Chapter 19

[Monica's story continues]

It was about two hundred miles on the A2 expressway to Lisbon. It took us all day. We were gawking, there were old wrecks, and we worried about the possibility of ambushes. We saw no signs of living people. It was late afternoon and we picked a place on the outskirts of Lisbon and stopped for the night. Almeda was before crossing the bay or river into Lisbon proper. We would start exploring Lisbon in the morning.

The three of us, Elena, Rich, and I, got along well. We all wanted something to do. We all loved the water and sunning but also knew and desired more from life. In the morning, we crossed the bridge into Lisbon. Soon, we found people and they were friendly!

It was a relief to be met by friendly signs from a couple, a man and a woman.

We found that the group was about twenty people loosely organized. They hadn't experienced the issues we had to the east. After living in Atlanta and the last five years on the Mediterranean coast, thinking of the ocean being to our west was a different feeling for me. The people listened to our tales with concern. They hadn't experienced violence from others. Most recognized the possibility and some preparations were made.

We found housing closer to the water moving into a three-bedroom house that we claimed. We lived quietly. We learned to farm and continued to scavenge anything useful from houses and stores. For a long time, we kept the car useable. We were using a preservative in our gas but it was hard to find good gas.

Elena met a young man close to her age and moved in with him. Some widows were after Rich. I was polite and friendly but had no desire for a relationship with any of the men in the group including Rich. I did become close to a younger couple who moved into the house with me. I had worked hard to make it work well without power.

When Louisa became pregnant, all three of us were happy. As time went on, her pregnancy was more and more difficult. We had a nurse in the community but no one with the ability to handle difficult births.

As Louisa's time came closer, the problems became worse. Her husband, Gilberto, didn't know what to do. The nurse and I took over her care but there was little we could do. We hadn't the skill to operate or the requisite items to have any hope of success. She went through labor and delivered a boy. She was tired from the labor. She went to sleep and never woke. Gilberto was crazed with grief over the loss of his wife. He left the house and, going into the fields close by, killed himself. I named the baby, David, after my husband. I had goats and fed him goat's milk.

He has grown into the young man standing with me. I appreciate him and love him like he was my own. He is seventeen and we have had adventures defending our homes from invaders though they have never been numerous. We had an incursion from Barcelona but managed to fight them off. They haven't returned since. Apparently, you dealt them a harsh blow for what they did when you landed.

Monica finished up, saying that she was glad to meet us.

[Charles writes]

Andrea nudged me. I stood. "Thank you for your story, Monica. We often wonder what happened in Europe. Your story conveys what our experts believe possible from the virus. They think that the virus was more virulent to those of 'comparatively' pure blood. It appears that Europe and Africa fared worse than the United States."

We continued to enjoy meeting and talking to the people of Lisbon. Monica was very interesting and loved our ability to fly all over. She said, "I think I would like to join you when you leave. Though it was never romantic, Rich finally died three years ago. I lost my best friend at that time. David has expressed an interest in traveling to somewhere new."