“Where are they now?” Jimmy asked, pulling his shovel from the ground. He started walking. Samuel fell in step beside him.
“I left them with Mark at Brittany’s. They’re busy eating. They seemed really hungry.”
Samuel stumbled over a dirt clod that barely broke his stride. Still, he struggled with keeping the pace Jimmy was setting. Visitors made Jimmy nervous.
They stopped at their house so Jimmy could wash up. The last time visitors came to town was over three years ago. Since then they had found a couple of kids, like Catherine, but otherwise no one appeared to be traveling anymore. After arriving in Independents, most kids wanted to settle down, call a place home and started living again. Wandering around had gotten old real quick.
Visitors meant other kids were out there surviving. Hopefully, Jimmy thought, they’d have information about something…anything…helpful.
He grabbed a towel, wiped the wet grime from his face, and washed again before looking up to find Samuel anxiously shifting from one foot to the other. “Would you stop doing that? Where’s Catherine?”
“Probably home with Ginger. You want me to go get her?”
“No. I want you to go keep her there.” He hung the towel over the porch rail.
“Don’t want word of your personal healer leaking out?”
Jimmy ran cold water though the tangles of his hair before slapping on a clean hat. “Samuel, I don’t know these kids or where they’re from. For that matter, we don’t really know where Catherine’s from. She could have run away from them for some reason. I need to talk to her before she meets them. But until then, yeah, I don’t want word about her leaking out. I’ll go meet these guys and see what they want first.”
“You’re the boss.”
“Don’t give me that, man. You know I’m just trying to do what’s best.”
“I know. I just don’t want to close us off like that, fearing everybody that comes into town. I think that’s one of the reasons the world was so messed up before. I was hoping we were making a better place.”
“I’m with you on that. But it isn’t going to change overnight. We’re still in survival mode here. I’d give these kids the shirt off my back if I knew they needed it. I just want to make sure they’re not going to try and take it without asking, that’s all. ”
Samuel removed his stocking cap and scratched his head. “All right, I’ll go babysit Catherine while you interrogate…I mean, meet the new kids.” Samuel smiled.
Jimmy managed to smile back. “At least you keep me honest.”
“Somebody has to or you’d be eating up all the eggplant.”
A vein throbbed in Jimmy’s forehead and he thought for a second it might be the plague rather than his rising irritation. “Would you stop with the eggplant? I won’t grow so much next year if that will make you happy.”
“Sure. What about the broccoli?”
Jimmy punched Samuel’s shoulder. They called them “love taps.” Sometimes Jimmy tapped harder than he really should.
“Tell Ginger what’s going on,” Jimmy said, “Keep them inside until I get there. I don’t want Catherine running off to introduce herself.”
Samuel rubbed his arm. “I’ll be sure and tell Ginger how much you love her, too.” He tapped Jimmy back.
Jimmy staggered as his shoulder went numb. By the time he regained feeling, Samuel had bolted halfway down the road, laughing at him. Jimmy massaged his shoulder, suddenly fearing Samuel would tell Ginger how he felt.
• • •
The kids of Independents were packed in front of Brittany’s when Jimmy walked up, their collective breaths raising a tiny cloud of excitement in the cold. They were in rows from smallest to tallest, all pressed near the large windows. A muffled discussion quivered through the mass huddle and their voices reverberated off the glass.
“What do you think they want?”
“Where did you hear they came from?”
“I wonder if they have pizza.”
“I think the red-haired boy is kind of cute.”
“Ooh, gross!”
Jimmy stood behind the group until somebody noticed his reflection in the window and his name was passed along from kid to kid. They turned as a unit.
“Shouldn’t you be in school?”
“It’s Saturday!” they said, using the voice reserved for stupid grownups. Jimmy guessed he’d graduated early.
“Is it?” he smiled. “Is it really? Well, what do you normally do on Saturday?”
“Play.”
“All right then, you guys go play. As soon as I’ve talked with the visitors I’ll let you know all about them.”
“Promise?”
“Cross my heart and hope to-uh, I mean yeah, I promise.” Jimmy moved sideways, allowing the group to pass. They scattered in ten different directions. He watched them leave and was about to take a step when he realized Emma remained and was looking up at him. Jimmy couldn’t recall the definition of precocious, but thought the word probably applied to Emma.
“Yes, Emma?”
Emma glanced around and then, on her tiptoes, cupped her hands over her mouth. Jimmy leaned in close as she whispered, “Will you find out if the red-haired boy has a girlfriend?”
Jimmy scanned the area before giving Emma the thumbs up. She smiled, patted his hand, and ran off after her friends.
Jimmy stepped through the doors and tipped his hat to the youngest Brittany who was busy rolling silverware inside clean napkins. Her return smile appeared a little nervous. She directed him to the action by pointing a rolled napkin toward Jimmy’s usual table. Mark and Vanessa were entertaining the visitors. A steaming cup of something sat before everyone at the table and Jimmy hoped it wasn’t the last of the hot cocoa.
Chef Brittany could be heard giving orders to the other two Brittanys in the kitchen, preparing for the next meal from the sounds of the rattling pots and pans. Jimmy poured himself a glass of water, partly because he was thirsty, but mostly to calm his mounting tension before entering the mix.
“This is Jimmy,” Vanessa introduced him as he approached. “He’s also on the town council. Jimmy, this is Chase, Patrick and Kessie.”
Chase had black, piercing eyes; made creepier by the dark circles around them. Beyond that, his face was as pale as a white pillowcase and sweat beaded his brow. His manner appeared older than a kid. Something about those eyes though, caused Jimmy to immediately raise his guard. When Jimmy said hello, Chase seemed more interested in his drink and refrained from shaking hands, claiming he was suffering from a cold. He sure didn’t look well.
Jimmy held out a hand to the red-haired kid, Patrick. Jimmy thought if he could hook Patrick up to a plow then they’d have the fields ready in no time. Patrick crushed Jimmy’s hand when they shook; smiling, as though they were having fun together.
When he shook hands with Kessie, she held on longer than necessary. She smiled, her green eyes twinkling, and she shooed a strand of auburn hair from her face, guiding it back in place. Jimmy wouldn’t call her sexy, but then he was attracted to different qualities. Mainly the ones Ginger possessed.
“What happened to Samuel?” Kessie asked.
Somebody had made an impression. Jimmy knew Samuel would be pleased if someone ever told him. He found a chair next to Vanessa, across from the visitors. “He offered to finish up the work I was doing out in the fields. He told me you guys drove here from Iowa.”