Paradise Blight

Chapter 7

*****

The next morning, a small crowd gathered on the cliff above to watch the trial run, including Kate, Mora, and her team leader, Vic. I slogged around in the rocky stream with two construction workers to hook up the piping.

It felt like all eyes were on me, and they were. This would be really embarrassing if it did not work.

The workers and I connected several lengths of pipe to the pump inlet, running it up towards a pool upstream. Water filled the piping to the pump inlet, and then... Just a pitiful little dribble flowed from the pump outlet. An audible groan came from the cliff edge above, even above the sounds of tumbling water. Damn. Must have too much weight on the weighted valve. I fumbled around in the rushing water to remove half of the metal washers I used as weights. "Okay," I said, crossing fingers behind my back. "Let's try this again."

That did it. The pump pulsed, sending narrow geysers of water shooting up into the air. This time, cheers rained down from the cliff edge.

We hooked up a hose that snaked down from the top of the cliff — this was the true test. A pulsing stream of water flowed out of the hose, squirting across the ground — not a gusher, but it was enough. With a wide grin, Kate picked the hose up and held it overhead to show me, letting some douse her.

Yes! I lived for moments like this.

I raised my arms in victory and exchanged high fives with the wet workers beside me. Mora beamed down at me and gave me a thumbs-up sign. Joy blossomed within as I returned the gesture.

After I followed a crooked path up to the top of the cliff, a smiling Vic approached and shook my hand. "Thank you, Mr. Finn," he said. I think we just checked an item off his things-I-am-worried-about list.

Gathering Kate and the construction workers around me, I suggested some improvements for greater pump capacity and reliability, and recommended we create another as a spare. Building new elevated holding tanks on a nearby mound would store water, providing more irrigation rate flexibility. Kate agreed to take that task on.

After Kate and the workers dispersed, I turned around to find Mora looking up at me with that quirky smile of hers. Despite my wet and dirty clothes, she hugged me, adding a kiss on the cheek as a bonus. My skin tingled where her lips touched.

She whispered in my ear. "Thank you, Gan. You made my day."

Mora's praise warmed me again as I released the embrace. "And you just made mine."

She stepped back, but still had her hand on my arm. "How about I make you dinner this evening?"

"I would like that, but what does one wear to dinner on Tau Ceti Four?"

"This planet? Definitely come as you are." She wrinkled her nose upon noticing the wet and dirty state of my clothing, and how I transferred some of that on to her clothing. "Although some clean, dry clothes would be good."

When evening came, I found Mora in the project kitchen area in front of the induction stove. She had changed clothes, as I had, and let out her ponytail, allowing thick, dark hair to wave about her shoulders as she worked, mesmerizing me.

"Pancakes?" I said, as my stomach growled impatiently.

She turned to me. "Do you like pancakes?"

"One of my favorite foods."

But it also induced a pang of grief. It was indeed one of my favorites that my late wife used to make for me on special occasions, but I had not eaten them since she died. Maybe it was time I did.

I set plates and utensils on a small table in the dining area as Mora brought out a steaming stack of cakes with pureed fruit as topping. Apple slices and hot tea completed the meal, a simple meal worthy of Paradise.

While eating, we shared stories of our paths to this planet and she even seemed enthralled with my tale of the rise and fall of space pong. The conversation stayed light, with each erecting boundaries around anything unpleasant in our pasts. Mora deflected questions about her early university years, and I picked up subtle hints that there was something there she did not want to discuss, so I pried no further. For her part, she did not ask about my late wife.

As the night grew late, we strolled back together to our rooms, while the twin moons Eros and Anteros cast faint shadows ahead of us like a spell. Mora reached for my hand as we gazed at the heavens. At her door, Mora turned to face me, keeping her deep eyes connected with mine. Holding both of her hands in mine, I drew her closer, then brushed back an errant lock of her dark hair.

Gathering courage, I asked, "Mora, may I..."

Before I finished my request, Mora moved in and pressed her lips against mine while wrapping arms around my neck. The kiss lingered as it intensified, unleashing a passion within me long suppressed. The grief wall around my heart, something of my own construction, cracked — no, not cracked, melted. Mora pulled out of the kiss, lips still parted. Her eyes, unfathomable as they were, issued a wordless invitation. With a subtle head tilt, she led me inside.