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“Right, of course,” Irving says, awkwardly returning his attention to the blueprints. “And power storage?”
Giorgio winces. “That’s… an ongoing issue.”
As they talk, I settle into a seat a few feet away. I can make out what’s on the plans without interrupting. Even better, I can watch Irving work his magic. As he pages through the drawings, he bounces from foot to foot. I can almost tell which drawings excite him the most, and which he wants to revise completely.
“Problem is, it will never stop being an island,” Irving smirks.
He looks at each of us in turn. Clearly, he meant it as a joke.
“You mean there is no subterranean storage. There’s no protection,” I offer helpfully.
“Exactly,” he smiles gratefully. “Gee, Giorgio, I would’ve thought you had more appreciation for my sense of humor.”
“What? Me?” Giorgio startles, looking up. “Yeah, I… I’m distracted. Sorry. What were you saying?”
“I’m saying we need to think out of the box. Off the island.”
“Excuse me?”
Irving shifts his weight back and forth. His fingers tense.
“How far do the shallows extend?”
Giorgio raises an eyebrow. “About a hundred and fifty feet to the east, about a quarter-mile to the west.”
“East, then.”
Irving stares at Giorgio expectantly, waiting for him to figure it out. Giorgio plays along for a few seconds, then tenses up.
“Submerge the power storage offshore?” I offer, sensing his vision. “Hurricane-proof, tidal rise-proof, even Armageddon-proof, if it comes to that…”
Irving raises his eyebrows at me proudly, then winks. It almost makes me want to laugh out loud. I’ve never seen himwinkat anything.
“If you want to be energy self-sufficient, you have to store the power. Submerging it makes sense. Great idea, Opal.”
I can’t help it; I blush. As soon as I feel my cheeks getting red, I hear him breathe in sharply and see his lower lip curl in slightly. He likes it when I blush. I can tell.
“It wasn’t really my idea,” I counter. “You were just about to say it.”
“Yes, but you said it first.”
Giorgio looks at me, then at Irving. He rolls his eyes surreptitiously. But he chooses not to say anything.
“Okay, okay. I see what you are getting at. We are already going to do some excavation in that area for the submarine landing—”
“That’s a real part of the plan?”
“Elon Musk swears those things are going into production.” Irving rolls his eyes.
Another joke. I can hardly believe it.
“The one-man submarines? So, the port is for one person at a time? Or is it going to be like a city parking lot or something?”
“Ha!” Irving laughs loudly. “We can set up cubicles, just for him. I should draw him a picture and text it to him.”
“Uh, yeah, that’s a good idea,” Giorgio mutters.
When Cal comes in, Giorgio catches his eye first, raising his eyebrows dramatically and jerking his chin toward Irving. Cal glances in Irving’s direction, then shrugs it off.
