Nathan Jones - First Winter

Soon they were home, and it was party time.

Knowing Mary’s personality, the family had settled on a smaller get-together with just family and friends. Mostly the shelter group, the Tillmans, and the Watsons. Even that small gathering was intended to be short, and then the extended family would retire for a more relaxed evening watching a movie and playing games Mary enjoyed.

There was in fact a large sheet cake Aunt Eva had made, but to Deb’s disappointment with so many people everyone was limited to a small square. It was a simple yellow mix made with fresh eggs and topped with canned frosting, but after so long eating scavenged greens, venison, basic staples, and stale store food it was delicious.

Mary was the oblique center of attention, everyone congratulating her and wishing her well but not crowding her. She seemed to enjoy the attention in small doses from people she was fond of.

Although there were others drawing clumps of conversation. One of them was Sam, seated in a chair to avoid exerting herself. Everyone knew she was only weeks from her due date and might go into labor at any moment, and people kept dropping by to talk about it.

One of those was Scott Tillman as his family arrived. While his wife and daughter were still wishing Mary a happy Birthday, little Jen shyly holding up the family’s present for the young woman, the man came over smiling broadly. “There’s the expecting couple!” he called, shaking Matt’s hand and leaning down to give Sam a hug. “Enjoying the party?”

“Aside from wishing for a bigger piece of cake,” Matt replied. Sam elbowed him lightly in the side, and he said. “By which I mean it’s the perfect size and Mrs. Halsson is amazing for making it.”

“I look forward to even a mouthful,” the older man replied, chuckling. He nodded to Trev and the others standing nearby, then glanced down at Sam again. “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good right now,” Sam replied, sharing an amused look with Matt. Trev had been there long enough to get their amusement. The concern was sincere, and he was sure it was appreciated, but that was also the first thing everyone asked her. But on the plus side, at least Scott wasn’t asking-

“So have you picked a name yet?”

-that. Deb snorted, and Trev bit back a smile, and Matt exchanged another amused look with his wife as he answered. “For a boy we’re torn between Hubert and Sir Awesome. For a girl we’re thinking either Bird of Paradise or Princess Penelope.”

Sam jabbed his ribs again. “Matt!” She gave Scott an apologetic look. “If it’s a boy we’ve settled on Edward Jonathan Larson. Give him both his grandfathers’ names. If it’s a girl we were thinking Chloe Olivia or Olivia Chloe.”

“She wanted Olivia, I wanted Chloe, so we decided to use both,” Matt supplied. “We’re still trying to decide the order.”

Catherine, Tam, and Jen joined the group then, leading to another round of the same questions and more quiet amusement from everyone watching. Then Lucas, clearing his throat leading to coughing a few times, announced. “Thank you to everyone who brought parents. Mary is ready to open them now, and then we’ll sing the birthday song and have cake.”

At that everyone gathered around Mary, who didn’t seem to mind as long as she had presents to focus on. Few of them were wrapped or even had tags, and friends and family volunteered which one was theirs as she picked each up and inspected it.

They were mostly small things from family, either useful or homemade and decorative. Lewis had a pack of toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste for her, while Jane gave her floss and mouthwash. “Not that we’re implying anything,” her brother said to chuckles from everyone; basic toiletries were getting harder to come by, and all the more treasured for it. In the same vein her parents hadn’t advertised their own gift, which were feminine hygiene products purchased from the visiting trader. Those had been surprisingly costly, due to unsurprisingly high demand.

Jim had carved her a small but surprisingly well done wooden cat, curled up with its tail over its nose. Linda gave her an assortment of scrunchies and clips for her hair. Trev’s mom gave her a set of beeswax candles while his dad gave her a small pillow stuffed with wool. The Watson family gave her a padded footstool they’d upholstered with hide from one of their goats. The Tillman family gave her a ski mask and goggles for the coming bitter cold. The Larsons gave her a glass cube with a 3D image of a rose inside. Deb gave her one of those little multitools with the scissors, nail file, and penknife.

As for Trev, Mary had mentioned a couple times that she wanted to try archery as opposed to learning to shoot, mostly because she never intended to use it and didn’t want to waste their ammo. So he’d cleaned up one of the crossbows they’d gotten from the bandits, as well as a dozen arrows, and with Lewis’s help had done maintenance on it so it was in good shape.

All in all a pretty good haul, although this was a big milestone for the young woman. As Linda less than subtly pointed out while everyone was enjoying their cake.

“So come on, let’s hear it,” Trev’s sister said, voice teasing as she tapped her older cousin’s shoulder.

Mary blushed, guessing she was about to be put on the spot. “Hear what?” she asked, then broke out into nervous humming.

“Come on cuz, you’re 18! Time to settle down with one of your many admirers and start ringing the wedding bells. Which one were you thinking of?”

Trev winced at his sister’s bluntness, especially when Mary blushed even deeper scarlet and wailed, “Lind!” Their cousin’s eyes frantically darted among the small crowd, although she looked reassured that everyone seemed to be focused on their cake, politely pretending they weren’t paying attention to the embarrassing exchange.

Linda looked around too, and her brow furrowed. “Speaking of which, where’s Raul?” She rolled the “R” in an exaggerated fashion. “Didn’t you invite your boyfriend?”

Mary’s embarrassment faded to concern. “I’m not sure if, I mean, we haven’t really…” She sighed. “I invited him, but he didn’t come. It’s no big deal.”

Trev was a bit bothered by that, since it obviously was. At the first opening he politely pulled his cousin aside. “Any idea why he didn’t come? I thought things were going well.”

“They were, kind of.” She gave him a miserable look. “One moment I think he likes me, the next it’s like he’s trying to avoid me.”

“I could go talk to him and see what’s up,” Trev offered.

The blond young woman looked mortified. “Don’t!” Then, hesitating, she said. “Or maybe do. Just, um, don’t put him on the spot. I’m worried about him, but I don’t want to make him feel guilty. He probably had a good reason not to come.”

He patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll go as a friend, not a snoop.”

It wasn’t far to Gutierrez’s cabin, which was a bit back from any of the main lanes between houses. In fact, everything about the structure seemed intended to avoid notice. Was that due to the man’s training and mindset as a soldier, or his personality? Both?

He knocked on the door, and after a moment it cracked open. Unable to get a stove Gutierrez had built a small fireplace, and the subdued flames were enough to dimly light the interior.

“I figured I’d be getting a visit,” the former soldier said. He stepped aside. “Come on in.”

Trev ducked through the doorway. Gutierrez’s cabin was small with a low roof, half buried and well bermed with dirt. It had been built for efficiency, not comfort, which fit the man’s nature. Although two people could live here without crowding if needed. The bed was a scavenged full mattress on a board laid across five carefully leveled stumps, a few odds and ends stuffed underneath.