THE COLLAPSE: Seeking Refuge by Frank Kaminski Page A

figured he was waiting for her to say something harsh to him so he would have an excuse to get upset with her…so she said nothing and went back to watching her daughters play in the grass.  It was one of her daughters that had spoken up instead.
    “Mommy, isn’t that the angry man from the meeting yesterday?” Kyla had asked.  Both of the Kays were very inquisitive about things.
    “Yup, sure is,” Tarra answered in an apathetic sounding voice.
    “Why does he keep looking at you, mommy?” the other Kay asked.
    “Because he’s a very bitter man.  He thinks that by being scary to your mommy right now, that I will tell your daddy about it.  He wants your daddy to get angry at him so he has a reason to start a stupid fight,” Tarra explained as plainly as she could to a six-year-old.
    “Oh, okay.  But then Uncle Fish would beat that man up.  Right, mommy?”
    “Yes indeed, honey.  Yes, indeed.”
     
    *****
     
    Stephen did not waste a moment, he wanted to speak with Victor and Gerty as soon as possible!  Hell, maybe they had things that would be useful in the construction of the herring smokers as well.
    He had no idea that his wife was being stalked by Larry Paulson at the time.  Had he known, he might not have made the decision to see the Martinez’ right away.  Nevertheless, Stephen power-walked from Lower Loop to Forest Loop where the provision managers’ campsite was located.
    As Stephen got closer, he realized Claudine was correct, he did know when he was there. Sites 17 and 18 had been closed off to the rest of the campground by many strands of barbed wire nailed to trees.  Only the driveway entrance to site 17 had been left un-barbwired.  A mid-sized, silver Airstream camp trailer in immaculate condition sat upon the asphalt pad at site 17.  The trailer was in such great condition, in fact, that it appeared to Stephen as if it might have very well time-traveled straight from the 1970’s to the present.  Behind the trailer, Stephen could see several different random tarps that were fastened and tightly secured from tree to tree.  Some hung straight down, creating a visual barrier.  The tarps were protecting something , both from the weather and from looky-loo passerbys.
    There was a sign nailed high to a tree next to the driveway.  It read, “ DO NOT ENTER WITHOUT PERMISSION .” 
    Stephen heeded the sign’s warning, and hollered a quick “hello?”  It was Gertrude (Gerty) that had spotted him first.  She greeted Stephen warmly.  It was difficult for Stephen to identify her age, but he guessed that she couldn’t have been any younger than 60 and no older than 90.  That’s a pretty big spread, but she kept herself in the same excellent condition as her faithful Airstream camp trailer.
    Gerty escorted Stephen toward the rear of the site, then crossed over to site 18, where a Land Rover sat protected by the barbed wire in the driveway.  Gerty wanted Stephen to meet Victor before showing him around the provisions area.
    Stephen saw that the Land Rover’s driver’s side window was open, and Victor was in the seat.  Stephen heard him saying into a radio microphone, “CQ...CQ…CQ…this is W9DPZ.”
    Gerty called out to him, “Vic, get off that damn thing and come say ‘hi’ to Stephen!”
    Victor’s head snapped toward them, and he looked surprised for a moment.  Upon realizing who was visiting his site, he cheerfully yelled, “Stephen!  You resource-managin’ sonofawhore!  It’s about time you came to visit us!”
    Victor barreled out of the Land Rover and met Stephen with a hearty handshake.  He looked like a wiry, Hispanic version of the Most Interesting Man in the World.
    “Did ol’ Gerty show you around yet?” Victor asked.
    “No, I haven’t had the pleasure yet, sir,” Stephen respectfully replied.  He was always respectful to his elders.  The Collapse hadn’t changed that in him.
    “You call me ‘sir’ one more time, and I’ll kick your ass!