Final Chance

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Travis’ jaw trembled, and he swallowed at his heart that jumped to his throat. “Grandpa! It’s me, Travis. I’m your grandson. Yeah, I have long hair now and a beard and mustache, but it’s me.” He raised his hands to show he had no weapons.

“How do you know my grandson’s name?” His eyes turned to slits. “Get the f**k off my property.”

“Grandpa, I bicycled from Seattle. Remember, that’s where the family moved when I was eighteen. When I was six, you taught me to fish. You took me out in your boat on the Coquille River. When I was ten, you spanked the s**t out of me for trying to use your chainsaw without permission, before you taught me to use it. When I was fifteen, you caught me jacking off to a gay magazine in the old garage. You accepted me. You said God made me as I was. You hugged me and said you loved me.” He lowered his hands.

Grandpa wasn’t convinced, but he stopped counting.

“Grandpa, look at me. I have the Japanese eyes and thick black hair. I’m short like most Japanese, but I have black skin.” He smiled. “And a big d**k that came from the black side of me.”

Grandpa let out a crooked smile and holstered his firearm and covered it with his shirt. “Travis, I heard you died.” He stepped close and hugged Travis hard, leaning down with his tall and lanky frame.

With a tremor in his voice, Travis said, “My sister and brother and mom and dad died from that damned N-Virus. I don’t know why I lived.” He hugged tight. “Grandpa, it’s so good to see you. I love you so much. Where’s Grandma?”

“Dead.”

Travis sobbed, and his heart ached.

So did Grandpa.

They held each other for many minutes. When they broke apart, Grandpa looked into Travis’ eyes. “You were always my favorite grandchild. My first. My favorite.” He led Travis inside, and they sat at the antique dinner table from the 1800s.

Travis grew his wise-assed grin. “And you were my favorite grandfather.”

He laughed. “Hell, boy, I was your only grandfather. Your mom’s dad died before you were born.”

The smile ran away from Travis’ face. “When did Grandma die?”

“Two years ago, shortly after that damned N-Virus started culling the herds. Don’t know why I never got it. My parents died, too.”

“I feel the same way, and after Patrick died—”

Grandpa snapped, “You should be over that by now.”

“I know. But I’m not.”

“Are you hungry?”

“What do you do for food, Grandpa?” He never saw Grandpa with such long hair and a beard and mustache.

“I grow food. I get mushrooms and other plants from the yard and wild blackberries and other mushrooms from the forest. I hunt a little and have chickens and goats. I still have some grains like rice and lentils and things left. You know I was always a prepper. I grow a bunch of shit.”

“Yeah. I always thought you were a bit loony.” He chuckled and looked around. “You don’t keep the place as clean as Grandma did.”

“Yeah, well, that’s the way it is. I live alone. No one to impress.” He reached across the table. “Are you staying a while or forever?”

“Grandpa, I have nowhere else to go. Is it okay if I stay forever?”

He smiled and nodded. “Yeah, that will do. I’m tired of talking and arguing with myself. Once I got so mad, I even hit myself, but I apologized later.” He smirked. “I’ll clean a little more, but in the meantime, I bet you’re hungry. I have rice, lentils, turkey that I shot, and some vegetables.”

“I feel bad taking your food.”

He stood and went to the refrigerator. “I have more than I can eat. Some of it ends up in the compost pile.” He pulled containers out and went to the stove, grabbing a cast iron skillet.

“You have a working refrigerator? But the grid’s been down for over a year.”

“Ha ha, I have solar panels, battery backup, and propane gas for the cook stove. Don’t use it often, so still have a little left.”

Travis laughed and said, “Right, you were always a prepper.”

They shared the food and went to the living room, which was part of the open design of kitchen, eating area, and living room.

“I always loved this house, Grandpa.”

The sun set, and Grandpa turned on a single, LED flashlight and pointed the head of it up. “Solar-powered. I have plenty of others, and we’ll do okay as long as the batteries keep holding a charge. Course, they’ll give out someday, just like my solar panels and backup batteries. Maybe society will come back by then.”

“Grandpa, I think the world would be better off without humans.”

“Can’t argue with you on that. So, tell me what’s going on.”

Grandpa was seventy-nine and going downhill a little at a time, but Travis never expected to be that old, but if he did, the same would likely happen to him.

“Well, as you know, I worked as a licensed massage therapist and shared the office with a chiropractor. I enjoyed that. I enjoyed being married to Patrick. He was the star of my life. We clicked in so many ways. Oh, we argued sometimes, but we always made up and never held a grudge.” He choked and shook his head. “You’re right, I should be over it.”

“Never forget him, but keep the memories and leave the pain. I love you, son.”

Travis went on. “That damned N-Virus moved so fast. Patrick got it and was dead within thirty days. So many others got it. Mom, Dad, my brother and sister. All dead within months of each other. You’d drive around and sometimes see corpses in the road or sitting in cars. They couldn’t be removed fast enough, and so many of those removing bodies and running the government died. Don’t know why I didn’t get it.”

Grandpa said, “Maybe it’s genetics. I didn’t get it.”

Travis smiled. “But Grandpa, if you recall, my parents adopted me. I’m half Japanese and half black. You’re one hundred percent white guy.”

Grandpa’s eyes got huge, and his mouth hung open. “Really? I didn’t know any of that. I thought you were just my grandson.” Then he smirked.

They talked for over two hours. Travis went to him and hugged. “I love you. You’re so marvelous, wonderful, fantastic, excellent, loving, caring, altruistic, funny, and a certified wise-ass.”

“I love you, too, son. I bet you’re tired. Been sleeping on the ground while you bicycled down to here, huh? Let me show you to your room. It has a bed.”

“Yeah, that would be good. I don’t sleep so well lately. Wake up a lot during the night and can’t go back to sleep.”

“Me, too. If we meet during the night, maybe we can read or play Scrabble.”

Travis’ face lit. “You still play Scrabble? I love that game.”

“Yup, I still play, but I usually beat myself. It would be good to play with you again. Grandma used to get upset we played so late into the night the days you slept over.” He led Travis down the hall.

The house had three bedrooms with bathrooms for two of them and another bath in the hall. Grandpa took Travis to the second master bedroom, the one Grandpa’s parents lived in.

Travis said, “Smells nice in here.”

Holding the flashlight, Grandpa said, “It’s the lavender. I picked it and put it around. Grandma taught me. Make this your home. Let me know if you need anything.” He handed over the flashlight and pulled another from his pocket. “Turn it off as soon as you’re finished. There’s still some hot water in the tank. Remember, I have the solar hot water heater. Works fantastic in the summer, late spring, and early fall. After that, it’s mediocre, but better than what most folks have these days. You can take a short shower.” He sniffed. “You need it.”

Travis smiled. “Yup, you were always a prepper. Now I see the value of it.”

“That’s right, my boy. I have a refrigerator in the kitchen and a freezer in the garage, and the solar system runs the well pump. We have running water and a few lights around the house, but I don’t use them much. Too afraid I’ll run the batteries down and lose the frig and freezer and water pump.” He smiled and looked around. “I do okay. I stockpiled drugs for my prostate, heart, diabetes, but they ran out a while ago.”

Travis was tired and stripped to his briefs. “What about the basement?”

“I still have it.” Grandpa chuckled. “I’ll show you everything tomorrow. I have a hand-worked clothes washer and clothes line out back, but get some sleep.” He checked Travis out, up and down. “You’re a good looking young man. Just so you know. I didn’t like your body the last time I saw it. You were too fat.”

“Yeah, I let myself go back then. Nothing like an N-Virus and near famine conditions to lose weight.” He hunched.

Travis hugged Grandpa, nodded, and headed for the bathroom. He slept pretty good. Far from great, but pretty good.

In the morning, he wandered into the kitchen and smelled coffee. He met Grandpa’s gaze, and they smiled.

Grandpa said, “How’d you sleep?”

“Fair to medium, which is good for me. You?”

“Good, which is unusual with me. I’m glad you’re here.”

Travis pursed his lips and nodded. “You made coffee. Smells great. Been a while.”

“I’m celebrating you’re here. Not too much coffee left. Have some. I have goat milk if you want it.”

“Goat milk?”

“Yup. Got me four goats. Two little ones and mamma and papa. They eat off the land.”

“Yup, you were always a prepper.”

They sat at the table and had coffee.

“To tell you the truth, Travis, I don’t know how much longer I’d have lived here alone. Just no fun with Grandma and my parents gone. No fun living alone. No fun having what I have when those who are still living have just about nothing. I hope you stay forever. I was on the verge of swallowing my gun.”