Nathan Jones - First Winter

Those still recovering from injuries had been moved into the clinic, and Dr. Langstrom had moved in to care for them at all hours while his family stayed with another family. And Terry, April, and Sam had committed to being there as often as possible to lend a hand.

With so much to do the welcomes were a bit truncated as everyone got back to work. Those veterans who were fit enough joined in, helping with a variety of projects or seeing to settling into their new home.

For Lewis, Trev, Matt, and several others, the immediate project was the barn. The chilly nights were only going to get worse, and even though it was only the beginning of September and winter still had to be months away the nuclear winter effects put all that into question.

Better safe than sorry, and do anything that couldn’t be done after the snows fell as soon as possible.

As might be expected, building a barn was a far, far bigger project than building a cabin. Especially since they planned for a loft to store fodder. Even with as seemingly few animals as the entire town possessed the combined livestock would still take up a lot of space, and it would be wise to plan for more just in case. No telling when they might discover more abandoned animals running wild, or find opportunities to purchase some, and if nothing else they’d want to prepare for when their own herds and flocks expanded naturally.

All Lewis could say was thank goodness Robert was there now. Lewis had experience building smaller structures, but something like this required real experience to prevent major mistakes that they might not notice until during the late stages of construction, which would be a disaster. With the carpenter’s help they’d drawn up a simple but solid design, and under his supervision had all got to work. Even after less than a week they had a solid beginning on it, and he was confident another week or two at most would see the job done.

Rick was one of those helping with the construction. Pete Childress had left his ewe to Alice after he disappeared during the fight against the blockheads, so the couple had their own investment in the barn.

As they worked shoulder to shoulder on the project Rick endured a bit of good-natured ribbing about nervousness for tomorrow’s upcoming nuptials, as well as early congratulations and well-wishes. He accepted both with good grace, giving as good as he gave with the banter.

“Seriously though,” Lewis told him during a water break, “nobody’s surprised if you’re a bit jittery. It’s a big day.”

“Says the guy who got married without telling anyone for weeks,” Rick shot back with a grin.

Lewis tapped his canteen to his forehead to concede the point.

“But I really don’t have any doubts,” his friend continued. “We went through hell together fighting the blockheads, and that sort of thing cements your convictions. I can’t imagine having anyone else beside me through whatever life tosses our way.”

Considering his and Jane’s own experiences Lewis knew exactly what Rick was talking about. He clapped his friend on the shoulder and they got back to work.

Chopping logs was always one of the biggest parts of any building project, aside from the stick-and-mud huts. While Lewis and Trev were out on another run, ranging much farther from town to find trees big enough for a structure like the barn, his cousin looked around at the expanse of stumps. “We’re going to have to be more sustainable going forward,” he said.

Lewis nodded. He’d already thought about that quite a bit, but unfortunately starting a tree nursery for saplings to replant involved more time and effort than they could spare. At his recommendation Matt had made it town policy for woodcutters to find any saplings growing too closely together in the wild to relocate where trees had been cut down, as well as relocating saplings that might be damaged by a falling tree.

It wasn’t much, and before too long the town would really need to dive headfirst into reforestation, but at the moment survival was a priority. Although at the rate the town was going maybe sooner rather than later would be better. “I’ll talk to Matt about it again.”

Trev seemed satisfied with that, and changed the topic. “So how was your excursion a couple days ago gathering windshields and windows from cars with Trent?”

Lewis grimaced. It had been a surprisingly difficult and tricky process removing the safety glass without damaging it, then hauling the significant weight back to town. By the end of that day’s run he was exhausted and a bit frustrated, more than happy to leave the business to Trent if his friend chose to pursue it.

“It wasn’t the most enjoyable outing,” he admitted. “But we got a decent haul, and now I’ve got my share of the glass, which should be handy. I plan to use a few for mine and Jane’s room.” He grinned at his cousin. “And now’s as good a time as any to ask if you want any for the room you’re building.”

“Sure, that would be awesome.” Trev grimaced. “I’ll have to figure out if I have anything worth trading.”

“We can worry about that later.” Lewis pointed towards a decent tree and started over.

They got to work felling it. After about fifteen minutes of strenuous work Trev called a break, taking a gulp of water. As he handed his canteen over to Lewis he asked, “How’re you doing finding what you need for reloading?”

Lewis paused from hydrating for a moment to move his hand in a “so-so” gesture. “I’ve got the tools locked down, and at a good price. I just need to go pick them up at some point. But I’m really drawing a blank on the smokeless powder and primers. Even the military prioritized ammunition over the components to make it when they were bringing stuff out here, which means they won’t be a source.”

“So basically you’re still nowhere,” Trev said with a grin.

“Reloading supplies are potentially a useful commodity,” he defended. “Eventually someone’s going to raid a factory, warehouse, or sporting goods store with some, and I’ve got half a dozen people promising me I’m at the top of their list if they get their hands on any.”

His cousin clapped him on the shoulder. “Well let me know if you need me to ride along with you to pick anything up.”

“Will do.” They got back to work, their idle chatter going back to their friends’ big event scheduled the following day.

The subject of the wedding didn’t just dominate conversation during the barn building. The ceremony was planned for tomorrow at noon in a meadow a stone’s throw from town, and that evening the Watsons and their friends took a break from other work to go out and prepare the spot. That involved building a simple platform, setting up the best decorations they could manage, arranging the chairs they’d begged and borrowed from neighbors, and laying out smoothed logs and stumps as additional seating.

The food arrangements were potluck, as most town gatherings these days tended to be. Everyone was invited, but it was very politely hinted that if you were going to eat, you’d better bring something to share as well. However, in the spirit of previous celebrations Matt was donating some powdered drinks from the town’s stores for everyone.

The preparations drew a crowd of volunteers happy to lend a hand, but since there were only so many things to do most just ended up watching and chatting with those who were working. It quickly became a celebration in its own right, and when people started bringing food around for their evening meals Sam suggested they make it a rehearsal dinner.

Since no formal dinner was actually planned for the wedding it was a bit unnecessary, and since it was unplanned it all went hilariously wrong. But everyone seemed to have a good time even so, most importantly Rick and Alice. When people dispersed for the night it was with great anticipation for the next day.