Page 22 of Oret
He was right, and she was tired, so she snuggled into her pillow with his arms around her and fell asleep.When she woke, he was gone, but not for long.He brought her breakfast and set it up on the table so they could eat together.It was good, and she suspected that Anna had cooked it.
“Yes,” Oret said.
“What?”
“I can see the question in your eye, and yes, your daughter-in-law was the one who cooked this.She was concerned about you eating properly since she heard you collapsed, and no, I did not tell her.”
“Will I get Tol for the mine?”Victoria asked
“Of course, he may already be working there.”
“If he is, he'd be early.”
“That's not unusual for my kind,” Oret mentioned.
She knew that was true.They were the hardest workers and usually did the best job.It was a shame she didn't have access to more of them.Those in her family were also hard workers and did good jobs.Since she had changed, she noticed that she was able to work harder and sleep less without ill effects.That helped, but it didn't seem to help enough.Now she would see if what she had requested of Radvar was enough to make the difference.They finished their breakfast, and they headed in opposite directions.He was right, Tol was hard at work training two new miners who she’d thought were on nights.Apparently, he’d divided the new ones between both shifts and was also conducting some training.That was probably a good decision.
She threw herself into her work and only stopped when lunch time was announced.They all headed to the cafeteria, which had the best aroma that she had smelled in a long time.Oret was waiting for her at the kitchen table with her food ready.Dropping into her chair, she ate with hunger.Bless Anna, lunch was so good.This was a recipe she had taught her, at least the main course was.The dessert was something new.Victoria was happy when Anna came over to say hi and brought both of the youngest children with her.
“I'm so happy to see my grandchildren and you.That dessert was great, and it's not one of my recipes.You'll have to give that to me sometime.”
“It's a fruit local to the planet that you've been gathering from.It reminds me of gooseberries.”Anna observed.
“Yes, you are right.That's a lot like gooseberries.Maybe we can get them to grow here.I remember on Jaded, everyone was always looking for gooseberries, and they had to get them from Earth.That's not going to happen anymore.”
“They are still bringing things from Earth and a whole lot of people.They are finding pockets of unaffected humanity.There are also so many monsters that they are being split between this moon and the one near Jaded, where the criminals were going.”
“I've not heard any of that.I guess I have tunnel vision trying to get this moon going.It's still important to stay informed about what else is happening, so I'll have to make an effort to do so.I almost hate to ask how things are going,” Victoria declared.
“Oret has been here part of the time.He is a huge help.The others work harder when he looks at them,” Anna giggled, and everyone looked at her.
“I've noticed that too when he's worked with me.That can be very helpful.”
“All the kids seem to like him, and he doesn't have that effect on them.Shandy has been learning to bake cookies.The baby doesn't seem to mind spending time in her playpen.This might work.”
Victoria hoped it would, and even if it only worked for a little while, it might be enough to get things running the way that they needed to be.In the cafeteria, no one should work twelve-hour days and seven days a week.That was only needed now because they were short-handed, and no one knew what they were doing.Once they have learned, they should be able to work independently and not require extensive training.They should also work faster since they would know what they were doing.She had to admit that Oret was an exceptional trainer in nearly every field in which he worked.He would know soon if these ladies and the two gentlemen were able to do the job or not.In the cafeteria, they generally get the very young, those too old to do the hard physical work, and those simply not capable of doing anything else.That was why they had two gentlemen, because they were seniors and they both had their infirmities.Neither of them was a problem because they did as they were told without complaint and performed their tasks well.
It was obvious that they did everything they could, unlike some of the females.She wasn't sure what they would do with some of the older females who weren't trying if they didn't straighten up.There was no way they could survive on the monster moon, and the monsters wouldn't want them anyway.They wanted younger females that they could mate.These weren't that, and they would also be unable to do the work required to take care of themselves.One of them was doing much better, showing that she could have done better all along.Victoria noticed that the lady was interested in one of the gentlemen, and maybe she realized that he would not be impressed if she did not hold her end up in the cafeteria kitchen.
