Page 53 of Wait For Me

16

Tessa

She’d packed quietly in the dark throughout the night, but in the end, exhaustion won. As soon as the first rays of the rising sun turned the black sky into a light shade of gray, Tessa settled onto the recliner facing the front door with the pistol in her hand and Moose snoring heavily at her feet. Her eyes drifted closed.

She forced them open a few seconds later when she felt someone staring at her and the slightest puff of hot breath against her cheek.

“Morning Mommy.” Emily smiled as Tessa blinked her into focus. “Do you want to play dolls with me?”

“We’ve got a lot to do this morning.” Tessa groaned as she stretched out the stiff muscles of her back. Emily frowned and crossed her arms. “No attitude. We have to finish packing so we can go to Grandpa’s house.”

“Grandpa’s house,” Emily screeched as she skipped through the living room. “I need my Barbies. I need my clothes. I need my sleeping bag.”

“We need a lot of things.” Tessa sighed as she picked up her notebook and read back through the sprawling list. She’d gone through most of the garage during the night, packing the camping gear into totes and securing them with bungee cords along with the unopened boxes of MREs and the rest of the food in the house packed into plastic bins. She’d stored snacks and water bottles and the rest of the ammunition under the bench seat of the truck. Each of the kid’s backpacks had a few MREs and bottled water in them along with a change of clothes, emergency snacks, flashlights, and a blanket.

That part was the hardest. Tessa teared up as she’d packed the supplies into the unicorn and superman backpacks. She wanted to be prepared for everything, even leaving the truck in a hurry. And while she could carry the food herself, the thought of what might happen to her kids if they got separated made her nauseous. At least they would have some food. The worry was so strong it was suffocating. Don’t think about it anymore. She had to keep moving. The kids needed her to be strong. And she would be.

She’d secured the water buckets with lids and loaded them into the back of Old Blue. What if it’s worse out there? There wasn’t another option. She had to make it to Idaho where her kids would be safe. Tessa forced all the negative thoughts away and focused on the task at hand.

She read through the items that weren’t crossed off on her list yet. Robin’s backpack. She heaved herself up from the recliner as Moose’s tail thumped against the floor in anticipation.

“We’ll eat before we go.” She scratched him behind the ear. He grunted as he lowered himself to the floor and watched her walk away with sad brown eyes.

It’d be so much easier to open the garage door, but she wasn’t going to do that again until they were ready to leave. The flashlight beam swept over the plastic bin on the top shelf. If she remembered right, it still had her old used purses and backpacks in it. Moving stickers of various colors were attached to the sides. It’d been a while since it was opened.

She held the flashlight between her teeth as she scaled the dusty shelves and then edged out the bin, grabbing it by the handle and lowering it down to the ground under her feet.

“Do you need some help with that?” Robin stood in the open doorway and peered into the darkness.

“I’m good,” Tessa mumbled past the flashlight as she jumped down from the shelves and dusted her hands off on her pants.

Robin hugged herself, moving out of the way as Tessa dragged the bin inside. Her duffle bag was already packed and waiting by the front door. “Are you sure it’s okay that I come with you to your family’s place? I don’t want to put you out any more than I already have.”

“After that crazy stunt you pulled last night, you’re stuck with me for life.” Tessa winked, trying to make her feel more at ease. “Besides, Emily will have a meltdown if you don’t come with us.”

She shifted the crumpled purses that had lost their shape out of the way. The JanSport backpack from her brief stint in college was at the bottom. Tessa shook it out and checked to make sure the zippers still worked.

“What’s that?” Robin smirked.

“You need a smaller bag in case we have to…” Tessa’s voice trailed off as she looked to where Robin was pointing. “I forgot about this.” She snatched out the neon green fanny pack she’d worn once to an 80’s themed party and adjusted the straps so it fit around her waist.

“You’re not seriously going to wear that, are you?” Robin cringed.

“What? It’s perfect.” Tessa pulled the second magazine out of her back pocket and slipped it along with the 9mm into the pack before zipping it up with a smile. She gave it a pat for good measure. “You don’t like my fanny pack?”

Robin hid her face behind her hands. “If this is the fashion for the apocalypse, I’m definitely not going to survive.”

Laughter burned through Tessa’s chest and she doubled over trying to catch her breath. But every time she looked at Robin, they both burst out laughing again. It was good to feel something that wasn’t fear and Tessa stood for a moment with a wide grin across her face soaking the feeling up.

“What’s so funny?” Mason climbed onto the barstool and rested his arms on the kitchen counter.

“Nothing.” She turned to look at him, but he still wouldn’t meet her eyes. The moment of silliness passed leaving her staring at her son’s too long hair and wishing she could snap him out of this funk. He doesn’t want me.

“Hey bud, can you help me out with something? We need to pack a bag for Dad so he’ll have it when he meets us at Grandpa’s house. Can you grab him his favorite shirts and a jacket or two?”

“I can do that.” Mason nodded, his eyes filling with hope as he jumped off the chair.

“Alright.” Robin clapped her hands together. “How do I make myself useful?”

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