Lana took his hand, pressed it to the sweet mound of her belly. “She is. A heart beating, wings fluttering, light stirring. She is the sword shining, the bolt that strikes true. She is the answer to questions not yet asked.

“She will be.”

Lana kept his hand, walked back to the bed. “She is your blood. She is your gift. Sleep now, and be at peace.” Lana drew him down, lay beside him. Rested a hand on his cheek. “You are loved.” She closed her eyes, sighed. Slept.

And so did he.

DARK TO LIGHT

And the light shineth in the darkness;

and the darkness comprehended it not.

—John 1:5

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The self-appointed town council decided there’d never be a better time to hold a public meeting. Having the power back up boosted morale and mood, but it wouldn’t take long before that minor miracle faded into the expected.

They agreed to strike while the spirit of gratitude and appreciation rode high.

Spreading the word posed no problem, nor did finding volunteers to set up row after row of chairs at the Legion’s hall, as the school cafeteria wouldn’t hold the expanded population if, as expected, most showed.

They set up long tables on the platform while Chuck got the sound system up and running.

Arlys stood in the empty hall, imagined it full. Imagined countless scenarios—raging from pretty good to ugly chaos.

“Do you think we’re ready, Lloyd?”

“As we’ll ever be, I guess.” He looked down at the binder in his hands. “It’s a good agenda, a sensible one. Doesn’t mean it’s going to fly. Starting with asking everybody to stow their guns in the vestibule out there. Some won’t.”

“And I’m worried the some who won’t are the ones most likely to cause trouble. But we have to start somewhere.” She turned as Lana came in carrying a huge basket. Then sniffed the air. “My God, what is that amazing smell?”

“Bread. Fresh baked.” She set the basket on the platform, one full of small rounds and loaves. “We’ve got a variety. I’ve got a lot of different starters going. We had packaged yeast, but that won’t last forever, so I’m making more right now. And I’m going to try my hand at making dry yeast.”

“You can make yeast?” Arlys all but buried her head in the basket.

“Yeah. It grows on fruits, potatoes, even tomatoes. I’m going to experiment. Somebody else has to figure out how to mill flour.”

“If I don’t have a chunk of that”—Lloyd breathed in hard through his nose—“I might just die right here and now.”

“Help yourself. The idea was having some for every household. They’re small, I know, but—”

“Praise Jesus,” Lloyd said with his mouth full.

“Community action at work.” Arlys broke a chunk of her own from Lloyd’s round. “We’re going to have rules, we’re going to have structure, but…” She bit in. “We’re also going to have bread that brings a tear to your eye. It’s still warm!”

“Bread symbolizes hospitality. We break bread together.” Lana smiled at the basket. “I liked using the community kitchen for the first time with this symbol.”

“Will you marry me?” Lloyd broke off another little chunk.

“Hey!” Arlys jabbed him with her elbow. “Get in line.”

Laughing, Lana wiggled her hand with the ring Max had slipped onto it one quiet spring night.

“Already taken, but I’ll bake bread for you. Next up? Fred and I are going to get serious about making cheese.”

“If you can do that, we’re going to crown you the queens of New Hope.”

Laughing at Arlys, Lana fluffed at her hair. “I’d look good in a crown. I’ll be back with more.”

Arlys sat beside the basket. “We’re going to do this, Lloyd.”

He sat on the other side, broke what remained of the round, offered half. “Damn right.”

* * *

By eight, the hall buzzed with voices. Some had muttered about leaving their weapons, and some had just ignored the edict. But most left them outside the hall.

The holiday feeling still rang out, confirming the sense of timing the meeting. Arlys watched Kurt Rove—gun still on his hip—stride in. He gave the crowd a hard look before making his way to where the Mercer brothers had saved a seat for him.

If trouble came, she knew, it would center there.

Arlys took her seat at the long table, flipped open her notebook. She expected to have a lot to record.

Fred leaned over to her. “Some are already angry.”

“Yeah, I got that.”

Jonah stepped to the podium. His opening, “Um,” reverberated in the room, surprising everyone into silence, then laughter. “We have a sound system thanks to Chuck.” He waited out the applause. “And we’ve got that because we have power back thanks to Manning, Wanda, Chuck again, and Max.”

Applause thundered; cheers and whistles rang.

Arlys noted Rove just folded his arms over his chest.

“We’re going to ask everybody to conserve that power. Those of you who don’t have a washing machine in your place, Manning’s bypassed the coin-op at the Laundromat. We put a sign-up sheet in there for rotation. We’ve got detergent in inventory, for now, and Marci Wiggs is heading up the committee making soaps. Marci, why don’t you stand up, let us know how that’s coming.”

Smart, Arlys thought as the woman stood, began to speak. Touch on other basics, on cooperation.

He called out other volunteers. Candle making, clothes, firewood, animal husbandry, the gardens, the greenhouse project, community maintenance.

“Some of you might not know Lana—can you stand up, Lana? She’s been organizing the kitchen here at the Legion into a community kitchen to provide basics for those of us who can’t boil water.”

That brought out some laughter, more applause.

“She’s starting that providing tonight. Lana?”

“I’ve had a lot of help getting this started.” She rattled off the names of the cleanup and organizing crew. “We’ve got some new equipment thanks to Poe and Kim, Jonah and Aaron, and we’re going to put it to use. Dave and Mirium and I decided to christen the kitchen with the most basic, and the most satisfying. Bread.”

She picked up her basket. “A symbol of life, of hospitality, of communion. We have enough for each household to take a loaf.” She tipped the basket so the crowd could see the contents, smiled at the cheerful response. “We’ll have baskets in the vestibule. Take your share when you leave. Meanwhile, we have—”

“I’m not taking anything of hers.” Arms still crossed, Rove stared at Lana, actually curled his lip. “How do we know what she put in it? Who says she can take over the kitchen here? Next thing we know she’ll have a caldron going.”

“I’m fresh out of eye of newt,” Lana said coolly. “But I do have some starters, and some recipes printed out for anyone who wants them.”

“I’ll take Kurt’s share!” somebody called out.

Lana waited for the roll of laughter to subside. “We’ll also start on constructing a smokehouse behind the kitchen. If anyone has experience smoking meats, I’d really like to talk to you. Dave and I will be making venison sausage and bologna over the next few days. Arlys will announce in the Bulletin when it’s ready. We hope to have the kitchen open six days a week, and we’re always available for lessons for those, like Jonah, who want to learn how to boil water.”

When she sat, Max rubbed her leg under the table.

“Thanks, Lana. The woman can cook,” Jonah added. “I had some of her newt-less pasta last night. Rachel, can you give us an update on the clinic?”

She rose. “Appreciation again, to Jonah, Aaron, Kim, and Poe. We now have a fully stocked ambulance, and some solid equipment. And due to the work of the power team, the clinic will be able to run that equipment. Our over-the-counter and prescription medication stores are well stocked again. We also have a good start on the holistics, thanks to Fred, Tara, Kim, and Lana.”