Errant Thoughts Story, Part 8

"Drat!" said Susan as her bra strap tore. Grumbling, she dug around on the dresser until she found a safety pin. Dressed, she sat on the bed with her eyes closed and concentrated on her breathing; every little crisis had her in tears lately. When she was certain her emotions were under control, she headed down to meet Mrs. Perkins; this was the morning they walked to the library together.  Susan had expected that tensions would ease with the warmer weather, but it seemed to be having the opposite effect. Even though they were obviously just carrying books, they had learned to be careful. Rarely did they make the trip without being accosted by someone; usually a beggar, but sometimes worse.

As they walked, Susan spoke of her thoughts, "Have you noticed the different reactions when we tell someone we don't have any money? Like that older man who just said 'bless you' and walked off. I bet that young woman up ahead doesn't respond politely."

Mrs. Perkins eyed the person under discussion and coughed discretely, "I won't take that wager. We've met this one before."

Susan sighed. They were in for a few unpleasant minutes of foul language at high volume.

After passing out of range, they exchanged glances. "You know, it's not just her; there's a lot more anger in general and it seems to be growing faster."

Meanwhile, Dave was working under Hank's direction. Today he was on a ladder scraping the peeling paint off a window frame. Hank liked to keep an eye on the teenager, but he kept being pulled away to deal with people looking for help from the church. Dave watched as another family approached. He couldn't hear what was said, but there was something strange about the children; they just stood listlessly behind their parents. When Hank returned, Dave climbed down, "Those kids, they weren't acting right."

Hank rubbed his rough hands over his eyes, "They were hungry. Past the stage where they whine and cry."

"Starving? You mean kids are starving here?" Dave couldn't believe his ears. This wasn't some third-world country.

"No, no. Not yet at least. Listen, kid, this is just the beginning; the people who were already living borderline and running out of money each month were asking for help last year. Now we start seeing the families who had a cushion between themselves and poverty; that's when it gets bad."

"What more can be done?"

Hank's head tilted to one side, "Know anything about gardening?"

Part 9