The Journal: Ash Fall (27 page)

“There are two boxes of heavy clear plastic
in the barn, lower left shelf. Each box is eight feet wide by one
hundred feet long, if I remember right. One box should be plenty to
wrap the deck area. The ash isn’t like radioactive fallout. We
don’t need to be as air tight, though we do need to keep the ash
out of the generator’s air intake. It could be very important
mentally to be able to ‘step outside’ on occasion once we’re
confined and the deck would be a nice place to go,” I responded. “I
think the second box should be used to wrap the porch across the
street, for the same reasons.” I looked around. “By the way, where
is Amanda?”

“She took Jacob back home. I came over with
Eric. She’ll be here later,” Jason replied.

I can’t worry about her right now.

“What do you want me to do, Allex?” John
asked.

I thought for a moment. So much was running
through my brain.

“Fish! All the fish will die once the ash
starts falling. It would be good if we had a different kind of
protein to eat. I know how to can fish, and it can also be
smoked.”

“I don’t think I should waste precious time
fishing, Allex,” he replied with a snort.

“Agreed, you’re the best one here to dynamite
fish,” I said with a big grin. “Once the three of you wrap the deck
and the porch, I think you should do mass fishing. It shouldn’t
take long to bomb a section of McKenna’s Bay and net all the dead
fish. I’ll do the rest.”

“Sure, that can be done, but I need certain
materials, Allex,” John reminded me.

“I do reloading, John. I’m sure I have
whatever you need,” Jason piped in. “Good call, Mom, and I know
just the place we can set the charge.”

“If you could start filling the hot tub
first, John, I’d appreciate it. Even though it would have been nice
to have a hot soak, I haven’t filled it yet because the power has
been so erratic; however it’s a perfect place to store water. I’ll
bring all of the full gas cans to the deck so we don’t have to go
to the barn for a while.”

While others were busy doing these tasks, I
sat for a moment and started a list of more things for us to do.
Antsy, I pushed the paper aside and got my small plastic garden
wagon to move the gas cans. At forty pounds per five gallon can,
they were too heavy for me to carry more than one, unless I used
the wagon. Two trips and I had that done, less than ten minutes. I
went back to the list.

I could hear my three men out on the deck
working quickly at installing the plastic sheeting. A peek
confirmed that Eric was unrolling and unfolding the long sheet,
while John held it in place and taut against the wooden supports
for the new roof as best he could with his fractured wrist tightly
bandaged, while Jason used his power stapler to make short work of
securing it. The garden hose snaked under the sheeting and I heard
it splashing into the big blue speckled tub.

Unlike being isolated this past winter, when
I could still get out to the sheds for a bucket of this or that, I
wouldn’t have that easy access for a while. I needed some of that
food indoors, and now.

In the food shed, I pulled out two buckets of
rice, two of mixed beans, and two more of hard winter wheat.

“Emi, would you bring back the garden cart
for me, please?” I asked. Happy to have something to do, she
scampered across the road and was back in just a few minutes.

“What are we doing now, Nahna?” Her big eyes
held such concern it made my heart hurt.

“I know you’re going to need food over there,
so you and I are going to fill this cart,” I told her. I set a
bucket of rice and one of beans in the cart. We got three empty
canning jar boxes from the shed and went to the back pantry.

“Let’s pick what you want to eat. How about
chicken soup?” I suggested. She nodded vigorously. As I handed her
jars filled with food, she placed them into the waiting old and
battered brown cardboard boxes. When we were done, there was a box
of soup, one of veggies and another with meat. I picked up a box of
pint jars and set them in her waiting arms.

“Is that too heavy?” I asked.

“I’m strong, Nahna, I can carry this,” she
insisted, so I set a very lightweight case of oriental noodles on
top for Jacob, and picking up the other two cases, we went back to
the kitchen.

With three cases of food and two buckets of
grains and beans, the cart was too heavy for her to pull. Emilee
needed to be helpful, this I understood. I took the two buckets
out.

“You take these cases back to your house, Em,
and just set them on the ground, then come back for the buckets.”
By the time she had everything unloaded from the wagon, the guys
would be moving over there to wrap the porch and they could move
the heavy containers up the steps and into the house.

* * *

“Just so you know, Mom, when I was out at the
garden getting the chicken wire for Jason, I also started draining
the cistern so we could turn it over,” Eric announced.

I closed my eyes briefly in relief. “I had
forgotten about it! Once that ash starts falling it will turn any
water to sludge! Thank you for remembering.”

With both the porch and the deck wrapped in a
shroud of transparent plastic, Jason was ready to start on closing
in the bottoms of the grow boxes. He had already made short doors
for access, which he attached first. While Eric was busy building a
couple of nesting boxes, John and Jason placed and secured the
chicken wire.

The power was still on so I was staying ahead
of laundry, doing as much as possible.

Emilee had been assigned the task of catching
the baby chicks and putting them in one of the cat carriers I kept.
A few of the hens were amiable to being picked up, so she put them
in the second carrier and took them to the greenhouse.

Everyone was working smoothly, and we were
almost finished when Amanda pulled into the driveway. She’d been
gone a long time.

“Whew!” she said, “I’m glad that’s all
done.”

“What is it you’ve been doing?” I asked
cautiously.

She looked at me in surprise. “Moving. Jacob
and I packed up all his things and brought them over. I put them in
his room at Eric’s. Then we packed things for me and Jason, and all
the food we have and put that there too.”

I’d been so occupied here I hadn’t noticed
her across the road. I felt embarrassed.

“I made sure everything was unplugged or
turned off at our house. Jason still needs to do the rest. I don’t
know if he wants to drain the pipes or not, but I’m pretty sure I
remembered the rest.”

“I’m impressed, Amanda, you’ve done a lot
today.” I gave her a quick hug.

“Well, you did say we don’t have much time. I
don’t need anything else from there, so I’m going back across the
road and start organizing Jacob’s room. Are we all having dinner
here tonight?” she stood and stretched.

“Of course we are. Seven o’clock.”

* * *

At three o’clock, the guys set out for
McKenna’s Bay. At four-thirty, they returned with two thirty-gallon
tubs filled with fish! I’m going to be very, very busy canning the
next couple of days.

“Oh, Mom, you should have seen it, it was
fantastic!” Jason exclaimed. “John mixed up some things, stuffed it
into a coffee can, rigged up a detonator and BOOM! Water geysered
up everywhere! Fish went flying through the air and then dead fish
started floating up to the surface, thousands of them! It was
awesome!”

Eric chortled. “Jason was having a good
time.”

“We took the skiff out and just scooped them
out of the water with the long handled net. They were so heavy, we
would fill a tub and then take it back to shore.

“I will never look at fishing the same way
again! John, you’re the man!” Jason clapped John on the shoulder
and walked away smiling.

“I think you guys should get those tubs into
the refrigerator in the barn,” I reminded them. “And then go take a
shower!” I playfully wrinkled my nose at them.

* * *

While Amanda cleared the dishes from the
table and set them in hot soapy water, I pulled out my list.

“So far we’ve wrapped the two decks and moved
as much into the greenhouse as will fit. Hmmm, Jason, when you
wired your Uncle Don’s generator, did he have you build a shelter
for it? I’ve never even noticed.”

“You haven’t noticed because I hung lattice
around the underside of the small porch where it sits. It can be
heard though not seen. Why?”

“If it’s just lattice, you will have to
plastic that too, to keep the ash out of the air intake. Is it
vented?”

“No, it isn’t.” He frowned. “It didn’t need
to be. We’ll figure something out, won’t we, Eric?”

“Okay, that’s something that will have to be
taken care of by the end of tomorrow,” I said. “That’s our goal:
tomorrow. Everything that is outside needs to be finished no later
than tomorrow afternoon. During the worst of the cloud, all of you
will be isolated there, and us here. Emi and I packed up some food,
and I want you to take more with you.”

“We won’t be coming here for dinners?” Amanda
asked with sad eyes.

“Not for maybe a week. It might be okay to
come across wearing masks and eye protection, I don’t know. I don’t
think Jacob will take well to stuff on his face.” It was something
both Jason and Amanda understood.

“So, we’ve got the chickens in their new
home, but we still need the other bale of straw and their feed.
I’ll do that tomorrow. Gas cans are on the enclosed deck for the
generator. Amanda, did you fill the gas cans from Eric’s while you
were filling the cars?”

“I filled the cans in the back of the old
car. Were those the ones, Eric?”

“Yep, and I already moved them down to the
generator area, Mom,” he replied.

“Excellent! I’m proud of all of you. We’ll
start cleaning the rest of the fish in the morning, I’ve got enough
done to get started on the canning.” I turned to John. “I need to
make a quick run into town tonight and drop some things off at the
Soup Kitchen.”

“More, Allex? Haven’t you done enough for
them already?” he said in exasperation. “The more you do for them,
the more they expect, you know.”

“You’re right, but when Eric and I went
shopping, some of it was meant for them, I just haven’t had the
time to take it over. We got four ten-pound bags of pasta: three
for here and one for them. The kitchen gets just one, plus the
large can of spaghetti sauce and a bag of rice. The rest is for us.
We’ll need it all.” I could see he didn’t really agree with me,
however, it was something he knew I was compelled to do.

“Help me load these few things up, John and
then take a ride with me.” I turned to my sons. “You’ve still got
some daylight left, will you two gut the fish? I’ll start canning
when we get back.”

* * *

“Carolyn?” I called out, my voice echoing in
the stillness of the empty Stone Soup Kitchen. “Where is everyone?
I thought they would be moving the Kitchen?”

“Good evening, Allexa,” Carolyn said in a way
too calm of a voice. “Walk with me, please. You, too John.” We set
the boxes down on a table in the church basement and followed
Pastor Carolyn as she started up the street toward Bradley’s
Backyard. I don’t think I’d ever seen her look so… peaceful.

“What’s going on, Pastor?” I asked, reverting
back to her title. “Why isn’t everyone getting ready?” We had been
so busy at home, doing so many different things, I just couldn’t
figure out why the town wasn’t doing the same.

“After that meeting this morning, we had
another one at the church,” she gave me one of her famous beatific
smiles. “The consensus is we will accept what comes.” She stopped.
“Everyone is tired, Allexa. Tired of fighting, tired of running,
tired of being frightened all the time. Oh, we’re not going to roll
over and die, but what good will all this preparation be if the
cloud misses us? Or even if it hits us?” Carolyn took my hand.
“Everyone is grateful for what you’ve done, for all of your efforts
and caring. Most are ready to let go and let God. You should try it
sometime.”

I was bewildered. And I knew that there was
nothing more for me to do there.

* * *

“It’s their choice, Allex,” John reminded me.
“This is not something you can force on them, you know that.”

“Yes, John, you’re right. It’s just… I don’t
know. I thought I knew these people, and I don’t, not at all.” I
stood up and paced across the deck. I ran my hand down the tight
sheet of plastic that now covered all the edges, sealing us in.

“Are they right and I’m wrong?”

“I don’t think it’s a matter of who’s right
or who’s wrong, Allex. It comes back to them making a choice that
is best for them. You and the boys are making the choice that is
best for you.” John paused as if he had more to say.

“I know you, John, you have something to say,
and I have a bad feeling that I’m not going to like it.” I sat back
down on the wrought iron chair and took his big, rough hands in
mine. “What is it?”

He pulled his hands free and rubbed them
across his face and over his bald head. “I’ve watched how you and
those two fine young men work together. You’re so close to them,
and they adore you, you know. I envy you that. The three of you are
so strong and you think alike. I can see Emilee taking after Eric
in this.” He smiled. “Even Amanda has come around. She’s a good
woman. All of you are survivors, and I think that’s what bothers
you about the town. You feel like they are giving up.” John trailed
his fingers down my cheek. “It saddens me that my daughter
Christine isn’t as strong, Allex. She believes that the government
will always be there; always take care of the big problems; won’t
let anything happen to ‘the people’. I’ve failed her in that
respect.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “I have to make
a choice too, Allex. I have to see if I can reach my daughter, to
protect her from what’s coming.”