The Last Tribe (38 page)

Bernie nodded to her.  “It’s okay,
Avery.  You’re right.  We can’t stay here.  My faith kept us here, and it
brought us salvation through meeting these people.  I understand I’m the only
one that might believe that.”  Her plate had bread and corn bread, but no meat sauce
covered pasta or chili.  Emily opened a can of tuna fish for her.  Bernie
explained that it was a Friday during Lent, and she could not eat meat.  “It is
Friday.  Would you consider letting me have one last Sunday in my chapel?  We
can leave after service on Sunday morning.”

Antonio muttered something in
Spanish under his breath, then looked at John with anger in his eyes.  “No
agenda, huh?  You bring us up here, give us food, lure our people into your
group?  You want us to go to New Hampshire? “  He looked down the table.  “Are
you people crazy?  Do you know anything about this guy?  These people are nice
to you for 30 minutes and now you’re leaving your family because he makes a box
of pasta and some jarred red sauce?”

Antonio said additional things in
Spanish.  “I’m not going anywhere.”  He sat at the end seat at the table, his
left arm was firmly blocking the girl beside him, Meredith, from getting near
his food.  The boy was territorial and selfish.

Peter ignored him.  “Jamie, these people,
I only met them a week ago, but they are good.  I considered staying behind,
living out my days alone, but we’re not that old.  We can make contributions
and help.”

The woman looked at him.  “Why are
you talking to me like I’m 80?  I’m only 68.  Of course I’ll come.  I have
years left, and I hope to spend them with people.  I’m weak because we don’t
have any food.  Once I get my strength back, you’ll see who I really am.  I’m
actually a hell of a lot of fun.”

Kelly was not at the table, she sat
on the ground petting Hubba.  Emily sat next to them, and was in conversation
with the young veterinarian.  Kelly locked eyes with Bernie, nodding to let her
know she was going with Jamie and the new people.

Jamie looked down the table at
Antonio.  “Things happen fast now, kid.  You see a good opportunity, you better
grab it.  You were right when you said we needed to leave the seminary, none of
us listened to you, and we almost paid the price.  You need to listen to us
now.  There is strength in numbers.  People are scarce, let alone good people. 
They aren’t staying, so we need to be going.  Don’t let your pride or machismo
get in the way of your life.”

“You’ve got some moxie in you.” 
Peter laughed.  “I like that.”

“Life’s too damn short to hold it
in.”  Jamie told him.  “We learned that the hard way.”

John turned to Bernie.  “What do we
do if Sal isn’t back by service on Sunday?  We can’t leave without him.  Can
we?”

The adults of the New York group
looked at each other, some of their eyes fell.  The young children were
asleep.  They ate and curled up in their chairs.

“I can leave that man, and do it
with a clean conscience.  He would leave me in a second.”  Jamie answered.  “It
may not be the Christian thing to do, but it’s the world we live in.  Besides,
if you don’t have Duane Reade’s where we are going for him to search for his
pills, I doubt he’ll leave New York.”

Antonio let out a laugh.  “You’re
alright, Jamie.  You’re alright.”  He told the older woman.

“We can’t leave him.”  Bernie said
quietly.  “but I don’t want to wait a week and deplete our resources or keep
you from your family.  We can worry about Sal if he doesn’t come back by
Sunday.” 

Ahmed sat next to Jamie, silent
during the conversation.  He looked at Todd and John.  “If we come with you,
what standing will we have, what voice?  I hope we’ll have some sort of
agreement that gives us rights to food, that we will distribute work fairly.”

Todd answered quickly.  “I
understand your question, and your concern, but both are founded in an old
paradigm.  There is no ‘society’ anymore.  We are a group, a tribe.  75% of it
happens to be my family, but we are a group that has decided to work and live
together.  We share food and labor.  I am not prepared to give you any promise
other than, right now, you will receive an equal share of everything.  When we
have food, we all eat.  When there is work, we all work.”

“That isn’t very democratic.  Your
family should get one vote, not multiple votes.”  Ahmed negotiated.

“There is no voting.”  Todd said flatly. 
“Don’t you get it?  We just do.  Did we discuss coming to New York City?  Yes,
but instead of putting stones in a bag, we discussed and did it.  You’ll have a
voice and a decision to make every day.  Do you want to stay with the group or
leave.”  Todd was blunt.  Life was different now.  He sensed Ahmed did not want
to let his old life and status go.

Bernie stood and motioned to the
three children.  “We should go home, or at least get these three, and maybe
Meredith a bed.”

Meredith’s eyes were half closed. 
She perked up at the mention of her name.  “I’m okay, just a little tired. 
I’ll go home with Avery.  I’m okay.”

“Let’s all go home.”  Jamie said. 
“I’m sure we have a lot to talk about separately.”  She turned to Peter. 
“Thank you for your hospitality sir.  I hope to see you tomorrow. “

“We’ll be here.”  Peter replied to
his new friend.  “Don’t worry.  We’ll be here.”

“Good bye Hubba.”  Kelly said to
the dog, rubbing his ears.  Hubba snored loudly as she rubbed him.  Kelly
walked over and picked up Cameron, carrying him to the church van.  She placed
him on the seat against the window.  He did not wake up.  She walked around the
van, got into the driver’s side, and started the engine.

“Can we help clean up?”  Bernie
asked.

“No worries.”  Todd told her. 
“We’re going to fold the plastic tablecloths up and throw everything in the
trash.  I’ll clean the pots tomorrow.”  He gave her a quick hug.  Todd put his
hand out to Ahmed.  “Get a good night’s sleep.  Think about our offer.  We
don’t need a decision tonight or even tomorrow.”  Before John and Solange
arrived with Antonio, Todd and Emily briefed Ahmed, Bernie, Jamie and the rest
of the group on the master plan of traveling to New Hampshire. 

“We’ll see you tomorrow.”  Ahmed
said to him. 

“We have eggs and pancakes
planned.  Just as Antonio said, we’re luring you with food.”  Todd gave Ahmed a
pat on the back and a smile.  The former banker picked up one of the little
girls and took her to the van.

Avery thanked her hosts before
grabbing the last sleeping child.  “They are tired from hunger.  It makes you
so weak.”  She told them.  “Thank you.”  She and Meredith climbed in the van
together, placing the sleeping girl in between them.

Antonio finished his last bite of
pasta, walked over to Hubba, bent down and gave the dog a quick pat on the
head.  He looked at Emily, “cool dog,” was all he said.  He opened the
passenger door to the van and jumped in.

Bernie shut the sliding side door,
and the New York tribe headed down 5
^th
Avenue.

“Well, that was a quick strike.” 
Emily commented.  “Matt, did you even say anything?”

Matt shook his head.  “I set up the
kids in the RV watching some cartoon movie and came back out, but everyone was
stuffing their faces.  They seem nice.  Obviously Antonio is a little rough,
but he likes Hubba, so he can’t be all bad.”

“He is not so tough.  He is
scared.  He, Ahmed, and this Sal guy are the only men in his group.  Now he is
entering a group of almost all men.  He needs to find his place.”  Solange was a
keen observer. 

“I’m interested to meet Sal.  I
mean,” Todd chuckled, “Jamie wanted to pack up and leave from here tonight. 
What kind of person must he be?”

“Did you catch the little girls’
names?  I heard Cameron for the boy, and Meredith and Avery, but what about the
youngest girls?”  John was at a loss.

“Wendy and Bridget.” Craig spoke
up.  “I talked to them on the ride up.  They are 5 and 6.  They went to
kindergarten together.  How weird is that?  They told me, every day, Wendy and
Bridget would show up, and another person would be gone, until it was just us
and the teacher, then the teacher didn’t show up.  Wendy’s parents died, and
Bridget’s parents were still alive, so they took her in, and they knew
Cameron’s parents, and when they died they took Cameron in too.  So the three
little kids were together until Bridget’s parents died.  The kids went outside,
started walking around the upper East side.”  Craig paused.  “I don’t know what
that means, but anyway, they are walking around and were told to head to the
seminary.  Bernie had the word out that she was accepting people and orphans. 
The kids walked from 89
^th
and 3
^rd
to the seminary, I
don’t know how far that is, but Bernie said it still amazes her when she thinks
about it.” 

“It’s a long way, let’s just say
that.”  Todd told his nephew.

It was 7:30 and dark.  Todd
stretched out his arms after the long day.  “I’m exhausted.  I’m going to clean
up and go to bed.”  He walked over to the trailer where the kids were watching
television and opened the door.  He slipped inside to say goodnight to his
sons, and make sure they were ready for bed.  Melanie was in the RV, hiding
from the New York group.

“I almost forgot you were in
here.”  Todd said to her.  “I didn’t realize you weren’t going to come out and
meet everyone.”

Melanie gave Todd a bashful look. 
“I fell asleep.  Honestly, I was going to come out, but Matt set the kids up
with a cartoon, I put my head down on the pillow, told them to wake me up in
five minutes.  Yeah, I just woke up.”

Melanie slipped out the door and
sat down at a table.  Solange and John were eating cold pasta and bread.  “Did
you miss the party too?”  She asked.

“We never got to eat.”  Solange
filled Melanie in on the new people.

John gave his opinion.  “I didn’t
meet anyone that wouldn’t be a great addition to the tribe.”  He twirled his
fork to get another bite of dinner.  “Ahmed and Antonio are good people, they
just live in the past.  Once they step into the new reality, they are going to
be great contributors.  If you saw Ahmed with the little kids, he’s a natural.”

Todd came out of the RV.  “The kids
are all down.”  He whispered.  “Where am I sleeping?”

Emily looked at the group seated at
the table.  “He doesn’t know it yet, but I booked us a room at the Plaza.” 
While Todd and Solange were on their adventure at the Metropolitan, Emily and
John scouted out rooms in the hotel.  Peter, Melanie, Craig, Todd, and Emily
would stay in the hotel while Solange, Matt, and John took a night in the
RV’s.  Matt pulled the kids’ trailer duty for the evening.

The adults cleaned the camp area, balling
up the tablecloths as promised, and throwing them in a trash can down the
street.  It made little sense to use a trash can no one would ever empty, but
old habits die hard. 

The Dixon tribe was enthusiastic
about their new friends, and fell asleep with hopes of a stronger tribe when
they left New York City.

The New York group went to bed with
full bellies for the first time in months, each putting a bottle of water on
their nightstands before drifting off to sleep. 

Todd woke up early the next
morning, sunlight streamed through the window of his second floor room.  He was
in a king bed with Emily on sheets he hoped were fresh.  The air was cold in
his room.  He rolled over and quickly jumped into his clothes.  He snuck
outside and into the adult’s RV parked in front of the hotel.  John sat at the
small dining table with a paper cup of coffee.  He did not look like he had
slept.

“Well older brother,” Todd asked as
he poured himself a cup of coffee.  “What’s the plan?”

He doctored his coffee with sugar
and milk, and sat down across from John.

“I’d like to leave today, but I
respect the priest’s request.  I can wait.  Besides, aren’t you and Emily
headed down to Ellis Island today?”  John had a smartass smile on his face, mocking
his brother for having to follow his wife’s wishes.  Despite the teasing, he
envied Todd for still having a wife.

“Today I am going to play it
casual.  I’ll make breakfast, if the New York people come, they come.  They
know we’re here.  Emily, Melanie, the kids, and I will leave for our trip at
around ten.  Anyone who would like to come can join us.  We’ll do a big
stir-fry or something easy for dinner tonight.  It will be an open ended
invitation.”  He sipped his coffee.  “No pressure.”

“We can leave on Sunday and still
be in Hanover by 4 or 5pm.  It’s getting warmer.  I bet the roads are
clearing.”  John looked exhausted.  “I’m worried about what I will find up
there.  I’m losing my mind, knowing Greg is there alone.  I worry more that he
isn’t there at all.”  He lowered his head.  “I don’t sleep much anymore.  I’m
having trouble keeping it together.”

Todd looked at his brother,
unraveling with each passing day.  “Wake your sons, take the Suburban, and
leave.  There’s no reason for you to wait on Bernie.  Put chains on the tires,
drive slowly.  Go, find my nephew.  We’ll meet you up there.” 

A woman spoke from behind John. 
“You should go, John.  We can handle everything from here.”  Solange stood in
the doorway of the bedroom.  “We will see you in a few days.”  She smiled at
him.  She did not want him to leave, but she knew it was the best thing for
him. 

“I’m leaving you a little light on
the muscle if both Matt and I go.  Even Craig has been a big help.” 

“I made it through a few months in
Raleigh without you.  Emily is strong, Solange is strong.  Peter and Melanie
can help.  Take some food and get out of here.”

“I’ll get Matt and Craig.”  John
stood up and put on his coat.  “Should we come back here if we find him? 
Should we meet in Boston?”

“We’ll come to Hanover on Sunday. 
I know we aren’t going to stay there, but maybe it will be a nice break for
us.  We’ve been on the road for almost two weeks.  Let’s get up there, take
over a few houses, figure out what our future holds.  We can always swing
through Boston after Hanover.”  Todd stood and gave John a hug.  “Go find
Greg.  I’ll see you in two days.”

Solange stepped forward and gave
John a hug as well.  “Be safe.”  She said, kissing his cheek gently. 

He nodded to both of them, a tear
fell down his cheek before he opened the trailer, and went to get Matt and
Craig.

“So, it is up to us.”  Solange said
to Todd.

“Yep.”  He replied, sitting down to
finish his coffee.  Todd jumped back up.  “You know what?  Let’s give him the
animals or the U-Haul.  Well, I guess the animals.”  Todd ran out of the
trailer as Matt, John, and Craig walked towards the SUV.

“Take the animals.”  Todd said to
them.  He held out his hand to shake Matt’s.  “I’ll see you in a day, Matt, you
too Craig.  Help me hitch the chickens and goats to the SUV.” 

“Are you doing this so the New
Yorkers can’t take them?”  John asked.  “Or to lighten your load?”

“A little of both.  It will be one
less thing I need to take.  Solange is grabbing this morning’s eggs.  If they
don’t want to come, we might give the New Yorkers the second RV.  The rest of
us can squeeze into one and tow the U-Haul.  I like the option of going in one
vehicle.”  Todd was babbling, trying to ease his brother’s conscience as well
as talking himself into the intelligence of his plan.

Solange emerged from the animal
trailer with a basket full of eggs.  She came over and hugged Matt and Craig. 
“Take care of your father, and say hello to your brother from me.”

“Will do.”  Matt said.  “You’re
going to like him.  He’s the serious one.” 

Solange laughed.

John backed the Suburban to the
animal trailer hitch, locked the ball down, and pulled away towards the George
Washington Bridge.

Solange turned to Todd.  “Your wife
is going to be upset he left without saying goodbye.”

“She’ll get over it.”  He turned to
go back into the trailer, then paused and looked over his shoulder  “At least I
hope she will.”  There was concern in his voice.  “I need more coffee.  You?”

“Always.”  She said.

They sat at the dining table,
drinking coffee, and thinking about their day. 

“What made you trust us that first
day in Richmond?  Why did you get out of the car?  It was just me and Emily
standing next to the RV.  What was it that worked?”  Todd was trying to figure
out what he could do to make the last few people in the NYC group trust him.

“I did not trust you.  I had three
guns in the car, a pistol on my lap and two shotguns on the other seat.  That
is why I did not let you come with me in the car.  Once I met you, spoke to
you, I knew I was safe.  You give off, I believe you call it, a good vibe.”

“You had guns?”

Solange nodded.  “Would you like to
know my other secret?”  Solange sipped her coffee.  “That was my car.  I drove
the Mercedes at school.  I came from a very wealthy family.  When I took the
Matisse and said it would remind me of my father, it is because he had a
Matisse hanging in his home study.” 

Todd’s mouth dropped open a bit. 
“No way.”  he muttered as an impulse.

 “I was a princess, not literally,
but I was a spoiled princess from Ecuador.  My father’s favorite.  I lost a lot
during El Encantado.  My family, my country, my money is all gone.”  She sipped
and looked at Todd.  “I have found a new family, and I will do whatever it
takes to make sure I do not lose it.  We are leaving tomorrow after services. 
If Sal is not here, that is Sal’s problem.”  She put her paper cup down on the
table.  “You are a good person, Todd.”  She reached across the table and put
her hand on top of his.  “You have a good heart.  I will make sure we use our
head tomorrow.  These people know the plan, they know where we are going, it is
up to them to decide what to do.  I will make the hard choices if we need to make
them.  I know you could, but it is not your nature to make the evil decision.”

Todd nodded because she was right. 
Todd was too ‘nice’ to make a hard decision like leaving people.  He
appreciated her honesty and her strength.  “Today we will check out the sites,
and tomorrow we leave at noon.”  He replied.

“Bien.”  She said, patting his hand
before standing up.

“I am going to wake the children. 
They have been watching too much television.  It is time they learned how real
futbol is played.”

Solange opened the door to the
other RV, and found the kids watching a DVD.  “No more television today.  Put
on your clothes, we are playing soccer before breakfast.  We are playing soccer
after breakfast, and then you are going to see the Statue of Liberty.”

“Ahhh, no, come on.”  They whined
in unison.  “Just one more show.  Please?”

“No, come outside.  You have been
watching too much television.  Today is an outside day.  I will give one dollar
to anyone who can score a goal against me.”

Brian was on to her.  “We don’t use
money anymore.”

“Don’t be so sure.”  Solange lied.

The kids reluctantly put on their
outside clothes.  Casey and Jackie wanted to be on Solange’s team, girls
against guys.

“That’s not fair without Craig and
Matt.”  Jacob complained.

“We can take them.  Don’t worry
about it.”  Jay was always the optimist and perhaps a bit overconfident in his
skills. 

Todd watched from the RV window as
Solange brought the kids into the street.  There was soon screaming, yelling,
and laughter.  A warm wind brought spring weather, and while it was chilly, it
was not as bitter as the previous day.  The sun shone down 59
^th
street from the east.

Todd made French toast from the
leftover dinner bread.  He liked the combination of carbs, protein, and sugar
to give the kids energy for the long day of sightseeing.  It also allowed him
to conserve most of the eggs for the new people. 

The RV door opened, and Emily
walked in.  “Where is the Suburban?  Did John drive down to pick up the other
people?”

“He left.”

“I know, where did he go, and why
did he take the animals?”  She poured herself a cup of coffee, walking up
behind him and giving him a one armed hug with a kiss on his cheek.  “It was
nice to sleep in a king bed with you again.  Last night was almost like a
vacation.”

He turned around and hugged her
face to face.  “I know.”  He kissed her on the mouth, and they enjoyed a
husband and wife moment.  “John, Matt, and Craig left for New Hampshire.  They
took the animals, and we’re meeting them up there tomorrow.”  He told her quickly,
like he was ripping off a bandage.

There was a stunned silence.  “That
seems to me it should have been a group decision, not a Todd and John
decision.”  Emily stepped back from their hug with an angry look on her face.

“He took his truck, I asked him to
take the animals.  I don’t want to get into an argument.  Would you ask
someone’s permission if Jay or Brian were alone in Hanover, and you wanted to
go after them?   John leaving to rescue his child is not a ‘group’ decision.   
He woke up, and decided being five hours away from Greg for another day because
some woman wants to have a church service was not in the cards.  He offered to
stay, I told him to go.  He deserves to be selfish about this one.”

Emily’s shoulders sagged, and she
dropped her head, closing her eyes.  She let out a sigh.  “You’re right, I’m
just upset he’s gone, that we’re separated again.”  She looked up at him.  “I
heard Craig’s door open and shut this morning, but I didn’t’ want to get out of
bed.  I wish they had waited to say goodbye, that’s all.”  She sipped more of
her coffee and sat at the table.  “It’s only one day, we’ll be fine.” 

Todd’s cinnamon-sugar French toast
made the RV smell delicious, despite Hubba’s attempts to make it otherwise.

“Let’s stick to our schedule.  We
go down to the Statue of Liberty.  We try to get over to Ellis Island, we have
a fun day in New York City.  Solange wants to run the kids around.  She says
they have been watching too much TV.”

“Well, she’s right there, but we’ve
been kind of busy.”  Emily was preoccupied thinking about John.  “I’ll go out
and cheer them on.  How long before breakfast?”  She clipped a leash on Hubba,
not because he would run away, but because it was the only way she could get
the dog to come outside in the morning.

“Ten minutes?  I want to get a
crust on the French toast.  I have two pans baking.”  He walked over to pull on
his coat.  “I can watch the kids too.”

The couple exited the RV with their
dog, walking to the soccer game.  Brian ran over, red faced and panting.  “Solange
owes me three dollars.”  He ran off again.

Melanie was awake and watching the
game.  She ambled towards Todd and Emily.  “I was lazily watching from my bed. 
Did John take the animals and go somewhere?”

“He went to New Hampshire to find
his son.  He couldn’t wait another day.  Todd asked him to take the animals to
help us out.”  Emily watched the game while she told Melanie, hoping her
nonchalant attitude would play down the magnitude of the comments.

“I’m surprised he lasted the full
week in D.C., let alone another day here.  I would have left the group a week
ago.  Good for him.”  She walked towards the RV.  “I need some of that coffee.”