In the Midst of Tribulation (10 page)

"Mushrooms?"
"Sure. I've got some growing in the green house but there are a lot of wild mushrooms that I pick when I'm out wandering."
"Is that safe? I mean, I've heard such bad things about mushrooms."
"Oh, Doris. Where is your sense of adventure? I pick only what I know is safe."
"How do we know that you know what you're doing?"
"I've got field guides to mushrooms, if you'd like to confirm it yourself." Jay smiled. "Of course, some of the descriptions are ambiguous. I guess that you'll have to stay on my good side to avoid getting poisoned."
"I don't find that very funny."
"You wouldn't." Jay looked out at the horizon. When Susan cleared her throat, she turned back to Doris. "For all my talk, I'm not really likely to take too many risks, either with myself or with the lives of others."
"Where do you go when you wander?" asked Susan, trying to get the conversation back onto safer ground. "Is there much to see and do?"
"Mainly around the mountain. I like to know what's going on around the place. I go up to see the neighbors and see what trees are ready to come down."
"Are we going to meet these people?"
"Eventually."
"Why? Are you ashamed of us?"
"Not at all. But with the fishing trip planned for the day after tomorrow, the introductions will have to take place after that." Jay pushed off from the door and came back to the stove. Taking a pair of tongs, she began lifting jars of tomatoes from the pot to the towel. Lightly touching each lid, she felt to see if a seal had been made. Nodding to herself in satisfaction, she was startled when Doris spoke.
"What's for lunch?"
"Well, I figure dinner will be venison and mushroom stuffed peppers, so lunch should be lighter. Maybe rice and beans?"
"All right."
"You going to help with lunch?"
Sighing, Doris asked, "What do you need me to do?"
Jay handed her a mixing bowl. "Downstairs there are several five gallon buckets. The content labels are on the lids. Bring up about five cups of black beans." She stirred the pot of chili for a moment before getting another pot and filling it halfway with water. Placing it on the back eye of the stove, she glanced up to see Susan staring at her.
"What?"
"Nothing." At the look of disbelief, she shrugged. "Okay, I was just wondering just how hard this is on you."
"What do you mean?"
She waved her hand. "It must be hard with all of us just descending upon you. It's just been you for a long while."
"I'll deal the way I've always dealt."
Grinning, Susan shook a finger at her. "Running away is not an option."
"I know. If things get too close, I'll just go off for a bit by myself into the woods. Or, I shall hide up in my bedroom with the covers over my head until the urge to murder you all in your sleep passes."
"Can you let me know when you're getting close to the edge?"
"I can try." Jay dumped the big pot of water out in the sink over the dirty knives and bowls. She filled a smaller pot and put it on the stove in readiness for Doris' return with the beans. "Don't mistake me, Susan. I don't regret y'all being here at all."
"I know. I won't take it personally." With a saucy wink, she headed out of the kitchen. "Let me go check on the kids."
"Excellent. Bring everyone in for food in about two hours and a half." Jay took the beans from Doris and put them on the back of the stove to stay at low heat while they rehydrated.
"What about the rice?"
"I've got a canister here."
Doris poked around the kitchen. "What are you going to put on them?"
"We've got a jar of chili sauce that didn't seal. I figure that everyone can add the amount that they want."
"So, we're finished?"
Jay answered, "For now. I'll need help with dinner but you're free until then."
"Finally," Doris said as she flounced from the room.
Shaking her head, Jay finished making lunch. She was able to sit down with a book while she waited for everything to finish. She called everyone in by ringing a bell that was hanging on the porch.
Once everyone had come together at the table she said, "I think that we can work tomorrow morning on getting everything ready for the fishing trip. If we head down around lunch, we should be able to catch something for dinner."
Martha asked, "It's not that far?"
"No, we're just going to the other side of the mountain. I'll spend the night with you and head back the next morning."
"You don't want to stay out longer?" asked Susan.
"No. I agree with Piper that fishing is boring. I'll leave it to you."
"I'm surrounded by Philistines," complained Martha. "If you'd only give it a chance."
Laying a restraining hand on Martha's wrist, Susan hinted, "Honey, I thought we were going to enjoy our time together with the kids."
Martha exchanged a significant look with her partner and nodded sagely. She turned to Jay. "Of course, I completely respect your opinion on fishing. We'll let you show us the best place to go and then wish you well for your trip back."
"Good answer."
The meal finished with continued banter and joking. The household went their separate ways after the meal. The members found their own ways to relax the rest of the day away.
Chapter Eight - On Jordon's Stormy Banks
I am bound for the promised land,
I am bound for the promised land;
Oh who will come and go with me?
I am bound for the promised land.
Words: Samuel Stennett, 1787. Music: Miss M. Durham, 1835
"So, what kind of fish are in these waters?"
"At this time of year, mainly trout."
"What else?"
"Salmon and steelhead, that's it." Jay pushed back from the breakfast table. "All right. Martha, you work with Cody and Susan to see what of these rods and reels we can take with us." She opened the closet to reveal a mess of fishing supplies. "You may have to cannibalize a couple."
Muttering darkly to herself about people who don't take proper care of their equipment, Martha began to empty everything out of the closet. In quick order she was hip deep in tackle boxes, rods, reels and flies.
"Oh, and you might need to sharpen the hooks."
Ignoring the commentary that her comment engendered, Jay took Carol and Eva downstairs with her. "Okay, Eva, why don't you grab a first aid kit?" She directed Carol into the storage area and had her hold a small sack that she filled with corn meal. "You like fried fish?"
"How much of a choice do I have?"
"Well, you'll be down there a week. By the end of that time, I expect you'll be like Forrest Gump's friend and know plenty of ways to cook our fishy friends."
"You really think we'll catch that much?"
"I don't really know. I certainly hope so. We need some smoked for the winter but I think that five of you should be able to reel in plenty."
"What sort of side's should we take?"
"What have you got?"
Jay walked around to several large bags. "We've got a lot rice."
"That would go great with fish," agreed Eva.
Filling up another sack, Jay handed that one to Carol as well. She scratched her head for a moment. "You guys want to take some potatoes with you?"
"You've got potatoes, too?"
"Of course, you know those barrels in the laundry room?" When Eva and Carol nodded, she grinned. "I plant one in March and have potatoes now and I started the second at the beginning of this month." She saw the looks on their faces and grinned. "Come on, let me show you."
Jay led them over to the two tall barrels. One was filled with compost and had pretty shoots with pink flowers coming out the top. There were doors located all along the side. She knelt down and opened the bottom sliding door.
"What's that?"
"It's a specially designed container." She pointed to the spuds that were revealed. "The roots are strong enough to keep the dirt in. All you have to do is reach in pull out what you need."
She stood up and leaned over the other barrel. "See, you start at the bottom. I save the eyes from a couple of spuds and container start the shoots. Starting at the bottom, I plant the seedlings in front of each panel and one in the center. I cover it with soil and let it grow. Once the seedling has grown up about six inches, I cover it almost to the top with more soil. The process repeats until the barrel is full. When you see flowers, the potatoes are ready to eat although the longer they're left the bigger they are."
"Can I pull one out?"
"Why don't you both pull out ten each? We'll leave a couple here for your mom and Piper and take the rest with us."
The two girls reached through the sliding doors and felt around for the spuds. The treasure hunt through the rich dirt was fun and rewarding. Their smiles were infectious and all three of them were laughing wildly by the time they collected enough for the upcoming meals.
"Why don't you grow these outdoors?" asked Carol.
"A couple of reasons. They rot easily if frost hits them and they suck all the nutrients out of the soil they're in. If I planted them with the rest of the garden, I wouldn't be able to plant anything else in that area for a couple of years. By keeping them in here, I've got potatoes at hand almost all year round."
"What do you do with the dirt afterwards?"
"I mix it with the composting pile to let it recharge." Jay looked around. "I think this is a pretty good haul for your trip."
With their hands full of corn meal and rice, potatoes and the medical bag, the three went back upstairs to add it to the pile of supplies that were to be packed down to the river.
After a pleasant lunch, they donned the packs and headed out. Jay led the way around the mountain. She spoke over her shoulder. "Where I'm taking y'all is where the Trinity River divides into several tributaries. There's generally plenty of trout and salmon running." She looked back at Martha. "You can speak better on any differences in catching them."
Martha took a deep breath but before she could begin speaking, Susan interjected. "Remember that we are trying to encourage them to want to fish."
"Are you saying that my explanation lacks interest?"
"Not exactly. It's more that we need to be staying awake in order to hike safely."
Over the good-natured laughter, Jay spoke. "When we get down there we will need to do a couple of things. First, we need make a small dam where we can trap the fish we catch."
"We're keeping them alive?"
"The smoking will take a bit of time but it helps if we have the whole thing full." The group stepped over a rusty chain. Jay pointed at an overgrown trail to their right and explained, "That way leads to the other homes on the mountain."
"Are they going to be upset that we've come?"
"Not as long as we pull our own weight and don't bring any unwanted attention to our presence here." Jay shrugged. "You'll meet them soon enough."
"What else will we need to do when we get to the river?"
"Check out the smoke house, collect wood and make camp." Jay led them across the road and down another incline. "I can do all that while you give them a fishing lesson, Martha."
"Sounds fine to me."
"All right, then."
As the group continued their descent to the river, Martha spoke to them about fly-fishing. She was truly enthusiastic about the upcoming task and shared stories from her past trips. Back then, she was a catch and release fisherwoman and the joy was in chase. Martha has a slight flutter in her belly when she thought about how important it was for them to catch enough fish so that they wouldn't go hungry during the upcoming winter.
"Don't sweat it."
Martha jerked at the apparent non sequitur. "Excuse me?"
"There'll be plenty of fish," Jay answered.
"How did you know that was what I was thinking about?"
"It didn't take a psychic. You were chattering away and then you went all deep and thoughtful." Jay glanced over her shoulder. "Trust me. You'll have time to fool around with your lady, too."
"I hope you're right. I don't want to let everyone down."
"Not gonna happen but, if it did, we'll find another way."
Taking a deep breath, Martha tried to relax her tight shoulders. She felt a small hand clasp hers and she glanced down at her lover.
"You okay?"
"I will be. Jay talked me down off the ledge."
"She's good at that."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. It's uncanny how she seems to pick up on what needs to be said and when to say it." Susan squeezed her lover's hand. "I'm glad we're doing this. It's still unreal to me that we've fallen into this perfect world."
"It's far from perfect," Jay interjected. "And things aren't always going to be going so smoothly or easily."
"Our lives are definitely not about to be as brutish and short as they would have been had we stayed in Oakland."
"I can't speak of the horrors you've seen but I say that things are looking up. We're here," she said, raising her voice so everyone could hear her.
After climbing over a couple of fallen logs, the group stepped past the last stand of trees and arrived at a small beach. The cleared area was about the size of Jay's house. The six people walked across the sandy ground to look closer at the river.
Martha squatted down at the river's edge. She trailed her fingers in the fast moving water and picked up a couple of smooth stones. "It's cold."
"Yeah, there's a lot of mountain runoff in there."
"It's not a bad thing. Trout hang around the surface when the water's cold."
"You're right, the fish seem more active when the water is colder. However, y'all might find it a little too chilly for your taste. I think you should fish in shifts. Some of you stay and tend the fire and get warm and dry. The others wade in and pull in what they can before hypothermia sets in."
Looking around, Martha noticed that, besides the beach they were on, the banks of the river were obscured by underbrush. "Is there anyplace that doesn't have as many trees near the water's edge?"
Jay thought for a minute. "Down that a way about a three hundred yards. Why?"
"I'm thinking that teaching the rest of them to cast will be easier if they are allowed to stay on dry land for the learning."
"I would like to second that," Susan said, waving a hand at the two of them. Behind her, the three teenagers waved their hands in the air as well.
"Well, you've got a majority." Jay dropped her pack on the ground. "Why don't you all go down and start the lessons and I'll make camp. On the way back, y'all can start gathering the wood for smoking."
"What are we looking for?"
"You need to make sure that you choose green wood for smoking. However, never, ever use any evergreen branches. Pine smoke is oily and poisonous. If you can find a stand of birch trees, that would be the best. It will give a sweet taste to the fish."
The group dumped their packs on the ground and grabbed up the rods. Martha led them upriver to a larger clearing. She grinned at the looks of trepidation on the faces of the teenagers and her partner. "Hey, gang. Loosen up," she chided before stepping to the water's edge.