“Sure,” Jerry replied. “We have a big trailer for livestock. Mostly use it for horses, but it will work for other kinds of animals. You need something relocated?”
“Yes. They will be coming soon.” Simon got out of the car, then waited until Steve moved to the front passenger seat before adding, “And you need to find someone who can ride a horse and look after some young bison.”
They stared at him. “Bison?” Steve said.
“Eleven of them. We can split the herd between the River Road Community and the Courtyard.”
Their expressions reminded him of Skippy when the juvenile’s brain wasn’t working quite right. Hoping Jerry had enough sense not to drive before he could think, Simon went into Howling Good Reads to get ready for their guests.
? ? ?
Meg called the female pack, including Eve Denby, assuring everyone it would be a quick meeting but it needed to be now.
“Girl stuff,” she said and started to close the Private door. As she expected, Nathan scrambled off the Wolf bed and let out a protesting arroo at being shut out. But when he saw the rest of the girls, he turned around and went back to the bed. Guarding against feral deliverymen was one thing; dealing with the human females, whom he couldn’t bite, was something else.
Meg glossed over the meeting with Steve Ferryman. While the campus on Great Island was interesting, it didn’t have anything to do with them. But the part about supplies . . .
“I don’t usually slip into squirrel mentality until autumn, but with more and more companies being owned by HFL members, Simon has a point about buying what you can while you can,” Merri Lee said.
Meg frowned. “Squirrel . . . ?”
“Buying cans of soup, jars of spaghetti sauce, and boxes of spaghetti. Stocking up on toilet paper, paper towels, and tissues. And the things we girls need because no one wants to run out of those supplies in the middle of a blizzard.”
She looked at them, surprised that no one felt the alarm that she had. “So this is normal?”
“In Lakeside? Sure.”
She blinked.
“Meg, you weren’t thinking about these kinds of supplies last winter, but when the radio announcers warn of a big winter storm, we pay attention,” Merri Lee said. “And believe me, we don’t take TP for granted.”
Ruth nodded. “You expect every last roll in the store to be bought when that happens.” Then she frowned. “Why do you think Mr. Wolfgard is so concerned about stocking up?”
Because more human cities are going to disappear. “Because of the sanctions that were imposed recently, there are delays on any merchandise being shipped from one region to another,” Meg said, offering a less frightening explanation. “Maybe the delays will get longer and there is more chance of running out of some supplies?”
“If there are restrictions about the amount of paper supplies one family can purchase at a regular grocery store, the humans who work in the Courtyard will be looking to make up the difference by buying items in the Market Square stores,” Eve said. “And speaking as the property manager, once the sale of those two apartment buildings goes through, there will be the potential for ten human families, with human needs, living there. Maybe the Business Association heard a rumor about shortages.”
Or heard more than a rumor. Meg felt her heart thumping against her chest. Pins and needles filled her arms, and she suddenly craved the relief and release of a cut.
Not now, she thought. Not now. “Simon said we need to keep this between us, that we shouldn’t tell anyone else about storing supplies.” She rubbed one arm and then the other, ignoring the way the other women tensed.
“Maybe we shouldn’t worry about the why and focus on getting the supplies while we can,” Eve said.
The others agreed.
“I think we should buy some canning jars,” Ruth said. “We’ll need them to preserve some of the fruit. Maybe buy some jelly jars too. Meg? Is there any way we could ask some of the Simple Life women for help in learning how to preserve food or make jelly?”
“I can ask,” Meg said.
“Gauze, bandages, and splints.” Theral pointed to Merri Lee’s splinted finger, which had been broken a couple of weeks ago during the fight at the stall market. “Over-the-counter medicines. Other medical supplies.”
Eve nodded. “Speaking as a mother, having some prescription drugs available would be a good idea.”
“Simon said we’re not supposed to, but should we tell . . .” Meg faltered when she saw the resignation and bitterness in her friends’ eyes.
“Tell who?” Merri Lee asked. “The friends who won’t speak to us anymore?” She tipped her head toward Ruth. “The family who won’t acknowledge us?”
Meg looked at Ruth. “But I thought they were coming over on Windsday to help you and Karl move into your new place.”
Tears filled Ruth’s eyes. “My mom told me all the stuff I’d stored at her house was going out on trash day unless I picked it up before then. It was already at the curb when Karl and I got to the house. My mom stood in the doorway and watched us. Didn’t come out to talk to us. And you know what she yelled to my father when Karl and I finished putting my things in the car? ‘The trash picked up the boxes.’” A sob escaped Ruth before she regained control.
“Problem?” Tess stood in the doorway leading to the back room, her hair completely red and coiling.
“No,” Meg said. “No problem.” How much had Tess heard?
They made room for her when she walked up to the sorting room table and set down the carry sack. “Fresh muffins,” Tess said. “Have a snack. Then it’s time you all got to work.” She walked out.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief.
Ruth wiped her eyes. “Muffin. Work.”
“Where did you put your stuff?” Meg asked Ruth.
“My aunt and uncle are holding on to it until Ruth is ready for it,” Theral said. “They want to help. They haven’t forgotten that Mr. Wolfgard is letting them have Lawrence’s share of the produce from the Green Complex’s garden. He didn’t have to do that.”
“Muffin. Work,” Merri Lee said, opening the sack and taking a muffin. “The Courtyard’s guests are arriving this afternoon, and we all need to set a good example.” She eyed Meg. “You okay?”
“I’m sad for all of you, but I’m okay.” The pins-and-needles feeling was gone, leaving no indication that a cut would reveal anything of use to her friends or the Courtyard.
Without a question that needed an answer, without some kind of justification, she couldn’t make a cut without upsetting her friends, not to mention Simon.
They ate the muffins and went to their jobs. Meg opened the Private door and ignored the stare she received from Nathan. “You can sulk about being left out, or you can have one of the fresh Wolf cookies Jerry Sledgeman brought from Eamer’s Bakery.”
Sulking as a sport could not compete with fresh, beef-flavored cookies. Since Meg had a feeling Simon was going to be a little sulky too, she set aside two of the beef-flavored cookies for him.
? ? ?
Walking back to A Little Bite, Tess stopped when she saw Henry looking at her over the wooden gate that opened onto his yard. She glanced at the Liaison’s Office and the sorting room’s open window. <You heard?>
<I heard,> he growled. <Nothing to be done about that sow.>
<Nothing to be done,> she agreed, then silently added, Yet.
<Kowalski asked to borrow a van or the pickup from the Utilities Complex tomorrow to move the possessions he stored at his family’s den. I will go with him and discourage any more talk of trash.>
The coils in her hair relaxed. The Grizzly’s presence would discourage many things, but it wouldn’t hurt to suggest to Simon that the Hawks keep an aerial watch while one of their own was in enemy territory.
CHAPTER 16
Windsday, Juin 13