Wilson Harp - EMP

I sensed a change in the room and looked up to see Ted and Anne sitting at the kitchen table. They just watched me suffer in my grief. Then I heard the noise from the back of the house and Luke walked out of the hallway.

“He is ready,” he said. “We are going to take him soon. David, would you like to say goodbye?”

I nodded and hugged Mom hard. Then I stood on shaky legs. I glanced over at Ted and Anne. I gave them a tight smile and started toward the bedroom. My head whipped back as I recognized my gym bag on the table.

I stepped over to the table and opened the bag. There was what I hoped to see. A small plastic container Sophia had given me after dinner the night before. I opened it and looked inside. Three of the four chocolate chip cookies had broken on the trip down from the compound. I wasn’t sure which of my friends had carried the bag back to me, but I owed them a lot at that moment. I lifted the unbroken cookie and carried it reverently to my dad. This was my final gift to him and the fulfillment of his wish.

I entered his room and saw him lying on the bed. The sheet that would be his burial shroud was under his body. His feet were bare. That was a tradition the people of Kenton had continued. I approached him and looked on his face. It was a familiar face, but not the one I had seen the day before. This face was a mockery of life, a sad parody of the man I loved. I had never considered how much love and care funeral directors took to make sure that the body in the coffin looked like it was just resting. Dad had been dead for just a few hours and he looked dead.

I lifted the side of his suit jacket and tucked the chocolate chip cookie into its pocket. Then I placed it back.

“Sorry, Dad,” I said. “I was a day late with your cookie. I love you and I hope you know that. And I know you were proud of me, and that was what I hoped for more than anything in this life. I will take care of Mom for you. And I’ll see you soon. Pray for me where you are and watch out for me if you can. But most of all, enjoy your rest and your reward. If anyone earned it, you did.”

I looked on my father’s face one last time and turned to leave the room. Luke and my mother stood in the doorway. I went and hugged my mother. She hugged me back and I could sense a peace around her as I pulled out of the hug.

“He was proud of you, David. And so am I,” she said.

I nodded to Luke and went down the hall. Anne and Ted stood near the dining room table.

“I’m so sorry, David. If I had known, I would have had you return last night,” Ted said.

“It’s okay,” I replied. “I knew it was coming. We all did. He had kept cutting back on his medication and last week he was finally out. I… I just can’t believe it’s come to this. We are all going to die because we aren’t smart enough to figure out how to live.”

Anne shook her head. “No David, we are all going to die because that is what life is. We need to live life until we die. There is no other way.”

I nodded as I thought about what she said. Was I living life or was I just marking time? Death was coming and I had no way to avoid that meeting.

“You should know Tom got some good news from the men at Cape,” Ted said. “They are going to send a team here eventually to provide us with things. They were impressed by what we had done. They are going to let us stay as we are because they want our input on how to get other towns to work as well as we have.”

“That’s wonderful, Ted. How soon before they arrive and what will they bring?”

“I don’t know. The wheat harvest starts tomorrow, so we will have flour soon. Beyond that, the only thing we really need is a steady supply of milk. Maybe they will bring some milk cows with them. In any case, it was men like your father who stayed clear headed, understood the situation, and then acted to solve it that has helped us survive. He was a hero.”

“Thank you,” I said.

Anne motioned behind me and I turned to see my mom walking toward me. She had a smile on her face and tears on her cheeks.

I went to her and wrapped my arms around her.

“He went ahead to get everything ready for me,” she said. “He always said he would take care of me, and he has. He has left me with you as he gets everything ready. I didn’t expect it, but I now know what waits for me when I leave.”

I hugged her tighter and kissed her cheek. I felt empty and drained, but somehow lighter. I didn’t know what to do, so I just kept hold of my mother.

Luke motioned for two other men to follow him back to where my dad rested. I guided Mom over to the couch and sat with her. We watched as three men carried the sheet wrapped figure of my father out of the front door of our house. We stood and waited until we heard them tell the wagon to start.

“Do you think you can walk to the graveyard, Mom?” I asked.

She nodded. “I can do this for him. I expected him to do it for me. I know I have the Alzheimer’s. I was so mad at him for trying to get me to take the medicine, you know?”

I helped Mom stand and we walked out the front door. Clyde was pulling the wagon, like he had so many times these last few months. He knew from the sense of people around him where he was going and what he was pulling behind him. His head was up, but he had a calm, measured pace. I was afraid Mom would fall behind, but her pace seemed firm and sure.

“I don’t want you to hate me, David,” Mom said. “I think I may have caused this. Your dad worried about me so much, and I think my… erratic behavior caused him more stress.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Mom. He had a heart condition. If you hadn’t made him go to the doctor to get it checked years ago, he wouldn’t have discovered it.”

“That’s sweet of you, dear. But I know how bad I can get. At least I think I do. At first, I watched my bad days like I was locked in a room watching through a window. I saw how forgetful and emotional I was, but I couldn’t do anything about it. Now that window is less clear and I don’t remember all the things I do. I’m getting worse and I know Pat suffered from watching. I just want you to know how much I appreciated and loved him for all he put up with.”

“He did, Mom. He did. And I promised him I would take care of you, so you should know I appreciate and love you and will help you as best as I can.”

Mom squeezed my hand and stopped walking. I looked at her and tears started rolling down her cheeks again.

“Thank you. I don’t know that I can do this on my own.”

It was a warm morning when they finally arrived. The calendar said it was late September, but the summer still had a firm grip on the land. I was in the field checking on the tomatoes when I heard the bell in town ring. I slipped the small clippers into my belt and headed toward town. Most of the others in the field headed away from their work as well. The bell meant something big, so we could afford a break from a few hours of work in the hot sun to see what was happening. As I got closer to the town center, I could hear the noise of excited people and something else. I realized it was the rumble of vehicles. Not just a couple of tractors or a car or two, but many, large vehicles.

The sound of the engines spurred me to walk faster and soon I could see the source of the excitement and sound. Six military vehicles, green and well maintained, idled near the square. Dozens of men in uniform, weapons in hands, stood around them.

Ted and Mayor Mueller talked with a large soldier who wore a heavy jacket in spite of the heat. He wore a black beret and wrote on a piece of paper attached to a clip board. Several soldiers had formed a loose perimeter around the men and a crowd was starting to form along that line.