“It’s different, huh?” she said, taking in his wide expression.Acts just like how I would. With everything. It’s uncanny.With him standing there, in his shirt she made, he appeared indistinguishable from a human male, all sleek lines and strong physique. Nora averted her eyes.
Simon just nodded, walking carefully on the wet dirt just outside the house’s threshold. His still-intact silicone boots made a contrasting pattern in the mud next to Nora and Tilly’s bare footprints.
Nora’s eyes stayed glued to him as he walked slowly.Everything must be so different to him. Wish I could see what he remembered.She looked around, at the ruins of houses lining the ancient asphalt street.Must have been prettier than this.
Tilly was eager by their side, pointing out the features only a child would notice as she tripped over her own feet, made worse by her limp. Shallow footprints followed her as she bent low to the Earth’s surface. “The worms are out good, Mama.”
“I bet. It really flooded. Catch as many as you can in a jar.”
“Okay!” Tilly nodded excitedly and dashed off.
Nora’s shoulders stiffened, seeing Simon’s shocked expression. “We can put the worms in the garden or feed them to the chickens. I got a little worm box too we can add to.”
“A worm box?” There was a hesitation as he said each word.
A chuckle escaped her. “Yeah. Remember worms? Here, I’ll show you the chickens. They’re probably happy it’s not raining, it kind of gets wet in there. I built the coop myself.”
A pressure to fill the silence built inside of her as they walked. “It’s just over here. Right next to the house.”
Simon followed at his unsteady gait. Nora waited patiently for him to catch up, knowing better than to offer her hand after it was rejected before.
She tried to think of how her yard appeared to his eyes.Everything must seem so awful to him if Earth from before is anything like those Mars pictures.She bit her lip as she walked.Ah, well. It’s okay if he judges. Maybe he will have some better ideas on how to make things easier.That was why I woke him up, wasn’t it? For extra help? Right.
“What season is this?” he asked, interrupting her thoughts.
“Summer.”
Simon frowned. “It isn’t as hot as it usually is here during the summer.”
It’s not?Sweat already coated her back with the sun fully rising. “Could have fooled me. Still feels plenty hot. It just rained so it’s a bit cooler, but yeah. It’s still plenty hot.”
“Yes, but before it was too dangerous to be outside during the summer here in the Arizona desert. There must have been something that happened to the climate as well.”
Like what?Nora waited expectantly but let it drop when Simon didn’t elaborate.Can’t figure out everything sometimes.She kicked a dirt clod and muttered as they finished walking, “Well I guess that’s one thing better then. I’m sweating buckets though. Humid after the rain. You don’t get hot?”
A sigh left him. “I don’t sweat, no. But water does cool off any overheating from my processors.”
Nora walked a bit ahead and waved him over. “At any rate, look at this.” She pointed into the wooden chicken coop. “We have chickens. Those are familiar, right?”
The coop was made out of wood she reclaimed from the nearby houses, pieces that were not rotted out. She gestured to the six chickens they had, and the rooster. “They each make an egg every few days. It’s hard to find chicken feed, and wheat doesn’t seem to grow well anymore. But they like some of the vegetables.”
Simon came to the front of the coop. “Yes, chickens are still the same. Although yours are unlike any breeds I knew.”
“Yes, they lay at least an egg a day for us, which is nice.”
A calculating gleam came into Simon’s eyes as looked across the horizon. “Is there no one else nearby?”
A sinking sensation filled her stomach.He can barely walk. Don’t need to get nervous.She swallowed. “In the town, yes.”
“Is that close?”
Not answering that.Instead she tugged on Simon’s arm, the one that still had the synthetic skin in place. “Want to see the garden?”
“Yes.” He glanced down at her hand on his arm.
Immediately, Nora let go, feeling the pressure of his eyes on her.Not quite a friend yet. Need to remember that. Even though he talked with her and acted polite. In fact, he was probably one of the few males to ever act polite and respectful toward her. Nora dropped her hand to her side with a smile as she led him over to the vegetable patch.
She held up a potato before putting it in a bag. “How about these? Potatoes? Are they the same? They seem to do the best. We eat a lot of these.”
