No Ordinary Day , Tate, Harley [ebook offline .TXT] 📗

with a grateful smile and hurried to change. Stepping into the tiny bathroom transported her back in time nearly seventy years. Pink and yellow tiles adorned the floor and walls and a pink toilet made her smile. As a child in Idaho, her best friend’s bathroom looked almost identical.

Holly’s sweatpants only reached mid-calf, but the oversized sweatshirt did the job. After changing, Emma entered the kitchen to find John already changed and looking more like a lumberjack than a financial auditor. He tugged on the collar of the red flannel and grimaced.

She suppressed a laugh as she turned to Irma. “We can’t thank you enough for inviting us in. Is there anything we can do?”

“You could start by shoving off.” Gil stomped about the kitchen, sour expression on his face.

“Pay him no heed.” Irma reached for the tea kettle as it began to hiss. “As soon as I pour you a cup of tea, you can help me with dinner.”

With extra hands, it didn’t take long to set the table for five instead of two. Emma sliced fresh-baked cornbread, Holly set out plates, napkins, and silverware, and even John chipped in, filling water glasses from the tap. Irma scooped chili into bowls while Tank took up residence beneath the table. After a begrudging saying of thanks from Gil, everyone dug in, Emma and her companions too hungry to talk.

As spoons scraped along empty bowls, Holly broke the silence. “That was delicious. Thank you.” Irma stood up and fetched another bowl of chili layered with crumbled cornbread and set it on the floor beneath the table. Tank ate so fast, the bowl scooted out from beneath the table and he followed it, licking it clean as it whacked against the cabinet.

Emma and Holly both laughed. Before entering this welcoming home, when was the last time she enjoyed a meal? When was the last time she laughed this often and this hard? It was easy in the company of Irma, and even Gil, to forget her troubles.

CropForward. The blackout.

She glanced at the oil lamp on the table.  Did Gil and Irma know what might be coming? Only one way to find out. She motioned to the lamp. “Are you always this prepared for a power outage?”

Irma nodded. “Back in the day, power used to go off all the time around here, isn’t that right, honey? We were the only house for quite a ways before the highway went in, so we were on our own.”

“More sense in being prepared than not.” Gil reached for his plate, but Emma stood and urged him to sit back down.

“I’m happy to clear. It’s the least I can do.”

“We met this guy on the road today, and he told us this blackout might be really bad,” Holly began. She glanced at Emma before continuing. “He said the power might not come back for years. And that bad things would happen as a result.”

It was a simplistic way of explaining it, but it wasn’t wrong. Emma collected the last plate and carried them to the sink. “Have you all seen any news or heard any reports?” The last thing she wanted was for good people like this to be caught off guard.

Gil leaned back in his chair. “We know all about it. Got myself a HAM.”

“I don’t see what meat has to do with this?” Holly said, her brow knit in confusion.

Irma laughed. “Not a piece of pig, a HAM radio. We’ve been talking to people all over. Seems like the power’s out everywhere from Arizona to Florida to New York. Doesn’t sound like it’s coming back on anytime soon either.”

Emma set the dishes in the sink. “You can reach that far with a HAM?”

Gil shrugged. “We’ve heard from people who heard from people. It’s not that hard. But I can’t run it all the time. Generator takes too much fuel. So I haven’t listened today.”

Without thinking, Emma turned on the hot water. Within moments, she pulled away to keep from being burned and blinked in surprise. “Are you all on gas?”

“Propane. Got the tank out back.” Gil leaned forward in his chair, a gleam of pride in his eye. “Heat the house with a wood stove, don’t need no air-conditioning. Water’s from a good, deep well. We can be here forever. Fridge is the only thing I’m gonna miss. When we moved here fifty years ago it was what, ten miles to the nearest neighbor?”

Irma nodded. “School bus had to drive a fifty-mile route just to pick up the kids. Barely filled that schoolhouse over in Hamden.”

“You’re not worried?”

“Didn’t say that.” Gil rubbed at the stubble peppering his chin. “Things will probably get a bit rough. But we’re all alone, we’ve got all we need, and I can defend myself.”

He seemed confident, but at his age, Emma had to wonder. If someone younger and more determined showed up, would Gil and Irma have a chance? She pushed the thought aside as she finished washing the dishes.

Throughout the whole conversation, John hadn’t said a word. At first, she thought he was still seething over stopping at the farmhouse. But the more she watched him from the corner of her eye, the more his expressions changed as they talked. He was thinking and whatever it was about, it wasn’t good.

“Where are you all headed?” Irma asked the question with a warm smile.

“My friend Gloria’s place. She’s got a cabin. It’s pretty remote, but she’s set up not all that different from you all here.” Emma smiled back at Irma. “If this power outage lasts a while, it’s as good a place to be as any.”

“Good.” Irma placed her hand over her heart. “I confess, I’ve been worried about you, not knowing where you’re going or if you have a plan.”

Gil cleared his throat. “We’ve got a barn out back. There’s some hay that’s relatively fresh. You all can sleep there tonight if you don’t want to hit the road.”

Irma swatted his arm. “Don’t be daft. We have a