homemade dessert. She even tried stripping down to join him in the shower once. But like her other more aggressive advances, he quickly took off to avoid the situation.
Jessica and Mike had grown to enjoy a more deep relationship. They didn't talk a lot, but every time they did talk, there was substance to it. Whether talking about the needed projects around their houses, or just unloading about something that was bothering them, almost everything said had a purpose.
Chapter 2
The Crash
On the morning of May 23rd, Stacy, Taylor, and Brad were making a trip into town. It's a three hour drive each way, and they had a lot of clothes to stock up on for everyone. Jessica and Mike stayed behind to plant an acre worth of three-sisters crops, consisting of corn, and different varieties of beans, squash and pumpkins.
When they first pulled up to Walmart, they noticed the parking lot was unusually empty. There were maybe a dozen other cars. And when they got inside, it was impossible not to notice that the entire grocery section was wiped clean, with nothing left on the shelves.
“What's going on?” Taylor asked the old man working as a greeter.
“ Do you live under a rock?” he answered. “The entire economy is tanking, and it's going to be a lot worse than 2008 was.”
Taylor was only twelve during the 2008 crash, eight years ago, and didn't remember much of anything about it. And it was two years after then that they had moved to the mountains. But Stacy knew exactly how ugly 2008 had been. She couldn't forget watching the housing market, and her clients, being crushed financially.
“ How much worse?” Stacy asked curiously.
“ All the banks have been shut down as of today,” he said. “For the last week they had to limit withdrawals. We're only accepting cash, and so few people have any that prices are down at least 75% on everything. They shut down the stock markets yesterday after it dropped by more than half two days in a row.”
“ Holy shit!” she exclaimed.
As she grabbed a cart, Stacy hesitated. She thought hard about what she'd just heard. “This is bad. Really bad. Great that we've got cash and everything is cheap, but this is going to get ugly. Let's hurry so we can get back and let Jess and Mike know what's going on.”
Everyone needed new socks and underwear, including Mike. His wardrobe was simple. Blue jeans and plain white t-shirts were all he ever wore. In the winter, the only change was from cowboy boots to snow boots, and a flannel over the t-shirt. The ladies had all grown to appreciate his stylistic laziness in their own lives too. They didn't care much about what they looked like because they were rarely out in society, other than their trips to the farmer's market. And even there they'd found that shorts and loose fitting tank tops were perfectly acceptable. In fact, it seemed to help draw in the male customers. And Brad never warmed up to the latest superhero trends, instead wanting to dress just like Mike did.
On the way out they stopped to watch the news on TV. A lot of it was financial gibberish that they didn't really understand. But two things stood out very clearly to Stacy. The first was that China & Russia were rumored to be planning to dump all their holdings of U.S. Treasuries, and stop accepting U.S. Dollars. She didn't understand the implications of it, but it sounded bad. The other thing, she knew full well what it meant. The president was debating an executive order for a federal emergency that would nationalize all banking in the United States. Now she couldn't get home fast enough to tell the others what was going on.
When they pulled up, Stacy expected to find Jessica and Mike out in the field planting. But instead they were soaking wet on Mike's front porch, sitting in the shade and savoring the breeze on a very hot day. They had finished the first half-acre, and decide to plant the other half later in the
Jessica and Mike had grown to enjoy a more deep relationship. They didn't talk a lot, but every time they did talk, there was substance to it. Whether talking about the needed projects around their houses, or just unloading about something that was bothering them, almost everything said had a purpose.
Chapter 2
The Crash
On the morning of May 23rd, Stacy, Taylor, and Brad were making a trip into town. It's a three hour drive each way, and they had a lot of clothes to stock up on for everyone. Jessica and Mike stayed behind to plant an acre worth of three-sisters crops, consisting of corn, and different varieties of beans, squash and pumpkins.
When they first pulled up to Walmart, they noticed the parking lot was unusually empty. There were maybe a dozen other cars. And when they got inside, it was impossible not to notice that the entire grocery section was wiped clean, with nothing left on the shelves.
“What's going on?” Taylor asked the old man working as a greeter.
“ Do you live under a rock?” he answered. “The entire economy is tanking, and it's going to be a lot worse than 2008 was.”
Taylor was only twelve during the 2008 crash, eight years ago, and didn't remember much of anything about it. And it was two years after then that they had moved to the mountains. But Stacy knew exactly how ugly 2008 had been. She couldn't forget watching the housing market, and her clients, being crushed financially.
“ How much worse?” Stacy asked curiously.
“ All the banks have been shut down as of today,” he said. “For the last week they had to limit withdrawals. We're only accepting cash, and so few people have any that prices are down at least 75% on everything. They shut down the stock markets yesterday after it dropped by more than half two days in a row.”
“ Holy shit!” she exclaimed.
As she grabbed a cart, Stacy hesitated. She thought hard about what she'd just heard. “This is bad. Really bad. Great that we've got cash and everything is cheap, but this is going to get ugly. Let's hurry so we can get back and let Jess and Mike know what's going on.”
Everyone needed new socks and underwear, including Mike. His wardrobe was simple. Blue jeans and plain white t-shirts were all he ever wore. In the winter, the only change was from cowboy boots to snow boots, and a flannel over the t-shirt. The ladies had all grown to appreciate his stylistic laziness in their own lives too. They didn't care much about what they looked like because they were rarely out in society, other than their trips to the farmer's market. And even there they'd found that shorts and loose fitting tank tops were perfectly acceptable. In fact, it seemed to help draw in the male customers. And Brad never warmed up to the latest superhero trends, instead wanting to dress just like Mike did.
On the way out they stopped to watch the news on TV. A lot of it was financial gibberish that they didn't really understand. But two things stood out very clearly to Stacy. The first was that China & Russia were rumored to be planning to dump all their holdings of U.S. Treasuries, and stop accepting U.S. Dollars. She didn't understand the implications of it, but it sounded bad. The other thing, she knew full well what it meant. The president was debating an executive order for a federal emergency that would nationalize all banking in the United States. Now she couldn't get home fast enough to tell the others what was going on.
When they pulled up, Stacy expected to find Jessica and Mike out in the field planting. But instead they were soaking wet on Mike's front porch, sitting in the shade and savoring the breeze on a very hot day. They had finished the first half-acre, and decide to plant the other half later in the
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