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Nova flipped down the mattress and patted the spot next to where she sat on it. I joined her, and she took a long swig of the alcohol straight from the bottle.
“So, what do you think?” she asked and passed me the bottle.
“Of the attic?” I shrugged and took a sip of the alcohol. “It’s a decent space, and that window’s fantastic.”
Her smile turned sad and sentimental. “Sage bought that for me as a house warming gift. There was a round window there, but it was all cracked and warped. After I inherited the place, she went out and had that custom made for me. It has four shooting stars – one for me, one for Sage, one for each of our grandmothers who raised us.”
“That was very kind of her,” I said.
“Yeah, she was very kind.” Her face twisted up as she held back tears. “She never… she never would’ve hurt Harlow, you know. If she weren’t infected. Sage never would’ve hurt anybody. And I know it’s better this way. That Sage would’ve rather died than hurt someone, and I hate that it came down to that. That she kept finding a way through the damn fence.”
“Everything you’ve told me about Sage, I know she was a very kind, generous person.” I put my hand gently on Nova’s back. “I am so very sorry about how things turned out.”
“Me, too. But it did, and now it’s over, and I have to think to the future.” She wiped roughly at her eyes and looked over at me. “So, the attic. If we clean it up, what do you think? Would it work for Harlow and Kimber?”
“Like… for them to stay?” I asked, taken aback.
“Yeah. You sleeping on the couch won’t work long-term, and honestly, I want to get back to my bigger bed so Frost and Sable can sleep in bed again.” Her eyes went faraway at the mention of the dogs, but she shook it off and went on, “I’ve been trying to figure out solutions for the four of us to make it work here.”
“Wait. Are you asking us to move in?” I asked. “Like permanently?”
“I mean, if you want to,” Nova amended. “I won’t force you or anything. But the girls have been through so much, and your knee isn’t great anymore. You can go out and try to find something better, obviously, but it’ll be a lot harder for all of you than it would be if you stayed.”
“All of that is true,” I agreed carefully. “But what about you? Is that what you want? This is still your house, your farm, your life. If you don’t want us here, we can leave once we’re back on our feet, so to speak.”
“Before you showed up, I maybe wasn’t doing that good on my own. I’d been pretending that Sage and the animals were enough for me. But it had been months since I talked to anybody.” She straightened up and very seriously, she asked, “Since we’re officially going to be roommates now, can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.” I took a deep breath and readied myself for a difficult or complex question.
“Were you …” She narrowed her eyes, studying me. “Were you in that band Green Day or something?”
“No. I wish.” I laughed. “But I was in this band called Emeriso.”
She snapped her fingers excitedly. “Yes! That was it! You had that song ‘Earthly Symphony!’” Offkey, she sang a few lines of it with most of the words correct. “That was really popular the year I graduated high school.”
“Yeah, that was a long time ago,” I said with another laugh to hide my embarrassment, and then I took the moonshine and had another drink. “It’s such a silly thing.”
“No, no,” Nova said, then she shrugged. “Well, I mean, yes. It was kinda silly. But you were a legit rock star, back when that meant something. That is both a little silly and very cool. Life’s weird that way.”
“I will agree that life is very, very weird,” I contended.
“You were the singer and guitarist, right?” she asked. “Do you still sing or anything?”
“Nah. Not anymore. It’s seemed so frivolous in light of, you know, everything.” I waved my hand vaguely around to represent the entirety of the zombie-filled world. “I don’t have a guitar, either.”
“Life shouldn’t be only about survival.” Nova put her hand on my leg, warm and comforting, and when she looked over at me, her dark eyes glimmered like onyx. “Humans are one of the only animals on this planet that make art just for the sake of making art. We sing because we like the sound of music. We play because we like to have fun. It's a precious, special thing, and it’s something that we should never lose.
“The virus has taken so much from us,” she went on. “But we can’t let it take everything. We have to hang onto happiness when we find it, wherever it can be found.”
“I never realized you were such an optimist,” I said.
“I’m definitely not. But I like being happy.” She smiled. “Maybe we’ll find you another guitar. There’s a settlement called Emberwood about four days ride to the west. I go there once or twice a year to trade. I could maybe get my hands on some instruments the next time I go.”
“If you’re up for it, that would be fantastic,” I said. “And we can get another mattress for Harlow or Kimber.”
Nova frowned at that. “Laz, they’re not going to want another bed.”
“What do you mean?”
