A.J. awoke the next morning alone. He was unaware when Allison left, but it had to be during the dark of night since the morning sun was just coming over the horizon. He stretched his arms high over his head and glanced around the back of the bus. A piece of paper lying next to his crunched under his weight, he sat up quickly and took the paper in his hands.
A.J.,
We need to speak. Meet me around lunch near the lake.
Allison
He stared at the note in his hands, holding it tight he stood and put his clothes back on before carefully exiting the bus.
“There you are.” A male voice startled A.J., his hand holding the paper quickly forcing inside his pocket.
“John.” A.J. said turning and trying his best to act normally. “Sorry, I don’t know what happened. I was looking for something on the bus and must have lost track of time. I swear I only sat down for a minute and the next thing I knew it was morning.”
John stared at him, his eyes giving A.J. the impression he was trying to decide whether to believe him or not. Eventually a strained smile crossed John’s face. “You should have let someone know you needed something off the bus. I’m sure Shelby or Walter would have come to get it for you.”
“Oh no need to bother them, I wasn’t sure if I’d even brought it with me on this trip.” A.J. smiled and turned to walk away from John, the front of the bus catching his eye. The hood was still open but not as many parts seemed to be on the ground around the bus as before.
“What was it?” John’s voice called out before he managed to walk away completely.
“Huh?” A.J. responded.
“What was it you were looking for on the bus?” A.J. could not be sure, but it appeared that John was asking with a smirk on his face, as if he knew A.J. wasn’t looking for something and he was going to catch him in his lie.
“It was only a book.” He turned and walked as fast as he dared away from the bus hoping that John would believe him.
A.J. joined the rest of the group for breakfast that morning and waited as Walter informed them where they would be helping today. Solemnly he stood and followed Nick to the building they were “asked” to clean. They took one look inside and sighed in unison before beginning to move boxes. A.J. picked up a box from Nick and began to move it towards the back of the building as they were asked. Before he could put the box down, the bottom broke and everything inside spilled out.
“Shit!” A.J. cursed and threw the now empty box across the room.
Nick came over to where he stood and looked down at the mess on the floor. “I think there are extra boxes, we can just pack this stuff up again.” A.J. nodded at Nick’s idea and knelt next to the stuff on the floor trying to organize the mess before they put it away.
There were old articles of clothing, knick-knacks of many kinds and even old newspaper articles. A.J. didn't understand why the owner didn't just throw the stuff away versus keeping it stored in a box with what looked like hundreds of other boxes. He picked up an old newspaper clipping and scanned the words on the page, but it was what was underneath that caught his attention. A picture lay on the floor, the glass in the frame slightly cracked, but he knew the picture. He sat holding the picture of Allison and her parents outside a car, the very picture he saw in her house only a day or two before. He stared at it wondering why it was now in a box in an old building.
“What did you find?” Nick asked setting the box down next to A.J.
“Nothing,” He lied, trying carefully to set the picture aside so he could take it to Allison when he met with her later. He would return it and ask her then.
The two boys managed to move all the rest of the boxes without a hitch, and soon they heard the door open and Shelby’s voice calling them to lunch.
Carefully hiding the picture under his shirt, using the waistband of his pants to hold it up, A.J. followed Nick back to the restaurant to eat. He grabbed a couple sandwiches and told everyone he wanted to go for a walk outside since he’d been cooped up inside all day. No one seemed to wonder about the behavior, they were too busy eating.
A.J. walked quickly towards where Allison asked him to meet her. He saw her standing, waiting for him, and his pace quickened. He hugged her and kissed her lips quickly.
“I have to tell you…” Allison started to talk but A.J. held up his finger.
“I know you want to tell me what’s going on here, and I want to know, but I found this, this morning and thought you might like it back.” He lifted his shirt and pulled the picture out showing Allison.
The surprise clearly showed on Allison’s face as she took the picture in her hands. “You shouldn’t have.” She smiled at him, a tear forming in her eye.
A.J. shrugged, “Why was it in a storage box anyway, especially if it means that much to you?”
“It has to deal with what they do here.” Allison looked around. “My house has been cleared out for the next person to take over. The fields have been cleared, but you knew that since you helped. It’s all in preparation for another couple to take the house after marriage to start their family.”
“But where will you go? Do the widow’s all live together.” He realized now that they cleared the fields at each of the widow’s houses all through the week.
Now the tears were falling from Allison’s eyes freely. “They do not have a place for us to live.”
“They make you leave the town!” A.J. was aghast at the cruelty of the idea. These women had made their homes in this town and now because their other half was dead and the town wanted their houses they were kicked out, now homeless. Then an idea struck him about why they celebrated a Widow’s Walk. “They make you walk out of the town on your own don’t they?”
Allison inclined her head; she could no longer speak through her cries.
A.J. moved closer to her, taking her in his arms. “You won’t have to, I’m sure I can convince the other guys to let all of you leave the town with us when the bus gets fixed.” He nodded at his idea. “I’m going to go talk to them now about this.” He turned from her and began to talk back towards the town.
He heard a loud sniff, “They don’t plan on letting you leave, A.J. They plan on making you members of this town.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry for the super long break, but I promise that I will finish this story in the next couple of weeks, it's a PROMISE! :-D
