Nathan Jones - First Winter

Alice ruffled Aaron’s blond hair. “It was fun. They’re really excited to meet their cousin.”

“Speaking of which,” Rick said, lifting the bundle he held at his side. “Aside from bringing the boys home, we wanted to congratulate you and give the newborn a gift from the whole family.”

Matt accepted it and saw that it was a baby blanket, made from the softest rabbit fur he’d ever felt. “Wow. Olivia will love this.”

His friend grinned. “So you finally settled on Olivia Chloe?”

“Can I see her?” Alice blurted.

Matt hesitated, about to refuse, when Sam’s voice came through the screen. “Oh please send her in, and the boys too! I want them to meet their cousin.”

He took that to mean his wife was finished with the third stage of her childbirth. Sure enough, a few moments later Dr. Maggy emerged carrying a plastic-wrapped bundle, which she tried not to draw attention to as she took it away to be disposed of.

Matt nodded to Alice, who took the boys by the hand again and led them around the screen while he stayed back with Rick, Terry, and his dad. They could hear the hushed but delighted sounds from all three, even Paul curbing his usual exuberance.

“So it went smoothly?” Rick asked.

“Under the circumstances very smoothly,” Terry agreed. “I suppose unless we can rebuild our infrastructure in record time, we’ll have to get used to delivering children the way women did during the frontier days.”

Matt found this sort of talk a lot less worrying now that Sam’s ordeal was done and their baby was safely born. Even so, it was a concern for everyone. “Trying to get a more up to date hospital with proper equipment up and running should probably be one of our main priorities once we get through this winter and we’ve figured out long term survival. I’m sure enough medical technology is still around for trade or scavenging to get what we need, as long as we can somehow generate power for it.”

Alice emerged ushering Aaron and Paul ahead of her. “Sam and the baby are ready to rest,” she said quietly. “But she’d love to have the blanket for Olivia.”

Matt thanked his friends again, accepted more congratulations and hugs, then went around the partition to rejoin his wife and daughter. Sam gave him Olivia to wrap in the blanket, which he did carefully to make sure she was snug but not too restricted. Then she insisted he come sit beside her and hold their baby.

He did, staring down in wonder at the tiny, perfect face as his wife relaxed and finally fell asleep with her head on his shoulder.

There was a lot of sadness and trouble in the world now, but there were also moments of joy. Olivia was his reminder that there was a future as long as they kept going. A future he’d work to build for her.

Halloween with three feet of snow and a temperature in the low 20s was surreal.

Trev remembered trick-or-treating on chilly autumn nights, leaves crunching underfoot and blowing eerily on vagrant breezes. In the excitement of the event he usually hadn’t even needed a coat.

But this? This was more like Christmas. Even more like it than his last Christmas before the Gulf burned had been, since then it had rained the entire day with no snow in sight. It was like everything was tossed on its head.

The kids didn’t go trick-or-treating, of course. Instead the shelter group and the nearby neighbors with children had planned a sort of rotating party event. Since no one cabin was big enough to hold more than a dozen people socializing was awkward, so instead the kids went from house to house in a pattern. They would bounce in from the cold for a cacophonous few minutes of playing prepared games and eating a few small treats at each, usually without even removing their coats, hats, and gloves, and then would head back out to tromp to the next house.

Jim was torn between wanting to be part of the event and feeling like he’d outgrown it. But the Smith family had offered to be part of the festivities in any case, so he used that as an excuse to head out and make his rounds with Alvin and the kids from Jane’s group.

With Uncle Lucas’s recent death their friends had tentatively let them know they could gracefully duck out if they wanted, with full understanding, but Trev’s mom insisted it would be good to take part. So she was there at the door when the first group of visiting kids arrived, offered their young guests honey treats. Meanwhile Trev, Linda, and Deb organized everyone in telling a spooky story with each person taking turns saying a line. The stories usually tended to be more hilarious than scary, as the kids went off on wild tangents with whatever they were thinking at the moment. But that just added to the fun.

The Larson family would’ve loved to host visitors, but with a newborn in the house they decided that would be too much noise and confusion. Instead the Lynns with their boys went visiting to other houses, while the kids from Jane’s group, as well as Tam’s daughter Jen and a couple others, begged for a chance to see Sam and the new baby. She welcomed them to visit one or two at a time, if they could be quiet and gentle. They crept up to the bed where the new mother was resting without a peep, looking at the little bundle she held with wide eyes.

The Halsson cabin was conspicuously dark for the evening. None of them were in the mood for holiday celebrations, and although they received a few brief visits from friends they mostly spent the night to themselves. There were a few exceptions, like Aaron and Paul who insisted on stopping by to visit, and the kids from Jane’s group who wanted to give “Aunt Jane” and “Uncle Lewis” presents to make them feel better.

After the kids stopped coming around Trev’s family also packed up to go spend some time with their extended family, bringing hot chocolate made from powdered mix for everyone to share. They kept the visit quiet and were considerate, but although it was obvious their presence was appreciated they got the hint that it would be better if they didn’t linger.

Before going to sleep Trev and Deb cuddled up beneath the covers on his bed for an hour or so. His girlfriend had been enchanted by Olivia earlier when they’d visited their friends to briefly congratulate them, and tonight she was much more affectionate than usual. To the point where he reluctantly figured he should return to his cot sooner rather than later, to both of their disappointment.

The contrast of the narrow, chilly surface was uncomfortable and more than a bit depressing, but as Trev tried to fall asleep he reassured himself that tomorrow the situation would hopefully change.

During the last couple weeks they’d come a lot farther where intimacy was concerned. They spent more time holding hands, snuggling under the blankets together, even making out like tonight. That had reassured Trev that they were on the right track.

So he’d decided it was finally time to give his proposal another try. A proper one this time.

He’d been planning to do it tomorrow evening for over a week now, with help from his mom and Linda. His sister was overjoyed that they were finally taking that step, while his mom was mostly just relieved. She’d been supportive of Deb moving in as his mostly platonic roommate, and understanding of the situation. But even though she hadn’t said anything it was obvious the question of propriety bothered her.

Above and beyond the conflicts with the Smith family’s particular faith, she also worried that with how tight-knit the community had become some of the more traditional stigmas would become more prevalent as well. And there was also the fact that, even with his family knowing the issues Deb was still getting over and Trev’s romantic situation with her, and hopefully also trusting his restraint, he couldn’t shake the feeling that they assumed the two of them were getting up to way more than they really were.