“I thought you might. Good night, Andrew.”
“Good night. And thank you. For your hospitality, and your advice, too.”
She smiles and I hear her walk down the hallway into the back of the house. Her door shuts and locks. Not blindly trusting me. That’s how she’s survived so long.
She knows what I am. Just another one of her monsters.
Jamison
HENRI IS UP BEFORE ME AND Ihear her walk outside to the backyard. I look over to Andrew, but he’s still asleep on the couch across from me, so I get up and follow Henri outside.
“Good morning, James,” she says from beside the brick oven.
“You can call me Jamie. Can I help you with anything?”
She smiles and hands me the shotgun. “I don’t think they often go hunting in broad daylight, but just in case.”
She begins cooking—rabbit again, with sautéed peppers. It smells amazing and my stomach is already grumbling loudly.
“You should get a smoker,” I tell her.
“Should I?”
“You can preserve your meat with that instead of canning it.”
“Might not be a bad idea.”
We stand in silence while she cooks and I scan the fence line, listening for noises and hearing nothing but the end-of-the-world silence. No birds, no planes, no cars. Just wind and insects. I turn back to Henri.
“Why did you invite us in? You were behind us. You could have let us keep walking and we never would have met you or known where you live.”
“Yes, but then, like you said, we would’ve never met.” Her eyes crinkle with a wide smile. “Do you believe in fate, kid? A higher purpose and God and all that?”
I let out a low grunt. “I used to. Not anymore.”
She nods. “Same with me. It’s hard to believe there’s a greater purpose for everyone when ninety percent of them have been wiped out. So I’ve been focusing more on luck than fate. If you met me before, you would’ve known I’m a gambling woman. I played the lottery twice a week, not for the money, just for the hope of winning. My kids were all set financially since Tommy had decent life insurance, and I had my pension, so I didn’t need the money. Yet I still played.
“The most I ever won was five grand on a two-dollar ticket. Since the world went kaput I’ve been pushing my luck a bit more. I’m also a great judge of character, and I could tell you boys were on the up-and-up with just one look at you.”
“What if we weren’t?”
She shrugs. “Then my luck’s run out and that’s that.”
“So just like that you’re ready to die?”
She looks at me as though I’m speaking in tongues. “Are people running around killing each other with reckless abandon? Honey, if all that stops people from killing each other is the laws of men, then maybe wedeservedto be wiped out by the flu. You have to trust people sometimes. The good in this world might surprise you. Look at me, look at the two of you. Here I am making you boys breakfast beforeyou’re off to retire to Europe. And your friend gave up the chance to sleep in a soft bed because he wanted to make sure you were safe in the middle of the night.”
I smile. She could be onto something.
“We’re only the choices we make now. Press your luck, hon. People can surprise you sometimes.” She flips the rabbit in the pan and moves the veggies around. “Now go wake up Andrew so you boys can line your bellies and be on your way.”
I move toward the house but stop to take a quick look back at her. I imagine her here alone, cooking for herself, fighting off strange beasts in the night. Every day she’s been doing that. My life was like that before Andrew, too. Alone. Just the memory of it feels like a crushing weight on my chest.
After breakfast, Henri walks us outside, shotgun in hand. Andrew turns to her and smiles. “Thank you again, for everything.”
Henri waves her hand, brushing the thought away. “It was nothing.”
She reaches into her pocket and takes out a small tool. The metal is scuffed and it’s rusted around a joint. She unfolds it. It’s a multi-tool with a knife, pliers, screwdriver, and several other implements.
