The Afterlife of Alice Watkins 2 by Matilda Scotney

Author:Matilda Scotney [Scotney, Matilda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780648319122
Published: 2018-06-11T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Alice loved cooking for them both. She showed Noah how to prepare a salad, but mostly he just got in her way. He’d never considered the idea of preparing food, and displayed no flare, so she ended up ordering him from the kitchen.

The evening couldn’t have been more perfect. They took dinner out to the lower patio, surrounded by the dogs and the cat, which had somehow managed to find a spot on the hammock with the larger dog, who it appeared, hadn’t moved all day. The lights of the city twinkled in the distance, but here all was quiet, save the music of night birds and insects.

“It’s summer here now, isn’t it Noah?”

“Yes, though my favourite time of year is at the end of summer, just turning to Autumn.”

“It’s winter at home now in Principality 19, even though it’s not really cold. We called it July, I arrived on Earth in April. I miss saying the months of the year.”

“Then my favourite month is September.”

“You know the months?”

“I do. I read a lot, early literature speaks only of months; quarters and numbers possess little poetry.”

“How do modern novelists manage if there is less romance in words?”

“They manage well—a creative mind can summon poetry from just about anything.”

“Mary and Jane don’t have real books, only the registry readers, and I’ve never seen a bookstore.”

“I assume that’s a place to obtain books?”

“Yes, and we had libraries, to borrow books for a few weeks, then we exchanged them for different ones.”

“I see,” but he didn’t see. The concept of using money escaped him, and he wondered at the wisdom, given what he knew of her society, of trusting property to unknowns.

“Principal Hardy has a lot of books, and the Tabernacle library, so they are available, aren’t they?” she asked.

“Yes, the author supplies bound copies upon request, but it’s not very common.”

“Not the same as browsing a bookshelf for a title that takes your fancy,” she grinned, and her expression suggested he was missing out on a long-lost pastime.

“I can browse a registry for books, if I wish, Alice, but for true escape from work and everyday issues, I come here. I feel at peace, even when mother and dad are home with all the dogs and animals, and it’s just one big noise.”

“Isn’t space quiet?”

“Not for me. It’s a workplace. I don’t have any set hours of work, I can be called at any time. Patrick and I share command duties, but if I’m on the bridge, I’m in command. If I want time off, I can delegate to him or in the case of our next mission, Statesman Junnot.”

“Is he in the military?”

“Military, yes, but he is a she. She was due to come with us last time but suffered a serious injury while mountaineering. That’s why Hennessey came on board.”

“It didn’t occur to me you would have a female second officer,” she admitted, though there was no reason it should have surprised her.

“I rather warmed to Hennessey the second time I met him.

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