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Emilia

The new centrifuge arrived just after breakfast.

It was only a centrifuge. After the fire, though, every new arrival felt a little like proof that we were finding our way back. Mateo looked at it as though someone had just wheeled in a grand piano.

“She’s beautiful,” he said.

Priya did not look up from her workstation. “It’s equipment.”

“She’s beautiful equipment.”

I let them have the argument. The centrifuge was, in fact, an excellent model. We had used one like it at Columbia whenever it was available, carefully scheduling around other research teams and making the most of the time we had with it. Now it belonged exclusively to Aurora.

I was still getting used to that.

Most of the major instruments had already arrived. The smaller pieces were still arriving daily. Reagents, consumables, the specific cell culture materials we had lost in the storage section, each one a small step toward the laboratory that Aurora was becoming.

I had said we would begin again. We were doing much more than that, though. We were rebuilding what we had lost with an understanding of Aurora we hadn’t possessed before the fire. The hypoxia findings had changed what we were working toward. We weren’t simply recreating the laboratory that had burned. We were building the one Aurora needed now.

I had started the morning by reviewing the reconstruction timeline, which Priya had organized with her characteristic attention to detail. Two postdocs were working on cell culture reestablishment and a third was recalibrating the imaging equipment after it had been moved to accommodate the rebuilt storage section. Mateo was finishing the reagent inventory for the third cohort and, despite the centrifuge’s arrival, stayed on task for the rest of the morning.

I walked through the laboratory the way I always had, stopping at each workstation just long enough to ask the right questions and make sure everyone had what they needed. Recovery had a rhythm of its own. People didn’t need speeches. They needed someone paying attention.

By ten forty-five, the laboratory had begun to sound like itself again. I began gathering the notes I needed for my first standing meeting with Alexander at eleven. I knew he had arrived before I saw him. I stood as he appeared in my office doorway.

“Hi, Alexander. Please, come in.”

He did and he closed the door behind him. He settled into the chair opposite mine as we began our meeting.

“Emilia, I don’t want these meetings to be overly formal. Let’s start with anything urgent, then move through your updates and anything you need from me.”

I nodded. I started by telling him there was nothing urgent to discuss. I updated him on the rebuild, the status of the equipment, and the team morale.

“Is anything holding up the reconstruction?”

“One of our microscopes. It is taking longer to arrive due to supply chain issues from the manufacturer. Until it’s received, we’re sharing the one on the fifth floor.”

“How much time is that costing you?”

“A few days. Possibly a week.”

“Would a temporary replacement eliminate the delay?”

“Yes.”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “I know exactly where to find one.”

I then shifted into discussing the data, showing him the latest figures and walking him through the week’s progress. At some point, he came and stood behind me to get a better look. His arm brushed my shoulder as he pointed to something on my monitor. The contact brought back the memory of his mouth on mine, warm and certain, and for several seconds the figures on the screen required more concentration than before.

At that moment, I glanced up to see Priya and Mateo watching us through the glass. Priya suddenly became more fascinated by her computer screen. Mateo was less subtle. He looked from Alexander to me once, then returned to his inventory. He seemed to have reached a conclusion that he planned on keeping to himself.

Before our meeting ended, Margaret had confirmation that the temporary microscope would be transferred to us the following morning.

Alexander stayed until noon.

“Emilia, do you have some free time after four this afternoon? There is something I’d like to show you.”

“Yes, I can be available.”