Pauline got behind the wheel of the Ford Taurus and started the engine. A quick check of the gas tank showed that the car had three quarters of a tank of gas. That would be plenty for the task that they were starting out on.
They hadn't driven too far until they came upon a very large car dealership. The dealership sold several different makes in a huge complex. Each make of car had its own building and maintenance shop. There were many used cars in front of the dealership but Pauline was looking for new vehicles.
The women gravitated toward the GMC section of the dealership. Pauline had suggested that dealership to the other women because she knew that GMC sold everything from pickups to over-the-road vehicles.
After a quick check of the new pickup truck inventory they decided on two fully equipped, top of the line pickups. The trucks were four-wheel drive and had a club cab and each truck had a factory, color-matched fiberglass cap on it. The club cab would be better if more than three people wanted to ride in the trucks and the cap would protect anything they wanted to carry in the truck. The cap could be easily removed if an open truck was needed.
Pauline turned to Ruth, "Let's go look for an SUV. You can drive it back to the motel if you want unless you'd feel more comfortable in the pickup."
Ruth shrugged, "It doesn't matter to me."
The two of them went into the showroom. Their eyes fell on a Cadillac Escalade that was sitting at the door as you walked into the showroom. The doors were unlocked and Pauline opened the driver's door and looked inside. The car had every option available and the interior was all leather. Pauline noticed that there was a sticker on the dashboard that said diesel fuel only.
"How about this one?" Pauline asked Ruth with a smile on her face.
"Yes!" Ruth said emphatically.
They went to find the keys for the vehicles. Pauline wrote down the stock numbers of the pickups on a slip of paper that she found on one of the sales desks and Ruth went out to the showroom and got the Escalade stock number. After searching several offices they found where the keys were kept.
Pauline held the keys to the Escalade out to Ruth, "Do you want to drive this one?"
Ruth grinned and took the keys. "I was hoping that you'd let me drive that one."
Pauline put her hand on Ruth's arm, "Ruth, we have to talk. That little outburst back at the motel was uncalled for. We have to be very careful that we don't upset the others. I see that the other girls seem to look to you as the de facto leader and if you start to cause trouble someone could get seriously hurt or someone could die. We still aren't sure what has happened and we don't know if anyone other than us is left in the world ... If we are the only ones left on the world, survival is going to take a lot of work and cooperation from all of us. This is going to be a very different world from the one that we knew and we all have to work together or some of us are going to die."
Ruth pulled her arm away from Pauline, "Well I don't think its fair. I can see that you and Pat have become an item and it's not fair. If Pat is the only man left on earth what about the rest of us; are we supposed to live like nuns?"
Ruth's answer took Pauline by surprise, "You're right, Pat and I have become an item as you put it. If Pat is the only man on earth he is going to have the job of ensuring the human race survives but he just can't start inseminating every one of the women. We have to think of the safety of the children that are born to us. If Pat were the sire of all of the children born from now on the gene pool would be so small that the quality of the human race would deteriorate until the human race passed out of existence. We just can't start breeding new children without some thought as to how we are going to ensure the quality of our children."
Ruth thought for a moment and then asked, "How are we going to make sure that the gene pool increases?"
"We've already talked a little about this. Fertility clinics have frozen sperm stored for future use. When the women decide that they want to have children we could inseminate the women from the frozen sperm from the fertility clinics. They keep a very detailed record of the donor's characteristics so we can ensure that we make the best match possible. I know this sounds a bit clinical and not very romantic but we have to think of the future of the human race. It's up to us to do whatever it takes for humans to survive."
Ruth folded her arms across her chest, "What about our other needs? There's more to sex than making babies."
"Ruth, this is a new world. Pat is not the type of man that would ever force himself on a woman. Conversely, I will never allow a woman or women to force herself on him. If something happens that both of them agree to willingly, then so be it. It has to be consensual. I will never allow Pat to become a toy for the women in our group."
Ruth looked at Pauline with amazement, "You'll let Pat have sex with other women?"
"As I said, this is a brand new world. I don't like it, in fact I hate it very much, but we have to do whatever it takes to survive. As I said, if and when he does have sex with another woman it will be consensual. Now, have I made myself clear? We have to be very careful not to cause contention in our group."
Ruth lowered her eyes, "I'm sorry for that outburst. I guess I was wrong."
"Look Ruth, as I said, the other girls look up to you as a leader. You have to watch every word you say so that you don't cause anyone to get hurt. One slip of the tongue could cause huge problems. If we are the only ones left the loss of only one person will have a tremendous effect on our survival. If any of us cause Pat to be harmed that is the end of the human race. He's the one that has helped us come as far as we have. He has the scientific knowledge to allow us to thrive. Like it or not, Pat is the most important person left in our group. I see that I don't have to remind you that he is the only man left apparently."
"What if someone in our group just can't get along or constantly causes trouble?" Ruth asked.
"We'll just have to drop them off somewhere far enough away that they won't be a problem to us anymore. It sounds cruel but we can't allow anyone to destroy the group."
Ruth shuddered, "That would be a death sentence."
"It would be but it would be better than having the whole group harmed."
Ruth hesitated before continuing, "The only thing I ask is that we all be included in any discussions. We are in this group too."
"I agree. The only reason that we haven't included you girls in some of the discussions so far is because we felt that we were still the adults that had responsibility for all of you. We were trying to be your substitute parents. It appears that you are right; we are going to have to consider you girls to be full members of this group and, as such, any and all discussions will have to include you."
Sarah walked in the showroom, "We'd better get going. I'm sure that all of the vehicles are going to need to be filled up. I've never bought a new car that had a full tank of gas. They only put enough gas in it to get you out of the dealership."
Pauline smiled, "Just remember that each of these trucks take diesel fuel. If you put gas in them you'll cause huge problems."
Sarah started walking toward the offices, "I have to find the restrooms. I should start carrying a bottle. It seems that I have to go every ten minutes. At least the morning sickness has stopped."
Pauline smiled at Ruth, "You see? Being pregnant isn't all fun and games. Its serious and not something to be taken lightly. Now, let's get this Escalade off of the showroom floor."
Sarah came back into the showroom just as Ruth was pulling the Escalade out of the showroom. It had taken several minutes to maneuver the large SUV off of the showroom floor. As with most dealerships, the showroom had huge doors to allow cars and trucks to be pulled onto the showroom floor. The cars that were on the showroom were usually cars and trucks that people wished for but seldom bought. Most showrooms had a convertible prominently displayed where it would be seen as soon as the customer walked into the showroom. A family man rarely bought the convertible but he would dream about driving the convertible down the street in full view of his neighbors and then he would buy the mini-van that he needed for the family.
After Pauline made sure that the doors to the dealership were closed the women made their way to the nearest gas station that still had power and that sold diesel fuel. After topping off the tanks of all of the vehicles they headed back to the motel.
Ruth took the lead with the Escalade and Pauline and Sarah had trouble keeping up with her and still avoiding all of the cars that had become abandoned when its occupants had vanished.