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“Town meeting? Why?”
Mindy shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Were you and Stan invited?” Carly moved Dagny up to her shoulder and patted her back gently. Dagny took the opportunity to grab a handful of her mother’s hair and stuff it into her mouth. Carly winced and untangled her daughter’s fist.
Mindy hesitated. “I’m not sure. The way he worded it, it could be interpreted either way. Stan and I talked it over, and we’re not going to go. If someone asks, just say I had a headache or something.”
“Why?”
Mindy picked up a corner of the blanket and twisted it in her hands. “I’m—I’m just not comfortable with it.”
“I don’t understand.” Mindy had always been friendly and talkative with Carly but something about the town had changed that.
Mindy dropped the blanket and rubbed her temples. “Look, Carly, I accept that Stan and I are just along for the ride. You and Justin will be the ones to decide where we go and what we do, that was the deal we made. But I’m not ready to jump in with both feet. I don’t know if it’s because it’s weird to be around so many people after such a long time, or if it’s because this place seems to have been oddly frozen in time, but I’m just not... comfortable with it. Besides, you don’t want to take Dagny with you, right? Stan and I can watch her for you and have a nice relaxing evening together.”
Carly nodded. She wouldn’t push. Just like Justin, she had to let Mindy accept things in her own time. Maybe Mindy was afraid of getting her hopes up in case they ultimately decided not to stay. “Did Tom give any information about what the meeting is about? Anything at all?”
“Just that it’s after sunset at the church on the corner of Main Street.”
“I don’t know where that is. Why don’t you and I take a walk after breakfast and explore the town a little?”
Mindy liked the idea, so after Dagny delivered a surprisingly large belch, Carly dressed her in one of the pretty dresses Justin had got her for Christmas and wolfed down the eggs Mindy had made her for breakfast. As they left, Sam followed. He drew slightly wary looks from the people they met on the street, and Carly wished she’d thought to bring his leash. That might have made people feel a little bit more comfortable.
The town had a small business district that covered about four square blocks. Some of the shops were still open. Carly saw a chalkboard in the window of a small grocery store that listed the exchange price of various foods in eggs or vegetables. It seemed all of them had gone over to a barter system.
There was even a small book store still in operation, and the rate of exchange was two used books traded for one new book. Carly made a mental note to stop down there when Mindy wasn’t with her and get her a book on plants as a surprise.
And speaking of surprises, Carly was startled to find all of the townsfolk seemed to know their names. They greeted her like she was an old friend, though Sam’s presence made them keep their distance. One little boy shopping with his mother was brave enough to ask if he could pet Sam. Carly happily gave permission and reassured his worried mother while he stroked the top of Sam’s head, which was almost level with his own. Sam gave the canine equivalent of a grin, with his tongue flopped out to the side of his open mouth. He gave the boy’s hand a sniff and licked him on the cheek, which made the little boy squeal with laughter.
They met Justin and Tom coming down the street, and Carly kissed Justin on the cheek. “Morning, honey,” she said.
“Morning. Out shopping, are you?”
“Window shopping,” Carly said. “We didn’t bring anything with us to trade. I’m amazed at this, Tom. Your town is still... a town.” She finished the sentence lamely. The words she wanted to use to express her surprise at the sheer normalcy of it all wouldn’t come.
“Morning, Miss Carly, Miss Mindy.” Tom actually tipped his hat. “Are you comin’ to the meeting tonight?”
“What’s that all about, Tom?”
“I’d rather wait to talk to you when we’re all gathered together,” Tom said.
Carly glanced at Justin, and he shrugged.
“Yeah, sure, we’ll come,” Carly said. Mindy had turned away and fiddled with the bracelet she wore, as though pretending she hadn’t heard Tom include her in the invitation.
Tom beamed. “Excellent. Just come down to that church over there.” He pointed to the steeple on the other side of the little business district. Carly and Mindy hadn’t worked their way over there yet. “And then the missus wants to know if you’ll come to our place for dinner afterward.”
“That sounds lovely. Thank you.” Carly glanced over at Mindy, but Mindy wouldn’t meet her eyes.
“God, it’s almost creepy,” Justin muttered as Tom walked on down the street, having tipped his hat to the ladies once more. “I feel like I’ve fallen into a time warp.”
Mindy’s eyes followed Tom as he strolled away. “I can’t help but wonder what lengths Tom and the other city council members went to in order to preserve this place. Hard decisions had to be made, sacrifices given. They preserved this little gem of normalcy, but at what price?”
Carly imagined what it must have been like for family members returning to find the roadblock, pleading to be let inside to no avail, or neighbors trying to climb the wall or crash through the garage door gate to get inside. She couldn’t imagine her own anguish if it had been her parents or Michelle on the other side of the wall. Justin, sensitive to her moods, as always, took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.
They enjoyed a very relaxing day. Carly let the horses out of the barn, and they galloped through the large yard. Carly and Mindy sat out on the porch, reading. Mindy was a bigger bookworm than Carly was and had already read all of the books Carly had in the wagon. She’d been delighted to find a shelf full of paperbacks in the living room.
Dagny played with her toys on a blanket spread on the porch floor. Carly called the horses back when they began to wander away, out of fear they’d find someone’s vegetable garden and devour a family’s food. Sam and Tigger played a rousing game of chase before settling down together on the porch for a snooze.
