Doc tapped the envelope on the arm of the sofa. “Then I will open it.”
The fire was beginning to blaze, and Krysty had brewed some coffee from a sealed, airtight tin she’d found in the larder. She handed out the mugs, everyone sighing and breathing in the wonderful aroma.
The only sound then was Doc’s fingernail ripping open the envelope and extracting a single sheet of white paper. “Not very long,” he said.
Krysty sat on the floor, tucking her feet under her. Jak leaned back against one of the padded chairs, while Mildred sat in another. J.B. stood with his mug in hand, by the window, looking out at the last speck of deep, deep red on the western horizon.
Doc began to read in his fine, orotund voice. “It is signed by both of them at the bottom. It begins,”
” ‘ May God forgive us, but we can see no point in trying to carry on. The phones and radio and TV are all down, as they have been for several days. Ever since the skies darkened .’ ”
“Interesting that they used that phrase ‘skydark’ so soon after the nuclear holocaust.”
“Go on, Doc,” Krysty said.
“Very well.”
” ‘ We know now that the world has ended. The world we knew and loved is gone forever and we are alone in it. The road is blocked both ways, and no plows have come through. They will never come again. The last news was of the ruin of the great cities, which must mean the deaths of our beloved children. Some sort of radiation sickness is gripping us both. We are finding our nails and teeth are becoming loose and our gums bleed. We know enough to realize that the future is short and bloody and bleak. Best we do what we have decided now, before it becomes impossible. This way there can still be affection and dignity. A time and way of our own choosing .’ ”
“Oh, dear.”
He stopped and blew his nose loudly. Mildred wiped tears from her cheeks with her sleeve.
“This sort of thing must have been repeated thousands of times,” J.B. said. “Perhaps millions. Once they realized there was no hope at all”
Doc tucked away his kerchief and sipped his coffee. “There is just a little more.”
” ‘ As soon as I finish writing this, we will go upstairs and take the drugs, perhaps washing them down with our last bottle of good brandy. No point in leaving it behind. It is a pity, but I do not think that I can write any more. God bless America and God bless you all. Try to understand and to forgive. May those who come after remember us in their prayers .’ ”
“And then they’ve both signed it.”
“And they went up to the bedroom and drank the brandy and took the pills. Lay down together and held hands and slipped gently away from the horror that life had become.” Krysty shook her head. “Best way out.”
Mildred sighed. “Brave and intelligent. If they’d waited another day or so”
Doc stood and moved to the fire, crumpling the letter and the envelope and throwing both onto the flames, where they were consumed in seconds.
MILDRED PICKED OUT some food she thought was safe, mainly in freeze-dried or package form. A number of the cans had blown and split, but some of them still held firm and smelled all right when opened.
So supper was a mixture of several kinds of soup with some added beans and canned carrots. And some reconstituted potato that tasted passingly edible when mixed with powdered milk and water, and well-spiced with salt and pepper.
Afterward they all sat around drinking more of the exquisite coffee. “Forgotten just how good it used to taste,” Mildred said. “In fact I’m sure it never used to taste quite this good in my previous life.”
“Everything’s relative.” Krysty added a little sugar to the dark brown brew, savoring the flavor. “Compared to most coffee subs, even mule piss is better.”
Conversation faltered, everyone touched by the tragedy of the owners of the house, and they agreed to retire early and make a good start after dawn.