Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 67694 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67694 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Natalia took one look at Hazel and agreed on the new group staying. But it took some time to convince Leon and Dean. The lure of someone with medical training won out, however. And after half a day spent together, the two girls are firm friends. There’s no way Dean could separate them now. Sophie would start a war.
The sky is full of stars and it’s a beautiful show. Adirondack chairs, fancy cushions, and an assortment of throws are gathered around the firepit. Single-malt scotch and top-shelf silver tequila are being passed around. Leon smokes some fancy cigar. Life can be so bougie when money doesn’t matter.
Seems Avan and Hazel were immune. The rest of the group managed to avoid catching the virus. The apocalypse really is the great leveler in a lot of ways. Reema was a partner in a law firm. Naomi a tattoo artist. And Charlie did road maintenance. Now we’re all survivors.
Avan and Charlie sit together, holding hands. Like Leon and Natalia, they seem to have found love amidst the horror. Imagine experiencing beauty and euphoria in the midst of such terror and loss. None of them might have even met otherwise. Life is such a strange thing. It really doesn’t make sense on even the best of days.
“She yours?” asks Naomi, intercepting me halfway back to the fire pit. She’s like a kick-ass Anne of Green Gables with her long red hair, botanical tattoos, and the knife on her hip. I want to be her when I grow up.
“Sophie? You could say she chose us.”
“Did you have children before?”
I shake my head. “This is all new to me, can’t you tell? How about you?”
“No, I didn’t have any. But I think you’re doing really well.” She gives me a small smile. “Reema lost two sons. She mostly handles Hazel due to her experience with kids. I think they’re helping to heal each other, you know?”
“Yeah.”
Hazel is curled up, lying on a blanket with her head in Reema’s lap. I really hope having this group join us works out. Having more people around feels right. We still need to get to know one another and feel safe around each other, though. They need to pick out a house to live in, and we need to work out how we all fit into this small community and how we move forward with our life here.
“And is he yours?” asks Naomi with a disarming smile.
“Huh?” It takes me a moment to work out what she’s asking. Sophie isn’t the only one who’s overtired. Or maybe I just don’t want to hear this particular question. “You mean Dean?”
“Yeah. Not to stick my nose in…but is it more of a friend thing or…” The woman actually blushes and looks away.
“You’re interested in Dean?”
“He’s an attractive guy who doesn’t seem to be a criminal. They’re kind of thin on the ground these days.”
“No. He doesn’t seem to be a criminal,” I agree, with much awkwardness. “Um. I don’t know what to say. It’s complicated.”
“Guess I’ll just wait and see.” Naomi heads back to the fire with a hint of a smile on her face. Which is fine. It’s perfectly fine.
CHAPTER TEN
SATURDAY
Dean stands beside the front window, watching the street outside. The same position he’s been in for the last half hour. Ever since we finished hand washing in the laundry tub. No idea why I felt the need to do laundry at this hour of the night after the welcome party. Guess it was to expend some nervous energy.
I did the soaping and scrubbing; he handled wringing the clothes and hanging them out to dry on an airing rack we found. We even managed to behave like adults and not make handling each other’s underwear too weird. And all of this happened while Sophie told us the top one hundred most interesting facts about her new best friend. When we finally got her to go to bed, she was out like a light. The sleepover wasn’t mentioned again. I’ve been forgiven for now.
“I don’t like it,” he says, for not the first time. “Think about it…why’d they pick a house a block away from us? What are they hiding, huh?”
“You wanted us to live on the opposite side of town.”
“That’s beside the point.”
“How about there aren’t that many houses large enough for their group to comfortably stay together?”
He grunts.
“You thought they were okay after the welcome party. What changed?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’m just being paranoid.”
I sit in the corner of the couch, thinking deep thoughts. “The more people we have, the safer we’re going to be from predators like the ones they were talking about.”
“Yeah,” he says. “There is strength in numbers, and it makes us less vulnerable to ambush. But we need to be careful. Not everyone is going to be happy to have some sort of democracy with law and order.”