreement, and Bryan’s Uncle Marty, the chief elder, said, “Then you have our blessing. May you live long, love long, and be fruitful. And congratulations.”

     Hannah had enough foresight to bring her wedding dress into the mine before the freeze. It had to be hemmed, since Sarah was five inches shorter than Hannah. But the hem was done carefully, so that it could be removed at a future date. Sami had already let it be known that she had “next” on the dress, and she was almost as tall as Hannah.

     The rings were more of a problem. There simply weren’t any in the mine, and no way to get any.

     On the night he proposed to Sarah,
Bryan realized he had no ring to place on her finger. He took a dark blue wire tie from a loaf of bread, wrapped it around her ring finger, and looked into her eyes.

     “You’ll have to believe me when I tell you that you have a stranglehold on my heart. It’s no longer mine. I just carry it for you now. It’s yours now and always will be.

     “It pains me that I have no real ring to give you. This is all I have, but I hope you’ll accept it with all my love. If you look at it, you’ll see that two sides came together and became one. Then they became intertwined. As simple as it is, it is symbolic of us. We met as two. Now we are one. Will you marry me?”

     Sarah cried and said, “After all that, how could I say no?”

     Karen, the only true artist in the mine, came to the rescue once again. Unbeknown to everyone, she spend three weeks fashioning his and hers wedding bands from a pair of silver spoons. She was able to melt them down, form rings, and etch the rings with a fashionable design. She presented the rings to the couple a week before the wedding as an early wedding gift.

     “I’m sorry there are no diamonds. Maybe these will do temporarily, until we get out of here and you can find something better.”

     Sarah stammered between her tears, “Oh, Karen, these are perfect. They are beautiful. How could I ever find anything more beautiful than these?”

     It was a simple ceremony. Mark presided over it on behalf of his brother, who would ordinarily have performed the wedding were he not the groom. It went off without a hitch, and as the husband kissed his bride for the first time there was a thunderous round of applause.

     Well, as thunderous as a group of only thirty eight people could make.

     When the kiss dragged on more than a few seconds, Markie stood up on his chair and yelled, “Ewww, cooties!” For him, it was time to go eat cake.