We arrived at 4:00pm to a pleasantly toasty house, but John added more wood to the fire anyway.  The winds outside have been slowly building all day, and I think we’re in for yet another blast of snow.  Eric and Emi were understandably tired and hungry, but when I offered hot showers before dinner, they both perked right up.  John refueled and started the generator to pump the water, while I went over the basic water usage rules with our two new house guests; Emi might be only ten years old, but she was very mature and understood rules had reasons and were to be followed.  Her parents have done a good job with her.

Emilee took her shower first, and reveled in washing her hair for the first time in almost a week, which was how long their traveling took.  Going by military stand-by was slow going and iffy to say the least.  We gave her an extra five minutes, and she was one squeaky clean and happy little girl when she came out of the small steamy bathroom.  In the last of her clean clothes, she sat down on the futon, and promptly fell asleep.

Eric’s shower didn’t last quite as long, but he came out smiling.

“Oh, man, that felt good!  You don’t know how to appreciate a hot shower until you can’t get one!” he sighed.

“Oh, yes I do,” John just smiled, and offered to put their clothes in to wash.

Jason and Jacob would be over for dinner in another hour so I quickly started putting the meal together.  At first I was going to do lasagna, but I knew we were getting low on mozzarella cheese and I wanted to save that for pizzas, which were fast becoming a real treat.  The next best thing to feed six of us on short notice would be spaghetti, but the canned ground beef could be used for other meals, so I decided on mock chicken parmesan:  canned chicken in a spaghetti sauce on fettuccini pasta.

“So where did you two go in such a rush?” Jason asked as he was helping Jacob take off his boots.

“Hey, Bro,” Eric peered from the other room.  Jason’s head snapped around at the voice of his older brother.  He scrambled to his feet as Eric stepped closer, and the two brothers hugged like they wouldn’t let go.  They had always been close, being just over two years apart in age, but I hadn’t realized how much they had missed each other.

Jason let go first and turned to me.  “Mom, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t know for sure.  The message I got only mentioned a ‘package’.  I thought it might be Eric when I was passed our code-word, but I didn’t want to get your hopes up too, in case I was wrong.”  I tried, but how do you explain trying to spare the feelings of a 41 year old man?

Jacob had finished taking off his boots himself, and looked up at Eric.  “I remember you, you’re Uncle Eric.” And he reached up for a hug.  My heart swelled; not all autistic children shied away from physical contact.  Jacob is very affectionate.  Just then a sleepy Emilee wandered into the kitchen and spied her uncle and cousin, and rewarded us with another big smile from her.  “And you’re Emilee,” Jacob affirmed, and gave her a hug too.  I think he sees he might have a playmate that was more his size.

Although we all understood that Eric and Emilee need a few days of regular meals and much needed rest, we also needed to discuss practical matters, like schooling for Emi and housing.

“I would like you and Emi to stay here with us for at least a week,” I said to Eric, “but after that it would be more practical, space-wise, for you to move across the street with Jason.  Tom’s house is much bigger; why they needed four bedrooms, I’ve never understood, but it sure is convenient now.”  I looked over at Jason, “Are you agreeable to them taking over the upper floor? With its two bedrooms and full bath, it would be perfect.”

Jason nodded.  “Can you get us some more text books from the school?” He asked me, then looked at Emi.  “What grade are you in now?”

“I’m in the 5^th grade, but my teacher says I’m smart,” she sat up real straight, grinning.

“I bet you are.  Jacob is too, so I guess it runs in the family.”  I know Jason didn’t want to boast, but Jacob, only 3rd grade, was surpassing 5^th grade math already.  It had been noticed before The Event, that he was showing signs of having a photographic memory, even at eight years old.

So by the end of the evening, it had been decided that Eric and Emilee would stay here for a week, and then move over across the road.  Jason would continue the home schooling and include Emi in the classes; and I would try for more books in higher grades from the school in Moose Creek.

Eric would soon need something to do, too, but that would work itself out when the time came.  Meanwhile, I had my family here, and we were together and we were all safe.  It had been too long since I’d been this happy and content.