Chapter 4

I woke in the morning and went through my usual process of waking after wandering into the kitchen to start coffee. I realized on the way back, rather belatedly, that I had walked through the house in my boxers and a tee shirt. That was my normal sleep attire and I had been alone long enough now that I just didn't think about it. I closed the bedroom door softly. I showered and shaved and dressed in shorts and a pullover short sleeve shirt. I put on sandals and went into the kitchen.

Wendy was there. "Good morning, Wendy. I hope you slept well."

She smiled softly. It improved the plainness of her face noticeably. "Yes, thank you. I felt safe for the first time in a long time. This house is quiet and peaceful."

"It was quiet out here even before the Day, I think. Now, there is little to make a sound. The generator does make a very slight noise if you're close to it. Even the creek is quiet once it flows down the hillside.

"Would you like breakfast? I have oatmeal, frozen egg packs for scrambled eggs, or pancake mix. Unfortunately, I don't have milk. I do have some dried milk that works okay for cooking purposes."

She said, "Anything sounds good. Let me cook though. I haven't had a chance to cook in a long while." I nodded. I sat down with my coffee. "What would you like, Tim?"

"Eggs and bacon would be great. I can make toast with some of the bread left from yesterday. Once it's thawed, you have to use it because it won't keep well."

She was wearing the same new, to her, outfit from yesterday. Her feet were bare. I realized that getting her some more clothing was a necessity and was probably today's priority.

She began to prepare breakfast using efficient, practiced moves. "Wendy, I think we need to do some shopping for you today. You need some more clothes and they ought to fit."

She smiled again. "I would like that. I need some other things, too." She was cooking and the smells were better than when I cooked.

I said, "I know some safe places to get clothing. My presence at that grocery store was an accident."

"I'm glad you were there. I'm not sure they planned for me to go back with them. I'm not sure I wanted to go back. It was a dreadful existence. I feel sorry for the others trapped there. Thank you for saving me." She smiled. "Let's eat."

It embarrassed me. I mumbled, "I really didn't plan anything."

Wendy said, "But you did do something. May I ask the blessing this morning?"

I nodded and she gave a simple prayer of thanksgiving for the food and her new situation. We ate. We cleaned up the dishes and frying pan together. While we worked, I said, "Wendy, thank you for cooking. The food was excellent."

"You're welcome. If I put on shoes, could we go shopping?"

"That would be fine. Early is best anyway."

I waited while she went into her room and came out wearing her sneakers. We walked out to the truck. We got in on each side and she buckled up. She sat with her hands in her lap like she was waiting. I cranked the motor. "Tim, aren't you going to blindfold me?"

"No. I trust you. In hindsight, that was a silly thing to do."

"No, it wasn't. You didn't know if I could be trusted." She paused. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For trusting me now."

I turned the truck around and we left. At the highway, we went a different direction to a different, smaller town. I had been here before and always found it deserted in the past. Just south was a Wally World and I pulled into the parking lot looking around as I did. When I parked and got out, I locked the truck. On the way inside, I said, "Do you shoot?"

"No, but I can learn."

"You will. Unfortunately, I think it's become a necessary skill." I grabbed a buggy and was carrying a battery-powered camping lantern. I headed for the women's area and let Wendy direct things from there. Her size was not carried in abundance. For jeans, we wound up in the men's department, too. She took every pair that would fit her. She had more choices for shorts and picked many. She picked through a selection of blouses and shirts. She picked up pairs of socks and two handsful of panties in bikini style and even a couple of thongs. She blushed when she saw that I noticed what she had.

She went to the bathing suits and chose four bikinis. She said, "I will need to try these. May I take the lantern?" I nodded. She came out a few moments later and put three in the buggy. In the sports clothes sections, she chose four or five sports bra tops. We went to shoes and she tried on sneakers for a while. Her feet were long and narrow. I imagined that they were hard to fit. She never did find a pair that fit.

"Wendy, there is a shoe store just over a block away. Why don't we try there or at Academy?" She nodded. "If that finishes the clothes from here, let's look at guns and then I'm guessing health and beauty?" She nodded.

We went to the guns. I found a thirty-two automatic with a holster and two extra clips. We located four boxes of shells for it and a cleaning kit. I was thinking about a rifle or shotgun. Then, I realized I had plenty of those at the farm from my collection and from Elton's. I grabbed all the boxes of shells and cleaning kits that would fit the guns I knew were there. I said, "That's it for here." She had the lantern and we went to the front of the store. She loaded up on all the basics that I recognized from shopping with Julie. She went into the pharmacy area by going over the counter and returned with a sack. I didn't ask what she had chosen.

She said, "That's it. Let's check out and find some shoes." I nodded and headed for the door. I turned off the lantern and looked out carefully. "Tim, I thought you said no one was here."

"When I was last here, that was true. I don't want to be surprised though." We went outside and loaded the bed of the truck, got in it, and I drove us to an Academy that had a shoe store in the same big strip center.

Wendy wanted to go to the shoe store first saying that she had shopped at that brand store in the past. She quickly found three pairs of sneakers, two pairs of leather shoes, and a pair of boots. She had brought a new outfit in with her and went to the back with the lantern. She came out transformed. Clothes that fit her well made her body look fairly good despite being very tall and very thin. She would never be a beauty but, when she smiled, she was reasonably attractive. She was smiling now. I smiled back. I noticed she left her old clothes in the back of the shop. She said, "They didn't really fit anyway. I'm set. We can head back." I nodded and we went to the truck and I drove back.

She went inside with her clothes and beauty items and met me in the kitchen. I had placed the gun, cleaning kits, and ammo in the small shop in the barn. She said, "I would like to cook you lunch."

I grinned. "I didn't think my cooking was 'that' bad."

She blushed. "It's not but I enjoy cooking."

"Okay. In that case, carry on, oh great chef!"

We laughed and Wendy cooked a wonderful lunch. After lunch and cleaning up the dishes and pots, she told me to come into the living room for a fashion show. I smiled. "That's not necessary."

"Tim, for you, it isn't. I need this though." I immediately agreed though didn't really understand. I had learned with Julie that, if it didn't matter to me, it was best to let her have her way on those things without me needing to understand.