The Reunion (7 page)

“Hmmm… I think I can rustle that up on one condition…,” he said smiling.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“Well, there’s a reason we don’t have anything pumpkin related.  I don’t like pumpkin pie,” he said.  She sighed and hung her head.  “I don’t like pumpkin pie but I love pecan pie.  Anyway you could make one of those too?” he asked.  He knew that having the pecans for it wouldn’t be a problem because there were two huge pecan trees on the backside of the property.

Accentuating her already southern accent, Virginia said, “Peeee Cannn pie.  Honey, I can make a pee can pie that will make you want to slap yer mama.” 

Smiling from ear to ear, Marcus spit in his hand and stuck it out to her.  “It’s a deal. Put her there sweetheart.” 

Still in her sharp southern twang she said, “Honey, I ain’t touchin’ that and you betta warsh it before you come to dinner.”  They both started laughing then Virginia turned and went back into the kitchen to work on the next meal. 

Chapter Twenty

The next day Marcus and Kim made the trip to Chattanooga and loaded up on flour and sugar.  They saw several dinosaurs on the way but none that would be a problem.  The recent dinosaur migration had greatly increased the population in the area.  It looked like they were staying in this area at least for the winter. 

Kim and Marcus had to raid several grocery stores in the area before they found the pumpkin filling.  A lot of the stores were either ransacked by some humans or dinosaurs had torn the place apart.  They finally found what they were looking for by searching the excess stock of a store that had already been ransacked.  Apparently no one had looked in the back.  The trip back was uneventful except for one t-rex for which they had to stop as he slaughtered one of the smaller dinosaurs.  Its prey was too hard to recognize because by the time they come upon the t-rex, it had already ripped the dinosaur to shreds. They had to back slowly away and go around in a different direction.

The day before Thanksgiving Marcus brought everyone together to tell them his plan for tomorrow.  He really wanted a traditional Thanksgiving like he had when he was a kid.  They were thrilled with what he had planned so the next day they proceeded with the plan. 

Marcus had gotten with Jocelyn and had pulled up footage from the old Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and a few cartoons. Virginia worked on the meal and the rest of the women and girls sat around watching the parade and helping Virginia when she needed it. 

Marcus took the twins and Rom with him.  Marcus’ dad had always taken him hunting on Thanksgiving morning.  He had been working with the boys on learning how to shoot and he wanted to give them a chance to use what they had learned.  Johnnie and Ronnie shot at about anything that moved but never made any contact. 

Rom, on the other hand, was a natural.  He bagged two rabbits by the time they were ready to go home.  Marcus took the boys out to the barn and showed the boys how to properly clean a rabbit.  As boys normally are, all three were fascinated with the internal workings of the rabbits.  Marcus cleaned the first one and let the boys take turns working on the other.  Finally finished they went in the house, cleaned up, and got ready for the meal.

The table wasn’t large enough for all of them so the children sat at the kitchen counter and the adults sat at the table.  As was with the tradition at the Rainwater’s house, everyone stood shoulder to shoulder around the table, held hands, and bowed their heads.  Marcus bowed his head and offered thanks for the food and asked for God’s blessing upon them.  When he was finished everyone sat down to the scrumptious meal Virg had cooked.  In the middle of the table was a huge turkey sitting in a pan of cornbread dressing.  There were mashed potatoes, yeast rolls, green beans, corn, coleslaw, and gravy.  It smelled delicious.

For dessert, Virginia had outdone herself making pumpkin pie, pecan pie, chocolate cake, and even peanut butter cookies.  Everyone ate until they were so stuffed that almost everyone was moaning.  Then everyone helped clean up and afterwards they all sat around the living room.  Jocelyn started a movie and in about thirty minutes half of them were asleep taking a nap. 

Later after everyone was awake again, Marcus had Jocelyn start a random football game that had been played on Thanksgiving.  Everyone picked sides and cheered on the team they had picked.  They all had a ball. Marcus noticed that everyone was starting to get sleepy so he told them the rest of his plan. 

Most folks thought that mall shopping would die out and eventually all stores would go away.  Although a majority of shopping was done online, most retailers realized that people still wanted to congregate and that they enjoyed shopping so malls and stores never really went away.  Through the years it remained the same and was that way before the virus hit.

“Back before the virus, tomorrow typically, would be the busiest shopping day of the year called Black Friday. I’m sure most of you older ones will remember that.  Everyone would go out to buy Christmas gifts for their family and friends.  Well, tomorrow is going to be our Black Friday too.  Kim has agreed to babysit the children here and the rest of us are going to Chattanooga to pick up gifts or whatever we need and can get in the MAV and the trailer. Is anyone with me?” he asked.

Wynd, Virginia, Danielle, and Lauren all jumped at the chance. 

“We will leave first thing in the morning after breakfast,” he said. 

As everyone was going off to bed, Rom came over to Marcus and said “You promised me I could go and get a light sword and we still haven’t went.”

“Rom, you are absolutely correct and I apologize.  Let me give you two options.  Number one…you can go and we will find you that light sword but we won’t be able to get you any other Christmas presents.  Or number two... I’ll try to find it plus we will be able to get you some Christmas presents,” Marcus said with a wink.

Rom thought for a minute and finally said, “I’ll take number two but I would like to go someday with you.”

“I promise to take you as soon as I get the time. Deal?” asked Marcus as he stuck out his hand.

Rom grabbed and shook his hand and said, “Deal!”

Wynd lingered around after everyone had gone to bed. Marcus was sitting on the couch and she came over and sat down by him.  There was a moment of awkward silence between them and then Wynd finally said, “You can put your arm around me if you want.”

Awkwardly Marcus put his arm around her shoulders.  Then there was another moment of silence.  Finally, Marcus got up the nerve and spoke. 

“Sorry for being quiet but I’m not used to this.  I really like you and I don’t want to make any mistakes but I’m not sure what to do or say.  I feel like I’m thirteen again,” he said embarrassedly.

She looked up at him and smiled, “You worry too much.  I like you too so you don’t have to feel awkward.  Let’s just talk and get to know one another.  Tell me who you are Marcus.  I want to know everything about you.”

Their conversation lasted for three hours.  They completely lost track of time becoming completely engrossed with each other as they talked and laughed.  Finally, Wynd started to get sleepy and yawned. 

When she yawned, Marcus thought he ought to check the time. “Jocelyn, what time is it?”

“Marcus, the time is 12:54 a.m.,” she said.

They both looked at each other in shock and almost simultaneously said, “We’ve got to get to bed.”

They laughed again and got up from the couch and went into Marcus’ old bedroom, which was where Wynd slept now.  Because the house was so full of people, Marcus had moved to the man cave.  As he started toward the hallway leading to the man cave, he turned to her and said, “I’ll see you in the morning.”  He then leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

She smiled and said, “See you in the morning.”

Chapter Twenty One

The next morning, after breakfast, Marcus and the girls loaded up and headed to Chattanooga.  With the exception of Virginia, the girls giggled and laughed most of the way except when they had to stop a couple of times for a group of brachiosaurs that had taken up residence at the foot of the mountain.  Although the group was becoming more and more accustomed to the dinosaurs, the sheer size and majesty of the bigger ones were awe inspiring. Jocelyn had the drone out scouring the area to look for potential threats.  Once, during one of their stops, a small pack of raptors came close to them so they stayed in the MAV for a while until they cleared the area. 

To save time, after visiting several stores, they travelled to a large mall in the area and made their way through it.  The interior of the mall was in pretty bad shape and some of the stores were badly damaged but surprisingly several of the stores were intact because they had been shut down and locked behind huge metal doors before the mall closed. 

Some doors took some work with a small laser Marcus had acquired and others were just a matter of busting some glass.  While the girls were combing through some of the clothing shops, Marcus made his way to a couple of the gaming stores in the mall.  It didn’t take him long to find the light sword Rom was wanting.  He picked up several other items that he was sure Rom would want for Christmas gifts. Last night before they went to bed, Marcus and Wynd had decided they would split up duties on the presents.  Marcus would get gifts for the boys and Wynd would get gifts for the girls. 

He was several stores away from the girls when he heard them scream.  He took off running their way.  “Jocelyn, what’s wrong?” he said as he raced along the mall.

“The girls have encountered some wildlife,” she said.

“What?  I thought you were maintaining a sweep of this area!” he said as he was almost to the store they were in.

“I am constantly monitoring the area for any potential threats.  The animals that they have encountered are not dangerous.  They have found a canine and her puppies.  Actually, based upon the readings I’m receiving, they are quite the opposite…,” she said as Marcus stopped dead in his tracks.

“What?!” he said bending over to catch his breath.  “Dogs?  And they’re friendly?”

Marcus wasn’t used to seeing dogs or cats.  There weren't many around anymore.  Marcus figured that most had become snacks for some of the prehistoric animals roaming around.  If you did see some they were wild and would attack if you got close to them.  He made it to the back of the store where they were all gathered around holding three little puppies.  The mother was lying on an old rug in the corner.  It was a beagle. She was white with a few spots of brown and she was wagging her tail. It amazed Marcus that she was alive.  There was no way she could have survived in the mall for this long.  She must have a way out. 

Wynd brought the puppy she was holding over to him and offered it to him.  He shook his head and declined.  He didn’t want to get attached.  They didn’t need extra mouths to feed especially if they didn’t serve a purpose. 

Wynd looked up at him with her own puppy dog eyes and said, “Can we keep them? Pleeeease…,”

The others chimed in at the same time, “Pleeeease…,”

“No.  We don’t need any more mouths to feed,” Marcus said, shaking his head from side to side.

The mood in the room quickly turned from joy to sadness.  Marcus thought that maybe he even saw a tear.  That went on for a couple of minutes and he finally couldn’t take it anymore.

“Fine. On one condition. Y’all have to take care of them, not me.  Y’all have to provide the food and water for them.  Do we have a deal?” he asked.

All of them spoke at once and said, “DEAL!”

Then they all started hugging him until he finally was able to break free. Embarrassed he told them he had some more things to get and took off.   Marcus picked up several gifts and headed back to the MAV.  Earlier he had Jocelyn drive the MAV through some maintenance doors and park in the middle of the mall.  Apparently the girls had been very busy. When he saw the boxes and bags the girls had picked up, Marcus was sure glad he had attached the box trailer to the MAV before they left.  It looked like they were going to need every inch of it.

Each time he would go get something and come back the trailer had more in it.  It was only matter of time before it was filled.  Marcus had finished picking up gifts for everyone except for one person and that was Wynd.  After he had thought about it, he had finally made a decision about what to get her.  He went back and picked up the gifts he was looking for and he wrapped them up, making sure she couldn’t figure out what they were. 

When he got back to the MAV, it was all he could do to fit them in the trailer.  The girls were waiting on him.  They loaded the dog and her pups into the back of the MAV and then they loaded themselves in the MAV. Once everything was loaded they headed back to the compound.  Luckily they didn’t encounter any of the larger carnivores on the way back.  Marcus wasn’t sure they could keep the dogs quiet if one came close by. He knew that the shield was not as strong when it was covering the MAV and the trailer. 

They basically had another huge party when they got back. The kids had never had a pet and they were overjoyed.  As soon as Marcus showed the gaming light sword to him, Rom took it and vanished.   Marcus was laughing about it when he appeared out of nowhere again and said thank you.  Marcus blinked and he was gone again. 

Finally after everyone had finally worn themselves out and went to bed, Marcus decided that it was time for him to turn in too.  Even though he was also completely worn out, it took Marcus over an hour to get to sleep.  The two holidays they had celebrated were the happiest Marcus had experienced since the virus hit.  He felt he had a family again and he was thrilled.  He hoped that this was a new beginning and that they had finally gotten past the point of just surviving.  Now, they could get on with living.

Chapter Twenty Two

Marcus and Kim had been discussing David for several days.  Kim was convinced that David was still alive and wanted to go look for him.  So far, Jocelyn, Savvy, and Rom had not had any luck.  Marcus decided that they would not make a move to look for him until they had at least a hint that he was still alive.  It would be hard not to do something but he thought it would be useless as hunting for a needle in a haystack without at least a clue to where he might be.