Tim Washburn - The Day After Oblivion

The man lowers his weapon and steps back, allowing them to enter. “Take the hallway to the left. They’re in the master bedroom.”

Gage nods and props the shotgun against the wall before making his way down the corridor. The far door is ajar and he slowly pushes it open. Holly is on the bed, tears streaming down her cheeks. Susan is sitting next to her, holding her hand. Holly’s doctor, Eliana Samia, is standing off to the side, holding something in her arms. Gage’s heart drops. “Holly?”

Holly sobs. “I’m sorry, Gage.”

Gage hurries to her side, taking her other hand. “We lost the baby?”

Holly sobs again. “No, Olivia’s healthy.”

Gage exhales a long, deep breath.

“I’m just sad you weren’t here for the birth.”

The doctor places the swaddled infant on Holly’s chest and slips from the room. Gage sags onto the bed, another round of tears leaking from his eyes as he cups his daughter’s head in his hand.

Weatherford

The old pickup is a single cab, and the Reeds climb into the back while Holly and the baby join Gage up front. He fires up the truck, clicks on the headlights, and backs out of the drive. “Olivia, huh? I thought we were still deciding.”

“Oh, Gage, she looks like an Olivia. Don’t you think?”

With no clue what an Olivia is supposed to look like, Gage shifts into first gear and motors out of the neighborhood. Rather than driving past the bloody Mustang, Gage heads straight on the main road. It’s two miles out of the way, but Gage doesn’t want to recount their trip to the doctor’s house.

“Why did you wait so long to come?” Holly asks.

“We didn’t know where the hell you were.” Gage pauses, checks his tone. “Why didn’t you leave a note, honey?”

“Didn’t have time. My water broke in the entryway as Mom was helping me to the truck. I guess we sort of panicked.”

“How long were you in labor?”

“I was dilated to five by the time we got there. I didn’t have to push long before she came out.”

“When did you leave the house?”

“Just before dark. Sorry you had to walk home and then walk to the doctor’s house.”

Images of the shoot-out on the road flash in Gage’s mind. “It’s okay.” They ride in silence the next few miles until they reach the Reed residence. Gage pulls up close to the front door and her parents climb out to help Holly and the baby into the house before he pulls around the house and parks the truck in the barn. After closing and locking the barn door, he heads for the house. Holly, exhausted and sore, has retreated to the bedroom with Olivia. Gage says good night to his in-laws and retreats down the hall, easing the door open to find Holly sitting on the edge of the bed, staring down at their child.

“Isn’t she beautiful, Gage?”

Gage sits down next to Holly and pulls the blanket away from Olivia’s face. This is the first time he’s seen his daughter in the light. The candles at the doctor’s house didn’t do her justice. “Yes, she is. She looks just like her mother.” He wraps an arm around his wife, as they both stare at the tiny human they created. “Think she’s going to have red hair like her mother?”

“I don’t know. It’s a blessing and a curse. But if she is, we better buy stock in a sunblock company.”

Gage chuckles. “We didn’t bring the crib. Where’s she going to sleep?”

There’s a soft knock on the door and Henry, carrying a small bassinet, pushes into the room. “This was Alyx’s and Holly’s,” he whispers. “We couldn’t bear to part with it.” Henry places the bassinet in the corner and slips out of the room.

“I guess that answers my question. I can’t believe they’ve kept that for all these years.”

“There’s no telling what those two have stashed in the attic. Will you hold her while I take a quick shower?”

“How… how do I do it?”

Holly laughs. “She’s not going to break, Gage.” She turns and places Olivia in her husband’s arms. “Just make sure you support her head.”

Gage positions one of his big paws under Olivia’s head. “I wish my dad would wake up so he could see her.”

Holly pushes slowly off the bed and turns, placing a hand Gage’s cheek. “I don’t think your father’s going to wake up, sweetheart.” She leans in and tenderly kisses Gage on the lips. “We’ll take her over to your parents’ house in the morning.”

Gage nods, tears shimmering in his eyes. “Okay.”

Holly gives Gage another kiss before tottering toward the bathroom, bracing against the furniture for support. Gage shoulders away a tear, thinking how one person leaves the world and another arrives. He lifts Olivia to his lips and kisses her cheek and nuzzles his nose against her soft skin. He’s in the same position when the lights flash off.

“Gage,” Holly shouts from the bathroom, “what happened to the power?”

With the baby held tight to his chest, Gage feels his way in the dark toward the bathroom. “I don’t know. Are you okay?”

“Other than the shampoo still in my hair? Yes, I’m okay. Will you go find out what happened to the generator? I need water to finish up.”

“What am I supposed to do with Olivia?”

“Hand her off to my mother.”

There’s a knock on the door and Henry enters with a couple of flashlights. “Are you out of propane?” Gage asks, taking one of the flashlights and clicking it on before placing it on the dresser.

“Not possible. It was eighty percent full the last time I looked. And that was only a couple of days ago.”

“Think there’s an issue with the generator?”

“Don’t know,” Henry says. “You mind helping me?”

Gage follows Henry into the living room and hands Olivia off to Susan before he and Henry make their way outside. At the propane tank Henry flips up the lid to look at the gauge. “Goddammit, how could that be?”

“Empty?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t make any sense. There’s no way the generator burned that much fuel.”

“Could it have leaked out?”

“Why would it all of the sudden spring a goddamn leak?”

“I don’t know, Henry, but the gas went somewhere.”

Henry runs his hands over the fittings that connect to the underground line that feeds the generator. “All the connections feel tight.” He scans the flashlight over the pipe going into the ground. “Everything looks good here. You see anything?”

“No,” Gage says. He makes his way over to the generator, which is parked up close to the house. He checks the gas pipe connection at the generator and all appears well. With the flashlight, he follows the pipe to where it exits out of the ground. “Henry, I’ve found the problem.”

Henry hurries over. He looks at the ground Gage is highlighting with the flashlight beam. “Are those metal shavings?”

“Yep.” Gage focuses the light on a section of the pipe. “And there’s your leak.”

Henry kicks the ground with his boot. “Son of a bitch. Somebody drilled a hole in the gas line?”

“Looks that way,” Gage says. “They must have done it while we were gone.”

“But, why?”

“I guess they thought they’d level the playing field.”

“I bet it was that cocksucker Ed Yancey. He raised hell about the expansion of the wind farm last year. That bastard could have blown the house up.”

“They probably turned the gas off, drilled the hole, and turned it back on. We might never know who did it. And Yancey will deny it. Not much we can do about it now.”

“You wait until I see that cocksucker again.” Henry mutters a string of curse words. “We now need that turbine up and running as quickly as possible.”