PlayStation games or IMing their friends. She TiVo’d her favorite programs to watch at her leisure — Oprah, Dr. Phil, 24 , ER and a number of sitcoms she was too ashamed to admit she watched.
Since the Pulses, so much had been different. Her lazy children were turning into hard workers who understood that if they wanted to eat they had to do their share. Their situation left no room for slackers. Over the weeks since the outage, the whole family had come to recognize the value of home as they never had before, and she’d seen Doug transformed into a new man — spending time with his kids, providing for them with his hands rather than his head.
The darkness in the house at night had even become a blessing. Instead of separating to their rooms at night for their favorite but solitary activities, they now spent evenings together in one room, talking and playing games, or reading aloud under the light of the oil lamps.
Though her children still complained and plotted to get out of their work, they seemed healthier, if skinnier. Their skin glowed, now that they’d all been detoxed from their high-fat supersize diets, food additives, trans fats, and soft drinks. And the truth was, the hard work had toned her body as no Pilates class could, and made her healthier than daily aerobic workouts. Weight was no longer a problem.
Life moved at a slower, more deliberate pace, and that had profoundly affected Kay’s character as well as her family’s. No more instant gratification. The Pulses had fostered patience in all of them, and made them think more of others than themselves …
Most of the time.
Now she swung between anger and compassion at the children who’d disrupted her day.
Four children that young, living alone? It was criminal. If it was true, someone was going to pay.
Doug was quiet as he rode beside her.
“Doug, I know you’re upset about having to do this,” she said. “But imagine if something had happened to us when our kids were small, and our children were living alone.”
“Kay, you’ll see that it’s not even true. They probably lied to Jeff, playing on his sympathy. They’ve taken enough of our resources already. I don’t like that they’re taking more of our time. I have work to do.”
“But what if it’s true?”
They sailed around a corner. “That’s why we’re going, Kay. On the off-chance that it’s true.”
His attitude worried her. Though the outage had brought the family closer together, her relationship with Doug seemed more distant than ever. They rarely had a private moment, and when they did, they were so exhausted that they fell into bed and went to sleep. Intimacy had been exchanged for efficiency.
It was her fault as much as his. They were each too burdened by life to make intimate time a priority. Sometimes she longed to slip into her husband’s arms and lay her head against his chest. But his constant preoccupation dissuaded her.
They turned down the road leading to the sheriff’s office and saw Scarbrough’s van sitting out front.
“Good,” Doug said, “he’s here. Maybe he’ll give us a ride and we can make this quick.”
“He won’t give us a ride, Doug. They’ve said over and over the cars are not for personal use.”
“It’s not for our personal use,” Doug said. “We’re reporting a crime and leading him to the perpetrators.”
She sighed. “They’re not perpetrators. They’re children.”
Doug wasn’t buying it.
Carrying their bikes inside, they found Scarbrough at his desk. He heard them out, then agreed to go with them. After loading their bikes into the van, they headed for the Sandwood Place Apartments.
They pulled into the apartment complex Kay had driven past so many times in her pre-outage days. She’d hardly given it a thought. But now she saw the people loitering in their doorways or standing out on the hot pavement.
“Jeff said it was apartment 4B.” Doug’s eyes scanned the buildings. “There,” he said,
Since the Pulses, so much had been different. Her lazy children were turning into hard workers who understood that if they wanted to eat they had to do their share. Their situation left no room for slackers. Over the weeks since the outage, the whole family had come to recognize the value of home as they never had before, and she’d seen Doug transformed into a new man — spending time with his kids, providing for them with his hands rather than his head.
The darkness in the house at night had even become a blessing. Instead of separating to their rooms at night for their favorite but solitary activities, they now spent evenings together in one room, talking and playing games, or reading aloud under the light of the oil lamps.
Though her children still complained and plotted to get out of their work, they seemed healthier, if skinnier. Their skin glowed, now that they’d all been detoxed from their high-fat supersize diets, food additives, trans fats, and soft drinks. And the truth was, the hard work had toned her body as no Pilates class could, and made her healthier than daily aerobic workouts. Weight was no longer a problem.
Life moved at a slower, more deliberate pace, and that had profoundly affected Kay’s character as well as her family’s. No more instant gratification. The Pulses had fostered patience in all of them, and made them think more of others than themselves …
Most of the time.
Now she swung between anger and compassion at the children who’d disrupted her day.
Four children that young, living alone? It was criminal. If it was true, someone was going to pay.
Doug was quiet as he rode beside her.
“Doug, I know you’re upset about having to do this,” she said. “But imagine if something had happened to us when our kids were small, and our children were living alone.”
“Kay, you’ll see that it’s not even true. They probably lied to Jeff, playing on his sympathy. They’ve taken enough of our resources already. I don’t like that they’re taking more of our time. I have work to do.”
“But what if it’s true?”
They sailed around a corner. “That’s why we’re going, Kay. On the off-chance that it’s true.”
His attitude worried her. Though the outage had brought the family closer together, her relationship with Doug seemed more distant than ever. They rarely had a private moment, and when they did, they were so exhausted that they fell into bed and went to sleep. Intimacy had been exchanged for efficiency.
It was her fault as much as his. They were each too burdened by life to make intimate time a priority. Sometimes she longed to slip into her husband’s arms and lay her head against his chest. But his constant preoccupation dissuaded her.
They turned down the road leading to the sheriff’s office and saw Scarbrough’s van sitting out front.
“Good,” Doug said, “he’s here. Maybe he’ll give us a ride and we can make this quick.”
“He won’t give us a ride, Doug. They’ve said over and over the cars are not for personal use.”
“It’s not for our personal use,” Doug said. “We’re reporting a crime and leading him to the perpetrators.”
She sighed. “They’re not perpetrators. They’re children.”
Doug wasn’t buying it.
Carrying their bikes inside, they found Scarbrough at his desk. He heard them out, then agreed to go with them. After loading their bikes into the van, they headed for the Sandwood Place Apartments.
They pulled into the apartment complex Kay had driven past so many times in her pre-outage days. She’d hardly given it a thought. But now she saw the people loitering in their doorways or standing out on the hot pavement.
“Jeff said it was apartment 4B.” Doug’s eyes scanned the buildings. “There,” he said,
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