Story Survival of the Not So Fittest

Part 105​


“What … is that … Eve? Er … is that wood or forage?”

I looked up on the porch and saw Cade giving the boys and I the oddest look. And I’m sure we were worth a look. We were carrying one of the largest kudzu roots I’d ever dug like it was a deer on a pole to bring it back to the house. The thing was nearly six feet long and well over a hundred pounds, maybe a hundred and fifty pounds. I’d been digging on it for days, determined to get the stupid thing uncovered enough so I could pull it or chop it out. I figured one root of that size would make all the starch and flour substitute I could need for a while. Oh, my goodness. I wound up having to get the boys to help me and then levers and a pulley to get it up out of the hole.
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The reason why I was after that particular root is because the kudzu was starting to strangle an area where the best passionfruit vines grew. I’d only gotten half what I normally did. The kudzu vines used to grow away from that patch but for some reason they changed directions, and I just didn’t intend on losing a source of forage variety no matter how many ways[1] I might be able to use the kudzu.

“Eve Burke, what have you been up to?” Cade asked.

For some reason he’s taken to calling my name but sticking his surname on the end. I think he is “marking his territory” or “staking his claim” or something along those lines. Mom told me that men tend to do that sort of thing. It doesn’t bother me, I just don’t want him to think he has to remind me that we’re married, like I might forget or something disgusting like that. I refuse to let it bother me, but I do occasionally want to ask him why. I’ll ignore it for now unless he adds something else to it.

“Well … Cade Burke … this is that kudzu root I told you about. We finally got it out.” I turned to Ethan and said, “Please just take that thing to the barn. I’ll deal with it tomorrow after I can get it cleaned up. I’ve just about had it with it today. And after all the work we put into it, I’m sure I don’t want it to wind up on the wood pile … which it may if I drop it on my foot again.”

The boys snickered and did as I asked before going off to tend to their own projects. Cade slowly came down the porch steps. “I should be …”

“Oh please don’t start that again. We’ve talked and talked about this. We need someone to listen to the radio and make heads or tails out of what is being said.” When Cade gave me a certain look I told him, “We saw the drone and it was in distress and had to fly back home.”

“You … didn’t make it be in distress?”

Not that I hadn’t been tempted but I didn’t tell him that. He likely knew which was why he was asking. I told him, “No. Whoever was driving the thing flew it into a tree … big old Eastern Hemlock so it isn’t like they shouldn’t have seen it … and it nearly crashed. It was flying funny afterwards and I honestly don’t know if it is going to make it all the way back the way it came.”

“Could you tell which way it was flying?”

“It was trying to fly directly back to town. Where in town I can’t tell you however. Just back towards the bridge area if I had to make a close guesstimate.”

Cade sighted and beckoned me closer and brought up a subject I hadn’t been expecting. “I … thought I may have upset you last night. You were gone early and … and left the girls to serve lunch.”

I tried not to be embarrassed at him bringing up how close we were getting to not being able to get the marriage annulled. I told him quietly, “You didn’t upset me.”

“You sure?” he asked, like he needed reassuring.

“Um … positive. I … I just wanted to get the work I’d set for myself for today finished so … so we could … spend some time upstairs before … having to go downstairs with the children.” And less privacy.

His face slowly changed from concern to a grin. “Agree with you there. Now about this work list … the girls and I picked those sumac drupes you wanted.”

“Cade! You shouldn’t be …”

“It wasn’t much work, but it felt good to help. About all I did was hold the sack while the girls filled it but we got the sack filled. I needed away from all the noise as well.”

I looked at him in concern. “Headache?”

“No. Disgust with the human race.” At my confused look he explained, “People on the radio. I don’t want the kids listening to any of it. I’d like to say the same to Ethan but … he’s taking on a man’s job so he needs a man’s information to work with.” Since he hadn’t made my confusion much less he added, “Some of it is the language and the … the mental decline people are exhibiting. The degradation that some are going through is obvious if you’ve been listening to them for any length of time. Even just a couple of months I can tell they are changing who they are.”

“Or maybe revealing who they’ve been all along.”

“Or that,” he agreed. “I ran into that at work. I ran into that in my first marriage.” His mood was changing and not for the better. Last time Rebecca had been by the house it wasn’t just a social call.

“Have you decided whether you are going to tell the girls or not?”

“Mary Ellen has been dead to them a long time. I showed you where they’d colored over her name in the Bible my aunt had. I don’t know when they did it but it had to have been after I brought all that stuff out here that time.”

I sighed. “It could have been when we moved out here after the night of the fire. I kept them out of most of your stuff but they … they got into some of it. I didn’t think more than they were just looking for comfort and connection.”

“Doesn’t matter. Just tells me what their opinion is. Or maybe God was just … I’m not even going to try and guess at this point. I’m worried that it will do more harm than good no matter what I try at this point.”

“And I’m sorry Eden is encouraging them.”

“You don’t want them to call you mother?” he asked cautiously.

“I don’t want to … to …” I sighed, not quite sure I could say what was in my heart. “I want them to have a choice. But I don’t want to replace Mary Ellen, I want to be me for them. I certainly don’t want to confuse them. Or my siblings.”

There was a knock on the well house and I turned sharply. It was Ethan looking apologetic. “I wasn’t eavesdropping. But, if you’re wondering, none of us are confused or have a problem with Sarah and Hannah thinking of you as their mother. I mean, okay, it took some getting used to but you and Cade are married. Cade’s their dad. That makes you their stepmom, only you aren’t, you’re like their only mom. I mean sure, it might take some getting used to if they start calling you Mom or something but it can’t be any weirder than hearing Reggie call Junior, Daddy Junner, and Cindy “Momma Cindy”. It makes them happy though so … if the girls wanna call you something then we can deal.”

I didn’t know what to say but Cade said, “Thanks. And …”

“And I won’t say anything about … you know … her. But …”

“But?”

“But I know if I was a kid and someone didn’t tell me that Mom had died, it would hurt. But Mary Ellen being different … I don’t know but …” He shrugged. “Just we can’t lie about it then we’d be the ones hurting them, not Mary Ellen.”

Cade nodded. “And that’s where I’m at. I won’t lie to them but I don’t know if they are ready to hear the truth either.”

All I could think is that there was a lot of that going around.


[1] Kudzu Recipes
 
I add my thanks, too, Kathy! It's great to have a couple of new chapters! I've been wondering how Eden and Cade and all the kids are doing. I also have the same questions about kudzu. How many years does it take to get that big!! I have to laugh.... At a meeting last year (of a conservation type group), they were moaning about the kudzu that spreading through the county and how are we going to stop it. I told the group that we should put out information about how to harvest and eat it and let the general public have at it. The look of shock and disgust was very apparent. HaHa!! I bet the general public would have the same looks on their faces. But maybe sometime in the future, when people are really hurting for food, someone might remember that information and actually find and eat kudzu. And maybe even go beyond to other things there are to eat in nature. Never know!
 

Part 106​


Cade invited Rebecca to our Thanksgiving meal. She’d accepted as her family was on the outs with her … all except her father and youngest brother, and they had to keep the peace where they were living and Rebecca didn’t want to cause them problems. Her family seems to think that just because she has fuel for the truck that she must be rich or have access to other supplies or hold some important position where she can get them stuff. She denies it so they think she is lying and turn a cold shoulder to her. But I was thinking that if they would just look at the woman, it would be obvious that she got sustenance rations the same as everyone else and that was it. Anything else she comes by is on her own … or food that people share with her.

“Are those … what … I mean … miniature lobsters?” I could see the spit forming at the corners of her mouth which just reinforced that she wasn’t getting any extra.

“Crawdads[1],” Ezra told her as he arranged them on the table in a big serving bowl. “We found them in the creek that runs on the backside of our land. We’ve never seen them in there before so either there were only a few and they had a population explosion this year, or they’ve moved in from further up the creek where it comes out of the forestry land. It’s a little late to be harvesting them, but it was either that or see a lot of them starve over the winter. They’re also eating too many of the small fry … the baby fish I mean. I’m thinking about trying to move some of them to the old fish and frog pond. There’s nothing in there now but catfish and a cranky snapping turtle. It could be another food source next year.”

As he walked off back to the kitchen Rebecca got thoughtful. “We need more kids like that.”

“Like what?” I asked as I was putting some sliced Jerusalem artichokes[2] for that I’d fried in their own spot. All my studying had told me that Jerusalem artichokes – a potato-like tuber – were better for diabetics[3] than most other starches.

Rebecca finally answered quietly, “Looking for ways to make things better instead of waiting for someone else to give them something.”

I gave her an understanding look. “Problems in town? And you don’t have to answer …”

She interrupted to explain, “In town. In the ‘burbs. In the country. Around the entire country. People keep waiting for stuff to be handed to them, for things to go back to the way they were. There are no checks in the mail, nor will there be for a good long while if ever. There are no free soup lines provided by the government or military, we can barely keep things moving in the chow line to keep the soldiers fed. No free medical, and triage is the rule of the land. Hell … I mean heck … pardon me … they tried cutting off the pay to the military.”

“How’d that work out?” I asked sarcastically.

She snorted. “The military pulled back and took their equipment with them and cut off all the feds completely. They suddenly learned the hard way that their civilian army didn’t have the skills or tools to fight a real war. They haven’t tried that again though some of those Bozos still make threats. And if they could get their hands on the equipment I’m sure they’d try it again. They’ve tried denying access to munition plants, so the military simply built their own and then denied access to the feds to the supplies needed to continue building their munitions.”

Cade asked from his chair where he’d sat to get out of the way of the running around the girls were doing trying to get the table set, “Should you be telling us that?”

She shrugged. “Nearly doesn’t matter anymore.” Since all the kids were temporarily in the kitchen or washing up, she said, “If you have means or a way, I’d be prepared to see military movement and to stay out of the way. Those that are aligned with the Feds … or those claiming to represent the Feds … look to be making a move. And that move might be making deals with the enemies of this country.”

“What kind of move?”

“Word is that they are going to try and resettle people in this country as refugees. If that happens, getting them out is going to make the deportation war of the 20’s look like playtime. They’ll suck up what little bit of resources we still have in this country and citizens are going to starve in greater number than they already are. They’re trying to sell it that the refugees will take the place of citizens who refuse to work, especially in the agricultural industries. But analysis and intel are throwing shade on that because most of those people don’t know how to operate in the climates we have here in the US. Different crops, different weather, different growing cycles, different animals and animal management needs, you name it. They’ll try and replicate what they had back where they came from, and the failure rate will be over 75%. That doesn’t include that they’ll refuse to leave their previous cultures and social norms and instead try and replicate it here, refusing to acknowledge that culture and norms is what made them refugees to begin with. It’ll be chaos. We have to stop it before it happens, or we’ll be generations cleaning up the mess.”

I was losing my appetite, and it didn’t help when Cade said, “We may not be able to clean it up completely. You know how it was. There were neighborhoods we just could never completely clean up, and when we did make headway, unless there was constant pressure it just went right back to the criminal element.

The girls started bringing in the remaining bowls of food and the subject was dropped though Cade gave me a look that said we’d talk it out after Rebecca left. We were having “lunch” so she could get back before curfew. I always wondered how she traveled without a partner to back her up, but I suppose she was a grown woman and was free to do as she pleased when she wasn’t working.

It wasn’t that I was suspicious of Rebecca but I did provide plausible deniability for her without letting her in on it. First course was what the kids call “Weed Soup”[4] which is really just a green broth, it feels space and is very nutritious. Instead of venison or a ham as our meat we were having the crawdads as well as Acorn Sliders[5] (burger substitute) without buns. Instead of buns there were Acorn Tortillas[6] and we also had acorn bread[7]. Our potatoes were the Jerusalem Artichokes that I’d fried up like home fries in lard for everyone else (mine were dry fried). Another side dish was sorrel stuffed mushrooms where I used acorn bread crumbs to absorb the liquid and keep them firm. I made the recipe up on my own a few years back and no one has ever complained and I figured it would look fancy but foraged for our meal. I made a green salad of what wild greens were still available including watercress[8] because of its nutritional value and added Haw Sauce[9] to eat with it since there wasn’t any vinaigrette. I also made Cactus Fries[10] because the kids loved them and because the oil I fried them in added carbs for Cade and the kids for their diets. I limited my intake to one or two “fries” just so no one fussed. Another fried item was Duck Potatoes[11] (also known as arrowhead tubers). To round things out the best I could to make things special I made Baked Crabapples, Persimmon Salad, and added a bowl of shelled nuts (pecans, walnuts, and hickory nuts). I made sure there was Pine Needle Tea[12] to add to the medicinal effects of our meal. Our desserts were Peanut Butter Pine Bars[13], Acorn Cake[14] drizzled with Prickly Pear Syrup[15], and Persimmon Pudding[16] but instead of wheat flour I used acorn flour to get it to hold together.

I doubt my parents would have recognized what I put on the table as a Thanksgiving Banquet – there wasn’t even any gravy for the gravy boat – but apparently Rebecca was thankful she’d been invited. There weren’t any leftovers but there rarely were these days. Either one or more of the kids were going through a growth spurt, we were all working hard and needed the calories, or I managed to get Cade to eat the little bit that there might be left at the end of the meal even if I had to hide from him that it was coming off my own plate.

I was using less insulin than I used to and no longer had to worry about the ten pounds a year it tried to put on me. So long as I spaced out my work and took the time to control my physical and emotional reactions to things, my glucose numbers stayed balanced. My numbers will never be what passes for normal, but they’re manageable even in current circumstances, they just continued to be managed with the insulin and would always need to be so since my body can’t manufacture enough on its own regardless of my diet.

Nutrition is going to be even more important during the cold weather months and into next year because next year will be the end of the vitamins and supplements I have on hand, or at least most of them. Eden says she needs to do more research to find tinctures, teas, and combinations of foods that will give us the recommended daily allowance of the vitamins and minerals our body’s need. Amino acids and proteins were also building blocks we couldn’t neglect. Especially as the workload is going to increase for all of us. I’m glad I have Eden on my side and willing. There’s just not enough time in a day to do all of this myself.

Next month brings the end of most of the forage. I’m proud to say that we’ve done all it takes to last until the forage starts up again so long as we can do things to add to the pantry here and there, especially in the area of good fats. Feral hogs of course, so long as the fiction I told about the “worms” doesn’t turn into fact. We’ve taken all we can of venison and a good thing, but the ones we see these days are getting thin and scraggly looking. There’s too many of them and there will be a die off by Spring I’m afraid. No large fields of corn or grains to snitch from. The orchards were jealously guarded this year. No domesticated landscaping to feast on. No hunters to keep their numbers down. They’ve denuded the trees they can reach in the forest and I’ve spotted where they’ve dug out forest mast to the point the ground is bare, and I’ve even seen a few eating bark. That’s bad. That’s very bad. I’ve only seen that during severe droughts.

We’ll lose some trees, especially in the forestry land, but I suppose there is no great loss without some small gain. Even using only sips of the propane, we are going to have to rely on wood for most of the cooking starting this winter. I must save the solar power for other things. As much as we generate, there’s never enough and we have to conserve where we can. We’ll start dropping any trees that die, cutting them into lengths, and then use a skiff to drag them back to the homesite and stack them to finish drying and curing.

I refuse to feel guilty for feeding my family. I’ve heard much the same from others that I’ve run into at the Millhouse General Store. But that doesn’t mean we don’t feel badly when we hear stories of those going without in town and in other places via a radio broadcast here and there. But then I wonder if they would feel bad that by taking what we have, they would eat and we would starve.

Rebecca has mentioned more than once that too many want someone else to fix the problems they have. Or they are willing to resort to criminal activities to “fix” what ails their lives, even at the risk of the consequences. Shooting looters and other thieves is no longer just “allowed by law”, it is required by law. That’s assuming there is a gun in the house. Unfortunately, many law-abiding citizens obeyed the confiscation by the those previously in control of town believing it to be a lawful order. Now any weapon, homemade or otherwise, it permissible and in some instances required, in defense of life and liberty. The military tells them ad nauseum that they can’t defend the country and police its citizens at the same time.

In some neighborhoods there is a “neighborhood watch” and so long as it is registered, it is recognized as the policing agency within a certain confined area, but that is only within that confined area. If they are caught operating outside of that confined area, even if it is just as a transportation and safety service, the consequences are immediate and include shipment of all involved to a work facility of some type. Repeat offenders are being dropped onto a permanently anchored offshore penal colony of some type … former oil rig, empty tanker, etc. … and then the Coast Guard patrols the waters around them. They are expected to support themselves for anything that isn’t delivered in their monthly support shipment which is also “dropped” rather than taking a chance and landing a craft of some type.

Throughout the meal we all took turns telling about something that we are thankful for. Rebecca was so struck by some of the things the kids mentioned that she was almost speechless when it came to be her turn. She finally said, “Friends. Friends that remind me why I’m doing this job.”


[1] All Crayfish Of Georgia
[2] Jerusalem artichoke Nutrition facts and Health benefits
[3] Jerusalem artichoke for diabetes: beneficial properties, how to use
[4] Weed Soup Recipe
[5] The Joyful Forager-Acorn Sliders: A Delicious, Hearty Burger Alternative
[6] https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/acorn-meal-zmaz84sozraw/
[7] https://www.food.com/recipe/acorn-bread-71702
[8] https://www.ediblewildfood.com/watercress.aspx
[9] https://www.ediblewildfood.com/zingy-hawthorn-sauce.aspx
[10] https://sweetvegan.net/nopalitos-fritos-cactus-fries/
[11] https://www.ediblewildfood.com/arrowhead.aspx
[12] https://thegardenladyofga.wordpress.com/2022/01/05/how-to-make-pine-needle-tea-1-5-22/
[13] https://www.ediblewildfood.com/peanut-butter-pine-bars.aspx
[14] https://gathervictoria.com/2018/10/10/sticky-toffee-acorn-bundt-cake-nutty-sweet-nutritious/
[15] https://www.fearlessdining.com/how-to-make-prickly-pear-syrup/
[16] https://www.theseoldcookbooks.com/old-fashioned-persimmon-pudding/#Old_Fashioned_Persimmon_Pudding
 
Mr Bill said:
After some searching I was unable to find a growth rate for the roots.
Click to expand...

Copied from the net:

Patches more than 10 years old will typically have root crowns (woody knots at the soil surface where stems originate) over 5 cm (2.0 in) in diameter.

Kudzu plants grow rapidly, extending as much as 60 feet per season at a rate of about one foot per day. This vigorous vine may extend 32-100 feet in length, with stems ½-4 inches in diameter. Kudzu roots are fleshy, with massive tap roots 7 inches or more in diameter, 6 feet or more in length, and weighing as much as 400 pounds. As many as thirty vines may grow from a single root crown.

It grows rapidly, reaching up to 1 foot per day during its vegetative stage.

Once established, Kudzu can live for several decades. In optimal conditions, its lifespan can extend up to 20 years, making it a resilient plant in various environments.

It can grow up to 1’ per day and 60’ per season and is also able to produce up to 30 vines from one root crown.

Basically, it is going to depend on growing conditions, but I wouldn't expect a root to be that big unless it is a decade old.
 

Part 107​


Cade was eating a small bowl of rice pudding[1] I made from instant rice and powdered milk, honey instead of sugar, and with a chopped apple I mixed in it along with a slice of acorn bread that I’d spread butter on when I finally remembered to ask him, “How does Rebecca get away with going without a partner? Isn’t it a safety issue?”

The spoon stopped between the bowl and his mouth for a moment before he put it down.

“No. You eat. My question can wait.”

“I’ll eat but you just hit the nail on the head.”

“What?”

He sighed. “She has a partner in town and when she is doing anything official. Different people but most often this guy we both know named Raul. He’s a good guy … or was. Rebecca mentioned that she thinks he might be compromised now.”

“Compromised in what way?” I asked, worried about Rebecca as a friend and for some reason thinking I wondered how it would affect us despite never having met the man.

“Raul’s daughter has a couple of kids by a guy that worked out at the university. The guy had … opinions. Very progressive. He and Raul only got along about half the time, which included the fact that his daughter was having kids with a guy she wasn’t legally married to. Raul’s daughter … would occasionally get political ideas as well but then seemed to give them up after she got out of college and she learned she wasn’t going to live on mom and dad, that she’d need to work, and that the baby daddy wasn’t big into financial responsibility for what he was at least half responsible for. I don’t have all the details, and neither does Rebecca, but after separating for a couple of years, Raul found out his daughter was back in contact with the guy and Rebecca thinks there may be more to it. Raul has started acting suspicious, or at least he has in her eyes because we’ve known him for years. He was a Statie. She’s just become very careful. On a lot of different levels.”

“She seemed … stressed. Or at least more than she normally is. I thought it was how uncomfortable she gets when they get emotional. Is that the reason?”

“One of them. She’s also started to wonder about her family. Not her dad and younger brother but the others. They expect things from her … things she either can’t do or won’t do. Then there’s a guy she thought was a friend but she’s getting the feeling he wants to be friends with benefits and she’s not ready for anything close to that yet. She still misses her husband and is dealing with some guilt issues.”

“Those I’ve suspected and she’s all but admitted to. She used to joke about a couple of guys following her around in case she had an extra cup of coffee to share.”

“Yeah, it’s one of those guys and she suspects he might be a honeypot.”

“A what?” I shook my head. “Are you telling me there are guys that do that kind of thing?!”

Cade made a face. “Yeah. And she can spot it a mile off because we used to have informants that tried to pull that stuff with her … an exchange of favors kind of thing.”

“Ew.”

“Yeah,” he said before quickly moving the conversation along. “Beyond that, she may have to start playing taxi for some of the military or scientific personnel who want the chance to get out of the town. Or more to the point they are supposed to be coming out here to take samples … air, water, that sort of thing.”

“Why? Making work for themselves to look good or is there a legitimate purpose?”

“Maybe both … and add to that because they are trying to keep an eye on potential resources and people out here. There’s pros and cons to the Millhouse family having their set up right next door. It means you don’t have to go far to socialize or trade. At the same time, between what you’ve said and what Rebecca suspects, there’re people from outside the community starting to take advantage of their set up. It makes me suspicious about what kind of trading could be going on there … or whether they are strong enough to avoid being taken over by a black-market operation.”

“I don’t do it to socialize,” I told him, trying not to sound miffed at the very idea that I’d waste time like that. “I do the occasional trade while keeping our names out of it, but I also do it to bring back information for you to work with to see if what you hear on the radio makes sense, or if you can verify it.”

He looked at me then sighed before taking another bite of bread and butter. Licking the crumbs off his bottom lip he finally said, “I’m … I’m not criticizing you, Eve. You have every right to socialize given all the work you do.”

“Socializing is something you save for after your work is finished,” I told him but then decided the argument wasn’t worth having and spoiling the day. “And I shouldn’t be so sensitive. I just don’t like the idea that you’d think I was fooling around when you have to stay here and look after things and listen to all that puke on the radio that gives you a headache.”

Proving Cade didn’t want to argue either he said, “And I don’t like you having to go do things by yourself because I’m not fit to be out in public. And yes, I know you take one of the boys with you but …” He shook his head then muttered, “I suppose it is what it is.”

Trying to change the subject from one that was so tempered with possible irritations I asked, “Are you worried about Rebecca?”

“She says not to be.” I gave him the look the comment was worth. He snorted after the last bite of rice pudding. “No … and yes. She’s capable. Always has been. She’s one of those born-this-way type of women. We shouldn’t have gotten along but we always have … friendship from the get go. Good partners. But …”

“But?”

“But she was always apolitical in public, but leaned libertarian during private conversations. This situation has meant she’s had to walk a much more careful line. She’s also been asking me questions … what she calls church questions.”

“Uh oh.”

“Again, no … and yes. I guess she’s questioning her stance on some things. She also is wondering who has her back, who she can trust. People are changing.”

“Or they’re revealing who they always were.”

“You’ve said that before. And yes, it’s a possibility. But war really does change people. They choose to change, and they change to survive and their weaknesses are exploited beyond their ability to control the outcome.”

“Or they can choose to let it help make them stronger.”

“That’s idealism.”

“That’s bald-faced reality. I’ve had to change … the diabetes, my grandparents dying, our family disconnecting, mom getting sick and dying, the economic realities of trying to raise my siblings with dad being how he was, and all the just in case we’ve faced since the night he died. One thing right after the other, but I chose not to let it break me or make me less than I can be.”

“And then there’s me.”

“Yes, and then there’s you. Getting married. Trying to hold things together. You showing up like a miracle. Our family knitting itself back together. You being hardheaded about what you keep calling weakness when you are so much stronger than you were just a few months ago. Want me to keep going? Because if I have to embarrass you by mentioning how much I enjoy being married I will.”

He finally grinned bashfully. “No. At least not right now. Maybe later?”

Then it was my turn to get bashful which made him grin manfully.

We both got back to being serious and then he asked, “If Rebecca has to run for some reason, do you think …? No. I don’t want to put you or the kids at risk.”

“If you want to give Rebecca a safe house to run to until she can come up with a plan for whatever the next steps are, we can finish moving everything out of the old wellhouse hidey-hole and store a few supplies down in there for her. But I don’t want to tell her about it until we absolutely must. Just tell her she can come this way and we’ll figure things out. We can talk to the kids about the possibility.”

He slowly nodded. “Just Ethan to start, then maybe Ezra if it looks like more of a reality. I don’t want to involve the others. I don’t want anyone to even accidentally be overheard talking about it. We need as much plausible deniability as we can create. Because if she does have to run … things are going to be bad.”


[1] Rice Pudding With Instant Rice Recipe | CDKitchen.com
 
Maybe Rebecca could tell them of fairly local place that’s empty. Or find out by other means. Set up most basic supplies for say 2 people for 4 days?
There used to be few places around me Close. Houses farm got sold. Barn, buildings bulldozer taken down, but house left. Maybe used few times over summer first year, then closed up, rotting.
Property tax folks and required septic replacement to burial mound type caused them to be removed.
I only know of one livable still within 2 hours walking distance. 3 years since I have been inside. Make a decent fall back, regroup spot.
 
Super great to have a few more chapters. Especially since the story sounds more and more about what is going on and what could be going on. Or maybe I should say it is scary that the story sounds like that.

But anyway, it's super great to have more chapters. Thanks, Kathy!!

(I wonder how many of us could survive on mostly what we can glean from the land?)
 

Part 108​


“This looks like the stuff that my parents would stick in their parakeet’s cage,” Cindy said as we were cutting the heads off a row of foxtail millet that had been planted as an ornamental grass along the side fence of the property next to the empty one where the Eden had been kidnapped to several months ago.

“That was a different kind of millet probably,” I told her. “This stuff is a human consumption variety[1]. They eat a lot of it in places like India and China. It makes a decent hot cereal. I just thought with the kids, you could use something like this.”

“I can and I will. Thanks. And that India China thing would explain it being planted like this. You probably never met the people that owned this land. They were Indian, part of a medical practice in town. At least the husband and son were. The wife kept house. As I remember, her mother in law was also some kind of doctor. Story that Mother Margaret tells is that the parents retired and went back to India to visit after the older mother in law passed away but they never came back, and their son who had taken over their practice in town moved it to Atlanta. They kept the land but never did anything with it except to have someone come mow the front five acres once a season. They let the back fifteen go. I’m not even sure you can get back in there from the look of things.”

I didn’t enlighten her that there was a path through if you knew where to enter and just continued on with my plan. I looked at Elijah and he knew to keep Reggie occupied so I could ask Cindy something. But she’s no slouch and started the conversation herself.

“Okay, the boys aren’t listening so what’s up?”

I sighed. “You’re about the only one I know I can ask without … creating a possible situation.”

“I won’t keep anything from Junior,” she cautioned me.

“I don’t expect you to. But asking you is easier than asking him, and makes more sense to me.” She just waited as I cut another head of millet with my sickle. “You haven’t mentioned our trades to anyone have you?”

She gave me a deeper look and then said, “I was going to ask you the same thing. You feel like you’re being watched? Y’all are awfully friendly with that woman.”

“If you mean Rebecca McKinney, she used to be Cade’s partner. She comes out here when she can because I guess she feels obligated or something. They talk about old times and … and sometimes it helps Cade.”

“He still bad off? He never comes around. Or has that woman told him to hang back so he can’t give any information about what happened in town.”

“Cade is better than he was, but he’s had a few set backs but he is getting better.” I looked around surreptitiously like I was making sure that no one was listening while trying not to look like I was making sure and then gave her the story that I’d built in my head. “I could just spit Cindy. The file they sent home with him was so redacted that it didn’t really make any kind of sense. Not that it probably made much to begin with. It was all military acronyms and medical codes of some kind. Worse than the mess the insurance company gave us when Mom was sick. And I got my degree in Hospital Administration. But … but he was barely more than bones. Did Junior tell you what he looked like?”

Putting an understanding look on her face she said, “He did. We were all shocked.”

“Well then you understand. And we’re barely making headway getting him to put weight back on. He just can’t be out in this cold weather. No real body fat to speak of. All of that and what was done to him … they starved him Cindy … has … has affected him in other ways. The doctors flat out said we can’t push him, that he’ll either come back around … or he won’t … but stressing him could hurt his chances. He’ll talk to Rebecca about old times and will sometimes seem almost completely like himself but … don’t ask him about his time being a prisoner. Just don’t. He doesn’t remember a lot of it but what he does … Cindy I’m telling you I think all the women that escaped that night they had that tent set up were blessed. I mean really blessed.”

Cindy shuddered. “I don’t even like to think of that night. How’s your sister doing?”

“She’s young. And she mostly deals with her brothers. Or she nurses Cade which is a real help … to both of them I think. Cade let’s her ‘cause he thinks of her as … well a little sister I guess, and Eden always has helped to take care of Cade’s daughters so there’s that. And for Eden, it gives her the opportunity to see not all men are animals. You tell Junior and Cyrus they help with that too. But that night and Cade is why I keep the girls as close to home as I can. And now there’s this.”

“This?”

“It feels like we’re being watched. What they’re watching for I don’t know. We don’t even keep animals. And night before last the dogs set up an awful racket about an hour after the sun went down. The boys wanted to go out and check on things but Cade put his foot down. They did go out yesterday morning and there were a lot of boot tracks and none like the boys wear. They had a weird waffle pattern.”

She got a strange look on her face then blinked. “You sure it was waffle patterned.”

“Absolutely. They were completely different from the wore down patterns on the kids’ boots, and Cade wears slippers.”

Her mouth got tight. “I might …” She paused before saying, “Look, this needs to stay between us but there’s been a couple of men coming from the other side of the county. We thought they came from town until that woman … that Rebecca McKinney … made a point of getting their names and locations out of them and saying that they needed to be careful being strangers and all. Junior thought it was odd. It was odder when her partner gave her a nasty look for nearly making a scene. Mother Margaret wasn’t too happy with her either. They’re bringing in stuff people have been wanting … canned goods and things like that.”

“Canned goods?! Cindy …” I was truly shocked by that reveal.

“I know. But it is only one or two at a time. And it isn’t us they’re trading them with. Mr. Millhouse says there’s no way to determine if their contents are still good. The best buy date is always missing or blurred, so he won’t take them since he can’t guarantee them. He’s always so conscientious about that stuff. But I noticed the tracks their boots made ‘cause they never knock their boots off and I’m forever having to sweep up after they leave.” Then she surprised me by asking, “Didn’t that woman say anything to you?”

“I suppose you are talking about Rebecca McKinney again. Well, I don’t know why she would. She really just comes to see Cade and all they do is talk about old times. I get the feeling she’s not allowed to talk about her job, or maybe I’m just being dramatic, and it is that she chooses not to. I mean I know it is some kind of liaison between the military and the civilians in town but beyond that – between you and me – I don’t think she makes much at it. She always looks rode hard and hung up wet, even when she takes an effort to clean up. And she ain’t getting anything but sustenance rations when you look past that uniform she wears. Her belt has a couple of new notches in it just since she helped Cade get home.”

I could see Cindy really listening to what I was saying then she asked, “Well if they aren’t watching you, you think they are watching her?”

“Maybe. But for what reason? Like I said, she only comes to check on Cade out of a sense of responsibility or maybe obligation, talks about old times and people they used to know before … before Cade was taken prisoner. And she only does that when she is going to see her father that lives, oh, I can’t remember if she’s said but it is further up the county road and then over some, but still this side of the river.”

“You’re talking about the Tayberry farm. It’s her grandfather’s place. Mother Margaret said she knew them at one point before they sold off their beef cattle operation.” Well color me surprised, that was something I hadn’t known. Cindy got a thoughtful look on her face. “This isn’t good news. Especially if they are … assuming it is those two men … if they are starting to case people’s property. We’ve been hearing that people have had things go missing. It slowed down once everyone’s gardens finished off. Anything valuable is kept inside anymore. If it can’t be set inside families take turns setting a watch.”

I snorted. “If that’s the case, I’d like to know what they think we have. Our grocery store is the forest. Coulda starved when they were spraying the kudzu. We don’t keep animals, except the dogs and they feed themselves by keeping the tree rats from taking over. We don’t have a smokehouse. Our drinking water comes from a hand pump that doesn’t always want to keep its prime and our wash water is brought in from the creek, which means we have to strain the mud out of it before we can use it. All our whites are now tea colored because of the tannin in the creek no matter how much boiling I do. And if the kids don’t stop growing so fast, I’m going to have to sew together some leaves to keep all the important parts covered,” I ended in exaggerated exasperation.

Cindy was biting her lips but her humor was in sympathy. “I hear you,” she said. “Just … be careful. We all have to do what we must to try and feed our families but try and not go off by your self if you can help it. I guess I’m going to have to bring this up to Junior whether I want to or not. Hearing that you’ve had someone snooping around and it being so close to our place … oh, that didn’t come out right.”

I gave a small smile to assure her no offense was taken. “No, I understand. We all need to stand on our own two feet as much as we can. I don’t expect you to lend Junior that’s for sure. We’ll figure things out. I was just wondering if someone thought we had anything to speak of. God is looking after us, so it’s not like we are starving, but what we eat may not be what most people recognize as food. It took forever for most people to think of acorns and kudzu as part of a balanced diet. And how many people look at stuff like this millet and think anything other than it is an annoying plant they used to spray to keep it out of the fence rows. As it is I could kick myself for digging up all those dandelions last year. We could have eaten them for greens this year and now I’d have more than enough roots to experiment with.”

“Dandelion roots?” she asked.

“Yep. Dig ‘em up. Peel them and you can do a lot with them. Substitute them for carrots in recipes. Fry them or bake them up like fries. You can make dandelion coffee substitute. Supposedly you can make muffins out of them though it would probably take some experimenting to change recipe from wheat flour to a nut flour or acorn flour. I just feel like I made so many mistakes in the beginning by missing opportunities. Now here it is winter and …” I bit my lip and stopped talking and then changed the subject. Yes, I know that was about as obvious as could be but I’d gotten what I could out of Cindy and I wanted to appear to be hiding why I didn’t want to talk about it any longer.

We gleaned all of the dried heads of millet and I knew that that was at least one food source I no longer had to worry that people might take an interest in. And it created a cleared buffer away from the homeplace.

Now to get back to the house, share what I’d learned with Cade and Ethan, and make sure they included me with any plans they came up with.


[1] 24 Millet Recipes: the Next Great Grain - Dr. Axe
 
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