Page 76 of The Hitchhikers
William chuckled.
Among it all, they found some winter clothing and sleeping bags that had belonged to their children. They used everything to form two beds. Tom and Alice against one wall, and Ruth and William against another. They could see each other but it gave a sense of privacy.
William’s distillery was near the bottom of the stairs, where Alice located several galvanized buckets that they could use for their personal needs. She set them in a discreet corner.
If they got hungry, they could break into Ruth’s preserves. Alice hoped they didn’t have to. The truck would be fixed soon.She didn’t let herself consider the fact that Simon and Jenny could just drive away and leave them locked in the basement. Surely, Jenny wouldn’t do that.
Their makeshift beds weren’t large by any means, but Alice and Tom could fit if she stayed on her side and avoided bumping his arm. She desperately wished they had water—for drinking and washing. The best she could do was brush the tangles out of her hair and rub toothpaste around in her mouth. She helped Tom put on a shirt and combed his hair.
There was nothing to do after that but settle on the bed. They talked a little with the other couple, about their families, what their lives were like before all of this. One of William and Ruth’s sons was in the navy, and the other a foreman on an oil rig in Alberta. Their daughter had married a lawyer and now had three children of her own. Ruth rummaged through the boxes to pull out some of their old school crafts, her hands touching them gently as she and William looked over them together. Alice fought back tears. She couldn’t imagine how much they must miss their children, how scared they must be that they might not see them again.
William, the only one wearing a watch, announced each hour as it slowly passed by. After a while, they drifted into silence. William fell asleep. Alice couldn’t see much of Ruth, who was tucked into the shadow behind William. She was quiet. Alice hoped she was sleeping too.
Tom’s eyes were closed, but she knew he was only resting because he was holding her hand with his good arm, and every so often he’d give it a squeeze. Bones was curled on a blanket on the concrete floor by Ruth and William’s mattress, his snout under his tail.
Tom turned his head to look at Alice. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Everything you’ve been doing. You’re holding all of us together.”
“You would do the same.”
“I got knocked out in the first quarter.”
“That wasn’t your fault.”
“I’m just really proud. I thought I knew everything about you, but then you’re dealing with these lunatics, driving the RV like it’s a race car.”
“Does that mean you’re going to let me drive our car more?” She smiled at him, sure that he would say no. He hated sitting in the passenger’s seat. But he gave her a serious look.
“Yeah. I should.”
“Pardon?”
“What do you want to do after this?”
“I don’t understand what we’re talking about.”
“You said you could get a job, and I dismissed you, because I didn’t want you to feel like youhadto work, but I’ve had days to think now. Do you want a job?”
Alice was confused by the prickle at the back of her eyes, the thickness in her throat. She didn’t understand why Tom’s words were having such an effect on her. She took a few breaths and thought about what he was saying. Whatdidshe want?
“It might be nice to work with children.” She was surprised by her answer. She’d thought it would be too painful to care for other people’s children, but maybe she was wrong, because for the first time, she couldseeit. A daycare or classroom, the smell of paints, crayons, and glue. Decorating for each holiday. Little kids running in and greeting her, calling her Mrs. Bell.
“You’d be great at that,” Tom said.
“I think I would be too,” she said, feeling almost hopeful, until she looked around and remembered where they were. Her smile disappeared. Tom squeezed her hand.
“We’re going to get out of here, okay? Then we’ll figure this all out.”
She gave his hand a grateful squeeze back.
Alice wasn’t sure what time it was now. She guessed maybe early evening. Tom’s stomach was gurgling, and despite her constant anxiety, her own stomach felt hollow and aching. She stared up at the ceiling and traced the highway of pipes that crisscrossed through the wood beams. Alice startled at the scraping sound of the hatch lifting. She looked toward the stairs.
Simon shouted, “Alice, we need dinner.”
She assumed that Simon didn’t want to come down the steps in case they’d set up an ambush, which maybe they should consider. She’d talk to Tom about it later. She glanced at him.
