Isolation by Jones, Nathan (the first e reader .TXT) 📗

remained just as strong in spite of the fact that they'd been forced to stay apart for so long.

He could've easily given up on their relationship with all the obstacles to it and found someone else, like Val. But instead he'd held to the hope of what they'd share in the future, when they could finally be together.

And Gen firmly intended to do the same; Billy was sometimes shy, even wary around other people, but he'd taken right to Nick and his children. Having them as part of the family would be good for all of them.

“It's good to see you smiling, Imogen,” Winn said warmly, pulling her into a brief one-armed hug as they walked through the barricade's southern roadblock. “You have the nicest smile . . . it's a shame it has so few reasons to come out these days.”

“Then I guess I should make an effort to do it anyway,” Gen said, hugging her back. And she meant it; smiling didn't always make everything better, but it usually made everyone feel better.

The older woman chuckled and crouched to hug Billy. “How about you, honey? I'm glad you got to visit your friends.”

“Me too, Grandma.” Billy stuck his lower lip out. “But I wish I could've played with them.”

So did Gen. She couldn't believe Darby had refused to let Ellie and Hal and their families into town now that they were done with their isolation. Hadn't those poor people been through enough? But instead they had to sit outside the protection of even the quarantine camp, with children, vulnerable to anything Jay had planned.

Gen spent a lot of time fretting for the safety of her friends.

Winn seemed to know where her thoughts had gone, because she gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. Gen smiled gratefully, reaching down to take her son's hand as they continued down the street.

Billy's grandparents really were some of the best people she knew. Almost like second parents; they'd embraced Gen and treated her kindly even after her relationship with their son Darryl had ended a bit messily, not blaming her or trying to convince her to give things a second try or anything like that.

More importantly, they did their best to be good grandparents to Billy. They'd visited every time they were down in KC, and made sure Gen knew that she and Billy were always welcome to come up for a visit. They made sure he got a present every birthday and Christmas, and went nuts over every picture of him Gen put up on social media.

Winn especially was wonderful. In fact, probably one of the most special moments of Gen's life had been a conversation with Winn after Gen had been dating Darryl for a few months.

Her boyfriend's mom had always called her “Imogen”, even when everyone else called her by her nickname. When Gen finally worked up the courage to ask her about it, Winn had looked a bit embarrassed.

“I hope you don't mind,” the older woman had said. “It's just that Imogen is such a lovely name, and you're such a lovely young woman. It fits you so well, it would be a shame not to call you by it.”

Tears had sprung to Gen's eyes, and she'd thrown her arms around Winn and hugged her tight. That was when she'd first begun to genuinely love the dear woman, and their relationship had remained strong even after Gen broke things off with Darryl.

As her group left the roadblock behind and made their way down the street, neighbors called out greetings and well wishes. Many even came over to ask how the wedding had gone, expressing their regrets that they hadn't been able to leave the safety of the barricades and join the festivities.

The conversations slowed their walk to the house they were staying in, with friends of the Norsons, and after spending so long standing Gen's feet were sore and she was ready to sit down, maybe even take a nap. But she couldn't complain because she enjoyed talking about the wedding, and how beautiful it had been in spite of the fact that it had taken place in a campsite on top of a dirt hill fortification.

She wanted to share the experience with her friends in town.

Stanberry was a truly wonderful place. Gen was grateful Bruce and Winn had not only agreed to let her and Billy come up to stay when the pandemic started, but had firmly insisted on it.

It was inspiring to see how the good people of Stanberry had come together and cooperated to survive in the face of this crisis. Everywhere around her she saw them finding ways to keep on living with the utilities out and conditions so hard, working together to do things they couldn't do themselves.

The streets were clean, the houses and yards all as well maintained as could be expected under the circumstances. Mayor Darby and the City Council and the other leaders had all done an excellent job organizing things so everyone had enough water for drinking and sanitation, and had places to dispose of their trash where it wouldn't present a problem.

They were even keeping the sewage system working, which was vital for hygiene.

Beyond that, with people desperate simply for necessities and not many willing to part with what they could spare for money (which might not even be worth anything anymore with the economy collapsed), the town had come together to create a bustling open marketplace. Somewhere people could swap what they had for what they needed.

And as for those who had nothing to trade and faced starvation or more mundane sickness, most people who had resources to spare had contributed them to the town's stockpile; that, combined with what Nick and the scavengers had brought for the town, ensured that nobody was going hungry.

In fact, in some ways things might even be better here than they'd been before Zolos swept the country. Gen had never seen such a sense of community, with people out talking