Page 29
Chapter twenty-nine
Nora
When Nora woke up the next morning, Simon was gone. Her bare feet moved fast over the chipped floor tiles. Where did he go? She didn’t see him in the kitchen.
“Simon?” she yelled, right outside the front door. Nora’s eyes scanned the horizon. Not there. Silence and dust was all she could see. And the drone, in the distance. She closed the front door and swallowed heavily. Did he leave us? Was I wrong to trust him? Right after I opened up to him . . .
Her gut felt unsettled and a flash of fear ran through her. Now he was gone? No. He wouldn’t leave. Would he?
She gave Tilly a ration bar, her own stomach now ravenous after not eating for roughly two days. With the wrapper off, it sat there in front of her. She pushed it aside. Even with her hunger, her anxiety made the thought of eating turn her stomach.
Tilly asked softly, “Where’s Simon?”
Nora forced a smile for Tilly. “I don’t know, baby. Let’s just get everything done we can.” Maybe he is just walking or something.
Tilly joined her at the table, unhappy with the answer. “He can’t have just left, Mama.”
“I would hope not.” She brought Tilly some water in the Grand Canyon cup. “I’ll go check in the garage, okay?”
“Okay.”
They finished breakfast and walked out together, but it was with sad eyes that Nora looked into the garage and saw that the little hover Simon had been repairing was gone without a trace. She sighed heavily, leaning against the broken stucco siding. Maybe he is just testing that hover out. She closed the garage a second later, feeling like she wanted to cry. I thought . . .
Nora exhaled heavily. Just better to keep busy. Maybe he will show up. But it was with shaky hands that she filtered some water and filled the tub to give both Tilly and her a bath to wash away the remaining sickness.
Once they were clean, Nora sat back and scanned the horizon again. She huffed and looked away. Simon still hadn’t materialized. Her thoughts were heavy as Tilly chirped around her, back to full energy with questions that Nora didn’t know how to answer as she began washing all the laundry that had piled up from them being sick.
She wiped her brow, sitting with her hands in the washtub, still scanning the horizon. She had washed most of the sheets and towels outside when Tilly yelled, having gone around to check on the chickens and was now running back, “I see him, Mama!’
Nora rushed to stand so fast she felt lightheaded. She hurriedly dried her hands, puckered from the water, on her shirt as she walked around the house. Relief flooded her system when she saw Simon in the little hover. He parked it in the garage while both Tilly and Nora walked over to watch him get out. Oh, thank goodness he came back. She swallowed audibly, hanging back a bit as she got control over her emotions.
Tilly didn’t share her hesitancy, running right up to him and yelling, “Simon!”
“Good morning, Tilly. Feeling better?” Simon said, his arms laden with bags as he climbed out of the hover.
“Yeah! What is that?”
He handed Tilly a bag. “You’ll see. Help me take one inside?”
Tilly nodded and took off, carrying a bag that was as big as her torso in both arms.
Nora composed herself and came close, looking in at the bag to see it contained dried meat and other goods. “Where were you? Where did you get this from?” She winced. I shouldn’t press him that hard.
“Let’s go inside and I’ll show you.” Simon started walking back to the house. Nora fell into step next to him. His actions were brisk, but his tone was measured. “I went into town while you slept. I was hoping to be back before you woke up; my apologies. I thought you would have slept later but all the rest yesterday must have made you wake up early today.”
“Oh. The town?”
Simon nodded. “You need to eat, Nora. Real food. You are not healthy. Especially after being sick.”
Nora shifted her feet and mumbled, “Could have left a note or something.”
Simon paused on the path. “You worried. I’m sorry.” He turned and looked at her in the eyes, the focus making her take a step back. “I will leave a note next time. I have never had someone waiting for my presence before and miscalculated. I will always come back.”
Nora swallowed, suddenly emotional. “Okay.”
He will always come back. Nora flushed from his words and the intensity in his gaze. Simon resumed walking and Nora followed. He pushed open the door for her while holding the bags and waited until she went inside before entering himself. Nora just watched as he unloaded his parcels, her eyes snagging on the food now filling the chipped counters. That’s a lot.
Tilly was head deep in the brown sack she brought in, lifting every item out one by one and lining them up on the counter like she did with the doorknobs a few weeks ago for Max.
Nora wrung her hands, overwhelmed by both the food and with the relief of Simon being back. “Did Max or anyone . . .”
“No, Nora. I didn’t visit Max. And I wasn’t followed either.”
Her voice was strained. “How did you get the money? We could have . . .”
He finished putting down his bags and started to open them while talking, lining up the contents next to Tilly’s. “I used some coins I found in a jar from the garage.”
Those coins? Nora’s voice rang through the kitchen, high and panicked. “Simon! That was all my emergency money! Wish you talked with me about it!”
Simon’s hands stilled, hovering over the bag he was unpacking. Then he came over, close to Nora, looking deep in her eyes. “I did not know, Nora. The coins were pushed aside, as if forgotten, with how deep in the debris in the garage they were buried. I thought they were unaccounted for. You usually keep all the money in the little drawer by your bed. If I knew they meant something I would have asked.” He hesitated and then said again, “Even so. It was a calculated move. All the extra scrap we have gotten will replace what I spent quickly given the rate Max gave you last time.”
Nora rubbed her face. “You do realize Max is giving us a raw deal now?”
“Even with that, we can scavenge more. Logically, things for us have changed a bit.”
Nora huffed, irritated. Look at all that stuff he bought. Kept that money in the garage in case I needed to get out fast, not to just spend it. Although a part of her was also touched that this is where he went with his freedom, to go find food for them. Not to run away.
Her stomach rumbled despite her frustration, betraying her hunger as Simon and Tilly kept unpacking. Simon then began to cook, and she noticed that he was much more practiced than she ever would be as he worked her worn skillet over the burner, making pancakes. She had made them before herself when she worked in the town, but with nothing like the practiced movements Simon used now. She was even more conflicted when she saw how much batter he had made; more than she had seen in years. Crossing her arms, she tried to keep her ire up, but failed.
Real food. It didn’t feel right. None of this feels right. Nora shifted on her metal chair, her stomach rumbling. She didn’t know how to accept this much help. “Can I do the dishes at least?”
“No. You need to sit and eat,” Simon said simply as he placed the first pancake in front of Tilly.
Tilly’s eyes grew wide at all the food as she sat at the table next to Nora, her metal plate soon piled high with pancakes. Her blond curls were still slightly damp from the bath she took earlier, hanging wet on her back like a curtain.
Nora put her hand on Tilly’s shoulder as Simon continually filled her plate. “Slow down, Tilly. Your stomach needs to catch up.” It is really too much.
Nora sat, uncomfortable, as Simon didn’t stop cooking. She picked at the food before her hunger asserted itself and she ate more than she had in a long time.
He talked as he flipped the pancakes. “I couldn’t find the components of the brAT diet, but everything here should be fine as a substitute. You usually eat these with syrup or butter but plain for now is better.”
“brAT?” Nora's eyes narrowed.
“Banana, rice, applesauce, toast.”
“I don’t know what half of those are. Simon . . .” Nora stood as he put another pancake on her plate. “No more food please. Let me help with something at least.”
“If you insist. You should eat though.” He moved to the side, and she began drying the dishes that he washed before returning to her plate and eating some more.
Tilly didn’t seem to share in her hesitation, eating her fill and talking with her mouth full before she ran into the other room. “Simon cooks much better than you.”
Nora nodded, picking at her food. “Yeah. Well. He spends money better than I do too.” It was quiet for a minute as she finished every bite. “I’ll go take care of the chickens the rest of the way. Did other chores but not them before you got back.”
Simon shook his head as he cooked another pancake over the small gas burner and frying pan. “I already fed them before I went into town this morning.”
“Oh.” Nora’s insides swirled and her brow furrowed. She put down the fork and looked down to the floor. I did want the help.
Simon walked over to the table and bent down to her level. “What’s wrong, Nora?” He touched her hand, folding it in his. “I want to take care of you.”
She blushed at his words, her hand feeling hot from where he held it. Not help, but take care . . . “I don’t want you to do everything, Simon. I’m not like . . . the humans you knew before. It feels good for me to do some too.”
His tone was low and intense. “I feel good providing for you. You are now special to me, Nora. I feel attached to you and Tilly. It feels right. I willingly work for you now.”
Willingly work? For me? Nora squirmed under his gaze. That didn’t sit right with her, the way he said it. It left a sour taste in her mouth despite the delicious food. Nora averted her eyes. “Simon, I don’t want that. No. That’s . . . we work together. We need a balance. If this is . . . going to work.”
“A balance . . . ?” Simon frowned.
Nora felt bad for chastising any of his help. After all, isn’t that why she woke him up in the first place? For help? Everything is so confusing now.
She exhaled shakily, meeting his eyes. “Thank you. I never had someone help me before. It just doesn’t feel right unless we both do it. Also, don’t just leave like that either without telling me. Or take the money. We can be a team but . . . that means working together.”
At that, Simon’s expression brightened. “A team.”
“Yes.” She shook their joined hands.
His voice was soft. “I can understand your points. I apologize. I was impulsive in being too eager to help and overstepped. Back then I was used to taking care of all the domestic tasks myself.”
“Well. You’re so sweet, Simon, to do all of this.” Nora removed her hand from his. She reached for and ate the bit of food Tilly left behind when she ran off to play, not letting any go to waste. The pancakes almost melted on her tongue, delicious despite her overfull stomach. “You do cook well. I never had much practice because ingredients were always expensive to experiment with.”
He waggled a plate in front of her. “Do you want more?”
She chuckled, looking down at the half-eaten pancake. “No. I want to stop eating now. My stomach hurts. Don’t put any more here or I’ll feel like I gotta eat it.”
Simon smiled back at her. “Alright. I got some meat for later if both of your stomachs feel fine. Most of the basic ingredients are the same from my time, but there’s not as much variety. I’ll make you one of my favorite dishes. It should taste similar enough.”
“Okay. That would be . . . great.”
Simon stepped closer to Nora, her heart rate spiking as she watched him move.
He dipped his head low and took her hands again. “Truthfully, you have helped me more than I have you. You gave me back my life. This is just . . . let us learn how to accept each other’s help.”
Nora blushed from his intense gaze. “Okay, but you can’t do it all. I’ll feel guilty.”
Simon took his hand and reached for her, hooking her still-wet hair behind her ears. He looked into her eyes before he smiled. “Okay, Nora.”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
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- Page 9
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- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29 (Reading here)
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
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- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53