As they came around a bend in the road, David and Kate could see building tops in the distance. The small town they approached was partially hidden by trees, and large piles of brush lay to either side of the road into town.
Long before they reached the brush piles, Ranger was growling deep in his throat, slowing his and their advance. Heeding Ranger's warning, David and Kate stopped in the road.
A man stepped out from behind one of the brush piles into their path, and raised his arm in greeting.
"Hello, David!" he called out. "Man, it's good to see you again."
David told Ranger it was all right, then walked up to the man and embraced him warmly, while Kate looked on. After they let go of each other, the man stooped and let Ranger sniff his hand.
"I knew Ranger wouldn't let you get too close," he said.
"Tommy, you old son of a gun, you're looking good yourself. What have you been up to since I've been here last?"
"I married Judy Reed, you remember her, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do seem to recall her. Didn't you steal her away from me at some point?" David laughed.
Tommy looked at Kate.
"I don't know who you are or how you know David, but only believe about half of anything he tells you," he laughed. Then he got serious.
"David, you know the rules. Are you being forced to come in here?"
"Tommy, I'm glad the rules are still being enforced. I come in of my own free will," he answered back, casually brushing his hair into place with his left hand.
"Great," Tommy said, instantly relaxing. "Okay!" he called over his shoulder.
Another young man stepped out from behind the other brush pile, lowering his rifle as he did.
"Hi Rog," David called out happily.
"David, good to see you," Roger replied, with a thumbs up signal. "How long you going to be in town?"
"Couple of days, anyway." David answered. "Oh, sorry, Kate. Guys, meet Kate. Kate, meet Tommy and Roger."
Both men touched their foreheads as if tipping a cap, and Kate bobbed her head hello.
"Nice to meet you both," she said.
"We'll see you both around town, then," Tommy said, as they returned to their sentry positions and David, Kate and Ranger renewed their walk into town.
"What was that about being forced to come in?" Kate asked David.
David smiled at her.
"They wanted to make sure you didn't have me at gunpoint, or were holding some hostage against me. I know it sounds ridiculous to you, but some towns have had their defences shattered with just that kind of ruse."
Kate pondered that for a minute.
"Wouldn't you lie to them if I had a gun on you?" she asked.
David nodded.
"You bet I would," he said. "That's what the non-verbals are for. I raised my left hand for them. If I'd raised my right hand, you'd be either tied up or dead by now, depending on whether or not you'd put up a fight."
They walked on into town.
David traded waves and hellos with several people as they strode through the streets. David navigated his way easily around corners and through alleys until they came out in what had obviously used to be a parking lot adjacent to the center of town. The parking lot was full of small piles of cast-off items.
"This must be the 'dump'," Kate suddenly realized. She looked around herself in wonder.
David nodded, and looked for a place to settle the items he was going to leave.
"Look around," he said. "Everything's free here, if you can find something you like."
Kate walked up and down the rows, scanning the piles quickly, stooping once in a while for a closer look. After David left his items, he too walked the rows.
There were any number of children hanging around, and when they saw Ranger they clustered around him, laughing and talking and petting him. He enjoyed the attention, but even though surrounded by the kids, he and David never quite lost sight of each other.
It didn't take long to determine there was nothing they currently needed. Kate looked at David.
"What's next?" she asked.
"Let's find some room and board for the next couple of days," he responded. "Let's go, Ranger!"
Ranger hopped away from the kids and joined them again.
Kate noticed right away how polite everyone was, greeting friends warmly and even strangers cordially. Even accounting for the slower pace, everyone gave up the right-of-way freely, there was never even a cross word or a jostle for position as the pedestrian traffic became more thick.
Kate mentioned this to David, and he laughed quietly.
"Yeah, I've noticed it too. I think it's a survival trait. When people could come and go as they pleased, they didn't care if they made anybody else mad. Now that they're stuck with the same neighbors, unless they want to try to make it on their own, they've just naturally settled into a more 'civilized' attitude."
"Of course, a lot more people carry weapons, now, whether you can see them or not. And, as Robert Heinlein said, 'An armed society is a polite society'."
David and Kate smiled at each other.
"Whatever the reason is, I like it a lot better," Kate said, and David nodded agreement.
At that point they stopped in front of a big house on the main street. Unbidden, Ranger jumped up on the porch and laid down contentedly. Kate laughed and David grinned back at her.
"I must be in a rut," he said. "Obviously this is the only place in town I stay. It's Mama Jackson's place."
An old woman suddenly burst out the door and shook her finger at David.
"This better be the only place in town you stay," she warned, with an unistakable gleam in her eyes. "If I ever hear of you going someplace else I'll kill you."
"Mama, mama, you know I cherish the ground you walk on," David cried as they wrapped their arms around each other.
"Like hell you do, you devil! If you loved me like you said you did, you wouldn't leave me for months at a time. Honey, let me look at you!"
As she stepped back, David diverted her attention to Kate.
"Mama, meet Kate. She followed me home. Can I keep her?"
"Kate, honey, come here and give mama a big hug. We're all family here," Mama said enthusiastically, wrapping her arms around Kate.
Kate hugged her back, surprised at the warmth she received from this stranger.
"Mama, you got a room for a couple of nights?" David asked. "I've finally got some trade goods, so I might be able to settle up my bill this trip."
Mama snorted her disgust.
"If you so much as mention a bill in the next twenty four hours I'll tie you up and leave you at the dump. Kate, honey, just coming in with David entitles you to room and food for a day, but if this child doesn't straighten up he just might not be sharing it with you."
David laughed and held up his hands in surrender.
"Okay, mama, okay. How's the well holding up?"
"The well's just fine, praise the Lord."
"Wonderful. What chores need doin'?"
"Right now, nothing needs doin' around the house. After you get your stuff settled, check with Jed at the mill and see if he needs anything. Honey, what kind of domestic skills do you have?"
"Oh, cooking, cleaning, general stuff," Kate answered, "nothing you'd consider special."
"Do any hand sewing?" Mama asked.
"Yeah, not too much."
"Good, because I've got about three baskets full of mendin', and if you're gonna be here a while that'll be your job."
"She's got hardware skills," David offered, and Mama shot him a glance.
"Oh, really," she said, musing. "Can you fix leaks?"
"What kind of leaks?"
"Something's leaking water under the house, something from the drain pipes I guess, and none of the men folk," shooting David another look, and getting a laugh from them both, "seem to consider it a high priority."
"Sure, I'll take a look at it." She looked questioningly at David.
"Mama, how long until lunch?" David asked.
"Another hour or so," she replied, glancing expertly up at the sun.
"We've had a long, hot walk, and we'll start work right after lunch, if that meets with your approval," David grinned at her.
"I guess that'll have to do," she said grudgingly, then broke into another wide grin. "David, honey, it is so good to see you safe and sound again. You know I can't turn down anything you want." She turned and led them into the house.
When David and Kate were finally able to drop their belongings in their room, Kate looked around in awe.
"A bed, with a spread, and real pillows." She looked at David. "I think I knew, objectively, these kinds of things still existed, but for the last six months they've seemed more and more like a dream, and not reality." David could see tears form in the corners of her eyes, and he moved to hold her. She dropped her head to his shoulder so he couldn't see the effect the surroundings were having on her.
David held her and rubbed her shoulders until she was able to regain her composure. She stepped back and blinked her eyes to clear them.
David gestured to the bed.
"Can I get you to just lie down and rest until lunch? I've got a couple of errands to run, nothing really interesting, just people to see. I won't be gone long."
Kate was immediately torn. Laying down in that bed sounded wonderful, but the thought of David walking away from her scared her more than she was prepared for.
David saw that, and hugged her again. He leaned back, and looked directly into her eyes.
"I promise you, I will be back for you in less than an hour, and then we will sit down together right downstairs and have lunch. Okay?"
Kate nodded agreement slowly and reluctantly. David stood by while she slipped out of her shoes and laid back on the bed, and held her hand for the very short time it took for her breathing to become regular.
Once back downstairs, David looked up Mama again.
"Is Doc Brown still practicing?" he asked her.
She looked up in alarm.
"Are you hurt? Honey, is something wrong? Is she hurt? I can haul Doc over here in no time at all," she exclaimed, putting down the vegetables she was rinsing.
"No, no, mama, we're both okay," he said, trying to reassure her, "but, she's been beat up and I thought Doc could check her out."
"That's a good idea," she said, calming down, "you ought to be able to find him over at his place, or at least leave him a note."
"Thanks, mama, and thanks for everything."
He gave her a hug from behind so she wouldn't have to take her hands out of the vegetables, then let himself out the back door. Ranger was waiting for him.
"Ranger, I wish you'd tell me how you learned to read minds. Until thirty seconds ago, even I didn't know I was coming out the back door." Ranger just panted at him.
David quickly covered the quarter mile to Doc's place, but found he was out at the time. He had just picked up the chalk to leave a message on Doc's chalkboard, when the physician hailed him from down the street.
"Hello, Doc!" David said warmly, glad to see the old man still hearty.
"Hello, David," Doc replied, greeting David with a strong handshake. "Whatcha know?"
"A lot of nothin', like usual," David replied with a grin.
"Come on in and sit a spell," Doc waved him into the house.
David went in and settled into a rocker, as Doc opened his bag and replaced some of the contents onto the shelves from which they came. Putting up his bag, he joined David in the living-room-turned-waiting-room.
"You okay, David?" Doc asked, concern for his young friend showing.
"Yeah, Doc, thanks, I'm doing great. You see, I met this girl . . ."
"David, David, David," Doc said sorrowfully, "hasn't anybody ever taught you about the birds and the bees?" They laughed together.
"So, is it prophylactics or penicillin you're after today?" Doc grinned wickedly at him.
"Neither, you dirty old man. So far we're just very, very good friends, if you get my drift, but," David hesitated, "I can't believe how strongly I feel about her," he finished.
"So what's the holdup?"
David grimaced.
"When I found her, she'd been beat up and raped by more than one gang."
Doc looked grave.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have been flippant."
"No, that's okay. I just think you ought to look her over when you get a chance, she if she needs anything only a pro can provide."
"Done and done. Where is she right now?"
"Laying down at Mama's"
Doc nodded approval.
"How about I bring her over tonight after dinner, and after we get cleaned up for the day?"
"That'd be great, David, bring her on over."
"What's the fee, Doc?"
"Well, right now I'm trying to get Sam Stoddard to breed his beagle to my bitch. He doesn't want a pup, though, so why don't you check with Sam, you know Sam, don't you?" David nodded, "and see if you've got anything he wants as a stud fee. That work for you?"
David nodded, and got to his feet.
"Don't rush off," Doc said.
'Thanks, but we'll be back this evening."
They shook hands again, and David made his way back to Mama Jackson's.
