Conflicted Home (The Survivalist Book 9)

wasn’t about to try and kiss her on the lips. After resting my head on her shoulder for a moment, I said, “Goodnight, babe. We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”
I lay back and got comfortable and reached over without looking and turned the little lantern off. Mel sat in the dark for a minute before she got herself comfortable. I knew she wasn’t as mad as she wanted me to think when she said, “Turn the fan on. I’m hot.”
I got up and turned it on and got back in bed under the sheet. Pressing my luck, I said, “You should just sleep naked like me.” But she didn’t reply, and I could see her rolling her eyes in my mind. But at least that was the end of it for the night.
I woke in the morning before Mel and sat up in the bed, rubbing my eyes. I was sore all over. Partly from the wound, partly from lying in a bed for a couple days. The latter was something I hadn’t done since the Event. In the Before, I had done so when down with a bad cold or some other such illness. As it was, I realized I hadn’t had so much as a sniffle since things changed. Maybe it wasn’t all bad.
I reached back and touched my ribs. Tender was an understatement. Any kind of a deep breath was very painful. The thought of a sneeze racked me with terror. Another hand touched my side and I looked back to see Mel leaning on an elbow.
“Does it hurt?” She asked.
I nodded. “Very much.”
She ran her hand over my back and I heard her fall onto the bed. I looked back to see her staring at me. “I don’t want to argue with you,” she said.
“There’s no reason we should start now,” I replied. Mel and I had been married for over twenty years when things changed. Sure, there were times in the past when we argued loudly. But those days were long gone. Even before this happened, we seldom disagreed; and when we did, it was a quiet affair, settled quickly. Life was simply too short to get your blood up with the person you love and live with.
“I know. I’m sorry I was mad last night. I’m just so afraid you’ll leave here one day and not come back.”
I lay back and put my arm around her. “Me neither, babe. But at the same time, I don’t want anything to happen to you. Or the girls. And that requires action on my part and that of others. I’m not doing it alone and I’m not doing it recklessly. I promise you that.”
She nodded but said nothing. She raised a hand to her face and I assumed she was wiping away tears. We lay in the bed for a few minutes, not saying anything. After a short time, she asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Famished,” I replied.
She sat up in the bed, the sheet falling away and I saw she was naked. I smiled, and as she stood, I reached over and slapped her ass. “I see you took my advice.”
She looked back as she got into her robe, saying, “It’s cooler. Come out when you’re dressed and I’ll fix you some eggs.” And she left the room.
I sat up and slowly dressed so as not to aggravate the wound. In clean shorts and a t-shirt, I headed for the kitchen. Mel already had the Butterfly stove lit and was going through the motions of cooking. Getting myself a glass of tea, I took a seat at the table. “What was with the lanterns last night? Why was everyone using those?”
She shrugged. “The girls just wanted to. I didn’t care and let them.”
I nodded as I sipped my tea. “What’s going on around here?”
“Thad’s getting worried about the garden. He said we’re going to have more produce than we can eat and there aren’t many ways to store it. We went on another scouting mission looking for vinegar for Kay. She and Mary are going to can and pickle everything they can.”
“Did you find any vinegar?”
She nodded as she a banged a spoon full of butter on the side of the cast iron skillet. “Some, but not much. Not nearly enough.”
“Guess we’ll just have to make some.”
She looked up from the stove. “You know how to make it?”
“Yeah. It’s not that hard. I’ll get with Kay about it.”
She smiled and shook her head as she turned her attention back to the stove. “What?” I asked.
“I’ve known you for nearly twenty-five years, and yet I learn something new about you nearly every day.” She looked back up at me, “When did you learn all this? When did you find the time?”
I laughed. “It was in all those books you complained about so much.”
“It wouldn’t have been so bad if they weren’t left lying everywhere in the house.”
“Guess it was a good thing now, huh?”
She cut her eyes over to me. “Maybe.”
In didn’t take her long to slide a plate of fluffy eggs in front of me and set out another for herself. We ate breakfast and talked about nothing particular or unpleasant. When breakfast was done, I told her I was going over to Danny’s to see what was needed for the day. She said she would hang out around the house and wait for the girls to wake up. I kissed her and hugged her, maybe a moment longer than I normally would have, before going to the door.
I was so used to picking up my vest and rifle when I went to the door that I stood and stared at the empty place it should occupy. The vest wasn’t hanging on its hook and the carbine wasn’t in its place in the corner. I looked back at Mel about to ask when I remembered. Fuck it, I thought. Instead of putting my shoes on, I slipped my feet into a pair of flip flops and headed out the