When You Were Young

David sheathed his blade and bowed to Prudence. "I'm sorry," he said. He reached out to take her hand. "I think we've found our leader already."

"Me? But I can't," Prudence said.

"Her?" Helena said. "John, do something."

John put his knife away and then took Prudence's other hand. "I agree with David. I think Prudence should be in charge. Without her, we'd all still think we were children."

The crowd cheered, except for Helena, who gave a strangled cry and then stomped away with Phyllis on her heels. Prudence stood in the center of the square, unsure of what to do or say. Her entire life since the day with Reverend Crane in the forest had been spent in the shadows, avoiding responsibility. How could she lead them?

Wendell made his way through the crowd to stand at her side. "I don't think I can do this," she said.

"Of course you can and I'll be here to help." With his kiss, a wave of confidence ran through her. They had been through so much together already and survived, this couldn't be any worse. She imagined Rodney looking down on her at this moment, that grin she'd fallen in love with coming to his face.

"I'll do it," she said to another round of cheers.

She spent the rest of the day taking stock of their situation. They had enough food to last for a month with careful rationing. The crops remained in good order, promising a bountiful harvest in the fall. Only the housing situation presented a real challenge.

Now that the children had their memories back, the couples like John and Helena wanted to remain together instead of sleeping apart. This arrangement she knew would be awkward when everyone changed their clothes at night and in the morning. Arguments were bound to break out as well over who moved into which dormitory. Prudence sat alone in the church, praying for guidance in solving her first official dilemma. Samantha would know what to do, she thought. Not me.

Wendell slipped into the pew beside her. "I thought I'd find you here. Things are turning ugly outside. If we don't do something pretty soon we'll have a civil war," he said.

"I'm no good at this," she said. "What do I know about leading people and solving problems? I've never been anything but a housewife and seamstress." With these words the solution appeared before her.

By nightfall she and Wendell had worked out a way to subdivide the dormitories into living spaces for the married couples. They used bed sheets, tablecloths, and bits of fabric sewn together to fashion makeshift walls. As for assigning the couples to a dormitory, Prudence numbered each living space and then drew lots. Helena still complained about her having to sleep in the smelly boy's dormitory, but otherwise everyone went along with the plan.