Last Light (33 page)

When they went in, Kay led Eloise to the laundry room, where Deni and Beth were still scrubbing clothes. They were both soaking wet, and water was all over the tile floor.

Eloise chuckled.

“Miss Eloise, please tell Mom a better way to do this,” Deni said. “This is ridiculous.”

“I’d do it down at the lake,” Eloise said. “Do the soaping and the rinsing there, and it’ll save you a world of trouble.”

Deni grunted. “But my whites’ll turn brown!”

“They’ll be a little dingy, but it can’t be helped. Trust me, it’s the easiest way.”

“But we have a ton of clothes,” Kay said.

“Then you do it more often so you’ll have smaller loads.”

It sounded so simple when Eloise said it. Kay sighed. “With all our intelligence, all our technology, it seems like we could come up with something better than this.”

“I know, honey, but this is what you’ve got.” Eloise stepped into the kitchen and looked out the window, saw Logan and Jeff digging out in the yard. They were covered with sweat. “What are the boys doing?”

“Doug has them digging a hole so we can bury our garbage. Things are backing up, and we’ve got to figure out what to do with it. We have ten bags.”

“Can I see it?”

The question surprised her. “Well, sure.” She led the older woman into the hot garage and opened the door to let some light in.

“The smell is awful,” Kay said. “We haven’t had any way to dispose of anything since all this started.”

Undaunted, Eloise opened one of the garbage bags, then shook her head. “You’re throwing away stuff you shouldn’t ought to throw out. There’s a lot here that’s salvageable.” Eloise pulled out a milk carton, set it on the concrete, then sifted through and pulled out a coffee can, a plastic jug, and a couple of plastic butter tubs.

“All this can be used, child. You can wash these up and you’ll be surprised how handy they’ll be.”

Great. More work.
Kay took one of the empty milk jugs from Eloise. “I just don’t have any place to put them. And I’m sick of washing things.”

“Darlin’, you have to use what you’ve got. You’ve got a whole refrigerator there with plenty of shelves. Use them for things like this. Just go wash them out and put them in there for when you need them again. And if you need to, just stack them on the counter. May not look pretty, but there’s no sense in wasting things that I guarantee you’ll have need of later.”

Eloise kept salvaging, pulling out what she thought they could use—empty cans, two-liter bottles, and other recyclables.

“Remember, when you need something, you can’t just pop over to the store and buy it. You have to think ahead. Anything that might be useful some day, you keep. They didn’t invent recycling in the last couple decades. People have been doing that for centuries.”

“I’ve never recycled,” Kay said. “It seemed like a waste of time.”

“Well, it’s not. Darlin’, you need to develop a whole new set of eyes, start looking at things as possibilities. Instead of throwing something out, think, ‘What can I use this for?’ And if you can’t think of anything but it still washes and cleans up, then save it ’til you do. That way, you don’t have as much garbage to bury. Cuts down on a whole lot.”

Maybe Eloise had a point. Slowly, Kay joined in, sifting through the bags and pulling out everything that could be used.

When they’d finished, she’d condensed the trash down to half of what it was.

But Eloise wasn’t satisfied. “That’s still too much to bury in your yard.”

“Well, what do I do with the rest of it?”

“You’ll need to start composting. If this outage goes on as long as they’re saying, you’ll need to plant crops for food, and you might as well start your compost now. Throw any old food in there, anything perishable. That will cut the garbage down even further. I showed Brad and Judith how to do it. That’s why they came to help me with mine. Come on out with me, hon, and I’ll show you what to do.”

Kay followed her back through the house, and looked toward the laundry room. The girls needed her help. They’d have to get the clothes to the lake soon to rinse them out. She’d rather learn one thing at a time, but she couldn’t insult Eloise.

Kay followed the frail woman out to the back of their yard, listening as Eloise told her how she needed to build a pen for the compost. She supposed she could get Doug to work on it. Then, when she got back from doing laundry, she would sift through the garbage for the stuff with compost potential. The thought made her sick. Sick of working, sick of dirt, sick of everything being so hard.

What she really wanted to do was go get her hair done and sit for a manicure. She wanted to read
Family Circle
while a woman who didn’t speak English gave her a pedicure. She wanted to be behind the wheel of her Expedition, sipping on a Diet Coke and heading to a soccer game.

Grow up, Kay. You’re as much a diva as Deni.

She could do this. She could change.

She called Logan over with the shovel, and Eloise marked out where the pile should be and told them how to get it started.

By then, Deni and Beth were dragging the garbage can full of wet, soapy laundry out the back door. They weren’t happy campers.

Kay thanked Eloise profusely, though she wasn’t sure she was grateful for the new work she had suggested. She walked her tired friend home, then hurried down to the lake to help the girls.

If this went on as long as Doug thought, she would die. It would literally kill her.

Lord, forgive me for being so spoiled.
She’d never seen herself as superficial or materialistic before, but now she realized that real work wasn’t something she was that familiar with. Would she ever adjust?

She couldn’t let the girls see her in such a negative state, because their whining was even worse than her own. Somehow, she had to let them think that she was up to the tasks. That they all were. Somehow, she would grit her teeth and act like she was strong.

By the time they’d gotten back with the clothes and hung them on a line strung across the backyard, Deni was exhausted.

Deni kicked off her wet, dirty shoes and went barefoot into the house. The kitchen floor was filthy because of all the sloshing water and the dirt tracked in, but there were more pressing things to do than mop. Her mother expected them to go sort through garbage now. “I’m sick of this. And I am
not
digging through that garbage. Let the boys do it.”

“Would you rather be out there digging holes like your brothers?”

“No. None of this is right. It’s all just incredibly stupid.”

“Tell me about it. But you
are
going to sort through garbage. And then we have to go in and make supper.”

“Supper? Mom, give me a break! Can’t we just have sandwiches?”

Kay sighed. “You know we don’t have bread.”

“I don’t want to stand over that hot grill out in ninety-degree heat. This is ridiculous. How much can a person cram into one day?”

“So what do you suggest?” Kay asked.

“We can eat Pop-Tarts.”

“We’re
out
of Pop-Tarts.”

“Then we could open cans and have cold beans or something.”

Kay shook her head. “We need to do better than that, Deni. The men have worked hard.”

“The men? What about
us
?”

“Us, too. I’m starving. The family deserves a decent meal. If anyone had had time to go fishing today, we’d have some protein, but since they didn’t, we’ll have to boil some noodles.”

“I’d rather starve.”

Kay rolled her eyes. “Fine. Starve then. If you don’t help with dinner, you don’t eat.”

Deni huffed and sighed, but she didn’t opt out of dinner. “All right! But just so you know, we have slavery laws in this country.”

Kay set her hands on her hips and looked at her whining daughter. “You know what? I agree with you. It is hard. I’m not thrilled about working like a slave, either. But it’s not just you and me. Every-body in this family is exhausted. So all we can do is get over it.”

When it was finally time for dinner, everyone came inside. The guys reeked of sweat, but they were too exhausted to clean up, and Kay didn’t have the heart—or the energy—to force the issue. They all sat at the table eating noodles, no one saying a word.

Then came the tedious task of cleaning up.

Sundown was a relief, marking the end of a day that had worn them all out. Kay had no trouble getting the kids to bed early. Even Jeff was glad to get some rest before he had to get up with the sun and do it all again.

But Deni had other plans. “I’m going over to Chris’s to commiserate a little before I go to bed. I won’t be more than an hour.”

Kay looked at Doug. “Do you think it’s all right?”

He shrugged. “I guess so. It’s not completely dark yet. But, Deni, I want you back before dark.”

“Don’t worry,” she said. “No way I’m making myself vulnerable to the crazies around here.”

Doug got Jeff’s shotgun and handed it to her. “Take this with you, just in case. And be careful with it.”

Kay didn’t like it. “Doug, do you really think she should go? I don’t like her carrying a loaded gun.”

“Come on, Mom. Dad taught me how to use it.”

“She can handle it,” Doug said.

Kay didn’t protest further, but as Deni hurried out, she prayed silently that God would watch over her.

forty-two

Deni decided to leave her bike at home and walk the four blocks to Chris’s house. Neighbors loitered outside, their lawn chairs in the middle of the street. The sound of laughter and friendly chatter lilted on the breeze.

It looked like a block party in Mayberry.

She found Chris sitting in one of those circles, visiting with her neighbors.

“Deni!” Chris sprang up as Deni approached. “I was thinking of coming over.”

“Don’t have to. Here I am.” She looked around and spoke to each of the neighbors, most of whom she’d met at the lake.

Chris took her hand and pulled her away. “My parents are driving me crazy. You won’t
believe
what I’ve had to do today.”

“Couldn’t be worse than what I did,” Deni said. “First I helped push our Expedition four miles. Then I had to wash clothes by hand, then sort through garbage for recycling and composting. It was a lovely day.”

Chris looked at Deni like she’d stolen her thunder. “Okay, that’s bad. Maybe yours was worse. But my dad made us all walk to the apple orchard we own five miles away and pick apples. We had to carry back huge bags of them. It took all day long. But I guess it was worth it. We’re hoping we can use them to trade for some of the things we need.”

Deni longed for the taste of a Granny Smith on her tongue. Their food for the last couple of weeks had been tasteless and utilitarian. “Can I have one?”

Chris shrugged. “Okay, come on in. But just one. They’re all the currency we’ve got.”

Deni went in, and Chris gave her a small one. She bit in. Flavor exploded on her tongue, almost bringing tears to her eyes. “That’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted. No kidding. It’s like ambrosia.”

“I know. And to think I only ate about one a month before.”

They heard a cheer outside and went back to the open front door to see what the fuss was.

A fluorescent green Volkswagen bug was rolling up the street, pulled by two horses.

“Look at that!” Still holding the apple, Deni went back to the street. Neighbors were moving their chairs out of the way, laughing and high-fiving the driver through the windows.

“Who is that?” Chris asked.

Deni pushed through the crowd to get a better look. “Mark!”

Mark Green held the horses’ reins through the hole where the windshield had been. “Hey, Deni! Chris! Hop in!”

Deni ran around the car and got in. Chris piled in next to her.

Deni felt like a beauty queen in a parade as the neighbors stood on the side of the road letting them pass. Mark laughed and waved like the conquering hero.

“How did you do this?” Deni asked.