His wife Becky liked to tell everyone that she was a model. She was tall and slim, and wore excessively heavy makeup, but no one had ever seen evidence from a photo shoot. She got her money from a slip-and-fall settlement with a local grocery store chain after faking an injury and claiming that the fall permanently disabled her. She was an adept liar, just like her husband.
They were an odd-looking couple. Becky was tall and slender while Michael was much shorter than she was and soft around the middle. What they did have in common was their phony facade and ability to lie. They would lie to each other and use their mutual fables to create the charade they lived in and presented to all those that surrounded them.
“How did that happen?” asked Robert, coldly.
Jim took in a deep breath. He did not immediately answer. There was so much to tell Robert and he was not sure where to start. “Not long after the grid went down, we began to figure out that something really bad had happened. Nobody’s car would start. Nothing was working anymore. Michael went around to all the houses telling everyone that he ‘had a plan.’ He told everyone we had to ‘stick together and share resources.’
“The neighborhood was meeting regularly to discuss what was happening and he told everyone to listen to him, and he promised to keep the neighborhood together. Every day he would go from door to door checking on people. Some people just left, just went away, thinking it would be better somewhere else. A few people committed suicide. Do you remember the older couple that lived at the top of the hill?”
Robert nodded.
“He found them dead, and others, too. For God’s sake Robert, we’ve been burying people in their own yards.”
“What was his plan?”
“I don’t know. He found your children alone, and at our last community meeting volunteered to take care of them. Not long after that, he quit going around the neighborhood and organizing meetings of the homeowners.” Jim paused for a moment. “I haven’t seen your children since then.”
Robert abruptly turned and went to get the rifle leaning against his house. He flung the rifle on his back and walked directly past everyone, not stopping as he spoke. “I’m going to pay him a visit and get my kids back,” said Robert, hastily, as he hurried past.
Jim watched Robert walk and then jog away. After a moment, he turned to Kyle and Alexis to introduce himself. “I’m Jim. I don’t know either of you, do I?” He extended his hand toward the couple to greet them.
Kyle stood, helping his wife do the same. He extended his right hand to Jim and gave him a firm handshake. “No, we’re strangers to the neighborhood, but friends with Robert. I’m Kyle, and this is my wife Alexis.”
“Where have you and Robert been?”
“That’s a long story,” said Kyle, as he grinned at his wife.
Jim looked at the bike laden with bags and the suitcases on the driveway and asked, “How did you get here?”
“That’s a long story, too. Help us move this stuff inside and I promise to tell you the whole tale sometime.” Kyle pointed to the pile of their belongings.
“We should hurry. It’s getting dark and I don’t know if there are any candles in your house,” said Jim, as he gripped the closest suitcase and began to roll it into the house.
The house was quiet and dim. It had a stale smell from being closed so long. Alexis opened the windows and a small breeze wafted through the house. They placed the bags of food in the kitchen, and Alexis immediately recognized double doors to the pantry. She opened the doors and stepped inside. She quickly emerged from the large but empty pantry, looking confused.
“It’s empty!” exclaimed Alexis.
Kyle looked at Jim.
“Don’t look at me. I took the wheelbarrow and haven’t been in this house.” Jim looked around. “The windows and doors haven’t been broken into.”
Kyle systematically opened kitchen cabinet doors and did not find any food. He saw kitchen supplies, and in a bottom cabinet, he found a large black metal flashlight hidden under a deep pan. He retrieved the flashlight, pressed the button and discovered that it worked.
“We need to tell Robert. Can you take us to him?”
“Sure. If he’s at Michael’s house, I can take you there.”
Kyle pointed the flashlight toward the front door. “Let’s go.”
Robert had stopped in front of the house that he thought was where Michael and Becky lived. Although he had never been in their house, he thought he remembered seeing him there in the front yard. His eyes squinted in the dim evening light. There was an expensive foreign car in the driveway with a dealer license plate above the back bumper. This had to be the house. He could see a faint orange glow from a flickering candle through a lower level window. Robert knocked on the door with a clenched fist. He would have preferred to just kick the door in. Almost instantly, he heard a voice from behind the door.
“Who is it?”
“I’m here for my children.”
The door opened partially, still attached to a safety chain. A man’s face peered through the opening. Robert recognized him. It was Michael. He still combed his hair back, but it was longer now, and his cheeks were round and full, like a chipmunk storing nuts. Michael did not say anything, almost as if he was in shock. He looked like he had seen a ghost.
“May I have my children now?”
“Your wife is gone. I thought you were dead,” said Michael, speaking in disbelief.
“Obviously, I’m not,” Robert firmly stated. “Any idea where my wife is?”
“No. Nobody does.”
The door shut. Robert heard the small chain rattle, then the door completely opened.
“Hello, Don. It’s good to see you again.” Michael motioned to get his wife’s attention. “Look over here, Becky; it’s my good friend, Don.”
“No, it’s Robert, and I was told that you have my two children here.” Robert looked past the living room and into the kitchen. Becky was standing behind their kitchen island preparing food by candlelight. She heard Robert, but did not make eye contact. Robert stepped through the front door into the living room and stood near the steps to the second floor. He left the front door completely open. It was dark upstairs and Robert did not hear the sound of young children from anywhere in the house.
“Brad! Jennifer! Where are you?”
“Hold on, she’ll get them for you,” said Michael, smiling widely as he motioned for Becky to go upstairs. Becky held a candle and nervously edged past Robert. He smelled her expensive perfume. She said nothing to him, and still avoided eye contact.
“Those are good children.” Michael’s fake smile grew wider. A cosmetic dentist had veneered Michael’s teeth to make them look perfect. “You did a good job raising those kids.” Michael slapped Robert on the shoulder. “I volunteered to take care of them and I wouldn’t have done that for anybody else.” Michael slapped him on the shoulder again and stretched his fake smile even wider. “I told everyone I didn’t care how much sacrifice we had to make, Becky and I were going to take care of those two children.”
Michael’s false martyrdom did not change Robert’s opinion of him. Every time Michael slapped him on the shoulder, he felt like grabbing Michael by the throat and strangling him. Becky came down the stairs briskly, with her hand in front of the candle’s flame. She went directly back to stand behind the kitchen island and did not look up. Although she was always thin, Robert did not perceive her as having a famished appearance, and the same with Michael.
Robert heard a noise from the top of the stairway. He saw his children emerge from the dimness like apparitions from a fog. Michael’s eyes nervously darted back and forth between the two children, who were slowly descending the stairway, approaching Robert.