She woke up early the next day with her heart on her sleeve. She was excited for the day to be over so Joel could return from patrol and they could sort out the details of their new relationship. She knew sitting around just waiting for the day to pass it would take forever, so she got dressed to go see if Maria needed help with anything. She knew Maria wouldn't give her anything worthwhile seeing as she still wasn't fully healed and got tired easily. Talking to Maria would pass the time for sure. It was still snowing out so she dressed warmly, and threw her hair into a ponytail. She almost always kept her hair down, but today she was full of energy and didn't feel like flicking it off of her shoulders all day. It hurt her chest to hold her arms above her head for an extended time, and she sighed of relief when she finally dropped her arms after her hair was up. She gently messaged her chest over the dull ache to try to relieve it and took a deep breath.
She walked into her kitchen and pulled some cookies down from her cabinets. She made them weeks ago, and they were already getting stale. It was those no bake oat cookies from her childhood. They were easy to make and lasted a good while so they were good energy boosters for her to start the day. She grabbed two cookies and made her way outside. She looked at Joel's next to hers and smiled wistfully, her life was finally changing for the better. The early morning sun was bouncing off the snow at her feet making her eyes water. She shielded her eyes from the light and made her way into the heart of town to find Maria. As she walked, she caught a glimpse of Ellie and her friend Jesse walking towards the stables. She tried calling out to them, but they seemed to be deep in conversation. She smiled at the kids, remembering how important friends were at her age. It was like a second family. She decided not to bother them, and instead continued on her journey to find Maria. She greeted the people that were already in town, and saw her favorite dog sitting by his owner who was playing guitar. He waved at her as she approached to pet the old dog. His fur was turning grey, just like her hair. She giggled as he happily licked her face as she pets him.
"What a good boy. You keep this town going, you know that old timer?"
She cooed at him, and he barked in response.
"You know where Maria is? Reckon I get back to work"
Beth turned to the dog's owner whose name always eludes her. She handed him her last cookie, which he happily took. There's no telling when the last time he had a cookie was.
"Good to finally see you moving around. She's out in the Tipsy Bison. She's ripping into Seth for his show last night."
He broke the cookie in half and shared with his dog. It warmed her heart.
She thanked him for his info and left the two to get Maria. She was already tired, and she tried to hide her struggling breath she best she could. She didn't want Maria to see her struggling and send her home. She was too restless to just sit at home. As she approached the bar, she saw Maria come out with Jesse and Ellie. Probably to get their patrols in order. She hung back so Maria could take care of business. Instead, she crossed the street to the people working to repair a building. She waved at them and they all smiled and waved back. She shouted words of encouragement to them, which brightened their moods about being out this early in the morning. She couldn't help of course, but she crossed her arms to shield out the cold and watched them work. She always like working with her hands, especially in her younger days. She and her kids would build treehouses, little playhouses and sheds for her babies to play in. She even built her kids a jungle gym out of wood and it lasted almost eight years before the wood became compromised due to the constant rain in their hometown in Louisiana.
She wanted to get out of the cold, but the only store small enough to generate heat from its patrons was The Tipsy Bison, and Seth ran that place. She was still pissed at his disgusting display from the night before. Come to think of it, why did she bring Ellie in there after what he said to her? That wasn't fair. If she were Ellie, she would have knocked his teeth out. She may be just a kid but she was not someone to mess with. Ellie was a fatal shot and even more dangerous with her hands. She was a skilled craftsman just like Joel and could make deadly bombs and weapons with very few supplies. From Joel's stories of their adventures, she was a God amongst men. Why Seth would think it was sensible to talk to her like that blew her mind. It just goes to show how truly ignorant he is.
She shivered as the sun was washed out by clouds and the temperature dropped. Thankfully the snow wasn't blinding anymore and she could fully see the street. The early risers were out in full force now, getting breakfast before heading out to their jobs. Everyone in Jackson did their part, and it was the only reason it has lasted as long as it has. There were good people here.
"What are you doing out this early Tabetha?"
She turned and saw Maria standing behind her.
She saw that Maria looked... tired. Not sleepy, but tired. Was old age finally catching up to her? Or was something going on? "What's wrong Maria? Need help with something?"
Maria motioned for her to follow, and she did without question. They started going the direction she just went with Ellie and Jesse, and she exhaled sharply and dragged her hands down her face.
"Since you're already here you can keep me company," she gave a small smile, "Nothing's wrong really. Just worried about the boys. I sent Jesse to relieve them; they've been out since early this morning and Tommy told me Joel didn't sleep last night so I just want them to come on back home."
"Why didn't Joel sleep?"
She asked, immediately worried.
Maria stopped and turned to Beth. Her eyes were amused and she raised her eyebrow in expectation while crossing her arms. "Oh, I don't know, you wanna tell me?"
Beth cracked a smile. Maria knew, which meant Joel told Tommy who in turn told her. It made her heart flutter like she was a teenager again. Joel was actually telling people his business. It made her elated.
"No, couldn't thing of a thing that would have kept him up"
She joked, stifling her giggles.
Maria chuckled and pat her arm to congratulate her. "I'm really happy for you guys. Honestly. It's good to see him smile for once, and it's good to see you finally having someone to take care of. Our boys are helpless on their own."
They laughed for a second before continuing on. She led them to the main office that Maria used to keep everything in order. There were log books strewn everywhere. The sight made her smile, Maria always had an organized chaos about her. She knew where everything she needed was, but an outsider would just see a big mess. Maria closed the door and sat down on the corner of the desk, motioning for her to sit in the desk chair. The big windows in the room let in the light from the warehouse below. It was where they got their power from, the hydroelectric dam. She could hear the workers yelling orders down below, but she could see Maria had already tuned them out. She picked up a log book from the top of the pile and opened it up.
"So they checked out at around 3 a.m. so they should be arriving at the outpost in just a little while. Jesse should get there in no time, and send them home. It worries me that Joel hasn't slept," She sighed wistfully and shut the book looking over at Beth, "Don't you miss those crazy cellphones? Would make this so much easier."
They shared a moment of nostalgia and laughed. Who would have guessed that cellphones made the world that much easier. "Yeah, we really need some walkie talkies or something. They aren't a fix-all but it would make it easier to talk to the nearby patrols and the gate workers."
"Now that's an idea. I can't imagine there's too many left in this world but it's worth a shot. Ill add that to the supply run lists. We have a ton of batteries that are not in use besides the radios"
Maria put the book down and picked up another one and started scribbling on a page.
They spent the next few hours going over plans of expansion and new routes for patrols and supply runs. It made Beth happy to finally be of use after being cooped up healing for so long. It seemed that Maria was happy to have the company. Tommy usually handled the physical parts of Jackson, and she was the brain. It must get lonely in the office from time to time. Maria's timidness of the morning slowly melted away over the course of the day, and she finally relaxed. She deserved it, after all she does for Jackson. In return, Beth finally had something to do to pass time until her boyfriend returned from patrol.