The Comet's Tail Ch Fifteen
Epilogue
It has been forty years since the comet. Richard was now the chairman of the council. All four other members were children of the crew.
Tish was the next to die. The older herd died off until only Tish and her favorite old male were left. They spent a year together. Ray moved them to one of the smaller stalls and took the pen down. After a year, she woke up one morning to find her male had died. It seemed to take the life out of her, and she passed away within a couple of months.
By the twenty-fifth year, the water generator was ready and operating. They had several older batteries from the car workshop at the town. They also had what they needed to recharge them as needed. Between the batteries from the vehicles and the ones there, they had enough to last for years. They charged them just enough to keep them alive. By the thirty-fifth year, the large solar generator was beginning to fail. They piggybacked the turbine generator to the solar generator. They were not sure how long it would be before they had to ration electricity.
They had built ten cabins. That was all the stoves they had. Richard had an idea of building a larger cabin with a stone fireplace. They had plenty of stones, and the manpower to gather them. For several years, they cut and stored logs until they had enough to build one large building. That also meant they had plenty of firewood for the stoves. Doug had figured out how to split the logs. His son and a couple of the other children built the larger house with Doug and Jesus' supervision. Ray and Lawanda's son had taken over the animal husbandry. He spent a couple of years gathering stones with a team of bulls and a small cart. This would be the last house built. The plan was for it to have four bedrooms and house four families.
It took two years to build, but, eventually, it was finished. The huge fireplace could heat the entire house and be used for cooking. It had electricity, but they weren't sure how long that would last.
Between the years thirty-five and forty, many of the crew passed away.
Mandy had always been a little heavy, and health problems incapacitated her early. She finally died of diabetes before she was sixty.
The only person to die in an accident was Bill. They were gathering the logs, and one rolled off the hill and crushed him. Liz was never the same but continued to oversee the younger Mary as the medic.
Mary developed something. Liz felt it probably was cancer, but they would never know. She wasted away as Rick and Susan took care of her.
Amy and Emily years ago, when the first children were young, had decided to bring as many of the books from the town's library as they could. They wanted to save the famous writings and books, and all technical books. They had no idea what technical advice they would need, but they took as many as they could. They stripped everything but bookshelves out of the old den, and Jesus and Juan had built as many shelves as could fit in. By the time they were finished, they had a good library. Whatever books didn't fit on the shelves was catalogued and stored. If anyone needed one of them, they would find it. Amy became the librarian. She could find anything.
They had to finish the large house without Doug. His mind began to wander. Before the house was finished, he couldn't remember much. Before he died, he knew no one and was in a room with Liz watching him.
Joe had been very lonely raising his children after Lilly died. Liz saw his struggle and began spending more time helping him. Over the years they developed a strong friendship. One night, she had come to put the youngsters to bed. After everyone was asleep, Joe offered to have her sit and drink some tea.
Joe smiled. "Liz, you are wonderful. I don't know what I would have done without you."
"You'd be fine. Besides, I love the company. It was a terrible shock for Bill to get killed like he did. He was in great shape and could have lived for several more years."
Joe sat and looked at Liz. "I'm sorry for that. I loved Bill. He was so smart, and so kind. I know you are very lonely. I have my children, but you and Bill made the decision to not risk losing our only doctor and did not have any children. Now you are alone."
They both looked down at their tea and sat in silence. Without thinking, Joe leaned over and kissed Liz.
"I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that."
Liz was shocked for a second, but built-up passion overwhelmed her, and she reached for him. She pulled him toward her and kissed him back. That was that. Joe took her by the hand and led her to his room.
They made love beyond what they had been able to do for years. They felt like kids again. After the first go around, they lay in bed, recovering.
"Thank you, Liz. You are amazing. You have a fire Lilly never had. Thank you, thank you."
"Thank me? I am blown away by your physicality. And you have always been so kind and helpful to everyone."
They went for another round and fell asleep in each other's arms.
Ray and Lawanda had retired from the animals. Their daughter, Tisha, had taken over the animals. She had married Doug and Emily's son, Douglas. Together they handled the animals and barnyard.
Ray broke a leg in year twenty-six. Liz set it, but it didn't heal correctly. He limped in pain for the rest of his life. He stopped working after a year of limping around, and Lawanda spent more and more time with him and let their children handle the farming.
After five years of pain, Ray couldn't take it any longer. Lawanda asked Rick to come and see him.
