Chapter Two: Nancy:

She was just sitting in the middle of the road. The first thing I noticed was her stomach. This lady had to be about seven months along. Or maybe she was just fat. She had on a straw hat and a white sundress. A little girl about two years old was hopping around. I didn’t know what I was seeing at first. I walked over with a curious look on my face.

“Hello?” I asked. The woman turned her head and looked at me. I slowly walked over to her. The child didn’t stop running around. The woman didn’t get up but she watched me as I got closer.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she said. I stopped with a puzzled look on my face.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked. The woman stared at me for a moment.

“He left me,” she said. I took a step back. The way she said it threw me off. She said it like she was talking about the weather. I didn’t know how I was going to approach this.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “Who left you?” She looked like she hadn’t seen the sun for weeks. Was it possible for someone to look so pale like that? The child’s laughter filled up the silence. I had to admit that she looked rather cute. She had her hair in dark brown pigtails. She was dressed in a little pink dress and matching jellies.

“My husband,” the woman, I think she was her mother, said. “He’s not coming back either.” My face dropped.

“What makes you say that?” I asked. This woman shook her head.

“We got into a stupid fight,” she said. “And he left us.” My right eyebrow twitched.

“And he just left you here? What were you even doing here?” I asked. The woman sighed.

“We were getting supplies and…” she said. She paused for a moment.

“Do you want the long version or the short version?” the woman asked. I threw up my hands in a shrug.

“I mean… you’ve got nothing but time,” I said.

“Okay, but can you please help me up?” she asked. The woman held out her hand to me. I stood there for a moment before it sank in.

“Oh!” I said. “Sure.” I walked over and tried to pull her up. Since she was heavy, I couldn’t get her up.

“Give me your other hand,” I said.

“Careful!” she said.

“All right!” I said. After a few times, she finally rose to her feet. I fell backward on the ground. She stumbled backward before she stood in place.

“Ow,” I muttered under my breath.

“Are you all right?” she asked. I looked up to see her looking down at me.

“Yeah, I’m good,” I said. I jumped up to my feet. I held out my hand.

“I’m Mick,” I said.

“Nancy,” she said. She shook my hand. We stood there for a moment. I drew back my hand. Honestly, I don’t know why I did what I did next. It just happened really.

“Have you eaten yet?” I asked.

“No?” she said with a tone of question in her voice.

“Uh… you and the kid there can get something to eat at my place,” I said. “I mean… if that’s okay with you.”

“Okay, I guess…” Nancy said. I think she only said that because she and the kid didn’t have anywhere else to go. Given what we all had to go through, I don’t blame them. Nancy held out her hand.

“Come on, Ava!” she called. The little girl stopped running around and looked up. She giggled as she ran over to take Nancy’s hand.