“Oh, yeah … I know. I was just trying to figure out what’s next.”
“I can tell you what’s next … we’re going to have to sanitize your blankets and fumigate the pheromones in this entire area. This place smells like sex and good times.”
I pick a pillow up off the bed and hit her with it.
“Ewww, sex germs, get them off me!”
“I swear Lacie, I’m going to kick your ass.”
Laughter surrounds us as we work together to clean up the mess BuK and I had made of this brand-new pod. Once we’ve gotten all the blankets and tarps folded, I gather the crates, moving them to the door that leads downstairs.
“You’re right Lace, this place really needs a good cleaning. Who would have thought two people could create such a mess?”
“Well, you were fighting for your lives before you screwed each other’s brains out.”
“And you call me the brat!”
“Hey, I had a great teacher. Here, hand me that pile and I’ll start carrying them down the steps. I’ve become spoiled with the lifts in ours.”
“Me too. I didn’t realize how much nicer, or should I say how many more features our pods have that some of these others do not.”
“MeK said they are all pre-wired for the same installations. He said he designed them that way so that people would have the option to upgrade theirs later on if they wanted to.”
The sight of BuK and MeK trying to maneuver the cargo bot outside the viewer makes me grab a crate and follow Lacie.
“So, did you scream like a girl when the Yeti showed up?”
“No, but MeK needed to push my jaw up when I stood there in awe. He was enormous. Can you imagine meeting something like that in the woods?
I can’t believe you didn’t hear me screaming all the way from here. Somehow, he stuck his face right up against the viewer, and I was already in a compromised position. Once BuK told mewho he was, I don’t think I’ve ever been that embarrassed, but he was nice about it. Is he still on the planet?”
“I think so, I know he’s commed MeK a few times this morning. I’m already sick of this damn snow, though. I’m ready to get back to our nice seventy-five degrees and sunshine daily.”
“Lace, I agree with that statement. I was not built for the cold, and even with two layers on, I can still feel the cold seeping into my bones. Have you talked to James? Did they lose many of the crops?”
“The new cultivators MeK designed were able to pull most of the plants up for replanting later, but the entire new field they just plowed is a loss. There’s no way those seeds lived through that.”
“Life is constantly throwing a wrench in our plans, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but at least we have BuK and MeK to lean on in the tough times. So, how long have you had your extra accessories?”
“You mean my new swirls? They showed up yesterday.”
“Do you feel any different?”
“Different how?”
“That’s what I am asking you.”
“No, I mean I wonder what might be different now, but I still feel like me, just with a new tattoo.”
“You do realize that this ties you to him for life? If it’s anything like mine and MeK’s, your lifespans are now linked. As time has passed, I’ve noticed we’ve started to feel each other’s emotions stronger. I wonder what you will gain besides him?”
Her words have me so deep in thought that I don’t hear BuK calling my name at first. “Hey, where did you go?”
“Sorry, good looking. I was tied up in my own brain there for a minute. Are you guys done? I only have a few more crates to pack up.”
“Leave them and we will come back and clean it all up when the weather clears. I wanted to know if you would come with me to my tent. I am curious to see if it’s still standing.”
