War and Peace

By

Jacquimac

Part six

The next week life went on as usual, we held a couple of meetings to find out what we needed to try and trade for and what we had to trade with, I was amazed at what was available it seems that during the winter everyone had been busy with whatever skill they had.

As promised a vehicle arrived around nine am to toke us to the Admin centre for the meeting, what we didn`t know that there was to be a miltary representative in attendance.

Ethel knew the other women at the meeting and introduced me to them, before the Military rep turned up. She didn`t tell the settlement leaders my real identity or that I was male.

The meeting was started and the captain who turned up introduced herself, Captain Julia Delgado was a tall woman and had been assigned as liason between the settlements and the Military.

The meeting was very productive for all the settlements with the military agreeing to provide what we couldn`t get anymore such as medical supplies, cloth, and some grains like corn, wheat and barley. We however had to provide services such as laundry, sewing etc which would be done in the settlements.

After Julia left the women looked at each other and asked why the military being so helpful I expalined that it was they`re attempts at trying to keep the peace so they didn`t have to waste troops putting guards in the settlements.

On our way out to our transport we were handed a folder each which contained contacts in the military and details how we could request what we needed. They also told us that a radio would be installed in each settlement and a medical team would visit the settlements on a weekly basis.

On our return to the settlement everyone wanted to know how we got on, we told them that there would be a meeting at seven pm were everything would be told.

I went to the hose I was using as a mini hospital just to check what supplies we had available and there wasn`t a lot. After which I returned home .

I had really got into my role playing and I don`t think any of the other women who attended the meeting suspected that I wasn`t what I appeared. Although the area come under one goverment each settlement was autonomous and only interacted with each other when the need arose.

Adrian was a real handful and it would be his third birthday in a few days time, as there were a couple of other children having their birthday that week it was decided that we held one party for for the all.

I still needed to find a present for him , alright I had made him some clothes but he needed toys as well, something that would challenge him but what?.

The next day as promised a radio was installed and a couple of the younger women were taught how to use it, I stayed away from it as with my knowledge of militart radios I would have given it away that I was in the Military.

Also delivered was a load of medical supplies and foodstuffs and everyone was kept busy potting it all into the place we used as a central store and the medical supplies into the makeshift hospital. Everyone was happy that we had a good supply of tea and coffee and fruit juice for the children.

It had been almost six months since I started living in the settlement and It was as if i had always lived there as one of women the way I was treated.

They were missing their husbands but their attidudes were almost victorian as regards marriage and i didn`t bother them at no time did sex enter the equation, survival and safety was the main concern and I for one knew how war could destroy lives and communities.

These women were lot different than I was used to, they` weren`t vain and pretentious like the majority of modern women, these women put their families ahead of everything else and worked hard when they needed to. This was their way of life and I had to fit in not the other way round.

They accepted me as an equal and no concessions were going to be made for me. as far as everyone was concerned I was a woman and the mothe r of two young children and was expected to act as such. They wouldn`t betray me, the only way I would be found out was if I stepped out of character.

They did make a few allowances and helped me when I needed it, I respected these women and knew they could be harshly punished if It was found out they were hiding me. I could be shot as a spy as I was no longer in uniform so I interacted with the military as little as possible.