Work Text:
Summer 2026
The dilapidated stripmall sits a little less than two miles off the main highway. Foliage entirely obscures the outer edges of the building, with some vines creeping inward to envelop the faded signs. Tess slows her horse and drops behind Tommy and Gloria to take in the ramshackle tableau. There is an uneasy familiarity about the place, like when she would go back to school in the evening for a performance and see the empty front office and dim hallways. Tess’ memories of places like these are dotted with families doing back-to-school shopping, groups of teenagers loitering outside the theater, and apathetic retail workers. Tommy notices that she’s fallen behind, and turns back to check on her.
“Creepy, ain’t it?”
“Yeah, like Dawn of the Dead.”
“Never saw it.”
“Of course, it doesn’t have Harrison Ford in it.”
Before Tommy can come up with a clever retort, Gloria chimes in. “Han Solo was my sexual awakening.” Tommy erupts into a coughing fit that has him losing his balance in his saddle. Gloria, a former US Navy nurse in her mid-sixties, frequently upends conversations with unexpected tidbits from her former life. Once Tommy recovers, he stares at Gloria in shock. She shrugs her shoulders. “Just saying, I’m on your side.”
They guide their horses to the back of the building, out of sight from the main road, but close enough to an exit if they need to make a quick getaway. Gloria stays with the horses, standing guard with a rifle. “Bring me back something good,” she tells Tess and Tommy with a wink. Tess throws the saddlebags over her arm and walks behind Tommy who leads the way around to the entrance of the large discount store at the end of the strip, his handgun aimed to neutralize any potential threats.
“Well, at least we don’t have to worry about a helicopter giving us away to a biker gang that’ll lead all the infected right to us,” Tess whispers as they walk in the front door. Tommy shoots her a confused look, and she dismisses him with a wave of her hand. She dumps the saddle bags into one of the remaining rusted shopping carts in the corral just inside the entrance. Tommy continues to cover Tess as she pushes the cart through the aisles of the store.
They pass through a completely bare clothing section, racks askew and hangers littering the floor. The decent size grocery section is all empty shelves and unrecognizable packages of decomposed food. It isn't a shock, places like this had been picked over by everyone wandering through, but the reminder of times on the road, before Jackson and all of its relative safety and luxuries, stirs up an uncomfortable sensation in Tess’ gut.
They get lucky in the tool and gardening section, stopping to let Tommy sort through which items were worth bringing back to Jackson while Tess browses the shelves and racks. She finds about a dozen unopened seed packets that the gardening crew might be able to salvage. The pharmacy section is much sparser, but they grab some sealed sterile dressings and medical tape that rolled out of sight under the shelves.
Tommy and Tess split up once they get to the far side of the store, satisfied they’re alone in the building. Tess peruses through the book section, adding a couple finds to her backpack. Just as she’s zipping it back up, she hears Tommy’s voice.
“Hey Tess, over here!”
She sprints in his direction, unholstering her pistol as she goes. It’s not until she turns the corner and sees him standing at the end of what used to be a toy aisle that she registers his tone. It reminds her of when he had strong-armed Joel, Ellie, and her into building forts and having a snowball fight their first winter, and Jackson, full of childlike glee. She lowers her gun, closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath, imagining the annoyed face Joel is going to make whenever he learns what ridiculous object Tommy has brought back with him.
She opens her eyes and walks toward Tommy, stepping over the torn-open boxes that litter the floor. One section of shelves has collapsed on one side, creating metal slides down to a jumbled pile of faded toys. Tommy is standing at the periphery of the chaos, one hand holding up a large jug with an indecipherable label and his other hand waving a package of brightly-colored, translucent bubble tubes, the plastic covering peeling away from the cardboard backing.
“Bubbles, Tommy? Seriously?”
“C’mon, Tess. The kids are gonna love them.”
The survivor mentality Tess has developed through trial and error over the last two decades argues that wasting bag space to bring back unnecessary items is unwise. The jug of bubble refill had to be at least five pounds, not an insignificant load to add to their cargo. However, the new Tess that had emerged over the last two years, the one who had been learning to settle and work in a community and have a family, reasoned that the kids of Jackson deserved to experience the simple joy of bubbles, a staple summer experience from before the Outbreak.
“We’ve got plenty of room in the saddle bags, and if we load them right, the weight distribution should be fine.” Tommy makes his case like a kid trying to stay up past his bedtime for ten more minutes.
“Tommy, despite what your behavior might indicate, you are a full grown adult.” Tommy grins victoriously. Tess scoffs and shakes her head. “Besides, it’ll be Maria that you have to make your case to.”
She takes joy in Tommy’s eyes widening slightly before switching back to firm resolve. He pulls another package of bubble wands off the shelf and adds his haul to the remaining empty saddle bag. He tosses it into the rusted shopping cart next to the other two.
“You find anything else?”
“A couple books for the library. They’re in my pack.” Tess moves behind the cart to push it toward the entrance. As they start walking, Tess notices Tommy casting glances at her, a nervous expression on his face.
“What?” she demands after a dozen or so repetitions.
“Nothin’.”
“Try again, Tommy.”
Tommy sucks in a breath through his teeth. “Just wonderin’ if you talked to Ellie recently?”
Tess scoffs at Tommy’s attempt at subtlety. “You mean since you, Joel, and her came back from patrol?”
“Yeah, it’s just Joel didn’t tell me what they fought about, and I thought–”
“You thought he came home and spilled his guts to me?”
“Don't y'all share a bed? Figured there ain’t too many secrets between you two anymore.”
Tess laughs, turning to Tommy and reaching out to pat him on the shoulder, “Are you feeling nostalgic about all those nights in your race car bunk beds? Whispering your secrets from the top bunk?”
Tommy swats her hand away and grumbles, “Fuckin’ Joel.”
“No, Tommy. I haven’t talked to Ellie. I’m getting the same cold shoulder as Joel. And Joel hasn’t told me what happened.”
Tommy nods, and before he can ask another question, Tess speeds up. “Let’s not leave Gloria much longer. We want to get back to Jackson before dinner.”
They find the back door, and Tommy pounds on it twice, followed by three sharp raps with his knuckles to let Gloria know they’re coming out.
“What did you find?” Gloria asks them when she spots the filled saddlebags.
Tess jerks her thumb in Tommy’s direction. “Peter Pan over here got himself some bubbles.”
“Peter Pan?” Tommy pauses, tightening the saddlebags on Justified, to look at Tess, confused.
“The boy that never grew up,” she explains.
Gloria barks out a laugh, and Tommy shoots Tess an irritated look.
“Y’all just don’t remember what it’s like to have joy in your lives.” Tommy finishes securing the other two saddlebags.
“I’ve got plenty of joy in my life,” Tess retorts as she mounts her horse. “And it’s waiting for me in the form of a hot meal and a clean bed after a three-hour ride back to Jackson. Can we go now?”
Tommy squeezes Justified’s sides with his legs and clicks his tongue, urging him to start walking. Tess and Gloria follow suit, and they make their way back to the highway.
“So we’re taking back three bags worth of bubbles to Jackson?” Gloria asks.
Tommy opens his mouth, brows lowered and shaking his head, but Tess cuts him off, “We found some tools, seeds, and first aid supplies too, so not a completely wasted stop.”
They relax once they get back on the highway that will lead them back up towards Jackson, chatting about the summer festival this weekend. Gloria is a homebody, living on her own in one of the smaller houses of Jackson. Her medical skills and military background mean she splits her time between patrol and the Jackson clinic, preferring to spend her downtime not having to worry about the demands of others. Unfortunately for Gloria, a well-meaning Tommy has made it his personal mission to get her to come to the event.
“It’s a lotta fun,” Tommy insists. “And I’m sure you’d be able to drink everyone under the table.”
“My binge drinking and table top dancing days are far behind me, Tommy boy.”
“You can’t fool me, Gloria,” Tommy teases, “I may have missed out on the last poker night, but Eugene told me you gave everyone a run for their money.”
Gloria’s response is preempted by a rustling noise from the trees just off the highway. All three draw their guns and aim them towards the treeline. Tess with her pistol and Gloria and Tommy with their rifles. The rustling crescendos in volume, and Gloria and Tess adjust their positions to form a loose triangle behind Tommy. After a few tense moments, two infected emerge from the treeline. Tess can tell they've been bitten a while from the way the fungus has split the top of their skulls. Clickers, she's heard people call them, because of the noises they make. Tommy gets two headshots off before Gloria and Tess can pull their triggers.
“Gotta have all the fun yourself, huh?” Tess asks as she lets her arm relax.
Tommy and Gloria’s rifles are still braced against their shoulders. “There might still be more comin’,” Tommy answers. "The noise of the gunshots should bring 'em out."
Tess can imagine his normally mirthful eyes narrowed in focus, assessing the threat. After so much time in Jackson, watching Tommy be an adoring husband to Maria, raise his son, joke with Ellie across the dinner table, work construction jobs with Joel, she could forget that Tommy was a soldier. With fewer opportunities to witness his ruthless competence, she had started to replace the Tommy she had met on the road to Boston with settled Jackson Tommy. It would be easy enough in this moment to brush him off as paranoid, but she’d witnessed Tommy’s hypervigilance save multiple lives and heard stories of many more. So Tess raises her gun again, waiting for an all clear from Tommy. After a full minute, with no further signs of infected, Tommy and Gloria lower their rifles and swing them across their backs. Tess holsters her gun. The trio start moving toward Jackson again.
The rest of the trek back passes peacefully with Tommy persevering in his attempts to get Gloria to show up at the summer festival. Once they’re within sight of the gate, Tess raises the white flag to notify the guards, and by the time they arrive at the gate, it’s already opening up for them to go through.
All three of them dismount from their horses and take the saddle bags off their horses, placing them in the wagon waiting next to the bottom of the guard tower. They hand off their horses to a couple of the stable hands. Before they can say their goodbyes, a high voice shouts from down the street.
“Daddy!”
Tommy turns toward the voice coming down main street and sees Benji running as fast as he can on his toddler legs, Maria following at a more sedate pace behind him. Tommy crouches down so that when Benji collides with him, Tommy can catch him in his arms and pick him up.
“There’s my little man!” Tommy holds Benji’s chin between his thumb and forefinger, tapping it a couple times with the pad of his thumb. He plants a quick kiss on his forehead before asking, “Were you good for Mama?”
“Yes!” Benji exclaims while shaking his head furiously. He had a habit of confusing nodding and shaking his head, which amused everyone in town to no end.
Tommy turns to Maria who had come to stand next to him. “Is that true, Mama?” He gives her a quick peck on the lips, which makes Benji giggle.
“Benji and I had a great day,” Maria confirms as Tommy pulls away, “but we missed you a lot.”
“I missed you both, too.” Tommy puts an arm around Maria’s shoulder and pulls her in for a family group hug.
Tess feels a bit like a voyeur on the sweet family moment. Technically, they’re her family too, at least by post-fungal apocalypse standards, but she can't help but fidget, shifting from one foot to the other, looking around to find a way out. Normally, Joel would be at the gate to meet her, but he's nowhere to be found. Given the recent mood between them, she doesn't expect to find Ellie lurking around either. She missed her window to walk to the dining hall with Gloria, and she’s been standing around too long to leave without saying anything to Maria. She takes a couple steps toward her as the hug is ending.
She smirks at Tommy, and turns to look at Maria. “You’ll never guess what Tommy insisted on bringing back with us.”
Maria’s head whips to her husband, hands coming up to her hips, fixing him with an expectant look. “Tommy, if I open those bags and find another Big Mouth Billy Bass, you’re gonna find yourself doing every animal processing task in Jackson until next summer.”
“Benji would love it though, wouldn't you, killer?” Tommy bounces him up and down, eliciting a giggle.
Maria raises an eyebrow.
“Don't worry. It ain’t nothin’ like that. I just found somethin’ for the kids to play with at the summer festival.” Tommy passes Benji to Maria and walks over to the wagon. He opens up his saddlebag and pulls out one of the packages of the bubble tubes, holding it up for Maria to see. Benji lets out an excited shout and starts kicking his legs. “Yeah, buddy. Looks like a lot of fun, huh?” Tommy flashes her a grin. Maria’s serious demeanor breaks, and she smiles back at him.
“He doesn’t even know what bubbles are, Tommy. He just likes the bright colors.”
Tommy sets the bubbles back down in the wagon. “But think about how much fun he’s gonna have when we pull those out at the festival.”
“I think you mean how much fun you’re going to have,” Tess interjects.
“Ain’t no shame in havin’ fun with my kid.”
Maria leans over and gives Tommy a peck on the cheek. “You did good, babe.” As Maria pulls away, Benji starts bouncing up and down and pursing his lips. She turns to look at him and asks, “What do you want, buddy?”
Benji stretches out his hands and shouts, “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!”
Tommy takes Benji back and laughs when Benji plants a wet kiss on his cheek. “Oh, you didn’t want mama to be the only one givin’ me kisses?” Benji giggles and kisses him again.
The dinner bell rings, and Maria moves toward the wagon.
“I can take the supplies over to the council building,” Tess offers to Maria. “I’ll meet you at the dining hall in a little bit.”
“Thanks, Tess.” Maria passes a key ring to Tess and claps her on the shoulder. “We’ll save you a seat.”
Tess nods and pockets the keys. Picking up the handle, she starts the short walk down main street. When she’s about halfway to the council building, she spots Joel turning the corner at the end of the street, his hands in his pockets and eyes fixed on the ground in front of him. She cups her free hand around the side of her mouth and shouts, “Texas!”
Joel’s head pops up, and he looks around until he spots Tess. He pulls one hand out of his pocket and waves, speeding up his pace to meet her at the entrance of the council building.
“Good haul?” he asks while Tess sorts through the keys to unlock the front door.
“Decent. We got a few more tools which should help your construction crews, and seeds that might sprout on a hope and a prayer. Then we had some extra space, so your brother decided to bring back some bubbles.”
Joel chuckles and shakes his head. He holds the door open for her as she pulls the wagon inside. “Could never let him wander to the toy section when we went shopping as a kid.” He leans against the wall, crossing his arms against his chest, while Tess unlocks the store room. Once she props the door open with the wagon, Joel stands up and starts unloading the wagon, placing the saddlebags on the table in the middle of the closet. Tess stands back and observes the evidence of Joel’s southern upbringing. Once he’s finished, Joel parks the wagon under the table and shuts the door behind him. He looks up at Tess and holds his hand out for the keys.
“What are you smilin’ at?” he asks.
“Nothing.” She hands him the keys. Joel looks at her skeptically. “I mean it. Nothing.”
“Fine, keep your secrets.” Joel locks the door and twirls the key ring around his index finger. He turns back to her. “You ready to get some dinner?”
She nods her head toward the door. “Lead the way.”
They walk back down main street side by side. There's a slight chill in the air as the sun disappears behind the Tetons. The forty degree temperature swings remind her of Michigan summers at her grandparents' cabin on Torch Lake. No one is left on the street, so the only sound is the muted dining hall chatter, increasing in volume as they walk closer.
“Did you talk to Ellie today?”
“Nope.”
“Are you ready to tell me what has you two giving each other the cold shoulder like a couple of middle school girls?”
“We ain’t that bad.”
Tess steps in Joel’s path and stops him with a hand on his chest. “You want to bullshit everyone else in this town? Fine. But you don’t bullshit me.”
“We just ain’t seein’ eye to eye. Nothin’ new.”
Tess pulls her hand back and nods. Salt Lake City.
The issue had never been fully buried, popping up every few months like a terrible whack-a-mole game. When Benji was born. Burning off her bite scars. The handful of times patrollers got bitten. Joel and Tess stood firm in their insistence that the Fireflies had no proof that what they were going to do would work, and definitely not enough to warrant Ellie’s life. Ellie resented them taking her choice away, rendering her immunity useless in her eyes.
“You two haven’t had a problem seeing eye to eye for a few months. It just popped up out of the blue?” Tess folds her arms across her chest. “Something happen on patrol you conveniently forgot to tell me?”
Joel looks down at the ground and rubs the back of his neck. “We found Adam and Sidney.” His voice comes out low and gravely.
“Adam and Sidney?” It takes a few moments for the puzzle pieces to come together in Tess’ mind. The couple that had lived across town on Alpine. They reminded Tess of some of her college classmates who signed up for the Peace Corps. Their eventual departure from Jackson had seemed inevitable, but she hadn’t expected them to run away in the middle of the night.
Joel looks off into the distance. “They’d been bitten. Adam had managed to mercy kill Sidney, but couldn’t follow through for himself.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
“She’ll come around. She just needs some space.”
Joel meets Tess’ eyeline and scoffs before resuming their walk to the dining hall. It takes Tess a few seconds to start walking again, jogging to catch up to Joel.
“What the hell was that?”
“Nothin’. We need to get to the dinin’ hall if we wanna eat dinner tonight.”
“Fuck dinner. Why did you just brush me off?” Joel ignores her and keeps walking. “Joel!”
Joel turns on his heel to step in front of Tess, jabbing his pointer finger toward her chest. “You were the one who told her to move into the shed. She needed us, and you pushed her out the door. She’s got all the space she wants now, and all it’s doin’ is pushin’ her further and further away from us.”
Joel takes a step back and lowers his arm. He’d been her muscle for a reason back in Boston. Tess wasn’t a fan of being on the receiving end of it, but it didn’t mean she was going to back down.
“I think you well know that if anyone else tried pointing their finger in my face like that, they’d end up with it broken.” Tess takes a couple steps forward and pats Joel on the chest. “But you know what, cowboy? You can go ahead and eat dinner on your own tonight. I’ve lost my appetite.” Tess spins around and walks in the direction of their house. She spent six hours on horseback today. This bullshit could wait until she’s had a full night’s sleep.
“Tess!”
She flips him off, not lowering her hand until she’s certain there aren’t any footsteps following behind her.
Tess hands hang down by her sides, her fists rhythmically clenching and unclenching in an attempt to diminish her simmering rage. If she had stayed with Joel, she could have shouted it out. Reminding him of the choices he made that got them where they are now. However, as cathartic as it might have been, she wasn’t interested in airing their dirty laundry for the Jackson rumor mill to chew up and spit back out. Her absence from dinner will likely be enough fodder for Janice and her knitting crew. Tess' body slips into autopilot, steering her back to the house. Their conversation replays on a loop in her mind until she’s turning down their street. When she makes it to the front porch, her stomach rumbles, reminding her that her main sustenance for the day had come from trail mix and jerky. With her and Joel on back to back trips outside of the wall this week, they hadn’t stocked the house either. The only thing worse than feeding the rumor mill by skipping dinner would be showing up with her tail tucked between her legs. She opens the front door and takes her chances with whatever she might find in their kitchen.
Luckily, there are some huckleberries in the fridge that’ll ensure she doesn’t starve tonight. She rinses a couple handfuls in a bowl and sits down at their kitchen table. Picking them out one by one, she pops them in her mouth, savoring the tart juice that explodes into her mouth every time she bites into one. She’s made it about halfway through the bowl when she hears the front door open.
“Tess?” Based on his footsteps, Joel hasn’t even stepped all the way into the front hall, ready to turn back and go outside if Tess isn’t here.
“Kitchen,” she calls back.
Tess listens as he enters the rest of the way, shutting and locking the front door behind him. He sets something down, on the hutch she assumes, before she hears the two thunks of his boots being slipped off. His footsteps approach the kitchen, but Tess doesn’t look up until Joel breaks the silence.
“Brought you some dinner.” Tess looks up and sees him proffering a plate, covered in a kitchen towel. “It was chili with the cornbread that you like. There’s huckleberry pie for dessert, but it looks like you got a head start on that.”
Tess pushes the bowl of huckleberries to the side, and Joel takes the hint. He pulls the towel off the top to reveal a bowl of chili, two nearly perfect squares of cornbread, and a slice of pie with the filling starting to droop out of the sides. He grabs a spoon and fork from the kitchen drawer and sets them all down in front of Tess.
"Where's yours?"
"On the hutch in the hallway. Wasn't sure you'd want company."
"Stop looking like I just killed your puppy and go get your dinner."
Joel grabs his dinner and some silverware before taking a seat across from Tess. They eat in silence, the air between them rife with tension. Tess considers the olive branch of Joel bringing her dinner while she eats, rehearsing what she wants to say as she dips a corner of one of the cornbread slices in her chili. Once she's ready, she draws out the last few spoonfuls to let Joel sweat it out a little bit longer.
When she's ready to move on to dessert, she picks up her fork and lets it hover over the slice of pie, waving it back and forth in an indiscernible shape. “I didn’t tell Ellie to move into the shed. We,” Tess uses her utensil to point back and forth between her and Joel, “decided to offer it to her as an option.”
“I know.”
“We agreed that she needed some space. An opportunity to get a little more independence.”
“Mhmm.”
“We told her she could try it out and if she hated it, she could always move back in.”
Joel nods.
“So how exactly did I push Ellie out the door?” Tess cuts off a bite of pie with the side of her fork, spears it, and puts it in her mouth.
“You didn’t, Tess. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“So why did you?”
“Don’t know.”
He’s lying. He knows it. Tess knows it. Two years ago, Tess would have let it go. Her skin is plenty thick, and it’s not the first time Joel’s taken out his shit on her. But that was before they crossed the country with Ellie. Before they gunned down any Firefly that stood between them and her. Before a chasm cracked open between them and Ellie. And now that chasm widens each day, and both her and Joel’s approaches to fixing it have proven to be lacking.
Tess finishes the last bite of her pie and sets down her fork. She leans forward on the table, planting her elbows and leaning her chin on her clasped fingers.
“Why do you think Ellie is angry with us?”
“Because we wouldn’t let her die.”
“No, Joel, because we took away her chance to matter.”
“She doesn’t need to sacrifice herself to matter!” The dinnerware rattles from the force of Joel’s fist pounding the table.
Tess lowers her forearms to the table and sits up a little. She closes her eyes and inhales through her nose, blowing the breath out slowly through her mouth. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, right? Joel was never going to regret what he did at the hospital, and Ellie wasn’t going to forgive him unless he showed some remorse for the choice he made. Tess is guilty by association. She hadn’t found Joel in the hospital until he was halfway through his rampage, but she joined him without question. In the two years since, she’s wondered, nearly daily, if she would have made the same choice as him. She wondered if she would have had more success talking to Marlene or the Fireflies. Then she thought about Ellie’s laugh when she told the punchline of a pun, or her gentleness when she cradled Benji for the first time, and she knew any option that posed a risk to Ellie would not be an option she would consider.
“I agree with you, Joel, but–” she holds up a hand to stop him from cutting her off, “getting sucked into the same argument every couple of months isn’t going to help any of us. We gotta figure out some way to make peace.”
“I’ve tried talkin’ to her.”
“No, you’ve tried arguing with her. Insisting that you’re right and she’s too young to understand.”
“She is too young to understand.”
“So you’re happy for things to stay like this? Waiting for the day that Ellie has enough and stops talking to us altogether?”
“Now that ain’t what I said.”
“Ellie’s not a fourteen-year-old kid who has never been outside the QZ before. ‘What I say goes’ isn’t enough anymore.”
Joel closes his eyes and tips his head back. We should have gone back to Boston, he told her when they’d nearly lost the fight to the clicker in the museum. We should have found another way, he told her when they found the capital building full of dead Fireflies. We should have stayed at Bill and Frank’s, after they buried Henry and Sam. We should have stayed in Jackson, he told her by the fire in the cabin they holed up in after they escaped the resort. Every choice to keep going was one step closer to that hospital, to the choice Joel will never second-guess. He brings his head back up and opens his eyes to meet Tess’ gaze.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Listen to her.”
“That would require her actually talkin’ to me again.”
“We’ll figure something out.”
***
As it turns out, figuring something out was harder than it sounded. Between the regular work rotations and preparations for the summer festival, Tess barely saw Joel before they both crashed into bed at the end of the day, and she had only spotted Ellie once since their conversation. She was leaving the dining hall with a group of friends as Tess was headed in, eating a sandwich with all the grace of a starving chipmunk. Tess’ wave got a nod of acknowledgement, an improvement over the past few days of rejection, and a spark of hope had flickered in Tess’ chest.
“You ready to wrangle my little brother?”
Joel comes up behind Tess as she pulls on her shoes.
“I’m ready to watch him play Pied Piper to the children of Jackson.”
“Maybe keep him from using the bubbles to lure the kids out into the Tetons never to be seen again?”
Tess shudders. “Why are all those fairytales so creepy?”
“They were written by two German brothers, probably lookin’ for a way to get kids to behave.”
“Of course.” Tess stands up and looks at Joel. “Are you going to be able to survive socializing with the other grill masters for a couple of hours?”
“As long as Mike don’t try to tell me how to cook a steak.”
Joel opens the door and motions for Tess to walk through first. They don’t talk as they make their way to the center of town, saving up their social energy for the long evening ahead. As they get closer, the din of the residents finishing the final setup grows louder. When it comes time for them to separate, Tess squeezes Joel’s shoulder and leaves him with a wink and “Good luck, Texas.” He gives her a quick salute and heads toward the grill.
Benji’s excited chants of “Bubs! Bubs!” guide Tess to her post. Maria is standing behind Tommy who is seated on the bench of a picnic table with Benji on his lap. The bubble tubes are spread out on the table, grouped by color. Tommy is trying to distract Benji from grabbing the tubes with some of the animal figures Joel carved for him last Christmas, but nothing is a match for the brightly colored toys and the mysterious liquid inside. Maria leans down and kisses Benji and Tommy on the cheek.
“I’ll be over refereeing the group games if you need me.” Maria gives a knowing look to Tess.
“With Benji in charge, I can’t imagine we’ll have any problems.”
“You two are hilarious. Really should take your double act out on the road.”
“Mama? Bubs?” Benji looks at Maria, confused.
“You’re going to stay here and play bubbles with Daddy and Tess, Benji. Mama has another job to do.”
Benji turns to Tess. “Play bubs?”
“Yeah, buddy. I’m going to play with you.”
Seemingly satisfied with this answer Benji turns back to Maria, “Okay, Mama. Bye-bye!” He waves and giggles when Maria blows him a kiss before she walks away. Benji takes advantage of his dad being distracted by Maria walking away and swipes one of the tubes from the table, waving it back and forth in front of Tess.
“Hold on, little man. Let me have that.” Tommy gets a hand on the top of the tube, but Benji’s grip holds fast.
“You want to learn how to blow bubbles, Benji?” Tess holds out her hand toward him, palm up, and in a surprising feat of strength, Benji wrenches the tube out of Tommy’s grip and slaps it into Tess’ palm. “Thank you, buddy.”
Tess unscrews the star-topped wand from the top of the tube and pulls it out. She lines up the end of the wand with her mouth and blows a cascade of bubbles right into Benji’s face. He shrieks with laughter and claps his hands around the bubbles as he tries to catch them. Tess looks up from Benji’s delighted face to see Tommy completely enraptured in his son’s joy. It’s quieter than the adoration Tommy normally shows for Benji’s milestones. They had heard his shout from across the street when Benji took his first steps. But now, his eyes are soft, his lips curved up in a tender smile, similar to the look Joel gets when Benji does something that reminds him of Sarah.
“Again, peease!” Benji bounces in Tommy’s lap, stretching his arms as far as he can, clenching and opening his fingers.
Tess blows another swarm of bubbles at Benji. His high-pitched laughter draws a gaggle of young kids toward the picnic table from the field where they’re kicking a soccer ball around. They stop their approach about two yards away, casting glances and nudging each other with their elbows. Tess’ job rotations don’t put her in the path of the under sixteen population of Jackson. The kids are more accustomed to the demeanors of people like Ms. Joan and Mr. Oliver from school, some of the most patient people Tess has ever met in her life. Tess turns her body to face the group of kids and blows through the wand a few times to send a mass of bubbles their way. The group perks up, and one brave soul steps forward.
“Um, Mr. Benji’s Dad, can we play with the bubbles too?”
Tommy smiles and waves the kids over. “Everyone, come take a color. Just stay close to the picnic table.”
It’s a mad scramble for the dozen kids to each get their favorite color, but soon enough bubbles surround the picnic table, popping as they come into contact with anything in their way. Benji reaches out in every direction in his continued quest to capture a bubble in his hand. Tommy shifts him off his lap and helps him stand up on the bench. A couple of the girls gather around him, taking turns to blow bubbles in his face and cooing at his delighted reaction.
Tess hears a shout behind her and turns to investigate. She sees a pile of teenage boys on the ground shoving at each other, and a group of teenage girls, cheering and holding the tug-of-war rope up in victory. Ellie is in the midst of the group, smiling and laughing. They make brief eye contact with one another, and Tess gives her a short nod before turning her gaze toward the food prep area to check on Joel. He’s nodding along to something another griller is saying to him as he keeps an eye on the hamburgers and skewers on the grill.
When she turns her attention back to the kids at the picnic table, Benji has been let down onto the grass to toddle in the middle of a circle of his admirers, chasing the bubbles they’re blowing. Tess feels a tug on her sleeve and looks down to a little boy, one she’s pretty sure she’s seen running down their street with the couple from a few doors down, holding up an empty tube in one hand and the bubble wand in the other.
“Do you need some more bubbles?”
“Yes, please,” he answers with a nod. Tess can barely hear his voice above the din of the other kids. She gently takes the tube from him and grabs the refill jug from under the table. The boy watches intently as she fills the tube back up and takes it back with reverence. After a quiet “thank you,” he rejoins his friends.
“Still think it was stupid to bring the bubble stuff back with us?” Tommy tilts his head toward the expanding group of kids.
“I never said it was stupid. I may have implied you were being childish, but I never said it was stupid.”
“Whatever you say, Tess.” Tommy picks up one of the few remaining bubble tubes, opens it, and blows some bubbles in Tess’ face. Tess picks up her own tube, retaliates, and then continues. It quickly becomes a competition that Tess is definitely winning until they hear shouting coming from the kids they’re supposed to be supervising.
“I am not the bubble monster!”
“Yes, you are!”
Benji is standing between the two girls, shrieking at each other, and when he catches sight of Tommy coming toward him, he bursts into tears. Tommy scoops him up and runs a soothing hand up and down his back. Tess kneels down between the two girls and places a hand on each of their shoulders.
“Hold on girls, what’s going on?”
“Gemma pushed me!”
“Because Amber called me the bubble monster!” Gemma looks on the verge of tears.
Tess turns to Tommy, raising her eyebrows.
“Now Amber, I know your mama has taught you better than to be name callin’.”
“But Mr. Tommy, we were playing a game. And we needed a monster to blow bubbles around the princess so the prince could come save her!”
Tommy covers up his laugh with a cough, and Tess gives him a pointed look before gesturing toward the girls with her head.
“If Gemma don’t want to be the bubble monster, you’re gonna have to find someone else.” Tommy looks at the kids gathered around him. “Anyone want to be the monster?” One of the boy’s hands shoots up in the air immediately. “What’s your name bud?”
“Jason.”
“Great, problem solved.” Tommy motions to their volunteer. “Jason here is gonna be the monster.” Tess stands up to make room for Tommy to kneel in front of the girls. “Now, is there anything you want to say to each other?” The girls stare at the ground for a couple moments before looking up at each other.
“Sorry, Gemma.”
“Sorry, Amber.”
“Thank you, girls.” Tommy stands back up with Benji on his hip.
“And we’re sorry for making Benji cry,” Gemma blurts out, glancing remorsefully at the boy.
“That’s very sweet of you. He’s okay, aren’t you, bud?” He bounces Benji up and down a couple times, trying to get him to smile, but Benji just rubs his face back and forth against Tommy’s shoulder. “Silly boy.” Tommy laughs and shakes his head. “Go ahead and go play, girls.”
Gemma and Amber run back to the group and join the game of princess rescue. Tommy and Tess sit back down at the picnic table with Benji, still clinging to Tommy’s side.
“Still feeling good about your addition to the summer festival?”
“It would have happened no matter what they were playin’.” Tommy starts blowing bubbles again, and Benji perks up. “I think we’ve got a lurker.” Tommy uses his chin to signal to something behind Tess. She waits a few moments and then twists around. Ellie is standing with a group of her friends at the edge of the picnic area. Her friends are all talking, but Ellie’s focus is on the kids blowing bubbles.
She turns back to Tommy, and he looks at her expectantly.
“What?”
“You talk to her yet?”
“Haven’t had a chance.”
“You gonna make a chance?”
“Working on it.”
Tess picks up the bubble wand again and blows a few bubbles in Benji’ face. He perks up from where he’s resting against Tommy’s chest, eyes still puffy and red from his earlier outburst. She blows a couple more times before he reaches his hand out, trying to capture a bubble in his fist. She imagines Ellie at this age, curious and playful. Would she have been as desperate to find her purpose, sacrifice her life for it, if she’d been cherished the way Benji is?
“Seems to be goin’ real well,” Tommy interrupts her train of thought.
Tess looks back up at him. “Have you got some sage parenting wisdom you’d like to pass on?”
Tommy gestures to Benji, “My kid’s two. I ain’t got any experience with teenage attitude ‘cept my own.” Tess huffs out a short laugh. “But I do got some experience lookin’ for purpose in the wrong places and blamin’ everyone else for my troubles.”
“Are you okay here for a minute?” Tess asks Tommy.
Tommy nods and waves her away with his hand. Tess makes her way over to Ellie, who doesn’t notice her until she’s a few feet away.
“Had enough of the bubble gang?”
Tess stands next to Ellie, looking at the group in question, and nudges Ellie with her upper arm. “Just wondering if you might want to join them.”
“I’m not a fucking baby.”
“Didn’t realize there was an age limit to blowing bubbles.”
"Listen Ellie, you can keep giving Joel and I the cold shoulder and we can drift farther and farther apart until there may be no hope of coming back." Tess allows the silence to hang heavy between them, raising her eyebrows as an invitation for Ellie's response. Ellie's mouth flattens into a thin line. "Is that really what you want?"
Ellie folds her arms across her chest and turns her head away.
"If I didn't know any better, I would swear you and Joel are related, stubborn as all get out."
"I'm not like him," Ellie insists.
"Ellie, look at me."
She lets out a dramatic sigh before acquiescing.
"I want you to really think about why you're angry and why you think making a cure was your only purpose in life. If you can tell me that your life here isn't worth anything, that what you're doing here isn't meaningful, then I'll back off and I'll convince the old man to do the same. Because whether you like how it happened, we did what we did so you could have what you have now. And if that's not something you want, then we screwed up."
"You really think me having this is better than a cure? This," Ellie extends her arms to gesture to Jackson, "is worth giving up the only chance of getting back what you had before."
"Ellie," Tess can't keep the exasperation out of her voice.
"Don't do that!"
"Do what?"
"Talk to me like a little kid who doesn't understand anything."
Tess closes her eyes and inhales.
"I'm not trying to be condescending, but the reality is you don't know what before was like. I know it seems like a fairytale in comparison to what we have now but it had its own problems. Honestly, I'm not sure we can ever get it back, even if we were to get rid of every monster on the planet. Too much has changed. So no, I'm not willing to trade you for the smallest sliver of hope that a cure might happen."
"You didn't do it for me. You did it for yourselves."
"We did it because we love you."
Ellie's head snaps up, and her eyes meet Tess'. Those words had never been said out loud before by anyone in their trio. Joel and Tess had always been more apt at showing rather than telling, and they frequently forgot that, despite how close they'd grown in their time together, Ellie needed things said out loud. She was still a kid, and her specific life experience hadn't done her any favors when it came to relating to adults.
"You may not be the young girl that we met in Boston, but you aren't as grown up as you think, and the kind of love I'm talking about isn't one you have any idea about yet."
Tess looks back over to where Benji is toddling between Tommy's legs, arms extended, fingers excitedly grasping at the bubbles his dad is blowing down toward him. In her periphery, she can see Ellie follow her eyeline. Benji lets out a high-pitched squeal of delight when his finger pops a bubble. Tess' gut twists with a pang of grief, memories of a different toddler still unsteady on his feet, waddling through the backyard, mesmerized by the bubble machine in the middle of the grass.
Ellie's head jerks back to look at Tess, her lips parted and ready to protest. Tess raises an eyebrow at her, and Ellie's lips press back together in a line.
"Do you really want to keep standing here, arguing and going around in circles, or would you rather find ways to torture Tommy and maybe rile up Benji a little bit?"
The corner of Ellie's mouth twitches upward, and her arms fall to her sides. She pushes off the wall she's leaning against with her bent leg.
"I can't let Benji grow up lame from only hanging out with boring adults."
"Oh yes, how could he ever hope to be cool without knowing all about Danielle Moon and her space adventures?"
"You know it's Daniela Star, and she's way cooler than whoever that lady spy is that you're always reading about."
Tess unfolds her arms and feels her muscles slowly release the tension they'd been storing during her conversation with Ellie. It's a small victory, but many a war had been won on the compounding momentum of one small victory after another. She follows Ellie back over to the picnic table, watching as she scoops up the little boy, much to his delight.
"Ellie! Bubs!"
"Are you having fun with the bubbles?"
"Yeah!"
His answer is swallowed by laughter as Ellie pretends to eat him. Tommy watches the pair with fond amusement. Normally, Tess would take the opportunity to tease him about going soft in his old age, but the moment is too precious to spoil it.
"Tess must have put her negotiatin' skills to work for you to grace us with your presence. I thought bubbles were lame."
Ellie pauses her attack to roll her eyes and look at Tommy.
"I didn't say bubbles were lame. I said hanging out with you and playing bubbles is lame. But I'm not here to hang out with you. I'm here to hang out with Benji and make sure he doesn't inherit too much of your lameness."
Tommy walks to Ellie and Benji and stretches his arms out toward his son.
"You don't think your old man is lame, do you, Benji?"
"No, Dada! Ellie!"
Benji emphasizes his preference by curling his body into Ellie's chest.
"Betrayed by my own flesh and blood."
Ellie sways back and forth, a smug, satisfied grin on her face.
"Ellie! Bubs!"
"Tommy, your son wants more bubbles."
"You're the one he asked. Ain't my job no more."
"I can't hold him and blow bubbles."
"Sounds like a personal problem to me."
"I can make it your problem real quick."
Tommy puts his hands on his hips and fixes her with an incredulous stare. Tess watches the standoff with hesitant amusement, knowing they're walking a fine line when it comes to even the slightest confrontation with Ellie. Any anxiety Tess has disappears as she sees the exact moment Ellie's plan comes together, breaking her staring contest with Tommy and turning to Benji.
"Hey, Benji, want to sing a song?"
Tommy goes rigid.
"You wouldn't dare."
Ellie opens her mouth and takes a deep breath. For a moment that seems to stretch into an eternity, it's a game of chicken. If there was still money to be had, it's an easy bet that Tommy caves first, but he's making an admirable play at standing firm first. After a couple of seconds, Ellie begins to make good on her threat, and it takes less than a syllable to spring Tommy into action.
"Th-"
With a speed Tess didn't know Tommy still possessed, he grabs one of the remaining bubble tubes and whips out the wand.
"Bubs!" The new wave of bubbles pulls Benji's attention away from Ellie.
"Too easy."
Tess swipes another tube off the table and joins Tommy in entertaining Benji and Ellie. Their laughter floats through the air, and it ignites a flicker of hope in Tess' chest that better days are soon to come.