The stare down that ensued between the two would have been comical if I didn’t have a schedule to keep. Add to that the fact that I was now on foot for a while and my four-day journey was beginning to take on a weeklong look. And to add insult to injury, the vast majority of my supplies for the trip were a half-mile down the road to the east. So, my sense of humor was gone. I stepped between the pair and put a hand on each of their shoulders. “Okay, what’s the problem you two?”
Brit looked up at me with serious eyes. “He can’t tell me what to do. I can take care of myself.” She looked between Jake and me. “If he’s so worried, he can walk me to Frederic.”
Jake laughed. “Brit, listen carefully. If you want to go to Frederic have at it. But when we get to Main Street, I’m heading east into Balsam. Bill here can take you the rest of the way. It’s just a couple more hours up the road you know.”
She moved quickly to Jake’s side. “Jake, you don’t get to decide for me. I know where I’m going. He’ll just slow me down. You can keep up at least.” Jake smiled and shook his head at her. “Jake, please come with me.”
I stepped in. “Again, Brit, you’re too young to be out here all on your own. I know you’re independent, but it wouldn’t be responsible of me to let you walk alone. And I think Jake wants to get home soon; check on his family.” She looked cynically at me and then Jake.
“I think you’re okay with Bill, Brit.” Jake tied his jacket around his waist.
I started up the road going north. I called back for them. “Come on kids. Daylight is a burning.” Jake and Brit started to follow some ten paces behind me and Buddy.
“I can get there by myself.” Brit started in on Jake again “I don’t need a babysitter. And I don’t want to walk alone with him. He’s creepy.” Brit crossed her arms and stared ahead. If that was her problem with me, great. I couldn’t care less what she might think. I had ground to make up. I decided to add one last thing so she would know it was okay to be with me.
“I have to go that way now too, Brit. I’ve got to get up to the next major highway running east and west. It’ll be a great help for me to have you with. Since you know where you’re headed and all.” I glanced back over my shoulder. That seemed to have helped ease her mood.
I figured we were no more than six miles from Jake’s road into Balsam, as the locals seemed to say. That meant two hours of cousin quibbling. First it was this aunt, then that uncle, then some great-aunt, and finally her mother. While Jake liked one and despised another, Brit’s feelings were the polar opposite. It only took an hour before I had to interrupt. The subject had moved on from relatives to school and now school lunch.
“You should be happy they feed you at all.” I spoke not turning around to address the pair. “Some school districts have had to cut hot lunches due to funding issues. So, you really are lucky.” I heard them both laugh.
“It’s gross, it’s disgusting, and it’s inedible.” Brit seemed to be an authority on the subject. “I dare you to eat it for a week. Your guts will never be the same.”
I stopped and turned, staring at the local know-it-all. “I eat school lunch almost every day, missy. At least the days I’m at the schools. And for your information, it’s fine. Just fine.”
Her eyes opened wide. “You’re a teacher.” She nodded her head enthusiastically. “I knew it.” She looked at Jake. “They’re the biggest perverts of all.” She tilted her head sideways showing her justification in not trusting me.
“I’m a psychologist, Brit. I go around to the different schools in the district helping kids with issues. When I happen to be at a school for lunchtime I eat with the staff. One of the perks of the job – free lunch.”
Jake smiled and laughed, Brit was disgusted. “Gross. Like anything they make in Minnesota is better than the slop they expect us to eat over here. You’re just disgusting.” She walked past me as Jake raised his eyebrows.
“What a lovely disposition she has. Could have warned me about this before we saved her.”
Jake patted my shoulder and followed after Brit. “Ah, she’s okay. Just talks all the time. She’s really kinda cute when you look at her up close.”
That hadn’t crossed my mind. It was hard to see any cuteness through all of her… personality.
“I heard that Jake.” She looked at both of us staring blankly at her. “And I know I’m cute. So there.” She turned on her heel and marched forward, albeit slowly. Jake and I followed dutifully so we could catch up to her small steps. It took about 50 yards.
“So, Mr. School Shrink, what’s wrong with the world?” I knew I could count on Brit to keep the stimulating conversation moving along.
“Don’t know for sure. I suppose, what I have deduced so far, is that we were hit by a series of high altitude EMPs. That’s the best I’ve been able to determine.”
Both Jake and Brit stared at me like I was speaking a foreign tongue.
“Electromagnetic Pulses, EMPs. They’re like a nuclear bomb just without all the messy damage.”
Jake formulated a question. “What do these EMTs do to things?” He was close.
“They fry all our circuitry. That’s the worst thing they do. So anything that runs on electricity gets fried. Anything with a computer or a chip gets fried. All our cool stuff – fried.”
Jake looked skeptical, but nodded that he understood.
Brit was lost in a thought. “For how long?” I looked at her hoping to deliver this next bit of news as kindly as I could.
“We’re not sure, Brit. It could be months, it could be years. It could even be decades. We don’t know yet.”
I watched this information sink in slowly and slowly she began to look around with a frightened, almost panicked expression. “No, it can’t be that long. They’ll have this stuff fixed by September I bet. We probably won’t even miss a day of school.” The expression was the same, only her words were hopeful, and forced.
I started to walk again. I think it was the first time that anyone had spoken honestly to Brit about any of this.
Jake nudged her along. “Come on. Let’s keep moving.”
Brit was quiet for the next half hour.
I decided she had pondered her future long enough. It was time to get to know her a little more. “So your mom lives in Balsam Lake, Brit?”
“Yeah, but I’m not looking for Mom. I’m going to Grandma and Grandpa’s up by Frederic.” She certainly was making her destination well known.
I couldn’t figure out this teenager. She was evasive, in a classical way. “Why there? If Mom is here I would think you’d want to be by her.”
“If Mom is here she’ll be all freaked out. I don’t need that. And most likely when the bombs went off she rode her stupid bike up to Grandma’s, her mother’s. Either way, I’m going to Luck.” Really Britney, I got it, loud and clear.
“Can I ask, if you don’t mind, why didn’t you stay with your dad?” It was a logical question given the current climate.
Brit was unusually quiet for the next little bit. Finally she spoke. “It’s not all that fun with him. He’s not a real good dad. If he’s not off chasing strange women around, he’s home passed out from drinking. My mom dropped me off over there about a month ago. She said it was ‘his turn to watch the brat for a while.’” Brit walked next to Jake, still behind me paying attention to Buddy. “I just got sick of him and his crap. Anything bad happens and it’s my fault. Same crap every day.” I glanced back, she was looking at the ground. I recognized the behavior.
Brit used a lot of negative statements when describing her parents. ‘Not a great mom, not a good dad, not much fun.’ This told me a lot about her relationships with them. She seemed to withdraw the more we spoke on the current topic. I wanted to lighten her mood, so I decided to change the subject. Jake was up front leading the way to Balsam. He seemed to be in a hurry to get home.
“So, Grandpa has a farm?”
Her little face lit up for a brief second before she changed her mood
back to solemn. “Yeah.” She continued looking ahead.
“When was the last time you were out there, Brit?” I kept the new, happy conversation going.
“About two months ago. Not that it’s any of your business.” Her face darkened again.
I stopped and looked at her closely. “You know Brit, I’m not the enemy. I understand if you’re some deep, dark goth person. If you want to be all moody, have at it.” She looked away further. “All I’m trying to do is get to know you a little better, that’s all. If you don’t want to talk, just say so. But I find talking helps in many ways. It’ll help us pass the time out here, okay?” Finally she looked back at me.
“Just mind your own business, okay?” Her eyes quickly darted away from mine and back at the countryside. “Trust me, I have no interest in getting to know all about you and your pathetic life, Bill.” I smiled. Her words spoke volumes to me.
“Fair enough, young lady. Fair enough.” Our group started walking again.
Jake started to try and apologize for Brit’s harshness. I stopped him quickly.
“I’ve had a lot of practice with kids, Jake. I’ve been doing this for almost ten years. I’ve seen a lot of kids like Brit. Maybe not as special as Brit, but a lot just like her.” The last part made Brit smile broadly. I’m not sure she had been told how special she was to anyone in the past few months. We moved on.
Chapter 23