Page 34 of Dyana (Love in the Apocalypse #3)

Chapter fifteen

Dyana

T he next morning, when we made it down the hill, Isaac was in the yard on a blanket with Johnny.

“Dada. Come on, Johnny, say Dada. It’s really easy. Da-da.” He had a bowl of applesauce in his hands, scooped a small amount onto the spoon, and held it up for Johnny to see. “I’ll give you some applesauce if you say Dada.”

I covered my mouth to hold back my laughter as we approached them.

“Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma,” Johnny babbled happily. When he noticed me over his Daddy’s shoulder, Johnny’s face brightened. “Dyna!” Isaac hung his head in defeat, and I couldn’t help the snicker that escaped as I knelt to cuddle Johnny.

“Good morning, my little sunbeam.” I looked at Isaac. “Trying to bribe your son with food? Shame on you,” I scolded playfully.

“It was worth a try,” Isaac sighed. “You guys headed to town for your date?”

“Just me and Dyana,” Jack replied. “Evan and Bryce will still be around.”

“Will you be back tonight or are you staying in town?”

“We’ll be back tonight,” Jack replied.

“I hope so,” I laughed. “I didn’t pack a change of clothes.” I hadn’t packed anything. Jack took care of it all, and when I asked him what I should bring, he said Myself and my weapons. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

We said goodbye to everyone and took off toward town.

I hadn’t been back to town since we collected the chickens and was still uneasy about doing so.

All of the guys had been back countless times since then without issue or seeing that car, but I still had a nagging feeling in my gut.

I pushed the feeling aside. If Jack thought there was any danger, he wouldn’t have suggested our date.

“So what’s the plan for this date?”

“Well, I thought to start, we could do a little shopping.”

“Shopping? You mean looting?” I laughed. Shopping was no longer a thing in the apocalypse.

“You say toMAYto, I say toMAHto. I thought it would be fun to hit up the record store first, and then maybe check out Old Man Keller’s house. I bet you there are some treasures in there!”

Old Man Keller had been one of the wealthiest men in town and a notorious recluse. His family founded the town. He never married or had any children; therefore, he had no heirs. I knew several people who were just waiting for him to kick the bucket so his belongings would go to auction.

“I wouldn’t mind checking his house out. What if he’s still alive?”

“You mean he didn’t notice the world fell apart around him? He is just sitting in his house, wondering why the paperboy stopped delivering.” Jack laughed.

“I mean, maybe. Crazier things have happened. We don’t have any idea what’s in that house. He could have a food stockpile to last him decades for all we know.”

“Ok, so now we have to go there first,” Jack said, grabbing my hand and tugging me to walk faster.

“I am not running down the mountain to get there faster,” I laughed, pulling him back to a normal pace. “We have all the time in the world. His house isn’t going anywhere.”

We walked in comfortable silence for a bit before Jack spoke hesitantly. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“Why were you so quick to believe I cheated on you?”

There was a vulnerability in his question that I understood on a deep level.

I didn’t like to think about the past, or the pain, but the time had come to finally have the conversation we should have had all those years ago.

Admittedly, it was my stubbornness that kept that from happening.

Jack deserved answers, but I just wasn’t sure what they were anymore.

Even then, I knew Jack loved me. I was shattered when I found him kissing someone else, and I don’t know why I assumed the worst instead of letting him explain.

I thought hard before giving him the best answer I could.

“Honestly, I saw the proof with my own eyes, or what I perceived the truth to be, and...” I trailed off, struggling to find the right words.

“And I don’t know why I didn’t challenge that truth.

It’s hard to look back and view it through the eyes of a hormonal teenager.

Her reasons, however valid they were to her at the time, don’t hold water with me anymore.

I’m sorry I can’t give you more clarity. ”

“Do you believe me when I say that I didn’t want to kiss her? That I pulled away as soon as it happened?”

“I do.” The truth was, I did. He had no reason to lie to me now. It held no purpose in this world. In our lives.

“Then why don’t we chalk the whole thing up to being young and dumb and never talk about it again?” Jack suggested.

I stopped walking, pulling him to a stop as well. “I think that sounds like a perfect idea,” I replied. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him to seal the deal.

Jack kissed me back tenderly, and then we continued our hike. “I always knew we’d be together in the end. While I didn’t imagine it quite this way, I knew. Even in college, when you weren’t talking to me, I knew I’d get you back.”

“You did, did you? I’ll admit, I wasn’t as sure as you were.

Especially in college. Seeing you surrounded by all those coeds, living your best life.

It killed me and just proved I had made the right decision.

I could barely bring myself to go on a date with a sweet guy, and you had women dangling off your biceps. ”

“I never slept with any of them. They tried, but I couldn’t have sex with anyone who wasn’t you.”

His comment, which should have been sweet, struck a chord, and I found myself pulling away from him.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Jack said, stopping and refusing to let me pull away. “I didn’t mean it like that. That wasn’t a criticism of you.”

“Yeah, but I—“

“Did exactly what you needed to do to fucking survive. So we could find each other again.” He tipped my chin up to meet his eyes. “Never be ashamed of that, Doll. I’m not. I’m fucking proud of you. Got it?”

I nodded as I blinked back tears. I’ve cried more times since Jack, Bryce, and Evan came into my life than I cried all the years before. After studying my face to make sure I understood, we continued walking again. At this rate, it would be lunchtime by the time we got to town.

“Do you know,” Jack laughed, “that the only reason we were in the Quad every Monday morning was so that I could see you?”

“No, it wasn’t,” I said in disbelief.

“It was! Ask the guys,” Jack laughed. “I needed to start my week seeing you. Even if you didn’t acknowledge me, I needed to get my fix.” That was just too fricking sweet for words. Unsure of how to respond and feeling wholly inadequate, I just shook my head and stayed quiet.

We arrived in town sooner than I had expected, given our frequent stops.

As we crossed the bridge, my initial unease about coming into town returned, and I couldn’t shake the feeling we were being watched.

“So you said you hadn’t seen that car or anyone else in town since we caught the chickens?

” I asked, shooting for casual conversation.

The look Jack gave me told me I had failed.

“We can go back if you aren’t comfortable.”

“No, not after you planned a whole date. It’s fine. My nerves are getting the better of me. Seeing an unknown car in town spooked me more than I realized. I’m sure it will fade the longer we’re here. Besides,” I teased, nudging him with my shoulder, “if we leave, I won’t get my surprise.”

“It’s not that big of a surprise,” Jack hedged, looking nervous.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure I’ll love it,” I assured him. “Now, where to first?”

“I thought we could check out the record store. See if there is anything there worth saving,” Jack suggested.

“Yes! That’s a great idea. The one thing missing from our lives is music. Cora has some records, but they were her dad’s, and while I respect the oldies and enjoy some of them, most are not to my taste. There are oldies, and then there is whatever that mountain music is.”

Jack chuckled. “You never did develop a taste for country music.” It was true. Nothing made me want to stab out my eardrums more than the twang of a banjo.

We found a nice record player and a bunch of records that we’d all enjoy. Music was definitely one of the things we took for granted before the apocalypse happened. Now, the idea of listening to some of these songs, many of which held core memories, nearly made me giddy.

“You hungry?” Jack asked as we left the record store with our treasures.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to eating.”

“Then I know just the place.” I followed Jack to the park and assumed he had packed a picnic lunch for us. It was so much more than that. “Jack!” I gasped as we approached the gazebo.

“Do you like it?” he asked, sounding nervous.

This was what Jack had been doing in town yesterday.

He had come down to decorate the gazebo in preparation for our date.

There were flowers everywhere. Strings of them hung from the ceiling.

He’d covered the railings in lattice with the blooms as well.

In the center of the gazebo was what I could only describe as a nest of blankets and pillows with a little table for us to eat off.

“No,” I replied in wonder at the sweet and simple gesture. “I love it. Did you scour the entire town for everything?”

“Pretty much,” Jack replied, grabbing my hand and leading me into the gazebo.

He led me to one side of the table to sit and then sat on the other.

“Believe it or not, the flowers weren’t the hardest to collect.

It was the blankets and pillows. Everything had been sitting around for so long, and finding ones that weren’t filthy was a challenge.

Getting the dust out of the passable ones was a project in itself. ”

“Well, I appreciate the effort. I love it,” I replied as Jack unpacked the food he’d brought. He pulled out fresh fruit, hard-boiled eggs, some jerky, and the last of the rosemary bread I baked earlier in the week. By apocalypse standards, it was a meal fit for a Queen.