Quake
Copyright© 2025 by Gordon Johnson
Chapter 4
I tried to appear thoughtful as I slowly and carefully responded, full of trepidation, “The earthquake changed everything for me, and I think for you girls as well, and certainly for James. I saw my life in a new way and with a new realisastion of responsibility for others, not just myself. So I eventually saw what was before me, and became aware of James’ real need for caring parents, and with three beautiful girls around me, I thought I couldn’t do better than you lovelies.
So yes, if you feel the same way, then yes I am serious. One, two, or all three would fit with me admirably, based on what I have seen so far. You are nice people, and that is not the way many girls are in my experience. Most are all for themselves, but you three have an empathy I can admire.
Admittedly I can’t legally marry you all, but who is worried about a certificate when so many couples don’t bother with any paperwork these days? If you all fancy being married, we can simply BE married and give James three new Mums and one Daddy. I promise to treat you as real wives, paperwork or not.”
I stopped raving and simply challenged them wordlessly fully in the face; then I spoke again, into the gathering silence that worried me.
“Am I asking too much? Have I offended you girls? Am I just being a fool, enamoured of your charms? I think the world of you three in a way I have never viewed a girl before, and I want to take it further, but it is not my decision; it is yours. I can only offer. It is your future, and so your choice,” I worried aloud.
All three appeared lost for words, and I prepared myself for the worst.
Pat was thoughtful as she put her words together carefully.
“Admittedly most girls expect to fall in love after some time and take it from there, but an awful lot of formal marriages fail within the first year or two.
The official system doesn’t work very well for everybody, just for the majority. Short and failed marriages are no fun for those involved. There should be other ways to find a reliable mate in life, and you have shown me you have what it takes to be a reliable man, Paul. I am willing to take you on if you intend it to be for many years. I can’t speak for the other two. Tracy I have just met but she gives off the right vibes as a worthwhile friend and possible sharer.
My sister will have to decide if she wants to share you with me. It is her own decision after all; her own life, her own future. I love her and if she wants to be part of this, I am fine with that. If she wants to go her own way, I am fine with that too. She has to decide for herself on this occasion.”
This passed the responsibility to Sylvia for her to make her personal decision, and Sylvia was conflicted. Sylvia remained visbly uncomfortable as she thought things through, with all its unheard of possibilities that had not existed until now.
“I don’t know ... both of us sisters being ... being fucked by Paul, and possibly having his babies? You’d really go along with that proposal, Pat?”
Patricia nodded slowly. “I don’t see why not, sis. Logic supports the proposition ... It certainly happened in the Bible, Jacob’s wives I think, so there is some Biblical precedent for the plan.”
She turned to ask the watching teenager, “Tracy? What do you think of Paul being our man? Willing to have a share of him? See him as your future, a secure future?”
Tracy was rapidly assessing her life and prospects, and now examined me with a renewed interest in the practicalities.
“Paul? What do you do for a living? Can you support us as a family, for years ahead if you are as serious as you claim to be?”
I willingly confessed, “I help manage my father’s business, an expanding grocery group, and as an only child I suppose I will inherit it eventually, so I suppose I have the wherewithal to support a family into the future. I couldn’t give exact figures, but I can see the business expanding more, provided we stay away from earthquake zones! That was the reason I was here; to speak with a local grocery business about joining our ‘Select’ chain. ‘Select’ is the brand name we use for our shops. I suspect the store we were interested in is no more than a pile of rubble now. It has been de-Select-ed by the quake,” I grinned at my own pun then crnged inwardy. This was not the time for jokes.
Tracy replied, more maturely than could be expected at her age, “If that is the case, you are a better prospect than the sort of men I have met. Most of them have no long-term plans. You have thought ahead and have plans for the future. Consider me as a willing volunteer, if Pat doesn’t mind having me around.”
Pat nodded, “You seem to be suitable material for the job, Tracy. Fine by me, if you are up for sharing our man.”
“So that leaves me...” Sylvia murmured. “Paul is a good guy, so perhaps ... perhaps. It is a big ask, a big commitment. Can I change my mind later, Paul?”
“Of course, Sylvia, dear girl. Everything is your choice. No certificate, no contract, no formal commitment, so you are free to leave if you want to, at any time, if you find someone else to partner with. Of course, if you have a baby by me, I would rather he or she stays with me and the rest of the family. Your new partner would probably prefer it that way too.”
Sylvia thought a bit further, then gave her decision, “Okay then. If you manage to make me happy, I may not want to leave; especially if I have a baby to love and cherish. I don’t see me abandoning my baby.”
“That has always been my life’s goal, Sylvia: make my future wife happy. I didn’t think it would be this way: three of you, but the principle still applies. I will try to make you all happy to be with me. It is an objective worth aiming for.”
James now walked up to us, curiosity on his face. I hadn’t been aware of his arrival, but I suspect he heard part of our conversation and delayed his appearance. He was not stupid, our boy. He held up a bottle he was carrying.
“I found the shampoo bottle, and I think it is not quite empty, so you should be able to wash your hair.” He paused and asked cautiously, “Were you talking about me, Paul; me and the ladies?”
I answered, “We were, James. Do you fancy having me as your Daddy, and these three ladies as your Mummies?”
“Daddy? Yes, please! I like you, Paul. I think you would be a good Daddy. Three Mummies, though? How does that work? What do I do? Do I get ordered around by all three of you? Will you love me?”
Practical as usual, James was getting to the heart of it. Pat told him, “Well, James, I was thinking that as the eldest, I would be your main Mummy, giving you advice on how to behave as a nice young man. That should be easy to do. Your other mummies would be more like aunties: they’ll be there to help you with any problems you might have, especially ones that you can’t speak to Mummy about. Get the idea?”
His face was by now smiling, but he had one worry. “I can’t forget my real Mummy, though, even if she has gone to heaven.”
Pat said severely to him, her finger waggling in emphasis, “You must never forget your real Mummy, James, never. She did all the hard work in making you the fine young man you are now, so she must be remembered and revered by us all. Right, my boy?”
His smile widened, “Right, Mummy Pat.”
Everyone broke out in chuckles, but I brought them all down to earth.
“Now, our next priority is food, and if possible a gents outfitters for me to get a change of clothes. James might also get an upgrade to reflect his new social status.”
Neither the girls nor James had any suggestions about where to find gents clothing, and I didn’t know the local businesses, so I left it for now, and used some of the bottled water to sluice some of the dust out of my hair using my fingers, did my best to clean up my face and hands, then applied some fresh water to my cuts and scrapes, cleaning off more of the hardening blood as best I could. I left the minimal supply of shampoo for use by the girls.
Pat examined me with a keen gaze once I had washed away what I could.
“My goodness! There is a nice-looking guy under there, it seems,” she commented.
“You are not so bad looking, yourself, Pat,” I retorted. “Damned beautiful, in fact, if you don’t mind me telling it as it is.”
She chuckled, “Trying to get into my panties, Paul? If you truly become my man, that will happen, but not yet. Priorities come first, you know.”
I quipped, “I’ll look forward to that, Pat, among other priorities in our lives, like survival.”
Sylvia said slowly, “If you are really as flush with cash as you suggest, then I agree with Tracy. We’ll be your women, if you prove your worth, in all senses of the word.” Tracy stared at Sylvia before commenting wisely, “Damn! You are a clever bugger, Sylvia.”
As she spoke, the sound of an aero engine wafted across the empty sky. We looked for the source, and saw a light aircraft approach the town and sail overhead. It started to circle the town, quite forlornly, apparently searching for signs of life without success. Then the engine revved up as the machine began to head towards the harbour. Our group of people must have caught someone’s eye, for the plane had changed course to head direct towards us.
It charged above us flying low, then the pilot waggled his wings to indicate that we had been seen. We all waved towards the aircraft, but that was all we could do without any signalling system. At least it proved that we were up and about, not visibly seriously injured.
The aircraft swung back and flew off in the direction it came from, presumably heading back to whichever airfield it had come from.
“Looks like we are saved,” said Tracy excitedly.
I quickly disabused her of that notion.
“No, Tracy. All that has happened is that someone now knows there are survivors worth coming for. They will report what they saw. How the rescuers get here, and when, is anybody’s guess.”
Pat added, “If the roads are damaged, that will make it even more hazardous to get to us.”
“If you don’t mind, girls, can James and I go look for some male clothes, while you hold the fort and try on some other dresses so you have a change available if we have to spend the night here?”
Tracy uttered a womanly thought, “And we can look for a hairbrush; my hair’s in a right mess.”
“Quite right, Tracy,” said Sylvia. “And a comb as well. Some ruined shop may have these, if we are lucky; possibly a chemist’s shop will have something. It will give us something to do while Paul and James search for clothes.”
We all went foraging for male and female requirements, and a long while later as we were gathering again at the harbour, us males now attired in clean shirts and pants of different lengths, courtesy of a charity shop’s variable and unmatched stock, there came the sound of a helicopter. It had the blue/dun colouring of the military. They would be the most prepared to head for the town when the reports started coming in.
We all assumed it was coming for us, but it headed elsewhere and then Tracy declared in a shocked tone, “It is landing at the secondary school’s playing field! Oh, God! I hope some of the schoolkids are alive.”
We were abruptly aware that we were most certainly not the priority, as we were clearly alive and reasonably intact. The local high school was more questionable and so vitally important to be investigated for those who were alive and intact and others possibly trapped. With a bit of luck, some floors may have collapsed at an angle, creating clear spaces where pupils and teachers may have survived.
James was less traumatized, as he was too young to imagine the full ramifications, and he suggested amiably, “There is a wooden building further along the harbour, Paul. Can we go and have a look inside, and see what could be useful for us and the ladies?”
I stared in the direction he pointed, and there was indeed a wooden building back from the harbour, that seemed intact if somewhat dilapidated. Wooden structures have more flexibility in quakes, and it might indeed have something useful inside, if it was there for a reason.
“Trust our James to find the clever answer, ladies. Shall we take a walk over there and see if we can gain entry? I’ll look for a metal bar to act as a lever if the door has a padlock.”
We did so without any bar appearing for use, and a few minutes of slow walking got us there, James in front, leading the way with the enthusiasm of youth. The building was amazingly intact, but the door had been twisted in its frame, and was hanging slightly open on its hinges, the Yale lock’s tongue pushed away from its socket; no padlock. I was able to pull the door the rest of the way open and we had the opportunity to look inside.
It was a storeroom of some kind, possibly for the inshore fishermen, or the leisure sailors, for there was adequate shelving with a variety of supplies thereon. The girls were quick to rummage rapidly through the supplies at shoulder height, looking for something they could use in these dire circumstances.
“Look, girls: food!” declared Pat. She pointed to a shelf of tinned foods, but as we all looked it over, it was mostly baked beans, peas, sweetcorn, tinned potatoes and other vegetables. The shelf below fortunately had tins of spaghetti, beef stew, ttinned peaches and pears, along with a range of nourishing soups. There was enough of the basics to keep us going for a while, provided we could find the means of heating up the stews and such. I didn’t fancy cold stew from a tin.
For myself, I knelt down and examined the lower shelves, and was pleased to discover several Primus gas stoves and a batch of fuel canisters for them. Perfect! I said so aloud to the girls, and they looked at the little devices with a degree of skepticism.
“These little things?” Sylvia queried. “Are they any good?”
“They certainly are,” I asserted. “Find a pot or two, and you can heat stuff up pretty quickly. Any sign of pots and pans?”
James was down at floor level, looking all along. “Here, Paul: is this what you mean?”
Sure enough, there was a selection of cooking pans of various sizes, depending on how many folk you were preparing to feed.
“Just what we need, James. Well done, my friend!”
James beamed, then he went on, “And there are coils of rope, as well. Do we need more rope?” I pretended to think about such needs, then shook my head.
“No, I think our need for rope has stopped for the moment, James, but it is good to know that it is there should we need rope again. Rope is a useful tool to have available.”
“Talking of tools,” said Tracy, “I see that on the other side of the shed are tools of various kinds, but mostly water-type items, and things connected with boat engines.”
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