1. Future Perfect - Chapter One


    Date: 11/14/2015, Categories: Novels, Author: BrassRing

    ... back and stepped away. “Bruce, you look so different, I would never have recognized you,” she said. “The hair and beard alone would do it, but you’re so dark and thin now!” “Yeah,” I said, looking down. “I spend a lot of time outside.” I have Native American blood, and it showed the more time I spent in the sun. It was late May now, and I was already dark, even after the long winter indoors. “Your family?” she asked cautiously. I just shook my head. “Didn't make it.” She touched my cheek. “I’m so sorry,” she said as tears filled her eyes. “You though,” I said gruffly, as I gestured to the girls, “you have someone.” “Yes!” she said, turning to her girls and smiling. “Amanda was born right before people got sick, if you remember. Bethany was a few years old. She’s thirteen now.” She looked back to me. “My husband got sick,” she said. “He lived, but he was never quite the same. My older two daughters are still with us, Faith and Celeste.” I remembered them. They would have been about six and ten when people got sick. I looked at Kelly and smiled. She looked the same, young and thin. Strong, but feminine. The lines in her face were deeper. Her dark blond hair showed some gray. She couldn't be more than forty now. “You folks have a farm somewhere?” I asked. “Yes,” she said. “Would you like to come see it?” She rested her hand on my arm as she talked. The sensation was overwhelming. I hesitated, looking down at her hand. I didn’t have anything pressing to do, but I hadn't liked ...
    ... visiting people before. Now, after ten years seeing nobody, I was being invited over to a friend’s house. “Please,” she said. “I’d love for you to see Kyle again. He has missed having male companionship, with me and four daughters.” She smiled. I sighed and looked down at my dog. “Whaddya say Biscuit? Wanna go for a visit?” The idiot looked up at me and barked. “Is that a yes?” Kelly laughed. “I guess so,” I said. “Should I go home and change? Maybe take a bath?” “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “Nobody expects company any more.” They ended up riding with me, since they had walked here. Kelly and I sat in the cab of the truck and the girls and Biscuit sat in the bed. We talked all the way to their house. Their story was similar to mine: they had moved into an empty farmhouse. They hadn't been quite so lucky as me, but they had made it work. Now, they had chickens, goats, a large garden plot, and each other. Kelly was worried about her daughters. They were getting older and should have husbands by now. With no contact outside their farm, there was beginning to be tension in the house. She didn’t see a very bright future for them. They had been pragmatic in their daughters' education. Each had chosen a different discipline and focused on that. Kelly had been a Biochemistry major in college. Her husband had studied Philosophy. Their daughters were studying things like Electronics, Medicine, Engineering, and Languages. They were hoping to make contact with people in other parts of ...