They transition from house to farmhouse was rough. Some adapted quickly to their new lifestyle and some found it incredibly difficult to master even the small things. There were no more late nights. The day started in the morning with the rising sun and ended in the evening with the setting sun. All tasks took so much longer to complete. Going solar proved more difficult than originally believed, but they weathered each set back and eventually came out on top.
Initially everyone was tense. They had to adapt to each environment rather than the environment adapting to them. In the modern day and age if the environment got in the way, then the environment changed to allow for their comfort. This new world in which they foraged a new way of life, they had to constantly change themselves and their comfort and lifestyles. Instead of charging the world, the world charged them.
There'd been set backs with the solar power installation and it needed so much tweaking that they could not run their freezers or maintain refrigeration that they required. They'd been forced to eat well before their food stores spoiled, and when the temps outside dipped below freezing they had to store what they had outside and string it up to prevent the local animal population from getting into it. Their world was in the dark. Not a single spark of electricity out there. They'd gone back to bundling up and keeping warm in layers of blankets and clothes. They were busy, every able bodied soul from sun up to sun down working on the variety of projects that needed to be done. A water catchment system was erected as soon as the solar power problem had been solved. The whole idea had nearly been tanked as the food thawed, but Tom and his team kept moving forward. The add on to the house was nearly tanked as well, since everyone continued to room in with each other as they'd done before. Some started complaining that they should have stayed at the last house. They'd been comfortable there. They were happier and safer there. Evening meeting was renamed evening argument. Julia had suddenly realized why Jay and Tavin excluded people from their meetings when she'd been ill. Arguing replaced brainstorming. Complaining replaced problem solving, solutions and hard choices that needed to be made were set back because of the tensions and fears within the group.
Julia sat on the edge of her mattress and pulled her boots off, dropping each one on the floor with a thump. She felt like a failure. After another evening meeting, her nerves were shot. She was tired and only wanted to stretch out on the mattress and sleep. She felt muscles she didn't know she had. Her brain knocked on the inside of her skull.
"You alright, Red?" Tavin asked from his spot across the room.
"No." She answered.
Tavin stretched out on the bed in similar fashion and mood. No one else had followed them upstairs. It was warmer downstairs where the fire burned. Jay and Chess were doing the perimeter checks, ensuring the fence remained sturdy, that there'd been no breaches.
"What's wrong?"
Julia started laughing. "That's funny. Want me to start at the top of the list or the bottom or maybe somewhere in the middle?"
"I told you this wasn't going to be easy."
"It's not the work." She said, staring into her eyelids, the soothing black cloud that was her brain. "I see that there's something that comes out of the work."
"OK, then what is it?"
"Tavin, I have a headache."
"Alright then."
"Not trying to be rude."
"Neither was I."
"What's going on in that head of yours?"
"My head is going in ten different directions all at once. I have so much on my mind right now. These people keep fighting. It's getting on my nerves."
"What do you want to do about it?"
"You tell me." Julia sighed.
"You already know what you gotta do. I've been telling you."
"They'll be upset with me."
"They're already pissed off, Julia. If the system isn't working anymore, then you need to change the system."
"Keep them in the loop and create an inner circle."
"Can you do that? Or do you want me to? It works better that way. People work better that way. They feel like they're part of something even if they didn't come up with the ideas themselves."
"I don't want to make people feel like they're being excluded and that we're bosses and they're our employees. That's not the way I originally wanted things to go."
"It's out of control. We know what needs to be done now. We know what has to happen whether they like it or not."
"I know, Tavin." She agreed. "But have I done everything I can before making this decision?"
"You put yourself in charge and they went with it. They know it and you don't have to include them."
"Right now they need to be taken care of and they need reassurance that things are not as bad as they seem."
"You're not alone in this. I'm right here. We can do this." Tavin paused, then suddenly asked, "Did you ever watch Sons of Anarchy, Red?"
"I did in the beginning, but they kind of turned me off with the cartel storyline. Why?"
"Think that's what we need. The strongest and longest members in a room making decisions for the benefit of the group as a whole."
"You saw how that worked out for them in the end."
"The club was still standing in the end. It was the idea of family, that you do not have to have blood to be family. You take care of your own and you do whatever needs to be done to take care of your own."
"I get it, Tav."
"They also didn't go out in the club house asking the prospects for suggestions."
"Ok. I got it."
"What do you got?" Jay asked coming in the room. He set his gun and knife on the dresser and took off a layer of clothes.
"Tavin and I were talking about the group and the course we should take."
"Oh, the Sons of Anarchy thing?"
"You already talked about this?"
"We've been talking about this, but you haven't been listening."
"I have been busy is all. Like the rest of you. Only I'm being pulled in 5 different directions."
"Starting tomorrow, we'll do it different. Because today's over."
The new dynamic formed within their post apocalyptic group. Meetings ran faster and smoother with the formation of the inner circle. Julia divided up task lists that kept people busy during the daylight hours.
Kelly cared for the children, keeping them occupied and even started teaching them. She fell into her new role as care giver and art teacher naturally. She had Tavin and Jay return to the house one afternoon to break down the play set in the back yard. It was a side job that took a few hours they didn't want to spare, but Julia ok'd it for the kids' sake. Kelly was perfect for the task of child care, with her soft spoken voice and her gentle way the kids enjoyed her company and listened to her. She had classes where she taught the youngest to read and write. She approached Julia with ideas to improve their learning. "Write it all down and give it back when you're done. I'll try to make it happen." Julia told her.
When spring finally arrived and the frost threat had passed, Julia had everyone out in their field with the seed packets they'd been hoarding. She had no idea if this would work or not, but she read the packets directions, wrote down what to plant when and whether there area should be shaded or not. They spent three days turning up soil that was already there for the taking and they planted row after row after row by hand of all sorts of food. Tom built a couple raised beds for the Kelly and the kids where they planted a variety of spices. That would be the kids special project. The little ones would be responsible for planting, tending and harvesting.
When the days ended Julia read book after book on how to garden, plant and tend to what she grew. When the plants started to come up through the earth, Julia spent days planting posts along the rows and connecting them with strings to trellis the peas and string beans. She churned the earth and encased the potatoes. She wanted a massive stock of potatoes. They'd keep the longest and would go with every meal. Luz mentioned canning the food they grew. That would be the way that it would last through the winter. Julia nervously explored the idea, having never heard of canning. She allowed Luz to explain the process and Bob chimed in with her. It was old fashioned, but it was what his mother and grandmother did, lining the food pantry with home canned goods and jellies.
By the time the crops had been planted and growing in their rows, Julia wanted to make a return trip to the library and the local elementary school. She created a list of needs for the garden, for the mini-school that Kelly ran and canning supplies. Where she'd find canning supplies, she was at a loss. They'd need to get out in the stores and root around, which would place them at risk.
Julia had plenty on her mind as she and Jay climbed into the Prius that morning. They could handle a run to the library and they'd scout the elementary school before heading inside. The ride to the library proved to be the most lucrative aspect of the day. On the roadside Julia spotted a child.
"Jay, stop the car." She ordered, eyeing the live child in a long dress. Red hair hung from her head in stringy curls. She was tiny, appeared quite dirty. Her shoes were worn as well.
Jay pulled over and the girl all of 7 or 8 stood scared in front of Julia. "What's your name, child?" She asked, pulling her arm, guiding her toward the Prius.
"Holly Strand." She answered.
"Why are you out here on the road wandering around? Don't you know it's dangerous?"
"I do. I-I-"
"Where are your parents? Your mom, your dad."
"Home. I was working with daddy and-"
"Get in the car, kiddo. We'll get you home to your daddy."
She strapped the girl into the back seat of the Prius and Jay looked at her like she was crazy when she told him to turn around and drive back to the house with their guest. He didn't argue or dissuade her, though he wanted to.
During the ride home, Julia chatted with Holly Strand. She learned about where she lived and that her daddy was also in the field. He'd been working and she separated from him when she ran off chasing a rabbit. She learned what the farm looked like and how many animals they had and what they were planting. Holly was a chatty little kid. She lived with her mom, dad, and her sisters.
Julia led young Holly to the house. Holly knew where she was. She'd never been there, but she'd driven past the place a bunch of times. They didn't come out all that often anymore.
"Holly, I want to introduce you to the kids here. You play with them a bit and then Jayson and I will get you right home. Are you hungry? Thirsty?" Luz fixed up a snack for Holly and then took her to the other children who were on the play set with Kelly.
"Who's this?" Kelly asked, welcoming the child.
"She won't be here long. Her name's Holly. She's 7."
Julia called a meeting of the inner circle and gathered the guys together by the play yard. They observed Holly playing with the other children, looking very out of place in the homemade garments and very comfortable.
"Are we keeping her?" Chess asked as Jess arrived to the meeting.
"No." Julia answered. "She's going home." She looked at Jess. "Find me a pair of shoes for her."
Jess nodded and left them.
"So what's up with the girl?" Tavin asked.
"She's our in with the neighbor." Julia gushed excited.
"What?"
"Help. Advice. Someone who knows what the hell to do on this farm of ours."
"I see. We're holding her hostage?" Chess said.
"Absolutely not, no. Chess, what's wrong with you?" Julia rolled her eyes, annoyed. "We're taking the girl home. We've been nice to her, we've fed her, we're keeping her safe to go home to mom and dad who are literally freaking the hell out right now."
"We're going armed though cause we're not stupid."
"You and Jay can handle this alright?" Tavin asked.
"I think so."
"Why come home instead of just going there?"
"I came back to be nice to the kid. If the kid feels comfortable here, then her family will as well. I also came for back up. Think I'm going without you people knowing where we are. Get the van. We'll head out in a bit."
Tavin followed at a distance so he knew where the kid lived. He wasn't driving up, rather he'd stay back in case something went down. He parked off the road by the cow pasture. Horses and cows standing around. He wondered how to steal a cow? Do you lasso it and pull it along like a dog? Or do you need to force it into a vehicle? He had no idea, but that may be an idea that would be in a book in the library. Same for horses, although he knew more about them from TV. He'd never been in the presence of one for any length of time.
Jay drove slowly up the drive to the family's farm house. This was the real deal, he thought as he looked around the expanse of land. There were cows and horses and a huge red barn. Hell, there was even a silo. Jay had no idea what actually went into a silo. His preview of the farm was distracted by the farmer in his overalls and his shot gun aimed up and ready to fire.
"Julia' he's going to shoot us."
"Nope, he won't. Turn the car sideways so he can see her." Jay listened and his daughter's head through the Prius window came in to view. The gun lowered and he approached the car with his gun down.
Holly detached the seat belt and got out of the car, jumping into daddy's arms. "We're getting out. If he raises the gun put a bullet in him. Got it babe?"
Jay stood back at the car while Julia went on closer to the father and daughter. Mom had run out when she saw the child. "I got some new shoes, daddy." The girl said, showing off her little laced up sneakers.
The man looked down at Julia as mom embraced her daughter, "Holly, don't you ever do that again."
"You're very lucky parents." Julia advised them, standing tall and confident. Her hand resting on the gun on her hip.
"Oh, thank you for bringing her back to us. We were so worried." Mom said not wanting to let go of her Holly.
"I am Julia. That's Jayson." Julia said, extending her hand to the farmer. He shook her hand.
"Paul and this is my wife, Clair."
"She's a sweet girl. We had her home a bit. She was playing with our kids."
"Kinda young to have children," Paul said.
"Well, there are a bunch of young ones in our group."
"Oh, I had fun daddy. They have swings." She smiled.
"Thank you for the shoes." Clair nodded at Julia.
"We got plenty of shoes all sizes. As they grow out of shoes, we keep them for the next kid. It's not easy these days."
"No, ma'am, it's not." Paul nodded.
Julia gave them a bit of info about her group, where they were set up and what they were doing, how the group came together and worked together. "You have a great place here." Julia complimented him. "Holly told us you have chickens and cows. I was wondering if there was anything we could trade you for a few chickens as we have no animals yet."
"We're pretty good here, Julia. We don't want for much." He told her.
"You gotta want for something. Everyone does." Julia stated, looking at the shot gun. "How's the ammo for that gun there, Paul? You got enough?" He was silent. "We have plenty. Not shot gun enthusiasts, we prefer pistols. Knives and what not for the walkers."
Julia managed to hash out some sort of deal with him, which Jay wasn't privy to. The mother had taken her daughter inside the house and Holly returned after a few minutes and handed Julia a couple bottles. When she came back to the car without any gun shot wounds and a smile on her face, he sat in the drivers' seat. She held up the bottles. "Milk." She smiled. "All American, old fashioned, unpasteurized fucking milk that squeezed by loving farmer hands from the teets of a real live heffer." She was so excited.
"So..."
"I got us some chickens." She replied as he pulled away from the house.
"Are we loading them in the Prius or what?" He laughed.
"Oh, he's delivering them, and the shot gun...he needs ammunition."
"Where are we getting that, babe?"
"I already have some. It was on my list of shit that your brother scavenged."
Julia had Jay stop at the van still parked on the side of the road. Tavin stood by the farm fence, still thinking about how to steal a cow. He approached the passenger side window. She handed off the milk and they parted ways.
The library went virtually untouched since their last visit. Anyone who'd been there left it neat and orderly. They cleared each level before going inside the actual library. No living or dead souls aboard. Julia hunted the books she needed upstairs in the adult library while Jay searched the children's library for Kelly's class. They each packed a bag and left on the way to the school where Holly had led them on their drive to her house.
They met with undead on the outside, putting each one down as they made their way inside. Guns drawn they entered through the door that was already broken out. Immediately inside the front lobby, there was nothing but damage caused by the elements during the winter. Whatever had crept in and out of the place had moved on or was hidden somewhere. The rest of the building remained intact. They cleared the way to the kindergarten rooms, collecting what was there that would be of use. Crayons and pencils, school supplies, paper. Workbooks remained in the desks and Jay swiped several of them for the youngest kids. Along the wall a bookshelf of k-oriented readers, which they helped themselves to. They moved along to the higher grades and picked out for Kelly the needs on her list for the eldest children. As they moved through the building they left their bags in the lobby.
"Should we check the cafeteria?" Jay asked.
"Think there's anything left after all this time? If I lived near here I would have cleaned it out by now, Jay."
The cafeteria though proved difficult to enter. It had been stacked with tables to prevent entry, which should have been their first sign that they shouldn't enter. It was locked and stacked from the inside however, not the outside. Jay got the door open, and pushed down several of the makeshift table walls that had been propped to barricade from intruders. They met with brown faces of varying ages. Jay and Julia kept their guns raised at those who stood armed with whatever they could find to arm themselves. They'd run out of bullets a long time ago. Fortunately Julia and Jay had not.
"Guns over knives every time." Jay called, aiming directly at a couple of the guys who'd advanced on them. Julia had no experience with guns, and despite this fact, she still aimed ready to fire.
"We should leave, babe." Jay said.
"Ok. I agree with that."
Julia scanned those that were holed up in the cafeteria. They weren't going down without a fight and it was a fight that she and Jay couldn't win. It was a fight they didn't need to wage either.
"We're leaving." Julia and Jay stepped back.
"Easy, don't take your eyes off them, babe."
They backed away from the door slowly, then closed it up again like it had originally been closed, then hauled ass toward the lobby entrance. That's where they met the 2 men with the only guns that the group had. They had their backs against the wall, standing by their bags.
"We're leaving." Julia advised them as she still kept the gun level with Jay's aim at them. Their guns didn't move either and thus they were at a standoff.
"What's in your bags?" The man asked. All of Tavin's age with an accent. Mexican? Julia wondered.
"Books and school supplies for our kids. We're just looking around is all. We're leaving." Julia replied as she wondered which one of the 4 would fire their weapon first.
"We're not here to hurt anyone." Jay announced. "We're all in the same place right now. The world is shit, man."
"Where's your place?" The man asked.
"That's not your business." Julia answered.
"Shut your girl up."
"Fuck you." Julia said before she could stop herself. When the arrogant one stepped forward, Julia stepped forward.
Jay aimed directly at the man who hadn't moved.
"Julia, stop." He said firmly, which she did. "No one needs to get hurt, man." Jay said, stressing the words that came out of his mouth.
"It seems we have a problem here." He said glaring at Julia.
"On three then Jay?" Julia suggested.
"Yep, on three." Jay agreed, feeling the tension rising in his blood. He didn't like the idea, but they would walk out of there and take their guns with them. Jay counted quietly till he got to three, when Julia opened fire and shot the man that stood before her in the arm. Jay ripped a head shot on his buddy. They kicked the guns aside. Julia knelt beside the one with the wound to his arm.
"I am so not a good shot, Jay."
Jay gathered the bags, loading them into the Prius as Julia stayed with the man she shot. He lay grimacing and moaning on the floor, blood oozing from his arm. It wasn't even a kill shot, maybe a graze wound at best. She still held her gun firmly on him, pressed against his skull. When Jay came back inside for the guns that lay on the floor, he heard Julia counting. "One, two, three." She fired again, spraying his head in all directions behind him.
"Julia, no!" He shouted. Grabbing her arm, he yanked her to her feet.
"What?" She asked, holstering her pistol.
"Did you have to do that? We were outta here."
"Yes, Jay." She shrugged and walked out of the lobby toward the car.
"He was trying to survive like everyone else."
"And he stood in the way of our survival. Like Sons of Anarchy. It was what we agreed to as the inner circle. We do what needs to be done for the group, when it needs to be done. No questions asked."
"Julia, we're not motorcycle outlaws. We're survivors in a Toyota Prius."
"He was a gap in the circle. I closed the circle." Julia argued. "You killed the guy with your shot. Why are you arguing with me?"
"You should have hit him in the head the first shot. You were like three feet from him."
"I am not a good shot yet."
"Obviously."
"But I got it done. It's over. Drive me home." She said, folding her arms across her chest.
After dinner, Julia helped the girls clean up from the meal. Washing, rinsing, setting in the rack to dry. She played with the kids for a bit, tucked them into bed in their room. Luz had retired for the evening in the living room in front of the fire with Bob in his chair with his puzzle book. Cass had changed into pj's and came in the kitchen for a water bottle. She stood by Julia, leaning against the wall. "What happened with evening meeting, Julia?"
"We don't have it any more. Too much arguing and drama."
"I see, so there still are meetings, but I'm not invited to them then? I think I work hard and I have been a pretty helpful and strong part of this group. I want to be in."
"I'll bring that up."
"Bullshit. You're the one in control of the meetings and what direction we take. As an integral part of the group and one who's not a weepy ass crybaby, I think I should be part of it."
"I said I'll bring it up, Cass." Julia repeated.
Cass walked away without another word. Jess and Kelly had watched the interaction. "I miss evening meeting too."
"We have evening meeting. But we do it differently now is all." Julia told them. "You all are updated on everything we've done and are doing. We live together for crying out loud."
Julia dried her hands and sat at the table, letting them finish up. She opened up one of the new books she got at the library and started scanning it, gleaning little nuggets of information that she found helpful. She transcribed them into her notebook.
Jess approached her when dishes were done, sitting beside her in a chair and watched her read, holding her hand, reading over her shoulder. Julia finally closed her book, finding Jess to be a distraction.
"What's up?" Julia asked.
"You've been neglecting me. Just want to hang with you is all."
"You wanna make love too." Julia said, squeezing her hand.
"I do. Can we please go to bed? Maybe it'll help you out too? That mood of yours is crazy lately."
"I know. I have so much on my mind. I have so much going on and by the time we all go to bed, all I want is to wrap up with Jay and go to sleep."
"Wrap up with me then, Julia. It's been so long."
"Can you go wrap up with Chess? I have things I need to do."
"What about us?"
"What about us, Jess? No one else is going to do this, alright?"
"I can't get any time with you anymore. You're always so busy. Always in a book or outside or doing something so important." She complained. "I am important, too, Julia. Or I used to be."
"I can't please everyone. I can't ok?"
"I'm not asking you to please me. And I'm not everyone. I want some time."
"So does everyone fucking else. It's what you don't understand."
"You are such a bitch."
"Jess, fuck off." Julia told her. " Go find your boyfriend."
Jess swiped her arm across the table, knocking all of Julia's books off the table. Pieces of paper flew and her pencils and pens clinked on the floor and rolled away.
"You're acting like a child, Jess." Julia stood up to retrieve her books, Jess shoved her. "What the hell?" She shoved her again. "Stop, Jess. Are you crazy?"
"Girls!" Luz called from the living room. "Stop!"
Jess pushed her again, harder this time, which sent Julia into the wall nearly missing the window. Jess was angry obviously. Julia slapped her, which Julia thought a better option than punching her. Then she shoved back.
"This is not the best way to get my attention, Jess." Julia said angrily. Jess jumped toward Julia and hit her in the mouth. Julia was still a bit shocked this was happening as Jess fought like a girl, all hands pulling hair and scratching like a cat with dull claws. "Jess, get off me." Julia warned her, trying to hold her back, but Jess wouldn't give up on the hair pulling.
"Girls, stop it!" Luz screamed at them, which got the attention of the others in the upper level of the house.
Julia gave Jess a head butt, which slowed her down, but didn't stop her altogether. Julia punched her in her eye, then opted to knock the cat fighter over and sit on top of her. "Jess, get off my hair and fight like a girl." Again she didn't listen. When Julia punched her in the throat and it affected her breathing, she stopped. Andy came downstairs first and pulled Julia off Jess. While she reaffixed her hair into a tail, she felt blood dripping from her bottom lip.
"What did you do to her, Julia? Leave her alone!" Andy yelled, kneeling next to Jess. He helped her sit up.
"I didn't start this, Andy."
"Doesn't look like it." He spat at her.
"She knocked all my stuff off the table-"
"That doesn't mean you get to choke her!" Andy yelled.
"I didn't choke her." Julia argued, unnerved at the whole situation.
Julia left the room and went upstairs.
"What happened?" Jay asked.
"Little bitch punched me." Julia replied, dabbing at her bleeding lip with a rag. "It's stupid, Jay."
"And she's ok..."
"She can't breathe." She answered. "She'll be fine."
"What were you arguing about?" Jay sighed annoyed with her.
Jay was interrupted by Tavin bringing Jess upstairs. Kelly followed close behind them. She'd witnessed the whole ordeal, but didn't get involved. It was a strange new world in which they lived and Kelly merely finished up the dishes like she was supposed to. "I am not getting between them." She reminded Tavin. She had no interest in cat fights or getting herself thrust into the middle of personal business.
"Kelly, you didn't stop them?"
"Not my place. It was personal." She replied, changing from her clothes into night clothes. She reached up and gave Tavin a kiss on his cheek, guiding him back to bed with her.
"You don't have time for me anymore." Jess said. "You don't make time for me."
"That's what this is about?" Jay laughed.
"It's not funny, Jayson." Jess frowned.
"I told you it was stupid." Julia said to Jay, kicking off her boots.
"It's not stupid either, Julia."
"So I don't feel like fucking and you assault me?" Julia asked.
"It's more than fucking, Julia. You ignored me and you made me feel like shit. Like I don't matter to you. All I was doing was sitting next to you. And I was in your way. I'm always in your way anymore." She cried.
"I'm sorry if you feel that way. Babe, you have Chess. It's not like-"
"This isn't about me and Chess." She said. "It's about me and you."
"Ok. Fine. Come here." Julia said, going to her, hugging her. "Pull yourself together, babe. It's ok."
"I'm sorry, Julia. I said those mean things to you and I hit you."
"I know, baby. I love you. You're right. Let's spend some time together, me and you. I'll make this all better, Jess. I promise."
Julia led Jess to the bed where they lay talking to each other. They spent an hour or so snuggling and laughing and apologizing only separating when Chess came in and wanted to lay down. Julia went to her bed and snuggled with Jay, made love awhile. She had to take care of him too.
Mr Paul Strand arrived to the farm with his daughter riding at his side, towing a wagon behind him.
"Could this look any more Little house on the Prairie?" Tom asked. He carried the supplies they'd need for their chicken coop, including chickens. He rode the horse drawn buggy up the drive when Tavin opened the gate. He looked around the small farm in awe, surprised at all the group had accomplished. Jay and Julia met him outside in the rear of the house. Holly said hello and climbed down from her side seat of the carriage. She went inside and found the children and Kelly.
"This is the old Matthew's farm." He said, taking a look around. "The county was thinking of making this place a tourist attraction, renovating it and setting it up like they did when it was built."
Julia took Mr Strand to the field of dreams as she called it. She showed him the rows they'd planted and told him of the vegetables she'd planted. "Well, Miss. This is a nice start. But if you plan on making it through the winter with this, double your efforts."
"Seriously?" Julia frowned.
"I'm serious. The corn, triple it. You've got one growing season. You must grow as much as possible."
"Yes, definitely. Thanks." Julia nodded, taking notes, which showed him she was serious.
Mr Strand looked over the coop, going around it as one might do with a vehicle before they buy it. It seemed sturdy. Julia had the guys all out there and hands on with the coop as Julia took notes and listened intensely as she tried to keep up with his instruction. None had chicken experience. He loaded the coop with hay and set the birds inside where they pecked around their new home.
Julia held her chicken book from the library up and showed him the highlighted passages. "What you learn is not all in a book." He said, closing it for her. "The chickens know what to do." He instructed her on egg gathering and hatching the eggs for future chickens. He told her not to eat the chickens. Let the chickens do their work, but do not eat the chickens. Hatch some eggs, let them grow.
He stopped Julia from her scribbling. "I don't want to screw this up." She said nervously. "I appreciate your help and I don't want to screw it up and let them down." She said, pointing to the entire group of people standing at the coop, looking at the chickens like a petting zoo. The guys held up the smallest children to see inside. "I don't want to starve. I have never done this before and if I don't succeed..."
"I'm down the road. Don't hesitate to ask questions."
Julia led him to a bag and opened it up to display its contents, the ammo and the shot gun he'd requested was all inside. He tossed it in the rear of the wagon.
He and Tom stood at the rear of the house and watched the kids play on the play set. He explained the addition of rooms he was ready to start with his crew of people. They were off to a good start, as Paul Strand informed them, and that gave Julia a huge boost of confidence, also allayed some of her fears.
Chess was most proud of his marijuana crops that he'd planted by himself. The row of tobacco that had pushed through the ground behind the weed. Mr Strand was not as impressed with the pot farm as he was with the tobacco. He advised chess to plant more. A lot more. Tobacco never went out of style. Chess retorted that pot never did either.
Prior to leaving, he handed Julia another 2 bottles of milk. "From Claire." He nodded, placing his hat back on his head. "When your milks out, bring the bottles back for her and she'll replace it."
"Thank you so much. I don't think you know how much this means to me." Julia said.
"You got any farm hands? I'd sure like some." He chuckled.
She suddenly had an idea that, if it worked, they'd have the help they needed. It meant swallowing some pride and building some housing and sharing the wealth a bit.
"You know what? Mr Strand. Let me work on that."
Evening meeting was one of joy for Julia. She got the reassurance she needed from someone who was an expert. She had a long way to go and there was much more to be completed. "Mr Strand said I should triple the corn and double the rest of my crops."
"Julia, we need to start the addition. We've put it off long enough."
"Fine. That is first on the agenda. I agree because I would like some personal space to work with my books and my notes and all. Some privacy would be wonderful." Julia conceded. "I have some other ideas I am working on that will need some fine tuning so before we start planting all over again, you build."
"What are you cooking up for us?"
"It's not important yet."
"Build to begin in the morning." Tom stated, looking around the table.
"Ok, I have another piece of business. I was approached by Cassidy last evening. She's pissed off that she's excluded from the meetings. Does anyone take issue with bringing her to the table?"
No one cared. "I wondered why she wasn't here to begin with." Chess said.
"Ok, I'll let her know."
Julia recapped the time she'd spent with Mr Strand. Informed them he gave them the thumbs up so far. "Which brings me to my last subject. He was joking when he asked me to find him some farm hands, but I got an idea that may or may not be good. Think about it and gimme thoughts."
"Where are the farm hands, Julia?" Tavin asked.
"We do our work ourselves. I'm proud of that. We have a group here. He has himself and his girls and Claire. Could you imagine doing it alone?"
"Where are the farmhands, Julia?" Jay repeated his brother's question. His gut told him he didn't want to know. "He has animals and machines to plant. We have our hands and shovels."
"Well," Julia started nervously. "There's a whole group of Mexicans in the cafeteria running out of food, scavenging like we used to, like we still do sometimes."
"Are you out of your fucking mind, Julia?" Jay asked, baffled that she'd even suggest such an insane idea.
"Come on, Jay. I think it's worth trying, babe."
"We killed their leaders, Julia. I don't think they'll be real happy to see our faces."
"All I want is for you guys to think about it." Julia stated, closing her book.
"Meeting is not over, Julia. Don't close the book." Tavin said. "You two killed people at the school?"
"They held guns on us. It was us or them." Jay explained.
"We're not even sure they were with that group, Jay."
"They were all the same color. They thought we were stealing from them."
"What were you stealing from them?" Tavin asked.
"Nothing. Before we left with the school stuff Kelly asked us for, we decided to check out the cafeteria. They were all in there, holed up and surviving, so we backed off and said we were leaving and when we got to the lobby those two Mexicans stood there with their guns in our faces."
"We tried talking our way out. We warned them we were going to shoot them." Jay explained further.
"Did they shoot first?"
"No. We did. Counted to three, they didn't lower their weapons, so we shot them." Jay answered.
"You don't believe they're a security threat?"
"We took their guns." Julia said. "Tavin, why are you ruining our day?"
"You shot and killed the leaders of a Mexican gang."
"They were not a gang." Jay argued. "They weren't the bloods and crips in there. It was a bunch of Mexicans."
"How many is a bunch?" Tom asked.
"15, 20 armed with kitchen shit. If they had more guns why didn't they have them in the cafeteria?"
"Men, women, children? All men or what?"
"I don't remember. A few women maybe? No children that I saw."
"They hid their kids like we would." Tavin interjected.
"I think it's worth exploring."
"Exploring?" Tavin grumbled. "Look, Columbus, we're not exploring that place ever again. They're a threat to us now."
"You don't know that." She argued.
"If you did that to me, I'd become a threat. End of story. Vote this shit down now."
All at the table agreed.
"Ok, Tavin. Fine." Julia closed her book. The idea still brewed in her mind.
Julia left the table and found Jess outside peeking at the chickens in the coop. She leaned against the coop, listening to the clucking and the life that breathed within the wooden enclosure. She took Jess's hand, "We alright, baby girl?"
"Yeah, we are." She answered. "How cool are these chickens, Julia? Look at the one there. She got an egg under her."
"Cool." Julia said, peeking inside.
"Listen, I know I have been hard on you. I haven't had much time to make you happy. I'm sorry for that. And I'm sorry it had to come to that last night." Jess listened as she spoke. "Jess, even though it seems like I'm being a bitch, I got all of this to deal with. I have to make this work not for me, but for all of us. For you, for Kelly. It's my way of taking care of you that's not physical, baby girl."
"I know that. But I need the physical too. I love you, Julia."
"I love you too."
"You can't make a girl fall in love with you, then just pull it all away like it was never there at all. This isn't a fling. It's not temporary." Jess added.
"We're all in or nothing, baby girl."
"I wish you'd remember that. All in or nothing. And I felt mad and I feel lonely fro a place Chess can't take me." Jess told her. "No one makes me feel like you do. Yeah, my Chess is there and I love him, but I love you. You know how I feel about you."
"Come with me. I promised I'd make it up to you. Let's spend time together."
"Really, Julia?" She smiled, turning her attention from the coop.
"Me, you, a bottle of wine, the fire place." Julia smiled, taking her hand. "I'll explain everything to you. We'll make love."
Julia guided her to the door.
"That's all I want, Julia."
"Me too. I guess sometimes I need to be reminded with a punch to the face."
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