Page 31 of Tower
While Levi is talking to her dad, she shows me around the house and farm. It’s not just their family here. They’ve got a lot of other folks living and working here too.
It’s got to be better than the way most people live after Impact.
We stay for about two hours, and Levi is pleased with the potential for future trade. I’m pleased with the whole expedition, including the basket that Faith packs up for us of sandwiches, tomatoes, and oat-honey cookies since we have such a long drive home.
Levi smiles at me as we pull out of the front gates and back onto the road. “You have a good time?”
“Yes. I’m so glad I got to come.”
“I’m sorry you been cooped up so much. I should’ve thought of it earlier. We can make sure you get out more often from now on.”
“It’s really okay. I understand. I’m not very good at defending myself, and I don’t want to pull someone away from more important work just to escort me. I don’t want you to go to too much trouble. But maybe occasionally someone can take me out.”
His shoulders lift in a huff of amusement. “Whatcha talkin’ ’bout,someone? You don’t think I’d trust anyone else to keep you safe out here, do you? You’re not goin’ out with anyone but me.”
“Oh. Okay.” I squirm slightly and try not to hug myself. Maybe I should resent his high-handedness, but I don’t. I wouldn’t feel this safe with anyone but him, and I like that my safety is so important to him.
“That okay with you?” He keeps looking over, trying to read my expression.
“That’s okay with me.”
We had a snack at the farm, so it’s a few hours before we think about eating again. We’re back in Indiana, not too far from home when Levi’s stomach growls.
I snicker. “You should have said you were hungry. We’ve got this basket of food we can dig into any time. Too bad we can’t find a nice place for a picnic.”
It’s an idle comment. Just one of those things people say now. Idly wishing for a better world than the one we’re living in.
But Levi says, after thinking for a minute, “I know a place.”
“What? Seriously? You know a place where we can have a picnic?”
“Sure. Why not? It’s not too late yet. We’ll still get back to base plenty early.”
I’m so excited I clap my hands. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see. It’s off this road just a bit. The turnoff is about fifteen minutes away. Shouldn’t take us too far out of our way.”
“Perfect. I’m so excited!”
Levi doesn’t say anything else, but he takes a turn to the left farther up the road. This road is a lot smaller than the main one we’ve been following. It’s narrow and rough and overgrown with half-dead weeds. He drives slowly, but he clearly knows where he’s going. He takes one more turn and then gets out to open an old-fashioned metal gate—still closed on a rusty fence—before he pulls the truck onto a long gravel driveway.
“This is it?” I ask, staring out the window at the big, untended field.
“We’re almost there.”
I stare with wide eyes as the wheels crunch on the gravel. We clear the field and reach what obviously used to be an orchard. Trees are lined up neatly in rows on either side of the gravel drive, the leaves mostly withered and weeds and vines tangled around most of the trunks.
“What is this place?” I ask. “It must have been so nice when the trees were alive.”
“They still got a little life in ’em,” he says, his expression completely unreadable. “They’re just hidin’ it away for now, waitin’ for the world to get better again.”
He drives another minute or two until we reach an old gazebo as untended and weed-logged as the rest of the orchard.
“Oh!” I’m smiling as I reach down for the basket. “This will be perfect for our picnic!”
“You sure?” Levi asks, his eyes searching my face. “It’s not in great shape.”
“Nothing is in great shape nowadays. Including us. Who cares about that? I love it. This is perfect.”
