Chapter 19
Eli moved in a daze. He rang up whatever items people brought to the counter, and Elijah helped him usher people out the door when they were done. He'd never had as many people inside the shop at the same time. People had never been as frantic.
The inhabitants of places like Last Hope were resilient, but the threat of starvation was real.
Eli didn't blame them for panicking. He was panicking.
He hadn't put aside any food for himself.
He'd taken most of what he had to Thano's and then left it there.
He pushed the thought away and continued to ring up items, take money, and reassure people everything would be fine despite not believing a word.
When Rosie reached the counter, she reached for his hand instead of shoving items at him to ring up. “Eli." She breathed his name. Her eyes were glassy, and her cheeks rosy.
“Hi, Rosie."
“What will you do?"
His mind hadn't figured that far ahead yet.
Right now, he focused on selling as much of the food as he could to give people a chance to stay fed for a few days.
It was market day on Wednesday. If they shopped what they could now, they could stock up more when the people from Fisherman's Lake came here with their items. It would give them some time to figure things out.
“I'm sure it will be fine."
Rosie stared into his eyes. “How will you earn a living?"
He shrugged and reached for a bag of lentils in her basket. He didn't want to talk about how he'd live. He couldn't live. The shop was what kept him alive.
“Maybe you can work at the hotel." She glanced at Elijah, who had a deer-in-the-headlights look.
“I don't think there is enough revenue for Elijah to have an employee." He forced a smile. “I'll think of something, Rosie. Don't worry about me."
He took her money and gave her a stiff smile as she headed out the door. Before he turned to the next customer, he leaned closer to Elijah. “Can you walk around and grab one or two of everything with seeds in them."
Elijah frowned. “Seeds?"
“Yes, grab two of everything." He'd give one set to Elijah as a thank-you for his help.
Shit, there wasn't much with seeds in. It was too early in the season for there to be tomatoes and peppers.
He had some seeds at home, but...“Grab a bag of beans, peas, and lentils too.
" Fuck the board and their controls. How would they ever be able to prove if he'd paid for the things or not?
A light came on in Elijah's eyes. “Right. Seeds. I don't know if you have much with seeds in them or if there still is time to plant things for the summer."
“True, but if we're to survive we need to take everything we can now."
With a short nod, Elijah made his way through the crowd, and Eli turned to...Mabel Mallon. She had some nerve to come here.
“Are you sure you want to buy things from a shop that fraternizes with the enemy?"
“Right now, it's my only option." Her tone was clipped, but he could see determination in her eyes. She wanted this. She didn't look scared like everyone else, which meant there had to be a plan.
Eli didn't reach for any of the things she placed on the counter. “And come Tuesday, what's your option then?"
“We want what's best for Last Hope, which means there will be a grocery store."
Eli nodded and rang up her items. They would move someone in after him. He guessed it was a good thing. He didn't want anyone to starve.
Mabel paid and then something evil crept into her eyes. “It'll be a member solution. Like a club. People pay a small fee for a membership, and then they'll be allowed to shop."
He stared at her. A fee. They were going to make the people pay to be allowed to buy food. Anger ignited inside of him, but he did his best to hold onto a blank face. “I'm sure you've considered the consequences."
“We have. There will be certain criteria people will have to fulfill, but I don't think it will be a problem for most. You on the other hand..."
Eli nodded. He wouldn't be allowed to shop. Message received.
Mabel moved toward the door, and Lisa-Mae took her place by the counter. The stunned expression on her face told Eli she'd heard what Mabel had said. “Can you...eh...get out of here? Maybe someone in Fisherman's Lake can take you in? You're strong, I'm sure you'd make a good farmhand."
He forced himself to smile. He'd had a place to go, but he'd turned it down. Fuck. “I'll be fine."
She held his gaze. “I don't think it's safe for you to stay, Eli."
No, he didn't either. “I'll think of something."
A couple of hours later, the stream of customers died down some. He assumed word had reached everyone by now, and those who had any money had been by. There was an elderly couple walking arm in arm, but they were the only ones in the shop.
He leaned closer to Elijah. He'd been by Eli's side the entire day apart from about half an hour when he'd gone back to the hotel to serve lunch.
“I have some more beans and peas in the back.
I'll stack the shelves." As he walked into the storage room, he looked around.
There wasn't much, but he should bring everything out.
He pushed at the door and jammed in the doorstopper to keep it open. Grabbing the crate with beans he'd sewn into fabric bags from discarded clothes, he passed the couple. The woman was running her fingers over a bag of peas.
“I have beans here. White in the gray bags and borlotti in the blue."
She looked at him, her hands shaking and her eyes glassy. “We only have..." She held up her hand with some smaller bills and a few coins. Fuck, it wouldn't last them long. They looked too old and frail to be able to work. Would they be able to afford any kind of membership club thing?
Eli glanced into the basket the man was holding in a death grip. They'd grabbed eggs, some butter, a small container of flour, one onion, a few potatoes, and now she was looking longingly at the peas. He wasn't sure the money would be enough to cover what they already had.
He bent and put the crate with the beans on the floor.
“Tell you what." He gently pried the basket from the man's hold.
“I'll take those." He gestured at the money in the woman's hand, and she held them out without question.
“And you..." He reached past her and grabbed the bag of peas she'd been touching, then he grabbed a bag of white and one of borlotti beans.
He didn't envy the meals they'd have. Beans with nothing else weren't great, but they were nutritious and hopefully they had a kitchen garden so they could get some variation.
“...take this." He handed the basket back to the man and gently guided them toward the door.
“Eli." The woman's voice broke on his short name.
“Market on Wednesday. I hope you'll be okay until then." He forced a smile.
She nodded, though he doubted they'd have any money to buy anything for come Wednesday. He stood unmoving as he watched them go.
“I need to head back to the hotel. Will you be okay on your own?" Elijah also watched the old couple walk away.
“Yeah, the rush has calmed." He looked at Elijah. “Thank you."
He shrugged. “You'd have done the same if it was me."
He would have, but simply because he would have was no guarantee others would.
“Do you want me to bring the chickens here so you can sell them?"
He'd forgotten about the chickens. “No. Keep them. Did you hear Mable?"
Elijah shook his head, but before Eli could tell him what she'd said, there was a group of men pushing through the door. They had rifles slung over their shoulders, one of them had a large knife strapped to his thigh, and Eli almost groaned.
“I'll talk to you after closing." He smiled at Elijah who looked reluctant to leave him with the men.
“Are you...eh..."
A cool hand caressed his neck and Eli turned around.
There was no one there. Without thinking he reached out and gripped a suit sleeve.
Thano. The air whooshed out of Eli, and he wanted to cling to him, but he forced himself to let go before someone noticed.
He didn't want anyone shooting in the shop.
Elijah's eyes were wide and glued to Eli's hand. He must've seen it. Eli smiled. “I'll come by the hotel later."
Elijah nodded and headed toward the door. “I put the...eh...items on the shelf underneath." He gestured at the counter, and Eli nodded a thanks before moving to stand by the till.
The men walked slowly, inspecting everything on the shelves in a way that made Eli think they were more interested in intimidating him than they were in buying anything.
An invisible finger brushed over the back of his hand where he rested it on the counter. “Ready to come home yet?" The whisper tickled his ear and he bit his lip not to smile.
“Not yet."
“What did you say?"
Eli jumped at the man's voice. He believed he'd spoken too low for them to hear.
“Nothing, only mumbling to myself."
The man snorted. “Fucking faggot."
Shit. Fraternizing with the enemy was one thing. The formulation was ridiculous, but everyone was aware of his contact with the others. Faggot, though. And especially after having spent the day with Elijah. It could hurt him too.
Eli didn't respond or outwardly react. He was pretty sure they wouldn't be able to hurt him when Thano was in the shop.
* * * *
Thano noted the way Eli tensed at the man's comment and considered how much trouble there would be if he killed him right there in the shop. Too much trouble for Eli.
He remained by his side behind the counter and watched the men. They moved like a wolf pack, but he also noted at least some of them wanted the food. In the end, after some more posturing, a few of them grabbed some items and went to pay.
Eli treated them kindly, which made Thano grind his teeth. Fucking humans. He was pretty sure the one who'd called Eli a faggot had been one of the men who'd pointed their guns at him but had been too scared to fire.