Grandma muttered “pigheaded” under her breath as she washed. The others hurried to clear out of the house.
“There’s no food here, Wayne. I’m not going to pass up the opportunity to trade for food because you’re insecure.”
“I’m not insecure. I’m disgusted. Unless you walked, you let one of them touch you. You leave again, and I won’t be able to ignore that. You leave, and we’re done.”
I could see in his eyes that he meant every word he was saying, and a sick feeling settled in my stomach. Anger, fear, and unimaginable hurt consumed me.
“Can you even hear yourself? You’re telling me to choose between you and food?”
“I guess I am. Or maybe I’m asking you to choose between me and living here. Let’s move to another house filled with people more able to carry their weight. There’d be no need to trade then.”
Grandma snorted.
“Do you have any idea how stupid you sound? How do you think Bram and Bobby return from those supply runs with food? The fey. That’s how. The big men touch every single item, packing it up and carrying it to the trucks, then unpacking it again when it gets here. Bram and Bobby are only there to point out what’s useful. Stop being a hypocrite. What Terri is doing is just as useful. Why do you always have to find ways to put her down?” Grandma turned on me. “Honey, even at the end of the world, you could do a lot better than this man.”
I blinked at the intensity in Grandma’s voice.
Wayne snorted. “Spoken like a true man-hater.”
Grandma threw the rag in the water and stalked off to her bedroom, leaving Wayne and me alone.
“You leave, then don’t bother coming back.”
I calmly put on my jacket and walked out the door.