Chapter 20

[West Georgia]

The storm had blown itself out during the night and the morning was bright and clear. Shirley and I woke up together. We lay snuggled in each other's arms.

"Today, we move into our own home." I said.

"That sounds good. Let's invite your parents and Janice over day after tomorrow, and Mary, also. We can have all the family over after that."

"Suits me."

"So, we had better get moving. We have to move this bedroom to our house and the one from there back here. We also need to get the furniture from the store and set it up. Finally, we have to do something about the garage and the Davidson's bodies."

"Okay, okay, slave driver." I kidded. I got up and dressed. Mom and Dad were in the kitchen when we went in.

"Jack, your dad, Janice, and I are going to help you today. Mary will be here in a minute. We will eat breakfast then."

"While we're waiting, Son, let's get the backhoe loaded on the trailer. You said you were going to bury the Davidson's. We can also use it to pull their car out of the way. We may need to bury it, too." We got it loaded and chained down for the short trip.

Just as we were finishing, Mary drove up. We all went in for breakfast. After eating, we went to our new home. The ladies all went inside carrying paint buckets, old sheets, and other painting items. They would finish the final bits of painting while Dad and I worked outside.

Dad and I tackled the garage. Leaving the door open had helped the smell factor considerably. The odor from the car was gone and the odor from the Davidson's' bodies was diminished. Dad pulled a mask over his mouth and nose after dipping it in mouthwash and went in, opened the car's door, and shifted the gear lever into "N." Outside, he took off the mask, "Whew! That helped but it was still bad." He exclaimed.

I had hooked a lengthy chain to the back of the car and Dad began to gently pull the car out of the garage. Fortunately, there was a slight uphill grade once out of the garage so a little tension was maintained as we got the car out. He pulled the car out of the garage and a good two hundred feet from the buildings with some dragging when the wheels didn't turn the way we wanted. When he stopped, I chocked the wheels and loosened the chain. With the tractor/backhoe loose, we moved around trying to determine the best place for a simple gravesite.

Shirley came out and I asked for her opinion. She looked around, saw a small clearing off to one side, and said, "That's a good spot if you can get in there."

Dad looked and said, "It will be tight but we can do it."

We dug a hole with the backhoe and then had the grisly task of getting the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Davidson out of their car. We used masks and mouthwash. We rolled them in a blanket and, with Dad taking one end and me the other, carried each one to the grave and, gently as we could, placed them in it. We then used the backhoe to cover them. "We'll come back and have a prayer later today." Dad said.

The car still stunk badly. Dad had a solution in mind. We loaded the car on his trailer and took it to a junkyard about ten miles away. We left it there with the windows unrolled and made the trip back to the house. Before we went in, we loaded and chained the backhoe on the trailer.

We went inside and each of us claimed a bathroom and showered washing twice in my case. Dad had brought fresh clothes and had made me do so, too. I understood why now. We threw our old clothes away along with the gloves and masks. With all that accomplished, we began to help the ladies finish painting. Janice was a remarkable trim painter as she had proved yesterday with what we had done. She had a very steady hand and a good eye. From experience, I had proven that I was good with a roller and not real good at trim. We had a short stop for a quick lunch and finished by the end of the day. Windows were opened to let the breeze dissipate the smell of fresh paint. After saying a quick prayer at the Davidsons' grave, we left for the day and for supper at my parents' house.

I was a little disappointed that we couldn't complete the move all at once. However, tomorrow looked promising. We spent one more night in my old bedroom on the bed that we had readied for the move except sheets. At least tonight, I didn't have to worry about banging the headboard against the wall! The headboard was propped against a wall in our new living room.

The next morning, we all had breakfast and loaded up my truck and Dad's. The five of us met Mary at the house and started moving our furniture into the proper rooms and setting it up. Shirley and I set up our bedroom first. Mary, Mom, and Dad had fun kidding us about our "priority." We were still newly weds. Having a place to sleep together in our new house was a priority.

We spent the day getting furniture set in place and loading the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. Food was still easy to find and there was a fair amount of fairly fresh vegetables still to be had. Later that afternoon, my grandparents came by with supper for everyone. After dinner, everyone left and it was just Shirley and I.

"We're home, Jack." She said.

I'm no fool. I said, "Anywhere you are is home, Shirl." That was a good answer as it got me kissed. Shirley's kisses are to be enjoyed.

"Husband, I want to go to bed and make love with you in our new home and in our very own bedroom and bed." She said.

I smiled and pulled her to me as we headed in that direction. I was a very good way to start our life in our new home.

We spent the next day being domestic. Shirley had all sorts of small projects for us. One included our radio station. We used a room off the storage area of the garage that seemed meant for a station. It had easy access to the outside for antenna lines and the trees on the property. We set up a small station with a computer and were ready for tonight's talk on HF.

That day was and always will be special to me. We didn't do anything special. There were no great decisions made or considered. We were just together as husband and wife enjoying each other's company in our new home.

After supper that evening, we turned on the radio to hear Ted talking to Charlie. Before we could say anything, we heard, "Contact." Ted said, "Go contact. This is WA4LBV."

"WA4LBV, this is AV4LB in Macon, Georgia. May I join in?"

Shirley quickly said, "Contact."

"Go contact."

She responded with, "This is K4SAA. Fred, I know you. This is Shirley Ames Mathews."

"K4SAA, AV4LB, Shirley, it's good to hear from someone I know. Your name is changed. I didn't know you were married."

"Fred, I met up with Jack after the Day and we are married now. How are you doing? We tried the Macon repeaters a week ago but no one came on."

"I must not have had my two meter on at that time. I've been fine but my wife passed away a year ago and I can't get in touch with my kids. How are your parents?"

"Mom and Dad survived the virus but Mom had a heart attack and died. Dad wouldn't go on without her. We found them together in their bed when Jack and I checked on them."