The Power Outage
Rick looked into Jill’s eyes. “Once we leave, there’s no turning back.”
“Uh huh. Meaning what again?”
“We’re off to the wilderness and we’re dependent only on what we can carry with us.”
Jill sounded skeptical. “You mean the wilderness out in our back yard?”
“Right, ’til tomorrow. The contractors promised. They need the power off for twenty-four hours to finish.”
“And except for bathroom breaks.”
“Of course. We’re not barbarians. Plumbing, yes. Electricity, no… Let’s do a quick inventory and get a move on. The kids are packed?”
They weren’t. Jill attended to Marie while Rick rousted Tim.
Moving a family of four to a tent for one day, though simple in theory became a surprisingly daunting task. Camping for a week would be no less difficult for the effort expended. Rick already had the tent and sleep gear ‘on site’. He planned to BBQ this evening. He’d filled the ice chest with drinks and a second one with food. A third held only ice. They had snacks, flashlights, batteries, spare clothing and blankets… Everything he could think of.
Video games, despite their obvious value for distracting young children, were verboten. This would be a family outing, damn it.
