Desperate Times by Nicholas Antinozzi Page A

with it.
     
    Paula was gone; she’d left him to stay with
her folks. He wondered about that. He really couldn’t blame her. He
also thought that if he’d had a daughter of his own, he’d want her
alongside him right now. He knew that if his own parents were still
alive, he’d be there with them. The thought made him sad because he
knew they’d likely be here. The Dahlgrens had been their best
friends; he was sure they’d have come here. Perhaps sleeping in the
very bed he occupied right now. He pushed the thought aside and
thought about Paula and her family. How were they getting through
this? Was she safe? Jimmy thought so; her father could afford to
employ a small army of his own to protect them and his property.
Still, he missed her and felt abandoned by her leaving the way she
had. He wondered if he’d ever see her again.
     
    Then there was Bill. How long would it be
before he got under everyone’s skin? He had a knack for that and
Jimmy knew that there wasn’t much he could do to stop it. Soon Bill
would be complaining about his aches and pains, Tina, and whatever
else he happened to dwell on. That was who he was. Jimmy had known
that when he’d invited him along; yet he hadn’t been able to stop
himself. Deep down he knew that Bill was a good man and he couldn’t
leave him behind to fend for himself. Bill and Cindy would be much
better off where they were; Jimmy was sure of that. Jimmy smiled to
himself when he thought of Cindy and how protective she’d been of
him. Had Paula asked her to keep an eye on him? He knew that was
impossible, yet it was obvious that Cindy was doing just that.
     
    Julie had made it very clear what her
intentions were, even if she hadn’t spoken them aloud. The way she
had looked at him said it in a way that needed no words. She was
very attractive. The years since high school had done nothing to
diminish her good looks. She’d grown into a beautiful woman, the
kind that most men could only dream about. Bill would give his left
arm to have Julie feel that way about him. He was obviously smitten
with her. That thought brought another smile to Jimmy’s face.
     
    Yes, his life had changed in the blink of an
eye. Yesterday at this time he’d been getting up for work,
blissfully unaware that everything was about to drastically change.
He wondered what was going on in the outside world. How long would
it take for things to get back to normal? Would they ever? Jimmy
doubted it. Not normal, as in going back to the way they’d been
yesterday morning or the week before. No, Jimmy thought, some sort
of evolution was going to have to take place, although he didn’t
have any idea of what that might be.
     
    He felt warm under the quilt and felt
fortunate to be where he was. The Dahlgrens were good people,
gracious hosts and obviously had prepared for this day. Still,
Jimmy knew that they weren’t on vacation, not by any stretch of the
imagination. There would be work to do. They would need leadership
and there would have to be some sort of structure to their lives.
None of them knew what was going on in the outside world, and they
might have to defend themselves against it. For every person that
had planned for this scenario, there would be ten, even twenty,
that hadn’t. They would want what the Dahlgrens had provided.
Without a police force to provide protection, they’d be vulnerable
to any group who saw a weakness in their defenses. Soon these north
woods would be teeming with people in search of food and shelter.
Jimmy knew that most would be armed and desperate. That thought
gave him a chill.
     
    He had to talk to Ken. They had to come up
with some sort of plan. Jimmy got out of bed and stretched. Outside
green branches swayed in the early morning breeze, shrouding the
house from the approaching daylight. Jimmy quickly dressed and
opened the door. With boots in hand, he tiptoed across the main
room which was full of sleeping families. Two of the Larson kids
were awake, lying