the valley coordinator.”
“This will be a complete mess,” Parsons said in disgust. “There’ll be some hard decisions to make, and does anyone really think a—” Again he stopped, baffled as to how he could call Carol an old woman without alienating even more people.
“If it comes to human sacrifice,” Carol said, grinning a shark grin at him, “I think I could come up with a nominee.”
People began laughing, despite the seriousness of the situation they were in, and as Parsons looked around Sela saw that he finally accepted he’d lost.
The heat was building to the stifling stage; Sela ruefully thought that her shower had been wasted, because she was now so sweaty. The election over, some people began moving toward the exit, no doubt as eager as she was to get out into the fresh air. A cacophony of chair legs being scraped against the floor as they were pushed back filled the air, adding to the overall noise.
“Hold it!” Carol hollered, and most people did hold it, stopping to look back at her.
“This is just the beginning!” she said, keeping her voice raised. “Sela and I have been talking about all that needs to be done. We need volunteers to check on people, identify the ones who are elderly or sick and can’t do for themselves. We’ll need wood to burn this winter, so that means trees will have to be chopped down. Everyone who wants to help, stay behind so we can get this ball rolling.”
With a pang, Sela realized that she, Carol, and Olivia were on the list of people who would need help keeping a fire in the fireplace. She could pick up wood from the forest, she could even fell saplings—with a hacksaw, and a lot of sweat and determination—but she didn’t even have an axe, much less a chain saw. “We’ll be needing firewood ourselves,” she said quietly, not expecting anyone other than Carol and maybe Olivia to hear her, because of the noise of the growing exodus. She was wrong.
“Don’t worry about firewood, Miss Sela,” said a man behind her. She turned and recognized one of her customers, Trey Foster. “You were good enough to give me gas and some groceries on credit when I was between jobs, so the least I can do is cut you enough wood to get you through the winter.”
Tears stung her eyes at his kindness. “Thank you, Trey. You paid me every penny owed, all I did was wait a little while.”
“Still. I can’t tell you how much difference it made to me and my family. If you hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have had gas to get to work when I found a job.”
She didn’t know what else to do but extend her hand, and solemnly they shook. Her firewood was taken care of.
Despite Carol’s call for volunteers, most people were still leaving. Some of them, of course, had to begin making preparations for the huge cookout they were having the next day, and would actually get started on that night. Ted Parsons made a disgusted face at the departing crowd, scowled, then said, “I’ll help do whatever you think needs doing. I don’t have a chain saw or anything like that, but I’m willing to do the labor.”
Sela hid her surprise. Carol said, “Thank you, Mr. Parsons, your help is appreciated.” She looked around. “Does anyone have a notebook and a pen?”
No one did, at least no one among the small group of perhaps ten people who had stayed to volunteer. “Then we’ll meet . . . Sela, is it okay if we meet at the store? Everyone knows where it is.”
“Of course.”
“Then . . . Never mind. We’ll all be busy in the morning. Everyone be thinking of things that will need doing, making a list, and tomorrow at the cookout we’ll start getting organized.”
It was a relief leaving the overheated lunchroom, which had been getting too dark for them to accomplish much more of anything anyway. The cooling air washed over Sela’s bare arms, a sensation as pleasurable as a light touch. Twilight had deepened, edging into night. Everyone called their goodbyes, then split up to walk to their various homes. Their little group, consisting of the three of them, Mike Kilgore and his wife, and a couple of other neighbors, trooped down the school road to the highway and turned left. The others walked at a faster pace and gradually the three of them fell behind.
“Let’s walk in the middle of the