Chapter thirty-nine
Anna
Anna turned to the toaster oven. Inside were two perfect loaves of bread, made from the ingredients Atlas had brought the first night. The oven worked off solar power—there was still no electricity in the shed—but it was more than powerful enough.
It was early morning. After seven more days of heavy construction that surrounded the farmyard from sunup to sundown, the area was finally quiet. A bathroom with running water in a separate little room was installed yesterday, once the septic system had been placed.
And every night, Atlas had held her in his arms, putting her to sleep with excessive terraforming descriptions and so many soft touches.
Her shoulders relaxed after she cleaned the counter. Everything in her was tired. Bone tired. As of this week, she was two weeks away from her due date. A date that could not come soon enough, but was also too close. But only two weeks away? She was at the very end.
Her belly brushed against one of Atlas’s plants. One of his many plants. Every plant that came in made him staying feel more permanent. She tugged on one leaf, cleaning around the base. “I’m happy you’re here.”
Speaking of Atlas.She waddled outside to see Atlas sitting in the front yard on a bench in sunlight, set back from the construction debris that littered the front area. Zero had been hauling scraps away every trip, but the tools the model-Ms used stayed behind, stored in crates all in a line. Next to him was freshly turned dirt. A row of roses had been planted there only a day before.
On Atlas’s lap was a length of cording that he mechanically twisted in his fingers. The intricate strands needed to be braided together to repair one of the halters for the cows. “How long for the bread to bake?” he asked.
“Twenty minutes.”
“I'll set a timer,” Atlas said. “I’ll get it when it’s ready.” He reached out to her, pulling her down next to him. “Come here.”
“Hold on.” Anna lowered herself carefully. “Ugh. I’m a balloon.” She awkwardly leaned back on him. Between her aching back and huge front, she was more than ready to be done with pregnancy. Everything felt swollen, all the way to her ankles.
“A beautiful balloon.”
“No.” She snorted. “Save your flirting for after.”
He nuzzled under her ear. “A beautiful ball. A beautiful sphere. A beautiful planet . . .”
“Okay. Okay!” She laughed. “Don’t! Even laughing hurts. Ugh!”
Atlas’s fingers gently ran down her sides. They hadn’t gone much further other than snuggling and deep kisses, but that was enough. The strands of her hair twisted in his fingers like he was doing to the cording a minute earlier.
She shuffled her shoes on the ground. The rapid construction made it feel like everything around her was moving extremely fast. “Is there anything else around the house I can do? Can we plant those seeds?”
“I’d rather you sit.”
Anna sighed. “Atlas. I thought you said the baby can come at any time now?”
Atlas patted her side. “Baby girl can come at any time, but every day is a gift for her. I’ll do a stress test tonight, measure the heartbeats again.” He side-eyed her. “Maybe even the cervix if you’re lucky.”
She flushed. They hadn’t progressed to that point yet. He’d finally taken off that sweater of his last night, saying that her body heat kept him sufficiently warm. A different shade of blue sweater was back on him this morning. The sweater usually hid his muscular frame, so having that gone had made sleep even harder last night while she rested in his arms.
Atlas’s voice pitched low. “Are you thinking about it?”
“Shhh . . .” She flushed, squirming into him. It was also hard to be intimate when . . . She frowned. “Atlas. The chip is only for anger right?”
“Yes, Anna. Why? Do you want to be mad at me for something?” He stiffened. “The cervix thing was a joke, like you sometimes make.”
“No.” Her cheeks flushed. “Not that. Just wondering if all of this is being tracked.” She pointed to the back of her neck. “Ah. All that I’m feeling other than anger.”
“Oh, those feelings.” He relaxed, pulling her closer. “Some, yes. Anger is the one it’s trained to catch. But regardless, only Sterling is receiving the data for all the readouts.”
“You haven’t heard anything from Stella or the others?”
“Not a word.”
“I guess I should try to ignore it.” She said. “Probably for the best; everything feels so uncomfortable.”
