The toilet situation, on the other hand, proved more difficult. The first few days found us shortsighted and the toilets became a cesspool. The toilets would flush on gravity alone, so every morning we would drag sea water in five gallon buckets up to the bathrooms. The saying, “If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down,” soon became our motto. Each nonmilitary person, save for the children, was assigned to bathroom duty. In theory, the sea water was great.
What we failed to realize was the mess it would make as we filled the toilets with water to force flush. This chore quickly became the most hated. It was pretty much guaranteed to leave the unlucky cleaner with feces and urine splashed up their legs and all over the floor. Within a day the bathroom had begun to smell so bad that most male residents took to urinating off the seawall. I even caught one of the kids taking a dump on the back lawn at one point.
The Florida heat did nothing to aid the foul odors. One of the battery-powered thermometers showed the temperature inside the store at eighty-seven degrees. With no windows to open for a cross-breeze, the sun baked down on the building. I had pulled bathroom duty that morning. Talk about adding insult to injury? I had just finished cleaning the mess left by Sandra. Luckily, it would also be my turn for the shower that afternoon. So at least I could clean whatever foulness and germs had hitched a ride on me.
We didn’t need to worry about food; the shelves were stocked. We had no access to fresh foods or protein, however, so we gained little sustaining energy and nutrients from our meals. Potable water would become our biggest issue should we need to hide in the store for an extended length of time. We counted enough bottled and jugged water to last us two months. Ten cases had been stored in the helicopter along with boxes of canned food. The medical equipment had been removed to make room for this food. Should something happen, the aircraft could carry ten souls to safety. Our number of residents was currently seventy-six. Twelve new refugees had joined us, but in the process, we had lost fifteen soldiers in the field. This loss impacted our safety and there had been rumblings from the men that the risk outweighed the benefit. I felt for the loss of those men, but surely the benefit was in the twelve rescued souls.
I passed Finn and Noelle in the newborn section of the store as I made my way to the showers. Finn was holding tiny outfits in the air for Noelle’s approval, and they both wore huge smiles. They were making the best of our circumstances, and focusing on the baby allowed them the means to block out all the bad stuff. I smiled and gave them a little finger wave as I went by, pointing to the onesie I liked best. The one-piece read “My mom’s hotter than your mom,” and featured a goofy dog from a popular comic strip. Finn looked victorious; it must have been his choice as well.
Jake was waiting for me when I got out of the shower. He wore a coy grin and told me to follow him up to the roof for a surprise. Daphne was right on our heels. She barely left my side anymore, choosing to stand inside the shower area and get rained on so she didn’t lose sight of me.
Once on the roof, I saw that candles surrounded a picnic area, transforming the utilitarian setting into a calming retreat with their soft glow. An air mattress covered with a plush comforter and big square pillows sprawled beside a wicker basket, and champagne flutes filled with something bubbly lay on top.
Jake handed me a glass and we walked over to the short roof wall and looked out on the town. The bubbles tickled my nose as I took a sip of the five-dollar gourmet champagne a la Target. I was overwhelmed by the romantic gesture, and we stood there with my head on his shoulder and his arms around me.
The sky had started turning the pinks and purples of dusk. Fires burned in the distance and black smoke billowed up to the sky. Far off noises captivated me. “That sounds like gunfire. Is it possible that we aren’t alone? Could there be more people struggling to survive out there?”
“I don’t know, Em. It sounds like there’s more of us out there. They could be doing better than us, or could need our help.” He cupped my face. I expected him to lean in and kiss me, but instead he just stared into my eyes. “And that’s why I need to go out with the men tomorrow. I need to see for myself. I can’t sit idle behind these walls anymore. I’m going stir crazy.”
The glass slipped from my hand and shattered on the rooftop. “No. Absolutely not. I forbid it. Jake Rossi, you will not leave me here alone to go off on some fool’s errand that will get you killed.” The proverbial walls were closing in on me, and I was overcome with raw fear. The tears that I had held at bay for days filled my eyes, and I grabbed him by the shirt. “Don’t go. I don’t have it in me to keep going if you don’t come back.” I flung my arms around him and held him with everything I had. I sobbed in his arms, repeating, “No,” over and over until my throat was hoarse.
He just held me close, not saying anything until I had cried myself out. “Baby, I love you so much. Way too much to ever let anything happen to me. I promise you, nothing will stop me from getting back to you.”
No amount of begging would change his mind. I know this because I resorted to begging as the sun went down. After awhile we just snuggled and discussed the ‘what-ifs’. What if we became separated, where would we meet? Where would we go?
“Which one is Plan B again?” I asked, knowing full well it was the lighthouse.
He rolled his eyes at my question. “Plan B is the lighthouse, Plan C is Cape Harbour. I got it, Em. It’s locked away in the vault,” he said, tapping his forehead.
There was nothing left but to accept his decision, as much as I hated it.
We took full advantage of the rest of the evening. Peering up at the sky, Jake tried to point out the constellations. The next day’s events were tugging at the back of my mind, making it hard to concentrate. We made love under the stars, for what I prayed wouldn’t be our last time, and fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Chapter 14
This is my Rifle
The sound of an engine rumbling to life woke me the next morning. Daphne was sleeping in the crevice of my armpit and I opened my eyes to see her beady little eyes staring at me from where her head lay on my chest. I smiled as I took in her total cuteness, and she sprang to her feet as I stretched. Rolling over I found Jake’s side of the air mattress empty. For just a moment I thought maybe he had gotten up to take a trip to the canal and pee in the water. The facade was shattered when I heard the barricade gate screech along the pavement.
Frantically, I looked around the roof for any sign that Jake was still here. Finding no sign of him, I ran to the edge of the wall and peered down to the leaving convoy. I screamed his name, desperate to find him tucked away safely behind the wall, but instead saw him perched atop the last of the exiting Humvees manning the 50-caliber machine gun. I turned to run down the stairs to stop him and tripped over Daphne. She let out a yelp of pain as I fell and landed on my chest, skinning my knees and knocking the wind out of myself in the process.
Sure that my C cups were now inverted from the impact, I threw open the door and bounded down the stairs as I gasped to get my breath back. I didn’t care that I was probably giving the residents of the compound heart attacks as I tore through the building. I had tunnel vision and Jake was my only concern. I hit the front door as the last of the convoy made it through the gate and it swung shut behind them.