“It’s not much. But, yeah, the world’s notallanarchy.”
“Do you guys at least have ice cream?”
Aiden laughs. “No. No ice cream.”
“That’s too bad. I really miss ice cream.”
“Yeah, me too.” Aiden looks up at the ceiling wistfully. “I miss sushi.”
“Roller coasters. Oh, and sailing! My family owns a sailboat.”
“Nice. I always wanted to learn to sail.”
“Maybe I can teach you some time.” Realizing it’s a little quick to make future plans with him, my face gets warm. “Uh—I mean, if there were any water around here.”
“Heh, yeah. Too bad.” Aiden smiles. “I miss movies. And popcorn.”
When Aiden says movies, I’m so excited I literally can’t contain it. An involuntary squeak comes out of me, and I cup my hand over my mouth.Giggling schoolgirl. Aiden shoots me an incredulous look.
I reach for a remote control next to me and make an exaggerated, “Ah-hem.” A sixty-five-inch flat-screen TV flickers on. DramaticStar Warsorchestral music pipes through the speakers. It echoes around the lobby. Various cut scenes of Han, Luke, and Leia running around the Death Star play on a loop.
Aiden’s jaw drops open, and he laughs. “You haveelectricity? Andmovies?”
“You’d be surprised what you find when you loot houses. A lot of guys around here had portable batteries and camping solar panels. Wanted to keep their beer cold in the woods, I guess?” I point to a bunch of heavy-duty extension cords. They’re jammed through a hole in the corner of the ceiling, extending down into the room. “I’ve got about ten of them on the roof. They can’t power too much, but at least I can watch TV.”
Aiden shakes his head. “You’re a clever one, aren’t you, Zach?”
I wave him off and shrug. I’m getting comfortable enough with Aiden’s compliments, so the blushing isn’t an instant reaction this time. But it still tingles a bit.
“ButStar Wars?” He feigns disapproval. “Nothing from this millennium? Not evenMandalorian? I’d love to see some Baby Yoda.”
I scowl. “First, it’s Grogu, not Baby Yoda. Second,Star Warsis a classic. Shame on you. Third, I got electricity working. Not the freaking Internet. If it ain’t on DVD, it ain’t on this TV.” I fold my arms and glare at him for as long as I can hold it until a smile cracks through.
Aiden lets out a short laugh. “You had me for a sec.”
And then we both start cracking up, the sound of it echoing around the lobby. Oh man, it feels great to laugh. And speaking of which, Aiden’s laugh is amazing. Heartfelt and genuine. Not too noisy or hissy. I missed having company so much.
“For the record, I knew it was Grogu,” Aiden says between laughs. “I just like the name Baby Yoda better.”
“Sacrilege!” I point to him. “It’s like I don’t even know you.”
At the ridiculousness of that statement, a fresh round of laughing erupts. My side hurts from it. A wonderful hurt.
As Aiden erupts with giggles, I contemplate my options. How can I get him to trust me? Agreeing to trade might be a step in the right direction. Plus, he could help with a bunch of things around town. An extra set of hands would make it a lot easier. I’ll hold off on mentioning the car and me going with him. That will come later. All in good time.
“So I’ll make you deal, Aiden. If you help me with some things around town for a few days, I’ll stock you up with supplies to last you a week. And I’ll even throw in a movie night. Sound good?”
Aiden pauses for a moment, then looks me in the eye. “Sounds like a deal.”
We head out of the bank to tour the town. My comfort level is rising around him, but precautions are still important. I keep my distance, and the rifle is by my side. I don’t think he’s going to pull anything, but I’m ready in case he does.
We walk over to the rain barrels I’ve set up at the bottom of every downspout along Main Street collecting rainwater. May was a wet month, so they’re all near capacity.
“These are fifty-five-gallon drums. But some tanks in town are over five-hundred gallons. Even empty, they’re too heavy for one person. I’d like us to drag one over here.”
Aiden nods. “Sounds good.”
“And here are the drip irrigation lines that run to the garden. If I turn this spigot here, the water flows through them.”
