Her laugh was infectious. Simon recorded the sound and filed it away in part of his memories.
She leaned back over the magazine. “This whole nature page is crazy. I’ll save this one to show Anna. We saw a few pictures of the ocean before, and boats, but nothing that could go under the water.”
Simon didn’t say anything as Nora resumed looking at the magazine, resisting the urge to move a few strands of her hair that had fallen out from behind her ear. He spoke gently then, remembering her anger from before when he suggested a change in her living situation. “Maybe we could go to the ocean someday. It isn’t that far from here. Might be easier to live.”
Nora shook her head. “It’s an idea but . . . I heard stories that the ocean was really polluted. Nothing beautiful like it shows here. We definitely have nothing you can go underneath the water to see swimming things like this.” Under her breath she added, “At least, I don’t think we do.”
Simon's jaw clenched.Ofcourse it probably isn't beautiful.
Nora looked up then, at the night outside. “I bet they know more.” She waved her arm, pointing at the window. “The drone. Or . . . androids . . . you know what I mean. I bet they know more of what’s still here on Earth.”
Simon’s shoulders sagged with relief at seeing her be contemplative rather than dismissive. “They probably do. They shared what they know about the past with me. If we become serious about wanting to leave, if you . . . I’ll ask them what the best places on Earth still are.” He stopped, wanting to ramble more and discuss it. And plan. His natural calculating tendencies raced forward. He shifted on his seat.Enough. Don’t press so hard.
Nora said in a small voice, “Have they. . . The androids. Have they always been watching me?”
Simon cleared his throat. “Yes.”
“I don’t know how I feel about that.”
I don’t really know either.Simon didn’t know what to say. This whole situation reminded him of the nature shows the humans would watch, where the scenes were curated for the humans’ enjoyment even if the animals in it were in distress. He remembered the androids’ words, saying they were superior to humans.It doesn’t feel that way to me.
His scorn rose again, and he wanted to see Nora’s face light up instead of being pensive like it was now. He reached down to pick up Tatertot, who was circling in the middle of them, looking for pets and extra food. His purr was loud as Simon lifted him and held him close, the white and orange fur soft in his arms.
“I always loved cats,” Simon said, scratching behind his ears. “I still do.”
Nora was busy flipping through another magazine but glanced up with soft eyes. “Tater likes you too.”
“I think cats liked me because I always fed them, and then they always followed me around.”
Nora chuckled. “Well, you seem to like feeding us too.”
He tilted his head. “Are you going to follow me around?”
Nora snorted and ducked her head.
Simon smiled back, not wanting to overstep and keep pressing if food was the way to her heart as well. Instead he said, “We had one cat that would always try to climb the counters to steal food. I’d put him down but he would keep trying, over and over. Like I wouldn’t remember him doing it a few minutes ago.”
Nora pushed the magazine aside and listened, her eyes alight as she reached over to also scratch Tatertot. “Did you have any other animals?”
Simon shifted in his seat, remembering. His mistress did, not Simon. But the dog preferred him enough that he felt like it was his. “Yes, a dog. Here, I’ll draw you a picture.” He put Tatertot back down on the ground and took the chalkboard from earlier, erasing Nora’s carefully spelled words. He spent a few minutes drawing a picture of a golden retriever before handing it back.
Nora’s eyes crinkled in the corners. “Tilly would like this; let’s save it for her. This kind of dog looks so fluffy. There’s dogs now, but they don’t look like this, just all mixed together. Kinda mangy, not fluffy.”
Soon after, Nora went to bed. She left the bedroom doors to both hers and Tilly’s room open. And Simon sat in the kitchen, tinkering with the wiring and feeling satisfied that he was making improvements, and he was at home, right here.
Chapter thirty-three
Nora
From the angle of the sun, Nora could tell that she’d woken up early today. She was awake fully, not lingering like usual, pulling her shirt on fast as she got out of bed.
As she got ready, she didn’t think too hard about the soaring feeling in her stomach at wanting to see Simon again. She shook her head at herself.Excited to get up just to spend more time with him.She tried to control her emotions but failed, letting her vague excitement take over while pulling on her socks. A bounce was in her step as she moved out to see Simon in the kitchen, with muffins, and Tilly’s bed already empty.
“Good morning,” she said brightly. Her stomach gave a little flip, not related to hunger, at seeing him.
“Good morning, Nora.” He turned around and gave her the metal plate with a muffin. “Tilly already ate and is outside.”
She ignored her stomach’s flipping and forced herself to sit down and eat instead of standing there to watch Simon work. “Oh good, thank you. Luckily we got up early to go into town today. Let me just go find where Tilly went and get her ready.”
