Chapter 5
It was all so exciting that Bonnie didn’t know what to do first and so she ended up doing a little bit of this and that.
She half unpacked before catching sight of the kitchen garden out the back.
She had to rush downstairs to see it up close.
Once she had walked among the vegetables and touched them to know they were real, she spotted the apple tree and then rushed over there.
She was like a child in a sweet shop with an inattentive parent, and she was sampling everything.
“It’s not going to run away,” Jeff said, standing in the back doorway and smiling slightly.
“I know, but I feel I have to touch and see it all,” Bonnie said. “I’ve dreamed about coming out here and having all this space. Do you know how much we could grow here? We could feed ourselves and our neighbors without any trouble at all.” She turned in a circle, taking it all in.
Jeff chuckled. “We don’t have to grow just vegetables and herbs,” he said. “We can grow flowers too. We could even be a little adventurous and grow some trees for shade.”
“No,” Bonnie said. “We should grow fruit or nut trees. I bet pecans would do really well here.”
“I think they do,” Jeff said with a frown.
“Good,” Bonnie said. “We should see about getting a sapling.”
“If you want to grow a whole orchard of fruit and nut trees, we can do that. I’ll be happy with whatever you want to do,” he replied.
“You’re too kind,” Bonnie said.
“That means the house too,” Jeff said. “If you don’t like where I’ve put something, feel free to move it.
There’s not really much that I’m worried about.
But if you want to change or freshen up, it would be a good idea to do it now.
We’ll have a good ten-minute walk to get to the town square from here. ”
“And we shouldn’t be late, is what you’re saying,” Bonnie said with a shrewd grin.
“You and Leo are the guests of honor,” Jeff said with a shrug.
She and Jeff went upstairs, and he went to his room, which was the main bedroom, and she went to hers.
There she found her half-unpacked things lying partly on the bed, some on the dresser, and only a few things put away.
There wasn’t really time now to find everything a place and so she went through her belongings quickly, finding a dry skirt and blouse she could wear.
She found Uncle Leo and Jeff in the kitchen, where they were talking. She stopped short of going in and listened to what they were saying.
“Look, I know there doesn’t seem to be an option for me to stay anywhere but here for now,” Uncle Leo was saying, “and I appreciate it, but I think I will look for other accommodation anyway.”
Jeff shook his head. “Leo, please, there’s no rush. Not from my side.”
“But you two are married now, and the last thing you need is an old fifth wheel.”
“You’re not old, and you’re not a fifth wheel,” Jeff said and sighed. “Bonnie and I are still getting to know each other. We might need someone to step in.”
“Oh,” Uncle Leo said in a knowing tone. “You’ll find she has a very level head when she needs to have one. I don’t think you’ll have a problem.”
“You won’t,” Bonnie said, stepping into the room. “I’m a delight to live with.” She said this with a big grin that had them both smiling. “Shall we go?”
Five minutes later, they were walking down the street.
It was a lovely evening, with the sun setting in a blaze of reds and oranges as though the sky was on fire.
It was truly lovely to look up and see the velvet night sky creeping in with no tall buildings blocking her view.
Gosh, how she had missed this open space.
It was what she had loved about Audry’s farm the most—the space, the feeling of not being hemmed in.
A person could think big thoughts out here without ever feeling crowded.
Bonnie enjoyed the walk, getting to see the town at her own pace.
The stores formed a line down what she took to be the main street.
There weren’t many of them, but the sheriff’s station and the clinic were occupied with people going in and out of them.
There were what looked like offices, which Jeff said were used for the mine administration as well as everything to do with the town.
There was no town hall yet, which was surprising, and no church, but there was space down the street to build more.
It seemed that there had been some thought put into how Unity would grow.
Once they turned off the main street and came to the residential section, Bonnie found that the houses were similar, but each had something unique about it.
This one had a large front yard and was set a long way back from the road.
The next one in line had almost no front yard but a sizable side and backyard with saplings growing in rows.
Another had big windows and a little turret that leaned out of the second story.
One had a red roof and another an oddly green one.
“Oh, that’s Duncan’s house,” Jeff said when she pointed it out. “He has this theory that growing plants on his roof is a good idea.”
“Why?” Bonnie asked.
“He seems to think it will keep his house cool in the summer months,” Jeff said. “I think he’s a little odd, but he’s a nice enough fellow. He’s the leader of the people we rescued from the bandits. They refer to themselves as refugees. I mentioned them to Bonnie in my letters.”
“Refugees?” Uncle Leo asked.
“Oh, that’s right, I didn’t tell you about them,” Bonnie said and pulled a face. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine, I’ll explain,” Jeff said. “Duncan and some of the others used to live in a town to the south. They had the misfortune of being in El Aguila’s path and he ran them from their homes.
He burned their houses and their fields until they gave up and moved.
Then he hunted them down and was killing them off a few at a time until we stepped in. ”
Uncle Leo’s eyes grew wide and round. “And this maniac is the same person who keeps bothering you here? The same one who blew up your bridge?”
Jeff nodded. “Yes, he is.”
“Oh my gosh,” Uncle Leo said. “Bon, you never said anything about it being that dangerous out here.”
She’d been worried he would react like this. It was one of the reasons she hadn’t told him everything.
“How is this any worse than what we were facing back home?” she asked. “At least here we have a chance. There we didn’t. And with more good people coming here and joining the fight, I don’t think that terrible man will hold sway for too much longer.”
“If optimism was a weapon …” Uncle Leo said, shaking his head.
“I know, I would be armed to the teeth,” Bonnie said.
“And then some,” Uncle Leo said. He sighed. “Well, we’re here, and we’d better get up to speed on everything as soon as possible. I don’t want to blunder into something.”
Jeff nodded. “Don’t worry. I’m sure my brother will be more than happy to tell you anything you want to know.”
“Your brother?” Uncle Leo asked.
“Uncle Leo, you remember I told you that Jeff has an older brother named Andrew who is married to the local apothecary, Julie.”
“Oh, right,” he said, nodding. “You would think I would be better with names. I’m more of a faces guy. I tend to recognize what folks look like more than hearing their name.”
“Well, you’re about to hear a lot of names and see a whole stack of faces,” Jeff said as he led them to where a crowd of people had gathered.
It was the town square, and it was packed. There were tables with food around the edges of the square and a roaring bonfire in the middle with flames dancing up into the darkening sky. All around it were people.
For the next half hour, Bonnie and Uncle Leo were introduced to person after person. They met Emily, the schoolteacher, and her husband Michael, who ran things in the town. They met Anita with Kevin, Lizzy and Troy, Tim, Andrea, Duncan, Hector, and Grace and Hunter.
“Gosh, there are a lot of people,” Bonnie said, feeling a little overwhelmed. Of them all, she found she had an instant liking for Emily. She was so open and friendly that Bonnie took to her like a fish to water.
“I know it’s like running a crazy gauntlet meeting all of these people at the same time,” Emily said. “I had to do it and then explain my uncle Felix.”
An older man, around Uncle Leo’s age, turned and smiled. “Ah, you’re the new girl. How do you feel about a little game of poker?” he asked, looking both hopeful and excited.
“Now?” Bonnie asked in surprise.
He looked around as though expecting to find a card table waiting for them. “No, of course not,” he said, chuckling nervously. “I meant, do you like to play?”
“I don’t, but my godfather enjoys a game or two from time to time,” Bonnie said.
Felix’s face lit up. “Well, now!”
“Uncle Felix!” Emily chided. “We spoke about this at length.”
“I know, but?—”
“No buts!” she said sternly. “Now, why don’t you take Leo here and go introduce him to Ethan and the others?”
Felix hesitated for a moment and then nodded like a scolded child.
“Come on,” he said to Uncle Leo.
Leo cast Bonnie a look that asked if she would be okay and she nodded.
As Felix and Uncle Leo walked away, Emily turned to Bonnie. “I’m so sorry about my uncle; he’s just so devoted to his cards.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Bonnie said, smiling. “I understand. They can be a little dogged when they want to be.”
“Tell me about it. Older men are something else to deal with,” Emily said, shaking her head.
From there she took Bonnie around to meet more people, and then eventually, it was time to eat. By now Bonnie was ravenous. The food was excellent, and she piled her plate high and went in search of Jeff.
He was sitting at a table with his brother and some other men, talking in an urgent manner.
“… happened to the cart,” Jeff was saying. “Axles don’t just break.”
“But that’s the thing,” Michael said. “They do sometimes. But yes, we will take a look. Maybe your new friend, Joel, can help us get out to the cart tomorrow. We don’t have a wainwright here, but maybe we can cobble the cart back together enough to get it home and then we can see what can be done.”
“He’s not my friend,” Jeff said.
“Oh, I know,” Michael said with a chuckle. “Now, there’s food. Let’s eat.”
It was Bonnie and Jeff’s first meal together as husband and wife.
They sat at the table with Julie, Andrew, Michael, Emily, Kevin, and Anita.
Uncle Leo was at another table with a whole lot of boys that couldn’t be more than fifteen years old, plus Felix.
It was the loudest table at the whole bonfire.
They were laughing and talking loudly, playing games that seemed to involve shouting a lot.
“I don’t know if it’s a good thing that Felix gets along with them so well,” Emily said, casting a worried glance over at the rowdy table.
“I think it’s sweet,” Bonnie said. “Uncle Leo always made time to share a joke or help out a child when they needed it back home. He gave some of them jobs at the greengrocers he used to run. It saved more than a few families from ruin. They wouldn’t have had anything if it wasn’t for him giving the children part-time jobs and helping their fathers to find work. ”
“He’s a remarkable man,” Emily said. “I wonder what he and Felix could possibly have to talk about. Felix is nothing like that. He’s a compulsive gambler and a scoundrel, but …”
“But he’s your uncle,” Bonnie said. “I understand. Don’t get me wrong—if you let Leo anywhere near a wine cellar, you’re in deep, deep trouble. The man won’t surface for days.” She chuckled.
“Well, luckily, we don’t have a wine cellar or a brewery, and we have to make do with ginger and root beer,” Emily smiled.
They ate for a while in silence and then Joel came over to talk to them. He was beaming and looking happier than he had on the ride over to the town.
“It’s a mighty fine place you have here,” he said with a broad smile. “Mighty fine.”
“Thank you. And you are?” Emily asked.
“I’m Joel Watson. I helped to bring this lovely lady and her husband and the others to town,” he said.
“Oh, the carter,” Emily said, offering a hand.
Joel took it and shook it. “Yes.” He looked around. “Say, do you folks maybe need me to stay a while? I didn’t see any other carts around town when I was dropping folks off. I didn’t even see any horses. Are you folks okay for transportation?”
“I guess we could use the help,” Emily said. “But tell you what. Why don’t you go to that end of this table and speak to Michael and Andrew? They’re the ones who would have to make those kinds of decisions.”
Joel nodded. “Much obliged.” And off he went.
“He seems nice,” Emily said. “Do you know anything about him?”
“He says he’s from Dallas, and that’s about all I know,” Bonnie said. “Come to think of it, he was rather interested in us and what happened to our cart.”
Emily looked thoughtful.
“What are you thinking?” Bonnie asked.
“Nothing,” Emily said with a chuckle. “I’m just being paranoid and suspicious like my husband generally is.”
“I think that is perfectly understandable,” Bonnie said. “How have things been since the bridge blew up?”
“Difficult,” Emily said. “But let’s not talk about that.”
They moved on to other topics and Julie and Anita joined in. They were all quite friendly and Bonnie felt welcome. But by the time the bonfire evening was over, she was exhausted and couldn’t wait to go to bed.
Entering the house was strange. It wasn’t her apartment in New York, which she had known from top to bottom. This house felt different. For one thing, the smell of pine was everywhere.
The stairs creaked in odd ways as she climbed them, and when she closed the door to her room, it made a soft squeak, which she knew would take some getting used to.
It took her some time to find her nightgown.
After everything had fallen off the cart, the trunk was a mess inside.
Once she found it, she got out of her clothes and slipped into it, then climbed into the unfamiliar bed.
At least it wasn’t moving. It had that going for it. She closed her eyes, glad that she had finally made it out west and that this was the start of her new life. The bed was a little too soft, but Bonnie was certain she would get used to it.
Around her the house began to settle, creaking and snapping as the wood let go of the day’s heat.
Listening to all the new sounds, Bonnie wondered how long it would take before they were as common to her as the neighbors above them back home, stomping around at all hours.
In spite of the newness of everything, Bonnie was so tired that she quickly fell asleep right after saying her prayers.