Gail Green brought out the mugs of tea for her men. She would never describe her current emotion as happy; she couldn't possibly do that on a day like this. But she was happy to have her boys and her husband with her.
Her day had gone from the mundane to busy to horrific, the shock of how the day had turned out still numbing her mind and soul. Preparing something hot to drink for Johnston, Jake and Eric seemed a simple task, but it kept her busy, and worry about what they were discussing in the other room kept her mind off of what she had just finished dealing with at the hospital. She would need to start thinking of April again soon; she needed to find just the right outfit to bury her daughter-in-law in. But before that, she needed to make sure that Eric was okay. Her life had become, of late, all about taking one step at a time, since the bombs fell not so many months ago. She didn't see any chance any time soon that her one day at a time philosophy would ever be anything but that.
"There's no reason they need that kind of commitment," Jake argued as Gail stepped back into the living room.
"They have their own families to think about, work to be done," Eric said, not really defending New Bern's demand for the ten men, but certainly understanding responsibility to family, or at least understanding how it felt to fail in that responsibility.
"Eric, there's a lot of work that still can't happen. The EMP messed up a lot of businesses that way. They've got men," Jake countered. The older Green sibling was angry that his family had to deal with this issue when they had yet to be given the proper time to deal with their grief over losing April.
"That's not their point, Jake, and you know it," Johnston Green interrupted.
"So what is their point? What are we supposed to think? They are going to be hostages, Dad. New Bern delivers windmills as they become available, but our people don't come back if they don't get their ten percent?"
"I wouldn't call them hostages," Johnston cautioned.
"Why not? I don't see how this arrangement isn't a perfect example of the word. Granted, the plan is a little more creative than most terrorists come up with."
"That's enough," Johnston ordered. "They are our friends and our neighbors and you know that people react differently to extreme situations. They have nothing else to use as leverage, and we're behind the eight ball ourselves."
"I'm going to go," Eric announced quietly.
"No you're not," Gail insisted.
"Yes I am. It's something that I can do to help."
"Eric," Jake said patiently, "there are others who can go. You just lost…"
"I know what I've lost!" Eric yelled back. "I can't stay here. I need to do something productive. Something that can help. I need to do something good."
"Eric, you have been doing good things here," his mother argued. Eric shook his head and looked out the window.
Gail looked from her youngest son, so devastated by what had transpired this day. Then she turned to her husband, her face full of hope that Johnston would have a good argument to keep her son close. What she saw in his expression told her that this day would continue on its downward spiral.
"Eric, you should stay here with your family. This has been a rough day for all of us," Johnston explained steadily. He had to try – for his wife - but he knew in the end that Eric would have the final say.
"No." Tears came readily as the youngest Green tried to explain how he felt. "I need some time alone, away. Away from the memories. I keep thinking of what might have been and it's killing me. I can't even look at Mary right now. I thought I loved her, and now everything is so messed up. This will give me a chance to think. And I'll be able to watch out for our interests."
"Stanley told me that he's going, too," Johnston said.
"Stanley's going?" Jake asked. It was bad enough that he'd have to worry about Heather, and now Eric. But his best friend, too? This deal was sounding worse and worse. The day had started for Jake with a rush of mixed emotions: April's sudden collapse and the fallout of finding equipment and getting Kenchy to agree to try to save her, the good news about the arrival of the windmill, followed immediately by the disappointment and worry that Heather hadn't been part of the delivery team. Jake cared for Heather and was concerned for her welfare, but now two people that he loved were being thrown into the mix. He didn't like it, but he was at a loss about what he could do about it.
"Yeah. He says things are ready for spring planting so he wants to be part of this."
"I…I'm not sure how it makes sense for one of Jericho's major farmers not to be here," Jake argued, his practical side coming out as he tried to hide his concern. He knew Stanley Richmond well. He was stubborn and he could be a hothead – not exactly the best representative for Jericho to send with relations so precarious between the two towns. Jake Green loved Stanley like a brother, and he knew that he was a good man. But good men could still make bad decisions in the heat of battle.
Or in a fight for survival.
Johnston nodded his head, having thought the same thing earlier about Stanley's absence during the coming season. "Stanley said he's got people lined up to cover everything. The whole town knows how important this crop is, for all of us," the senior Green added calmly. Despite his efforts to sound calm, Johnston Green could not hide his skepticism that this agreement might develop into something bad down the line. "There is a certain amount of comfort knowing that Eric and Stanley will be there to keep an eye on things." 'And each other' went unspoken.
"We will, Dad," Eric assured his father. Gail reached over and grabbed her youngest son's hand. "Everything will be fine, Mom."
"It better be. I hate that you're doing this," she added sadly.
"It's the right thing to do for the town. And I need to do this," Eric added.
"You need to be careful," Jake told his brother. "You're gonna be fine," he added. Eric nodded his head, unable to speak as he choked up at seeing his family – what remained of it – look to him with such love, concern and hope. Just sitting there was overwhelming to the young man.
"I'm gonna go pack," he said as he stood and stormed from the room.
Jake looked back and forth between his mom and dad. "He should stay here with us. He's going to need us."
"Jake, son, Eric is a grown man. It's his decision and we have to give him the chance to make these decisions. I'd like him here, too. But we can't force him to stay."
Gail had planned to remain quiet, to not challenge her husband on this, but it wasn't in her nature – not as a mother.
"We could force him," she said solemnly.
"We can't, sweetheart." Gail blinked as she looked into her husband's eyes, working hard to keep the tears at bay. She turned to her first born in hopes that she might get the one, the only answer that she cared to receive. She captured Jake's eyes with her own. He looked at her, but it was clear from the look on his face that he had come to the same conclusion as his father had about Eric's choice. He shook his head slightly and then leaned back heavily in the chair, and putting his elbow on the arm, he rested his cheek in his hand as he looked tiredly toward where his brother had just exited.
Gail sighed and sat back as well. This time of year, the final week of winter and the approach of spring, had usually been a time of celebration, both for her family and for her town, Jake's five year absence notwithstanding. Now, with April's death, and her grandchild's death, a sense of foreboding lingered at what this agreement meant, a deal with a city that in the past held a friendly rivalry with her own Kansas town. Gail Green felt a darkness settle around her. She wondered what could happen to lift the pall that had settled in her soul. She wanted to think of this agreement as the beginning of the end of their difficulties, but she felt a chill as it dawned on her that brighter days might be farther in the horizon than a simple change of seasons.
The End.