Post Grid: An Arizona EMP Adventure (22 page)

“I've never shot much,” Jose said. “I could stand some lessons.”

“That's why you have my shotgun,” Rich said. “I have a bunch of .22 ammo back at the house and I'll teach you to shoot with my rifle. It's a perfect little gun for learning and keeping your skills up. “

“I'll help with that,” Jared volunteered.

“I could use some range time too,” Dennis said.

“We all could,” Kelly said.

“I'll make up both basic and more advanced training for each of you,” said Jared. “I'll have to get a feel for everybody's skill level first, but I've qualified expert on pistols and rifles since the academy.”

“Do I have to shoot?” Lynn asked, trying not to whine but not succeeding. “I mean, I'm not afraid of guns, but I've never really seen myself as”—she thought about what word to use—, “aggressive.”

“Your cousins in the Israeli army carry M-16s with them everywhere, on and off duty, “ Dennis said. “Because of our circumstances, you need to be able to defend yourself.”

“They are in a war—we're not. Teen attitude echoed through Lynn's words.

“Well, at this point I don't know what to say we are
in
, but I think it's safe to say we are in a survival situation until proven otherwise.”

“Do I have to shoot the big guns?”

Jared answered that one. “I'll teach you everything you need to know. When you're confident, you won't be afraid of any of them.”

“Okay, what if I don't want to?”

Dennis jumped in. “You might need to defend one of us too. How would you feel if Emma needed you, or Kelly, even me?”

“I don't know,” Lynn said softly, anger still coming through even without volume.

“Talking about shooting practice,” Rich said, “what about the stuff we left in Fountain Hills? I think we should go into town tomorrow and see if there's anything left of our cache.”

“It's got to be done,” Jose said. “I suppose the sooner the better.”

By the time they arrived at the Johnson home, most of the people of Sunflower were there, some with family Bibles in hand.

After the discussion with Rich and Emma this morning, Dennis was not surprised to see the turnout. The family groups broke up, and individuals greeted each other and began conversing. Dennis circulated among the crowd, making small talk.

As 10 a.m. drew near, Dennis cleaned off a worktable in the shop and placed his chaplain kit on it. Dennis always carried the kit he had put together for Civil Air Patrol. He drew out his prayer shawl and pronounced a blessing before donning it, then set up a small white stand. He laid out a Hebrew Bible, the Torah in book form, and a King James Bible. On the stand he placed a miniature Torah scroll. It had a blue protective cover with gold designs and Hebrew writing on it. People noticed him preparing and began to drift into the building. Lynn, seeing her father ready to start, unfolded her prayer shawl, recited a blessing and placed it over her shoulders.

“Welcome,” Dennis said. “Let's get started.” He waved toward the lawn chairs around the tables. “First, thank you for coming to study with Lynn, my daughter, and me. This is our Sabbath, and these studies will be our substitute for attending synagogue. I hope each one of you will find joy and peace in our contemplation of the Torah, the five books of Moses.” He paused for a moment.

“I'm assuming you folks are of a Christian background, am I right?”

Everyone nodded.

“I truly hope that your faith in God and your determination to follow the moral values of your religion is strengthened. From my perspective, Christianity is Judaism for non-Jews. We all worship the God of Abraham and base our religions on the books of Moses, as well as the other writings of the Hebrew Bible. We have a lot to share.

“I am not the final authority here. We each bring unique perspectives to the discussion. I encourage debate. We do not all have to have the same opinion.

“Some of you may be wondering about my views on religion. Well, I call myself a Jew without portfolio. I was raised and educated in the Orthodox tradition. I was ordained a Reform rabbi and attend a Reform synagogue. I'm less interested in the form of Judaism, but more interested in seeing how the teachings of the Torah and Jewish practices are adapted by individuals and communities to fit new circumstances.

“Enough of my blathering, I think it's appropriate to begin our gathering with a prayer. Would someone like to offer one?”

So began the first meeting of the “Christian-Jewish Synagogue of Greater Sunflower” as the residents came to call their spiritual meetings. The participants soon became animated as the discussion ranged from opinion to opinion.

Rich surprised Kelly with his insightful and erudite discussion of the text. A little of the shroud of mystery covering Rich lifted when Dennis asked about his ability to parse the meaning of passages. For the first time, Rich divulged personal information, saying, “Oh, I was raised Mormon and even served as a missionary in Italy. Later, I taught high school and community college English.”

The hour passed quickly. Dennis brought the meeting to a close with a prayer in Hebrew and then one in English.

Study hour broke up with the neighbors thanking Dennis and Lynn. Dennis sought out the Bantings and had a long talk, exploring their fears of Emmet's diabetes. People continued to visit after the meeting, reluctant to leave the little community they had created, until one by one the family groups began to go.

****

The clan lazed about the house after lunch. “I could get used to this not working on Saturday thing,” Rich announced.

Jess blurted out, “So, can you play horseshoes with
real
horseshoes?”

“Yes, you can,” Emma said. “It's harder to get a ringer because the real shoes are smaller.”

“I saw some horseshoes in the tack shed,” Jess said. “Does anyone want to play?”

“I'd like that,” Kelly said.

“Me too,” Jose said.

“I'll get a couple of stakes and a hammer,” Rich said. “Jess, go get some shoes.”

Emma used the powdered lemonade packets they got when provisions were divided in Sunflower and made a big, celebratory pitcher, all the while pining for ice.

Shortly the clan was gathered in Emma's front yard, sipping gleefully.

“Boys against girls,” Lynn called out.

“That's three against five,” Jess said.

“That's all we need,” Kelly said, pitching the first shoe. Jared threw with his good arm and did about as well as everyone else.

“Rich, I didn't know you taught school,” Dennis said between pitches. “What did your wife do?”

“She was a music teacher. We met in college and played in a band together.”

“You played in a band?” Dennis asked incredulously. “What kind of band? What instrument do you play? Wait, wait, don't tell me... the trombone.” A big smile spread across Dennis's face and then Rich's.

“I messed around with guitar, bass guitar and upright bass. Betty had a beautiful voice and could play almost any instrument she picked up,” Rich said wistfully with the sheen of tears in his eyes. “In school—remember, this was the 'sixties—we were in a folk band. Later we tried our hand at rock, bluegrass, country and some jazz. We loved being together and working out different styles.”

“Do you still play?” Lynn asked.

“I get my guitar out now and then and pick a little,” Rich said.

“Don't let him fool you,” Emma jumped in. “He has some amazing licks. I first heard him playing sitting out on his front porch.”

“Emma knows a thing or two about guitars herself,” Rich said. “She joins me playing on the porch most times.”

“I just strum chords enough so people can sing along,” Emma said. “I never got beyond that. Lynn, do you play an instrument?”

“Violin and piano. My dad plays clarinet.”

“Wow, we have quite the musical group, don't we?” Emma said. “I think we should play a little this evening, maybe a love song.” She nodded toward Kelly and Jared, who were sitting together on the glider.

Kelly glanced up, surprised that her mother would say anything like that in front of the group.

“Like everyone hadn't figured it out,” Emma said. Dennis and Jose both smirked, trying to stifle laughs.

Jared pulled Kelly closer to him. “Nothing to look at here,” he said, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head to one side.

Kelly did not resist, and folded herself into his arms.

“I, for one, am glad to see it,” Dennis said. “I think I speak for everyone when I say Jared here seems to be a nice guy, clean cut and polite. He's just what every mother hopes for for her daughter.”

Jared's face turned just the slightest hint of red as he turned to see what Kelly would say.

“Mom, stop it. We haven't announced our engagement or anything,” Kelly said.

“No, I didn't mean you had. I just thought it would be easier on everybody if it were out in the open,” Emma said. “More lemonade?” She stood and moved toward the half-full pitcher.

“Thank you, Mrs. Wise. You are so kind,” Jared said with a hint of sarcasm.

“You are welcome, young man,” she said, mimicking his tone.

Jared smiled.

The group finished up their many rounds of horseshoes. Dennis and Lynn recited Havdalah at sunset, then all played, sang and danced on the porch well into the night. The day of rest and celebration had been just that.

As the others prepared to go off to bed, Jose gathered his twenty-four-hour pack and shotgun from next to the front door. He slung the pack over his shoulder and said, “I'm off to do my guard shift in Sunflower.” He headed down the porch steps and Jess followed him.

“Dad, what time do you get off?”

“Two a.m., you know that.” Jose cocked his head to one side.

“I know,” said Jess, looking at his feet and kicking a small stone in the moonlight. “But...”

“What's up, Mijo?”

“I want to go with you,” Jess said, lifting his gaze to look directly at his father.

“You haven't napped or anything. It's going to be a long night.”

“I know. I'll be your back-up,” Jess said. It was more of a question than a statement.

“I don't think it's a good idea. Your mom would have my head if I let anything happen to you.”

“Mom?” Jess said, manly anger in his voice. “That's your excuse, Mom?”

Jose readjusted the shotgun in his left hand.

“My mom is dead for all we know. If she's not dead, she'll never find us in this stinking canyon in the middle of nowhere.”

Tears welled in Jose's eyes for the first time Jess could remember. “I don't know what else to do, Jess.” He lowered his head to hide his emotion. “I don't know if we could survive anywhere else right now. Your mom would be foolish to try to make it back here, across the whole country and then this desert.”

“But we know where Uncle Tino's farm is,” Jess said angrily, tears welling and standing in his eyes.

“How do you propose we get there? You're not three, you know better.”

“Do I?” he shouted. “Mom's out there somewhere and you don't care!” His voice broke as he said it.

Jose pushed out his chest and stepped forward, right into Jess's face. “Don't you ever say that, son,” he snarled, teeth clenched. “I loved that woman long before you got here and I still do. If I thought setting out on a long walk would fix this, I'd do it. But I don't. We could be minutes—literally minutes apart out there and never find each other.”

Jess dropped his shoulders and leaned back a couple of inches to increase the distance between his and his father's noses. “I miss Mom,” he said.

“I do too, damn it. Get your coat... and your gun. We'll talk about this in town.”

Chapter 11

Jess and Lynn were tasked with building a solar hot water heater while the “away team” went to Fountain Hills. Jose had explained to Jess, in detail, how to build it during their night on guard duty. It filled the long hours in the dark and cold as they walked up and down the fence between town and the freeway.

The plan called for a double-walled, insulated box that could hold a coiled, one-hundred foot hose. One hundred feet because that was the length they had picked up on their first trip to Fountain Hills. The box also needed a good-sized double-paned window to let the solar energy in.

“Let's go across the creek to a couple of those abandoned houses and see if there is any glass lying around,” Jess suggested to Lynn. “Everyone here in Sunflower seems to have a shed with extra parts and old stuff in it.”