Dad

The family settles into their seats around the table on the porch: JT at one head, his mother at the other. The Sheriff has joined us, but Melody, Dante, and Paul are over at the Sproat farm, helping young Cassie and her widowed mom. Lucy, claiming a headache, is absent as well. Poor girl is heartbroken. Everyone can see it.

Elizabeth sits next to JT, their eyes meeting briefly, sharing a secret smile.

Susanna and I shared something special, but it wasn’t that. A stab of regret makes me grit my teeth. I stole that from Susanna. Stole it from myself. By hiding, I avoided true love and replaced it with something good, but not truly great.

Thank God Elizabeth believed enough in love to join JT, or neither of us would be here.

Cash is the last to the table and Ana shakes her head at him before putting out her hands to say grace. The majority of Lucianos are not practicing Catholics, but we all bow our heads and hold hands.

“Amen.” Our voices rise together, a comforting, communal sound—some of us praising our good fortune, while others choose to acknowledge a higher power.

Ana stands and begins to cut the lasagna, her eyes flicking to the front door as she places large squares on each plate. She’s looking for Lucy. Ana can’t take her eyes off her daughter these days. I feel the same way about Elizabeth. My gaze is so often drawn to her—a source of light in a dark cave.

Great Nation America has us all scared. Their hate rhetoric is a powerful force in this new world.

I have to say something. Hiding is no longer something I want to do with my life. My gaze falls on Cash. The blond man smiles easily as he passes the garlic bread.

“I heard about the Gray Man in town today,” I say.

“I was talking about him today, too.” Cash says before biting into his lasagna, a long squiggle of cheese sticking to his chin. Jolene reaches out to whisk it away, and Cash pretends to bite her fingers, making her giggle. “I heard from Billy.”

Jolene grins. “How are the Grimesville folks?”

“They’re good.” Cash brings a napkin up and cleans his face. “They’re holding a rally for the Resistance.”

The tinkle of silverware dies down in the face of those words.

We’re so insulated here, tucked away in our secure compound. The Resistance wages its war outside our borders. Great Nation America has stayed away from North Fork since the Lucianos took out Kane and his compound.

Dolf clears his throat. “That’s good—for them.” His words are clipped.

“They asked me to come to the rally. For both of us to come.” Cash looks at Jolene.

Jolene’s a gentle, sweet woman with a strength at her core that contrasts with the soft round curves of her figure. She nods slowly. “What do you think?”

“It sure would be nice to see everyone.”

“You should go.” All heads turn to look at me as I say the words.

“It’s far. Dangerous,” JT pours himself some more wine. “We should stay here and continue working on the vaccine. There is lots of work to be done just keeping North Fork going. The biggest help we can offer lies in the cure, and figuring out a way to distribute it.”

“That’s true,” I say. “But safety from the flu isn’t the only protection we need. There need to be institutions that protect those that cannot protect themselves, in order to have a better future for all.” JT frowns but holds my gaze. He’s a good man. A brave and strong man. But an isolationist in these terrible times.

That’s not crazy or cowardly, nor is it the best way to ensure future generations’ health and safety.

“You’ve taken out Hillish, Kane, and their men,” I continue. “And this Gray Man is killing small groups of Great Nation America followers, too. But overall, the Resistance is losing. GNA has the hospitals. They’ve got the largest encampments. And in the void of power that exists now, someone will rise up to rebuild government, and it had better not be them.”

“You sound just like Billy,” Cash says, his voice serious, blue eyes intent.

“I like the sound of this Billy. We’d probably get along.”

“It’s terrible to think of GNA running the country,” Jolene says, her voice small but steely.

“Horrible,” the Sheriff agrees, his gruff voice low. “We can’t let that happen.”

“No, we can’t let that happen.” I turn to Cash and Jolene. “And I think that you can change that. You two are already heroes of the Resistance. You inspire people.” Jolene blushes and shakes her head as Cash looks into her eyes. I continue my pitch. “You’re brave, good-looking. Charming. You get people. You’re born leaders, both of you.”

“I’m nothing special,” Jolene says.

Cash reaches out and rubs her back. “Stop it. You’re very special.”

“We’ll be having that argument for the rest of our lives.” She laughs.

“And how long will that be?” I ask. “What future can we hope for if this country is controlled by Great Nation America?” My words come out more forceful than I mean them to.

JT thumps his glass down hard on the table. “This is where we belong. North Fork is where we can make a difference.”

Elizabeth reaches out and touches JT’s forearm. I can feel how stressful it is for her to have us disagree.

“JT, you know I admire you.” I lower my head respectfully but give him good eye contact. “You’ve got incredible foresight. You tell me, what will happen if the Resistance isn’t strong enough to stand up to Great Nation America?”

“It will. They will!” JT answers, his hand covering Elizabeth’s on his arm.

“But you can’t win a war without organized leadership and a clear mission, without hope and direction and planning. GNA has those things. They have a clear message and plan: get rid of the impure and rebuild, dominating all who are left. What’s the Resistance’s plan? There’s not even a name for it beyond ‘resistance.’ Can’t we do better? Can’t we provide an alternative to the GNA’s agenda?”

JT’s jaw ticks. “I can see your point.”

“It’s not our problem,” Dolf says, his brows a frowning slash over intense dark eyes. “We’ve got a good thing going here. Let’s not mess it up. There are women and children to protect. We must make our family’s survival top priority.”

Nani leans forward and pours herself a splash of wine. “We women can take care of ourselves, thank you very much.” She smiles at Dolf. “And some of us served our nation full-time in that capacity.”

“I didn’t mean that as a put-down.”

“Yeah, but it’s what you said.” Luca points out.

Tension is brewing among the brothers and their wives. I’m adding fuel to that fire, I know—but I have to say my piece, the truth as I see it, backed by a lifetime of experience.

“Two paths lie before us: pick up the mantle of leadership and help bring this land back into the light of a democratic society, or stay in our underground bunker, safe and protected.” No one around the table will meet my eye anymore, but I forge on. “I was a politician for a long time and it’s no longer my role. But, Cash, Jolene, you should think about becoming the leaders of a new movement beyond the Resistance. Because if you don’t, someone’s going to. And we might not like it.”

Ana hits me with a hard glare. “I don’t appreciate politics at the dinner table. Let’s eat.”

I bow my head. “Sorry, Ana. I’ve said what my conscience told me to. It’s up to these young people to decide what happens next.”