Chapter 27: Adjustments
The people from the preserve
came by that morning and were terribly sorry about what had happened. They assured
the family that the damages would be covered, as it was their job to ensure the
safety of the surrounding homes when burns like this were conducted. Johnathan
said he understood. He had seen burns being set, and they usually burned low
and slow and were easily controlled with a little preliminary precaution. It
seemed that was where the managers had failed. A preliminary check would have
ensured that the fence between the preserve and the house was clear of all
flammable items. They also should have notified the family of the fire’s location
ahead of time. These things just simply had not been done.
Rose and David came by that
afternoon and extended an invitation for them to stay with them. She also said
she would take the kids off of Karen and David’s hands for a while while things
were worked out. This was a huge relief. Karen and Johnathan gladly accepted
and told Rhea and Bob that they would be moving over to the Shwartz’s,
explaining that the kids were used to being there. Also the Shwartz’s didn’t
mind the pets. Rhea said she understood and had a hard time hiding her relief. It
was a little farther to drive, but Rose was able to take them all in. They
thanked the Davis’s again profusely. They were extraordinarily thankful for
their kindness, especially since it had been so unexpected.
Karen went with the kids to
get anything they had at the Davis’s, and then took the van, the kids, and a
few of their smoke-soaked clothes and toys over to the Shwartz house. Rose and
David provided them all with a lunch, and Karen brought some back to the damaged
house for Johnathan. He had stayed behind to start packing and cleaning things.
That afternoon the landlord
arrived to see the destruction. The Park officials came as well, and there was
a long discussion about damages and reimbursement. Johnathan was extremely
happy to be cleared of all blame. The park officials agreed to pay for the repairs
to the house and any possessions that the Katz’s had that needed to be
replaced. Johnathan knew that the park could ill afford the cost. Budgets were
tight and getting tighter. Still, the error had been theirs. He was conflicted
about this turn of events, but was glad they were taking responsibility.
The following day the
insurance adjusters arrived, both the landlords and the Katz’s, and it looked
like it would all be paid for. However, the Katz’s now had to find a new place
to live and also to try to salvage their possessions. Also, where would the
chickens go?
They decided to see if they
could find a temporary apartment in town, and then move back to Raleigh just as
soon as they could locate a home that suited them. This would mean a bit of
travel back and forth and likely a storage unit until then. However, as the
week went on, it became apparent that most of the furniture was not worth the
cost and effort to clean up, and so the sofas and chairs, the beds and many of
the books were consigned to a dumpster. The kitchen table had been burnt and
was useless, but the dining room table, which had been a wedding gift to the
Katz’s, was mercifully saved. The clothes and linens were taken over to the Shwartz’s
and laundered, and later that week Johnathan was able to find a small furnished
apartment for them in town.
The town was just outside of
the golf zone. Pinehurst was nearby, and so there were a number of furnished
apartments available for well-to-do golfers who wanted to come to the sandhills
region for a while and get in a few games. Since the town was a little far away
for most of this clientele, however, the cost of renting wasn’t too bad. It
was, however, a tight fit for the family. They were used to sharing rooms, but
Sarah and Ellie now had to share the pullout couch in the living room, while
Jack, Emma, and Joe were in the second bedroom. In practice, however, Emma and
Joe usually ended up in bed with Karen, and Johnathan ended up on the spare
sofa in the living room with Ellie and Sarah.
Everyone in the living room
was awakened by the first person up in the morning, which was usually Emma. The
kitchen area was right next to the living room and there was no sleeping
through her banging and chattering. Sometimes she even came over and sat on one
or the other of them. Ellie was trying to decide what was more annoying, being
woken up by a hungry cat or a hungry toddler. The scary night of the fire and
all of the sudden changes in their living arrangements had also made Joe and
Emma a little more needy than usual. They seemed to want to be with mom, dad,
and Sarah at all times.
The place had a washer and
drier, even though they were small, and they were being run pretty continuously
to remove the smoky, sooty marks and smells from whatever could be laundered.
The place quickly filled up with boxes and piles of the possessions they could
salvage. Stacks of books and learning materials, and piles of bedding and
papers were everywhere. It was so bad Karen worried Emma would pull on
something and there would be an avalanche on top of her. Emma did, in fact do
this more than once, but fortunately it was a stack of papers one time and a
pile of blankets another.
Snitch and Yeller hated the
apartment more than any of the kids. Neither was used to such close quarters,
and it was necessary now to walk Snitch several times a day. This unfortunate
job usually fell to Jack. He was fine with it at first, because it gave him a
chance to get out and see what was around them, but he quickly realized that what
was around the apartment complex was not terribly interesting. There was a
semi-busy street, and a small park with a playground the next block over. The
apartment was fronted by a smallish lawn, parking spaces, and a picnic table.
Jack soon started trying to
talk Ellie in to doing the walking for him. Ellie didn’t mind the air either,
but got as bored with the scenery as Jack. Between the two of them, though,
they mostly kept Snitch comfortable. Snitch hated the leash and moped around
like he was being punished. Yeller tried unsuccessfully to get out of the house
every time the door was opened and they had to put a collar on her in case she
did manage to escape. Other times she disappeared into the mess and they couldn’t
find her.
They had stayed with Rose
and David for three days, and in that time had felt right at home. Rose, as
usual, said she missed her kids and loved the full house. If the inevitable
chaos bothered her at all, she didn’t show it. Even when Joey got into her
porcelain figurines, she didn’t get mad. He was actually very careful with them
and only almost dropped one of them. She tucked kids into all corners of the
small farmhouse to sleep and gave the cat and dog free rein. They had a cat of
their own, her name was Precious, and she was Rose and David’s daughter’s cat.
Precious wasn’t happy about the arrangement, but after hiding all of the first
day, she came out and made friends with Yeller and Snitch. Snitch had learned
his lesson and so didn’t bother her much.
To get their minds off the fire, while Karen and Johnathan
were out dealing with the mess and alternate arrangements, Rose had declared
one day “Berry Day” and took the kids out to the blueberry patch. They spent
the morning picking beautiful ripe blueberries. As many were eaten right off
the bushes as were put in the pans. It was long, hot work and the berries
seemed endless. It was fun nonetheless and it was an activity they all could
do.
After they had as much they
could carry, they tromped back to the house and got busy in the kitchen, making
blueberry jam and blueberry muffins. The smaller kids had fun drawing some
blueberries and Sarah made some hats out of blue construction paper that looked
like the top of a blueberry. They all wore these and named themselves the “blue
crew”. It was like a summer camp except better.
Another day, she got the
kids baking cookies and even let Emma and Joe help. Sarah and Jack made sure
the younger kids were taken care of. Emma and Joe didn’t like Mamma and Daddy
leaving at all, but they were ok for the few hours needed and they were busy
enough that they forgot to be upset. Sarah and Jack were good older siblings,
and Rose was savvy enough when to push an issue and when to let it go. Not many
people would have been comfortable taking on five kids at once, but Rose and
David knew these kids and it all worked out fine.
Before leaving their house,
Karen had told Rose in confidence that they would likely be heading back to
Raleigh soon to look for a house. It would take a few weeks to find a place,
but the thing she hated most was leaving Rose and David and all the wonderful
people they had met. It had been an eventful year, and one they all would never
forget.
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