Journal Entry

I had a weird dream about Maggie last night.

I'm not writing down the details because if Elliott ever finds this journal, I'm throwing it into the lake.

The important part is apparently my brain has finally noticed there's a girl living here.

Which is great.

Fantastic.

Perfect timing.

Maggie is the first girl my age I've seen in over a year. It's not like we spend weekends rescuing survivors. Most of the people left are either related to me or ask to learn how to shoot every six minutes.

The whole thing got me thinking about the future.

Which was stupid.

Before all this happened, I always figured I'd get married someday.

Have kids.

Normal stuff.

Now?

I don't know.

Am I supposed to accept that Elliott is doomed to marry either Twiddle Dee or Twiddle Dumb?

Because those are currently her options.

The odds are not in her favor.

Honestly, none of our odds are great.

I can't imagine bringing kids into this world.

Then again, Mom had Elliott when things were already getting bad.

People always think the world is ending.

Maybe they're just usually wrong.

I don't know.

I just know that for the first time in a long time I caught myself thinking about ten years from now instead of tomorrow.

Maybe I'd still get married.

Build a house somewhere.

Fish.

Grow tomatoes.

Argue with somebody about where the couch should go.

That sounds nice.

The weird part is I hadn't thought about any of that until Maggie showed up.

Which is definitely not because of the dream.

The cabin was still asleep when James closed the journal.

He stared at the page for another second.

Then closed it.

Then opened it again.

Then ripped out the page mentioning the dream.

Folded it.

Burned it in the wood stove.

Problem solved.

Mostly.

Unfortunately, his brain still existed.

He grabbed a mug and headed toward the kitchen.

Coffee.

Coffee fixed things.

Probably.

Maggie was already sitting at the table.

Of course she was.

Reading.

Of course she was.

A book rested beside her coffee mug while morning sunlight poured through the window.

She glanced up.

"Morning."

"Morning."

James opened a cabinet.

Stared inside.

Closed it.

Opened the refrigerator.

Stared inside.

Closed it.

Maggie watched him.

"What are you looking for?"

"I don't know."

"Helpful."

"Very."

He found the coffee.

Success.

Unfortunately his hand brushed a mug sitting beside it.

The mug hit the floor.

Shattered.

James closed his eyes.

Maggie blinked.

"That was impressive."

"Thank you."

"You weren't even holding it."

"I know."

"That's almost harder."

He groaned and grabbed a broom.

Maggie went back to reading.

Which somehow made it worse.

The rest of breakfast wasn't much better.

He called Jonas by Harry's name.

Harry by Jonas's name.

At one point he almost called Elliott "Mom."

That earned him a look from everyone.

Even Elliott.

Especially Elliott.

"You okay?" his father asked.

"Yep."

"You seem weird."

"I'm not weird."

"You just poured orange juice into your coffee."

James looked down.

His father wasn't wrong.

"Damn it."

Across the table, Maggie's shoulders started shaking.

She was laughing into her cup.

Traitor.

By noon the embarrassment should have worn off.

It didn't.

The younger kids were outside collecting wood for some project nobody had approved.

James sat at the kitchen table attempting to inventory supplies.

Attempting being the key word.

His attention kept drifting.

Not intentionally.

Just enough to be annoying.

He glanced outside.

Elliott was talking.

Harry was talking.

Jonas was talking.

Nobody could hear anybody else.

Normal.

Then he noticed Maggie.

She was helping Elliott tie something together with twine.

Patient.

Calm.

Not reading.

Which felt strange.

Elliott laughed.

Maggie laughed too.

James found himself smiling.

"Why are you smiling?"

He nearly jumped.

His father sat across from him.

Coffee mug in hand.

Smug expression already loaded and ready.

"I wasn't."

"You were."

"No."

"You absolutely were."

James looked back down at his notebook.

His father followed his gaze.

Directly to Maggie.

There was a long pause.

A very long pause.

"Oh."

James immediately wanted to launch himself into the lake.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"What?"

John took a sip of coffee.

Then smiled.

"Oh, nothing."

"You're annoying."

"I know."

"Deeply annoying."

"I've heard that."

James stood.

Gathered his notebook.

Walked away.

His father laughed the entire time.

The worst part?

He couldn't even argue.

Because he knew exactly what his father thought.

And unfortunately, so did he.

The opportunity came that evening.

Not because James planned it.

Because Maggie did.

The adults emerged from the basement just before dinner.

Tired.

Distracted.

Hungry.

The usual.

Maggie struck immediately.

"Dad."

Dr. Anderson looked nervous.

That should have been a warning sign.

"Yes?"

"We need a night off."

Silence.

Every adult at the table froze.

James nearly laughed.

Straight to the point.

Bold strategy.

"Excuse me?" Karen asked.

"A night off."

Maggie pointed at herself.

Then James.

"We want one evening."

His father looked amused.

Karen looked suspicious.

Dr. Anderson looked trapped.

"To do what?" John asked.

Maggie shrugged. "Anything."

"Nothing."

"Literally stare at a wall."

James nodded. "A really nice wall."

The adults exchanged glances.

The look annoyed him immediately.

The one that said they were discussing things without words.

Parents.

The worst.

"You already get free time," Karen said.

Both teenagers laughed.

Actually laughed.

Out loud.

Karen frowned.

"What?"

"You think we get free time?" James asked.

His father immediately looked away.

Coward.

Because he knew.

They all knew.

School.

Chores.

Patrols.

Teaching.

Cooking.

Watching kids.

Watching more kids.

Then watching those kids again because apparently children never ran out of energy.

Ever.

"We'll handle dinner," Maggie's father offered.

"We'll handle bedtime," Karen added.

James narrowed his eyes. "You sure?"

"No." Karen replied earnestly.

"Honest answer."

"Thank you."

His father pointed toward the door.

"Go."

James and Maggie stared.

"Seriously?" Maggie asked.

"Before I change my mind."

The two teenagers were out the door before anyone could reconsider.

The lake was quiet that evening.

The sun sat low over the water.

Orange light reflected across the surface.

For the first time in months, James wasn't responsible for anyone.

No kids.

No chores.

No school.

No plans.

Nothing.

Just silence.

It felt weird.

"You know they're going to regret this."

Maggie skipped a rock.

"Absolutely."

"You think they'll survive?"

"No."

"Me neither."

They sat on the dock.

Watching the water.

Listening to the wind.

For a while neither spoke.

Then Maggie nudged his shoulder.

"You're less angry."

"Than when?"

"All the time."

James considered it.

Unfortunately she was right.

Again.

"I'm still tired."

"Yeah."

"Still annoyed."

"Yeah."

"Still think your dad's a pushover."

"Fair."

He smiled.

She smiled back.

For a second neither looked away.

Then a scream echoed across the lake.

Both teenagers froze.

Another scream.

Then another.

Maggie stood.

"That's Harry."

James was already moving.

The two of them sprinted toward the cabin.

Certain something terrible had happened.

They burst through the front door.

Ready for disaster.

Ready for danger.

Ready for anything.

Instead they found chaos.

Harry was crying.

Jonas was covered in mud.

Elliott was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe.

Dr. Anderson had spaghetti sauce on his shirt.

Karen looked ready to commit a felony.

John sat at the table with both hands covering his face.

Nobody appeared injured.

Physically.

"What happened?" James asked.

His father slowly lowered his hands.

"The children happened."

Maggie looked at James.

James looked at Maggie.

Then both of them started laughing.

Because for the first time since the Andersons arrived, the adults finally understood.

And honestly?

That was almost as good as getting the playground