He mustered a lively tone, “So, what’s everyone looking forward to most when things return to normal?”
“You mean the things we’ll never see or experience again?” Dranko muttered in between sips of tea.
Chagrined, Cooper looked at him and shook his head, “Whatever. Just what you miss the most.”
Several seconds of silence passed, no one wanting to speak first.
“For me, it’s having choices. I used to complain about how there were thirty-seven brands of toothpaste at the store. Now, to see that again, I’d feel like I won the lottery!” Freddie offered from where he lay.
“I second that! Now, it looks like I will be using Colgate for the rest of my life since that is what Paul stockpiled. I hate Colgate!” Calvin exclaimed.
Dranko looked up, a sour look on his face, “They were having a big sale once, so that’s what I got.”
“Well, if I had known you were getting ready for the end of the world, I would have given you a few extra dollars to spring for Crest!” Calvin said, laughing deeply.
Undeterred, Dranko continued, “I couldn’t tell anyone what I was doing. I couldn’t trust anyone. Otherwise, they’d all beat down my door the moment something happened and I couldn’t supply everyone.”
Cooper let loose a guffaw, “Hell, you didn’t even trust me. And, I’m your best friend.”
“I’m careful.”
“Damn, Dranko, you wouldn’t trust your mother if she was walking hand in hand with Jesus Christ himself!” A round of guffaws echoed off the walls.
When it died down, Dranko looked up from his tea, smiling slyly, “Well, you never met my mother now, did you?” The room erupted in laughter once more.
“Calvin makes a good point. If you’d figured out who you could have trusted and talked to some of us, we would have all been better prepared for this. Hell, the whole country would have been better off,” Cooper said, turning serious.
“I guess I’ll know better for next time, right?” Dranko rebuffed him. He thought for a few seconds, stroking his chin, “I guess that’s a good question.”
“What?” Calvin asked.
“How could I have figured out who to trust without telling you all I was a diehard survivalist?”
After a pause, Julianne replied, “That would have been easy.”
“How so?” Dranko asked.
“You could have asked people if they were worried about an earthquake here. Ask them if they had thought about getting ready for it. See what they say and go from there.”
Cooper rubbed the side of his face, feeling the whiskers of several days growth, “That’s good. You could have also asked people how they’d deal with being unemployed for a long time. Having some extra food on hand would be a good idea in that event.”
“Or, asked them what they would do if something like Katrina ever happened in Portland,” Calvin added.
“Yeah!” Julianne sat up, getting excited, “That would be a good way to find out if they were ready to think about civil disorder, too.”
Dranko grunted, “True. I guess we’ll all be better prepared next time Julianne helps someone upend the world.” The air left the room. Cooper stared him down with a ferocious gaze, his eyes asking his friend, “Really?”
Julianne sank back into the armchair where she sat. She fixed her eyes on her teacup and slipped into heavy thought.
“Who’s next?” Cooper asked, hoping to lighten the mood.
“Mine’s easier than trapping a rat with peanut butter and molasses,” Lily said. “I’m gonna miss that sweet Kentucky bourbon. I’m down to a few sips and then I trust I won’t see it for a good long while.”
“I thought all you white folks from Kentucky came out of the womb with the tubing for a still instead of an umbilical cord!” Freddie shouted, before coughing.
Lily looked at him with mock sternness, “While that’s a true fact, moonshine ain’t the same as the nectar of God brewed up by St. Jack Daniels!”
Smiles resounded throughout the room.
“You know what I miss?” Jake asked from where he lay on the floor, looking up at the ceiling.
“What’s that, son?”
“Video games!” He shouted with glee.
“You’ll be happy to know that I have a solar-powered Gameboy up at the cabin,” Dranko said.
Jake sat up, “Really?”
“No. I’m just kidding.”
Jake’s face fell and he abruptly went back to lying down.
“That was cruel!” Calvin rebuked Dranko.
Dranko looked sheepish. “No, it wasn’t. I do have the ability to charge batteries with solar. So, we’ll see what we can do.”
“Whatever.” Jake said, feigning disinterest.
“Well, I am looking forward to a cup of fine roasted Stumptown coffee. They could brew it up like no one else,” Calvin continued. Several in the room took a long pause, inhaling, as if the coffee lay before them.
“Who wants to tell me I should have stored a…what do you call those fancy coffee makers?” Dranko responded, sarcasm lacing his words.
“A French press,” Julianne offered.
“Yeah, that,” Dranko deadpanned.
“What are you looking forward to?” Cooper directed his question at Dranko.
Dranko sat up, forcing a wide smile onto his face, his voice unnaturally chipper, “Gee, Beave, I’m looking forward to getting ready for the next apocalypse!” As soon as he’d finished, his face went sour once more and he sat back into his chair.
“You’re an incorrigible ass!” Cooper fired back. “The worst part is I do think that is what you’re looking forward to!”
Dranko pursed his lips, “Seriously, brother? This is much worse than I ever thought it would be. I’m glad I prepared. But, I would never wish this again.”
Cooper nodded in a half-apology, “I hear you.”
Silence once again claimed the room. The only sounds were the occasional slurping of those drinking and the intermittent cough or grunt.
After several minutes had passed, Jake piped up, “It’s your turn, dad.”
Cooper looked up, startled. I want to tell them I miss the peace. I miss sitting in my home with my woodstove fired up and soaking in its warmth. My wife under my arm and my boy playing at my feet. That’s what I really miss. Simple quiet. The contentment of it. He knew saying something like this would bring everyone else down again. Once again his father’s words came to him, “Leadership means not always saying what you feel. Be true, but be honest with a purpose.”
“I’m looking forward to having a Snickers bar again.”
“Really?” Dranko asked.
“Yeah, really.”
“Out of all that civilization has to offer, you want a cheap candy
bar?”
“Okay. Fine. There’s something else. I will miss the chance of seeing AC/DC ever play in concert again!”
Calvin fell out laughing, “Weren’t those old guys already dead!”
Cooper looked at him askance, “They weren’t that old! I just saw them a few years ago.”
“Where? At the morgue?” Freddie deadpanned. The room fell into raucous laughter and Cooper had to endure several more rounds of joking at this expense. Mission accomplished, he thought, easing back into the couch and taking it all in good humor.