Camping with Conveniences
CJ/Danny
Rating Child –
Spoilers through end of series; possible spoilers for my other stories. It is set in the summer of 2012, when CJ was carrying Caitlin, right before "USS Fitzwallace" in "Holding Hands on the Way Down"
Not mine, never were, never will be, but they consume my soul
Feedback and criticism always welcomed
This is in response to a Presidents' Day challenge on Yahoo SOTU and CJ/Danny fanfiction -- to incorporate White House trivia into a story
June 24, 2012; Santa Monica, CA; 3:00 PM EDT
"Okay, we've got eight hours."
Danny walked into the kitchen where CJ was standing by the sink. He walked behind his wife and circled his arms around her bulging stomach. "Do you want me to do that?"
"I'm almost done," CJ answered. "Would you get me the hot water?"
Danny obligingly walked out to the courtyard, fetched the big lobster pot from the gas grill, came back to the kitchen and, telling CJ to step back, poured the contents over the contents of the sink. Then, using towels to protect their hands from the steaming plates and cutlery, the two of them put the pieces in the dish drainer.
"What else are you washing?" Danny asked as CJ refilled the pot.
"Our son. Me. You. The pool can only do so much. And according to Billy, the best estimate is another four days before the grid is back up."
The greater Los Angeles area was in the second day of a major electrical failure. Everyone on the block had electric ranges and electric hot water heaters, so it was improvision time. Between what they already had (Frank and Ken) and what they were able to get from Home Depot, the twelve families had four generators between them. They easily decided that keeping the food in their freezers was of primary importance, so each household got eight hours of time each day. Luckily, the weather was seasonably mild and they were only a block from the ocean, so the lack of air-conditioning was not a problem, even for a pregnant CJ. They were able to obtain dry ice to keep most of their perishables until the food could be consumed. ("Shrimp for lunch, steak for dinner, once this is over, we'll be doing hotdogs and hamburger for a week to get the budget back in balance," Diana told the others when everyone was gathered at the Concannon place the previous night.)
With the street lights out, the nights were a new experience. Jill Robbins, who took an astronomy classes her freshman year, conducted a class for the kids the first night. Of course, the lack of illumination also caused some concern, and the guys took turns standing watch from dark to dawn.
Later that evening
Everyone was gathered at Hank and Steve's place. The families had decided to pool the last of their protein and were having a grilled smorgasbord.
"Finish this shrimp, Frank," CJ said, passing the plate to her left.
"Well, it's a dirty job, but I guess that's what the military's for," came the laughing reply.
"If we're still without power, maybe we can go down to the beach tomorrow," Yan said. "It sounds like everyone's having a good time down there." The group could see several bonfires in the distance and sounds of revelry came up the cliff.
"Maybe too much of a good time, it may not be family rated," Hank suggested.
"You know, I could get used to this," Steve said. "Life seems a little slower. I don't miss the TV, and stopping at the store every day for groceries doesn't seem to be that much of an inconvenience."
"Well, we're lucky that it's summer, but not that hot," CJ said. "I can imagine that without the ocean breezes, we would be pining for AC; I know that me and the minnow would be. And it's only a few days since the solstice, so there's a lot of natural daylight. Believe me, if you ever had to live through a power outage in the middle of winter, you would be singing a different tune."
"Steve's right," Hannah agreed. "It's like camping but with conveniences - a decent bed and a decent bathroom. I wouldn't mind a few more days of this lifestyle."
"Mom!" Audra cried. "Please, no! I can't dry my hair, I have to hoard my cell use, I can't get on the net. How can anyone want to live like this, it's the dark ages, it's positively primitive!"
"Audra, you talk as if we've had electricity and all the conveniences it allows for eons and eons," Danny said when the laughter died down. It's really been only a little more than a century. Even the White House didn't have electric lights until 1891. And even then, President and Mrs. Harrison were leery of it."
"My grandmother would give you a five part miniseries about what she had to do without when she first came over from Lebanon," Manny added, calling from his station at the grill. "No central heat, no hot water, washing clothes in a tub, definitely no web, no TV, no radio."
"And don't forget the outhouse," Aviva added.
"No indoor plumbing is where I would draw the line," Laura Robbins said. "I can put up with not having electricity, but an outhouse? Not even if I were living in the White House."
"Well, I'm sure that even the early presidents didn't have to use an outhouse. You probably have some many times great grandmother who emptied chamber pots for them," Ken told his wife.
"The first mentions of indoor plumbing in the White House are in the 1830's, when they piped water in from a spring," Danny said. "As far as when they first had indoor toilets, some say Millard Fillmore, some say Grant."
"When did you become such an expert on the White House, Danny?" CJ asked her husband.
"Eighth grade term paper."
"Wow, you remember back that far?" CJ laughed, then moved away as Danny threatened to swat her butt. "Sam sure could have used you the day he met Mallory."
"And yet he forgot it was his turn to bring the beer to the last game," Frank said. "Speaking of camping, the boys have been talking about sleeping outside. What do you think?"
"You want to use the courtyard?" Danny asked. "They'd be outside but inside."
"Actually, they want to go down to the beach."
After a chorus of "no way"s from the mothers, the parents decided that the kids could sleep at Pete and Sonya's, inside the wrought iron fence that overlooked the ocean.
Then Wally Hammash came back to the group with a plate of grilled chicken.
"Here's the last of the meat. I wonder who had the first barbeque at the White House?"
"That's easy," Danny said. "The British in 1814."