Free 299 Days VIII: The War by Glen Tate Page B

have.
    Needless to say, there was no “performance” bonus this year from the auto parts store.
     Hell, there was no job at the auto parts store after the Collapse in May. So there
     would be no food processors or gun safes. Of course, there were no trucks making deliveries
     to Forks, so there weren’t any gifts coming in even if people had money.
    The total absence of big gifts this year was really different. Steve, who prided himself
     on self-reliance and not needing “stuff,” was surprised by how ingrained the “stuff”
     part of Christmas had become for him. He even looked at the calendar to make sure
     it was really December 25 because he couldn’t believe it was actually Christmas without
     all the usual holiday shopping.
    That being said, the gifts were better this year because they actually meant something
     for a change. He went to one of the many “garage sales” in Forks, where people bartered
     their things to each other, and got a nice rolling pin for his wife. It cost him 10
     rounds of .22. She had mentioned that she needed one to make pies.
    His wife made him a gift, a comforter cover sewn out of pieces of their old clothes.
     A scrap of shirt here, a scrap of a pair of shorts there. Each scrap had a memory
     to it. He remembered wearing a shirt or her wearing a dress that was now part of the
     comforter. Best of all, his wife told him that they could snuggle under the new comforter
     cover anytime the kids were asleep and, as she put it, “you might get lucky.”
    That was one thing that was way better for Steve these days – sex. Lots and lots of
     really great sex with his lovely wife. They had way more time now that they weren’t
     rushing around all the time. They spent most of the day together and that turned both
     of them on. On top of that, they both really needed each other now, and they appreciated
     each other. Not to mention that it was cold, and they needed to make the best out
     of some bad circumstances. Steve would take the comforter—and all that getting lucky—over
     a gun safe any day.
    The traditions of Christmas were back in the Briggs’ home and Forks, in general. One
     was the Briggs’ tradition of the kids opening a little present on Christmas Eve and
     putting milk and cookies out for Santa. There were only a few dairy cows in town.
     The owner made sure all the kids in town had a little bit of milk for Santa that year.
     Steve almost cried when he saw the kids putting the milk and cookies out. Some things
     were the same, even with all that was going on around them.
    Steve had hope for the future. Despite the Collapse, his kids could put out milk and
     cookies for Santa. And their kids would also be able to years later. There was continuity
     between the generations, even with all the massive changes and misery.
    The community made a big deal out of Christmas this year. It was a time for them to
     pull together. They’d been doing that all year long, but instead of pulling together
     to shoot some looters, now they got to pull together for something positive.
    The local churches started caroling. They’d never done that before, and it really
     was quite magical. When they came by the Briggs’ house, the whole family stopped doing
     what they were doing and just listened. They listened to the words of the carols and
     thought about their meaning. No one in the family said a word for half an hour after
     the carolers were gone.
    Christmas Eve services at the Forks churches were packed. Lots of people who hadn’t
     been to church in decades were back in the pews during the Collapse. In fact, most
     of the town was attending church, including the Briggs family.
    Steve had never felt closer to his family and his community than he did that first
     Collapse Christmas. Things seemed so much more real and were boiled down to what mattered,
     which wasn’t food processors.
    The gentlemen of Forks decided to start a new Christmas tradition. Steve and his friends
     snuck