It Was 2052, High Haven (5 page)

He sat up, ignoring her
diversion, “I want to know what you think of that guy, Taylor.
What about his story and that stuff going on in the cities?”

“
Who knows if he's
telling the truth?” She turned toward the house, “I don't
even know if we should be leaving him unguarded---who knows what he
is. Even so, we know it's a whole different world in the cities.
Seemed like the man is trying to move away from the city. Isn't that
big dog something? What a giant!” Something was making her feel
a bit uneasy.

“
I'm not kidding,
Cis. Bubba has been talking about going to the city for a long time.
I want to know more about the military. If these stories of the
military battling the bad guys are true, I might want to join up.”

The smile now left, “Oh,
Kevin. Emily and Dad wouldn't be happy about that. I don't
know---you sure can't listen to that pea-brain, Bubba. You would end
up taking care of him. What would Suzanne think of you leaving?
Don't get crazy, you better do some deep thinking about this.”

“
That's not really
true. I know Bubba has a big mouth but he's a lot smarter than you
think. He's very capable of taking care of himself.” He stood
up and dusted off his worn jeans. “I'm not saying that I'm set
on doing anything...and you best not say to anybody that I am.”
His finger pointed towards her, “I'm just going to talk to the
stranger some more and I
am
going to do some pondering.”
Her brother didn't mention the girl.

She just looked up at the
brother she loved, her smile gone, said nothing. He walked toward
the house and she now had plenty of things to sort through in her
mind. Before Kevin and his father had found first Emily and then
herself, they traveled for many years and miles. Then, the four of
them crossed much of Texas, into New Mexico and up into Colorado,
where they found sanctuary. This place had been a mostly secure and
safe home for them. They had found friends and a life.

Why shouldn't her
brother want to venture out? She couldn't say that it hadn't crossed
her own mind before.
She looked
down at the book, no hope of concentrating on it now. The books in
the library had really been her friends, her escape all these years.
This was one of a few about the legends of long lost treasures in the
mountains that surrounded their little community. She was fascinated
with these stories. Of course, it wasn't that the discovery of
riches
intri
g
ued
Cissy.
What would found treasure bring her?
She
admitted, the idea of traveling into unknown territories did sound
exciting. Only the elders had actual knowledge and memories of the
way America was before the big event. They seemed to be certain that
the way of life, the society that had existed in the before country
would be a very long time in returning.
Her
father and Cody said that maybe
her
children
would know a sembl
a
nce
of that world.
Her children?

The
notion of her children was as unreal to her as the
world
she
read about in the old library books.
T
he
images
and
descriptions---that was
all just a fantasy to her. The prosperous cities with streets
clogged with automobiles, the stores full of every thing a person
could imagine from food to clothing to all the furnishings to fill a
house, restaurants and movies, things that were amazing to read
about. Cissy had no experience or memory of such things and they
seemed as impossible to her as
the
sun falling from the sky.

She
stood and shook out the kinks from
legs
that had been folded up too long
.
“Well, I've wasted away this afternoon,” she said to the
rabbit that nibbled close by and then bounded away. She hadn't
resolved any of the mystery of the newcomer, hadn't read any of her
treasure stories.
All I've managed to accomplish this
afternoon is to add a new concern to my list...what is that brother
of mine going to do?

***

From the day, nearly two
months earlier, that Taylor and Peaches walked up the curling road
and into their lives, things began to drastically change for Cissy's
combined and extended family. The weather was warm these days, other
than the cool nights that were common, even in the middle of summer.
The man that walked up on the back porch of Jeff and Emily's home,
wearing just a light shirt with the sleeves rolled up, looked far
more rested and better groomed than the day of his arrival. Taylor's
beard was gone, the face that he was completely unaware was quite
handsome looked strange at first until the pale underneath began to
darken to a hue closer to the rest of his face. Oddly, the scar that
seemed to stand out against his heavy beard, was less noticeable on
his clean shaven face, just a crooked line. Emily, the accepted
barber of the families had trimmed his hair a bit. He insisted on
keeping it long enough to pull back in a leather tie.

Four fat rabbits dangled
from his hand. Peaches came loping up to his favorite person on
earth. The petite fluff of mutt stuck right to his heels, his
constant canine buddy these days. Both, excited at the smell of
fresh meat. “Hey, you two,” said Taylor, bending to pet
the tall and the tiny. “Looks like supper for us all.”

Cissy stepped out on the
porch. He held up the rabbits, “Had some luck. Need to get them
cleaned. Have you got time to talk to me for a bit?”

He shoo-ed away the dogs
and walked to the long old table several yards away from the house.
It wasn't a good idea to clean game near the house, there were
coyotes, mountain lions and bears in the area. Cissy followed behind,
her boots high stepped in the summer greened grass, a bucket of water
swung at her side. At the table, she took her knife from her belt and
began to help him dress the rabbits, “You wanted to talk to
me?”

He skinned one of the
rabbits, as she managed another. Just like Lauren had been, this was
no weak woman. He discovered that she always spoke straight forward
and protected her heart. He knew he better get to his point, “I'm
feeling pretty crappy these days. It's been--- um-m--- tense, I guess
you could say. I'm feeling responsible, like I've upset the peace of
this place.”

“
Why would you
think that?” she said.

“
Kevin and Bubba,
they're more and more set on going up to the city. It's obvious that
your parents, Bubba's parents and even Cody and Ashley aren't at all
pleased with the prospect. I think me coming here and telling about
the rumors and things in the city started the whole thing. The
discussions have been pretty heated. Frankly, the more I've gotten to
know you all, the more it concerns me. You have welcomed me, you
don't know how much I appreciate it. It's absolutely dangerous and
unknown in the city. If those young men go away...”

She took the back of a
bloodied hand and pushed away an annoying fly, leaving a smear on her
face. He dunked his hand in the bucket, intended to wipe it away. She
looked at him very directly---
maybe not,
he wiped his hand on
his pants.

“
Taylor, this isn't
you. Bubba has been talking about the city forever. Kevin---well,
Kevin is a grown man. Why shouldn't he want to explore away from
here? They're going to do what they want to, in the end. I don't
think anyone can stop them. Besides, all of these people have lived
through their own adventures. They won't be happy, but they will
support them.”

“
You're not
worried, you think they should go?” he said, returning her
steady gaze.

“
I'm scared s—tless
for Kev,” she said, “but, he has to make his own life and
decisions.”

They cleaned up, nothing
more was said. That evening, as the rabbits fed Cissy's family and
himself, Peaches and his partner feasted on the back porch. For the
first time in days, Kevin didn't bring up going to the city. It was
a pleasant meal, but Taylor knew it wasn't the end of it.

Morning, just as Taylor
laced up his boot, there was a tap at the door. He had formed a habit
to get up and out early, stow his gear away. By mid morning, it
wasn't unusual for someone to want to use the library. An outside
entry door to the room had been added years ago, so it wasn't
necessary to come through the house. “Come in.”

Cissy came through the
private house door, handed him a steaming cup of tea. “Thought
you might need a wake up mug,” she said.

“
Thanks.” He
remembered how his dad had loved coffee, very little of that around
anymore. He had learned to enjoy the tea, Cissy's mother made a good
brew.

She moved to the shelves,
pushed the book she held onto the shelf and pulled out another.

“
You read a lot,
I've noticed,” he said. “What are you interested in?”

Holding the book, she
came and sat on the end of the sofa, “You read?” She
noticed that on the table in front of his temporary bed was a book,
Fast Cars of the Sixties.

He took a sip of the tea,
“This is good, thank you. I was old enough to know how to read,
when the stuff hit the fan. I'm not great at it, but I can read.
There's an amazing amount of information in this room. What a place
America must've been. I have some memories, not a lot.”

“
Yeah. Doesn't seem
very real to me.” She looked down at the book in her hand,
Lost
Treasures of Southern Colorado
.

“
What'cha reading?”
he gently pulled the book from her. “That looks interesting.”
Turning the book over, he mouthed the descriptive words on the
back---
Myths and legends of long lost buried treasures in the wild
mountain ranges of southern Colorado.
She looked a bit
embarrassed, not the norm for her. He handed the book back and
smiled.

Through the uncovered
window, distant peaks still held on to small patches of snow. The
morning sun made the tops glisten and the clouds hovered like the
little dog on Peaches leg. She walked to the window, “It
is
interesting...imagine what must be in those mountains.”

With excitement in her
voice, she said, “It wouldn't be about the treasure, it would
be about the going...about the places you've never been.”

“
Thinking about
making a little expedition, are you?” he said with amusement.

Cissy tucked the book
under her arm, took the mug before he could take the last sip and
went out the door. Before she closed it, extra hard he thought, “See
you later, Taylor.”

Treasures! Who
would've thought Miss No Nonsense dreamed of buried riches.
He
wondered why he
still
had a pleasant vision of her
trim
figure as she stomped quickly across the room and exited.

***

“
Good Lord, girl!
What're you trying to kill...we have ants or something?”

She didn't realize that
her boots fell heavy down the hall until she reached the kitchen and
Kev's mouth. Emily already had breakfast on the table, her dad
joined them and she heard Taylor coming from the library. As she sat
and Kevin droned on about the Bailey's barn repairs, it occurred to
her that he was suspiciously cheerful, just as he'd been the previous
evening.

It surprised her. Kevin
dropped his small bomb right in the middle of the breakfast table,
made his announcement and it was anti-climatic. He began to talk fast
and expand on his plans, “Bubba and I have decided that we're
definitely going to the city. We're going to try to find out about
the army. If we can join the American army in a battle against our
enemy, that's what we're going to do.” There was silence.

Plowing on, “Because,
Dad...you know that's the right thing to do. Maybe the country needs
us, maybe we can help to rebuild. I'm no boy, I'm a man and I need
to do what I think is right. You taught me that.”

Jeff said in a very calm
voice, “Yes, son. You do need to follow your own way.”

Emily, her eyes moist,
said, “We'll support you, Kevin. But, you and Bubba can't go
off half cocked. You are going to need to do some preparing and be
sure you're at your best, to do this.”

Kevin appeared shocked at
the lack of argument and had to agree. “Yes, Mom. I know we
have to prepare and we'll appreciate any help or support the families
can give us.”

The eggs suddenly made
her nauseous. She pushed back from the table and went out the back
door, broke into a run as she crossed the meadow in front of the
house. The paints came quickly to her, thinking she would offer a
treat. She patted one of her favorites and swung up on to it's bare
back. For the next two hours she let the horse carry her over the
rough terrain and open meadows, allowed the knot in her stomach and
the squeeze of her heart to ease.
Kevin is going.
It's right,
but it is so wrong.