Chapter 12
We lie around for about twenty more minutes. I actually doze off lightly until Ben shakes me awake.
I’d like to lie around with him all day, alternating between fucking and sleeping. But we can’t. That kind of afternoon isn’t available to us.
We’ve got at least fifteen more miles to walk, and we need to do it before dark.
Plus my mother is dying. I’m not sure what it says about me that I actually forgot that fact for a short time.
We walk for about an hour, and I’m feeling our earlier activities in my pussy and thighs. Maybe I shouldn’t have indulged in sex like that right now. It’s made it more uncomfortable to hike the rest of the way.
I can’t regret it though.
Sex with Ben is the best thing to happen to me in ages.
“Y’okay?” he asks without warning.
I glance over and catch him giving me a sidelong look. “I’m fine. Why?”
“Looks like you might be limpin’.”
“Oh, no.”
“Your ankle acting up?”
“What? Oh, no, it’s not that.”
It takes him a beat to figure it out. “Oh.” He looks rather pleased with himself. “I got it.”
“Don’t look so smug.”
“I’ll try not to.”
“Not very successfully.”
“What d’ya expect?”
I laugh and reach out for him. I’m not sure why. Maybe I’m going to give him one of those teasing swats. Or maybe I’m going to squeeze him.
It doesn’t matter because the sound of an engine behind us makes us break apart abruptly and then step to the side of the road.
It’s a truck with its back full of produce, likely transporting it from a farm to the Capitol. Unlike the other trucks, this one slows down when the driver sees us. Then comes to a stop right in front of us.
“You folks need some help?” The driver is unkempt and dressed in rags, but he’s unusually handsome beneath the dirt. His hair glints gold in the sunshine, and his eyes are sharp and intelligent.
“We’re okay,” Ben calls back. “Just headin’ to a village down the way in the hopes of makin’ a trade.”
“You can hop in the back if you want.”
Not everyone stops to offer assistance, but it’s also not a rare phenomenon. But something about this man is incongruous. Like he doesn’t belong in that truck or in those rags.
I have no idea what makes me think such a thing, but it gives me a moment’s pause.
“I’m not hauling around contraband, if that’s what you’re worried about,” the man says, peering at me like he’s trying to figure me out. “Just taking this load of produce to the Capital. I can take you until the turnoff. Won’t be long, but it’ll shave a few miles off your walk.”
His words reassure me. They sound exactly as they should sound for a good-natured village farmer.
He was probably a very smart boy whose choices were limited to various kinds of manual labor. He certainly wouldn’t be the only person never given the chance to fulfill their potential.
“That’s so nice of you,” I say with a smile. Ben has been silent. Waiting for me to decide. “Thank you.”
“Sure thing. Be careful climbing in. Don’t let anything fall out.”
The ride we hitch from the driver shaves ten miles off the second leg of our trip. After he drops us off again, we only have a couple more miles remaining to walk before we’re approaching the village.
It’s not far from the village where I was born and grew up. The village where Teresa and her family still live today. This one was far enough away from our home for my mother to start fresh but close enough for her to reach without trouble.
She married the village administrator, so she has a big house on a large property and all the comforts village life can offer.
My heart and belly both get heavy as we approach the main gate into the village. It’s guarded, like all populated communities in the known world are.
We explain ourselves and our purpose for coming, using the cover story we already have in place as local traders hoping to make a deal in the village. We show the village guards the forged papers and explain we’re hoping to discuss possibilities with the administrator.
The guards let us in with no trouble, but they say the administrator is out of town, so we’ll probably have to talk to someone else instead.
It’s been years since Ben and I have been here—not since I stopped to visit my mother after leaving my husband. But villages never change, and we remember the way to her house. We start walking in that direction as soon as we’ve gotten through the gate.
Ben says, “So your mom’s husband’s out of town? While she’s dying? That seems kinda shitty.”
I sigh. “It is shitty. But I guess I’m not surprised. This is the life she chose for herself. She was comfortable but not loved.”
“Will Teresa be there?”
“I don’t know. I assume so, since she radioed for me. But maybe she already said her goodbyes. She’s got a new baby and two other little ones at home. She might not be able to stay with Mother long.”
“I guess we’ll see.”
“Yeah. We’ll see.”
We reach the neat, tree-lined walk that leads to the large village house where my mother lives. The first thing I notice is a familiar barking. Then a large brown-and-white dog with a big, blocky head comes running down the walk toward us.
“Hey, Bill!” I’m smiling as I lean down to pet his doggy head and scratch behind his triangular ears. “It’s so good to see you. I wasn’t sure if you’d be here or not.”
Bill has been with Teresa and Mason ever since they got married. Seven years now. He’s getting older, but he’s just as exuberant as I remember. He drops a dingy, well-worn ball at my feet and nods toward me until I pick it up and toss it for him to retrieve.
Ben smiles after the dog and puts a hand on my back as we walk toward the house. “I guess this means Teresa is here.”
“Looks like it.”
Bill returns to fall into step beside us, holding his ball in his mouth like a treasure.
It’s Teresa who opens the door before we even get to the front stoop. Her face breaks into a smile when she sees us.
She’s blond like me, but she’s a little taller and a lot curvier. She’s curvier than ever right now as she comes down to give me a hug.
“I’m so glad you came,” she says against my ear. “She’s really bad, and she’s not going to last long.”
“Where is her husband?” I’ve never said the man’s name out loud. It feels like he doesn’t deserve it. He’s even more selfish, controlling, and ambitious than Chad ever was.
“He’s not here. He had a trip. A trip. And he took the boys.” Teresa has a much sweeter nature than me, but she’s not spineless or weak. Her voice is dry, slightly bitter. “Very convenient timing so he can miss all the hard stuff.”
“Asshole.” I glance over at Ben, who’s accepting Teresa’s hug. “We can’t stay long, but we were close enough I figured it was worth coming. Just to say goodbye.”
“I’m glad you did. Mostly so I’m not alone here.”
“Alone? Where are Mason and the kids?”
“He couldn’t leave the farm at this time of year. I’ve got Rayna here since I’m still nursing her, but the other two are at home with Mason. They didn’t need to deal with all this. But it’s been… hard. I’m really glad you came.”
Looking at her pale, exhausted face and messy hair, I’m suddenly glad I came too.
There are different kinds of fights, and not all of them look like mine.
This is one of them.
She shouldn’t have to fight it alone.