She stared at her plate, worry still pinging at the back of her mind. “I know I’ve made the right choice, but I’ll go.”
“It would just be for two weeks to give you space. I know that seems weird because I just got back, but you need to experience more than just me and my friends. The people at The Refuge are good people.”
“How would I get there?”
His lips spread into a huge smile. “Caroline said she would drive you to The Refuge near Los Alamos, New Mexico, and help you get settled in since you can’t fly yet. Then Caroline would fly home, and Remi said she would fly out there and pick you up and drive you home.”
“Oh, that’s a lot of trouble for them.”
He shook his head. “No, it’s what friends do for each other. You can’t fly since you don’t have any type of ID, and they don’t want someone taking advantage of you. I can’t take leave right now, or I would go out there with you and stay. I’m just happy we have friends who are willing to help.”
She nodded, feeling a little weird that she needed so much help just to navigate this world. But she’d recently found a video about catfishing and thought it was about actual fish before she watched it. When it started and wasn’t about fish, she’d been disturbed by how many people lied about who they were so they could get something from others. It was a strange and frightening world out there, and she was glad she had people who would help her navigate it.
19
Three weeks passed before her trip to The Refuge. She’d learned a lot in those weeks and was more sure than ever that Q was the right man for her. They hadn’t kissed again, but he was so nice. They spent most evenings playing games or walking along the beach. They did watch a few movies together. He picked ones that weren’t scary or upsetting. All she knew was after spending so much time with him, he was the one.
Caroline, the woman who agreed to drive her to The Refuge, picked her up at nine in the morning. The drive was long, but Caroline was very nice and treated her like she wasn’t an invalid. She’d learned that when some people, none of the SEALs’ wives, learned that she’d grown up in a very restrictive cult, they treated her differently. But Caroline never said anything mean to her and when she said something ridiculous, Caroline didn’t make her feel stupid.
The Refuge was big and spread out, but the woman at the front desk, Alaska, assured her the place was very safe and no one who didn’t belong there would be walking around. When Caroline left, she felt all alone, but one of the women who lived at The Refuge took her to see the cow, Melba. Being around the animals felt good.
She met Tonka, the guy who took care of the animals.
“You’re good with the goats. Did you grow up around animals?”
“I was raised in a cult that believed the end of the world had happened and there were few people left on earth. We had each other and the animals.”
“Wow, that must be difficult adjusting to life outside of the cult.”
His statement hit her funny and she laughed, which maybe wasn’t the best reaction.
“Sorry. I’ve had some issues adjusting. The people I’m with are all very nice, but still, it’s a different world than I thought existed.”
Tonka nodded as a young woman entered the barn. His smile went wide. “This is Jasna, my daughter.”
“Oh, Jasna. That’s a nice name. I’m Flora.”
“Hey, cool name. I’m visiting this week from college.”
“College, interesting. I heard about that, but I don’t know that I could do it.”
Jasna nodded. “It’s tough, but when you put your mind to something, you can make it happen.”
“I’ll remember that. I’m going to head up to the main house.”
Tonka shook her hand. “Any time you want to come down and talk to the animals, feel free. I know it can get to be too much with other people around, so if it is, just tell one of the people at the desk where you’re going and come on down.”
“Thank you. I’ve been living in San Diego for the last month and a half and it has been a lot. The community I grew up in told us only five million people survived the purge that happened. Now I know none of that happened and it’s weird knowing that there are a lot more people than I thought there were.”
Neither Tonka nor Jasna said anything derogatory about her not knowing how many people were on the planet, which she liked. Maybe this week wouldn’t be so bad.
20
The first morning Flora woke at The Refuge, she walked over to the main building and was a little overwhelmed, but she saw Jasna who waved her over. They sat at a table away from other people and Jasna talked to her about what she was studying and what she wanted to do with her life.
“Growing up, I was told that my only job was to please my husband and raise his babies. Honestly, I always bristled at that directive. It’s one of the things that made me escape. I just couldn’t imagine life was that narrow. I watched the birds and other wild animals, and they had freedom. I wanted that.”
“Were you just going to live in the wilderness?”
