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up from last year’s garden, understandably they were getting a bit tired of the same menu though. I told Nick that I’d see what I could do to mix up their food options, which also meant I’d be gone again for a few more days.  
    The only problem was that I did need to stick close enough by so that I could see how Megan was integrating, and if staying here was going to be a short or a long term thing for her. If it didn’t work out, I really didn’t know what to tell her. Unfortunately she really did only have the other options of living alone at her mom’s old house in town, or taking her chances at the shelter.  
     

Chapter 5
     
    I was late to dinner. Actually I had missed it all together, but Sue graciously kept a plate set aside for me. The change in food from my own cooking was nice, although it was all the same stuff anymore, just prepared in a different way. I of course wouldn’t say it out loud, but at this point I would have traded a fifty gallon drum of soup for just one avocado, or a real honest to god, fresh and juicy orange. The small greenhouses Breanne’s father David had built were good for starting seeds and getting a good yield of vegetables during the summer, but portions of the crops were rationed for current meals, ensuring that there would be enough to preserve for the wintertime. It wasn’t often that anyone felt full.
    As I was eating, David and Nick filled me in on what they had going on for projects around the house and asked me a few questions, but were reserved enough to mostly just let me eat instead of do the majority of talking. Come to find out, Megan had told much of her story during and after dinner and had captivated her audience. Maybe it was getting news from the outside world, or maybe just hearing a story being told that they hadn’t heard three times before, but the family seemed quite taken with their guest. Everyone living there was confined to the bubble of the immediate area for the most part, not really having a reason to go anywhere else. Cabin fever had set in a long time ago and it was being dealt with by everyone to some degree or another.
    As I was finishing up my dinner the girls were taking advantage of a generator supplied hot shower, a very rare luxury. Usually a couple of stock pots of water would be heated over the stove to supply hot water, so when electrical power was needed for other longer tasks, if planned right, David would flip the breaker for the hot water heater and the well pump while the gen set was running anyway. A full hot shower was a rare occurrence for the women and a near unheard of one for the men. For the guys it was the process of a sponge bath and cool water rinse.  
    The gasoline supply for the generator after all this time was depleting, albeit slowly. We had re-supplied ourselves once by a trip into town early on, and then the occasional siphon from an abandoned car kept the cans mostly full. Then there was the problem of having too much gas. The stuff in the tanks was already a few years old now and with no fuel stabilizer to help make it last… well we weren’t there yet, but it was getting close to a use it or lose it situation. Running the generator for a couple of hours a few times a week was a good way to put it to use and make everyone happy. I knew there must be a better use for it, I just hadn’t quite figured one out yet.
    After dinner and a quick conversation with Clint over the CB, I repacked my bag and strapped the new gun to it. I was about ready to head out when Nick reminded me I should probably let Megan know I was leaving. After meeting her, he had agreed with me that so far she seemed like a good fit to the group here, and after a little time if everything still was going well, he was sure they would have a long term place for her.  
    Figuring I had allowed enough time for them to finish with the showers, I ventured towards the back of the house. As I got closer to the spare bedroom, I could hear Breanne and