We Shadows

Chapter 33: packing up and heading home

Esperanza got the briefest of messages from Lully, which worried her. Not because she thought he had gotten into trouble, but she worried that if he was so distracted he couldn't call then he had gotten in deeper in congress. She heard the hover and stopped packing to run out to greet him.

Lully jumped off the hover to lift her into his arms to spin her around. She kissed him and touched his cheek as he set her back down on the ground. Joan rolled her eyes at their display. Winston looked around at the tents with a little trepidation. Esperanza hadn't known that anyone new was coming out; everyone else was packing up to leave.

"You shaved," Esperanza said. "And you're wearing that lavender shirt I like. Your hair is weird though. All this for a congress meeting?"

"I needed a haircut and I didn't know how to deal with it," he admitted. "It worked all right."

"How was the meeting?"

"Hey Lieutenant!" Emerson called heading up the hill with bins in his arms and bags draped around his shoulders. "Look at you with the fancy clothes. And you got that mess out of your face. Esperanza, you might have a real man there."

"Stop picking on him," Bell ordered, tossing one of the bags onto the hover. "And he's your superior, so watch it."

"Did you come out here just to help pack?" Esperanza questioned.

"Partially," he said. "Emerson will need help with the printer. Edison is heading out with the second hover; we want to be on our way back before nightfall."

"And you brought Winston! Oh, Lully I could kiss you," Bell squealed, flinging her arms around the bewildered man. "Never mind that, I'm going to get him set up by the spring; I'll finish packing later."

She dragged Winston away from the hover, chattering about grasses. Esperanza turned her attention back to Lully.

"And the second reason?"

"Because we're going to have to have a serious talk," he sighed. "And I didn't want to wait."

"You'll have to wait some; we have bins to move," Joan told them. "And Emerson needs help dismantling the printer. Come, come."

Lully squeezed Esperanza's hand and followed Emerson to the printer tent. Esperanza stayed to help Joan sort and stack, getting everything tightly packed so that they, hopefully could get back home soon. Oliver brought the pots and unused ingredients and then hurried back to the tent to finish up the sandwiches he had made for the journey back. Harriet had gone home the night before

"It's hard to believe we're done out here," Esperanza remarked. "It doesn't seem like we spent long at all."

"Not enough time for certain," Bell agreed, lugging up another couple boxes. "But staying out here waiting for topo-hover data isn't worthwhile."

"Did you scare Winston?" Esperanza teased.

"Oh no, Winston will be fine," Bell promised. "Anatoly sent him with seedlings, so Lully managed to get more done in his first meeting than Ibsen has done in a cycle. I'm pretty excited about the ride back, I have so much to ask him."

"He's only been lieutenant for a day," Esperanza observed, a little alarmed that Bell was so enthused. "And I'd also like to talk him."

"You'll have every hour after we're home," Bell countered. "Please? Without the iron we need to be focused and I'm just going to get flung back out here with just as little thought as they had this time. It's awkward."

"We'll have hours," Esperanza told her finally. "I'm sure we both can manage to have conversations with Lully."

The man in question emerged from the tent and rolled his shoulders as if he was stiff. Esperanza watched Lully as the others went up to him, clapping him on the shoulder and giving their congratulations. She was too tired to be upset by the turn of events; she hadn't slept well last night and just wanted to be home so she could wrap her head around what Lully had gotten them into. Bell went to check on Winston, who was balancing his holo-rib against his ear as he knelt down planting small seedlings.