Page 37 of Sheltered in the Storm

“You’re cheerful today,” Calla said on the eighth morning since our agreement to start again. She had foregone her usual mid-morning nap and asked instead to sit on the sofa near the fire wrapped in blankets. The day was unseasonably chilly and high winds shook the house. Anuoiawas rolling through along the coast. Even Poe had come inside and was dozing in her nest. We doubted anything would venture out of its shelter to invade our garden in this weather.

“You keep smiling like you know a secret,” Calla added, her voice light with mirth. “Come on, Vos. Tell me what’s got you looking so happy on such a cold and windy day.”

“There is no secret.” I set a clean cooking pot on a shelf andturned to find her smiling. My tentacles quivered with happiness at the sight. “It is you who makes me so happy. I have told you this. Do you doubt me?”

Her smile turned wry. “It’s not that I doubt your word. I might doubt your judgment. Maybe you’ve lived here by yourself with Poe too long and I’m a fraction as smile-worthy as you think.”

“I highly doubt it, but if it is so, then I am happily misguided.” I poured a cup of water and brought it to the sofa. “Are you thirsty, my beautiful fantasy?”

Her laugh made my hearts soar. “I am. Don’t tell me you could smell that I’m dehydrated.”

“No, but I noticed you have not consumed any water yet today.” I scooped her up, settled myself on the sofa, and arranged her on my lap so she was sitting up enough to drink from the cup. “I will make us tea once I have a chance to rest from making breakfast and cleaning the kitchen.”

Her eyes narrowed at me over the rim of the cup. “Vos Turek, don’t tell me you need torestafter cooking and tidying the kitchen. That is bullshit if I’ve ever heard it.”

I chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “You have caught me in a lie. I missed holding you.”

“You were holding me less than two hours ago,” she pointed out, but she did not ask me to get up. She sipped her water, her gaze on the window. “It’s pouring out there, even by Iosa standards. We’re not in danger of flooding, are we?”

“No. At least, I do not think so,” I amended. “I have lived here during storms like this and hurricanes and never seen flooding. Even if this areadidbecome flooded, our home is very secure and watertight, even where I have added on to its original form.”

If she noted my slip ofour home, I hoped she assumed I had referred to Poe and myself.

“That’s a relief. I don’t think I’d be much help in an evacuation,even if you owned a boat.” She settled in against my chest, the cup wrapped in her hands, and looked around. “I especially don’t want anything to spoil all the work you’ve been doing. This looks like a different house now with all these plants and that pretty red moss. It’s like living in a garden.” She craned her neck and kissed my jaw. “Thank you.”

“Your smiles are all the thanks I need.” I covered one of her hands with mine. “Are you sleepy? Achy from the exercise?”

“Surprisingly, no. And believe it or not, my stomach doesn’t hurt as much as usual either.” Her smile returned. “We haven’t used the medical scanner to check me over lately, but maybe some of the worst injuries are healing.”

“We will check,” I promised. I wanted nothing more than to see fewer orange and red notations on its screen and more blue. “Though you feel much improved, we must remain careful and not exceed your limitations. We have both been injured enough to know impatience and over-exertion during healing leads to significant setbacks.”

“I know.” Calla sighed. “I used to compete with my squadron mates to see who could do the most pull-ups or high-G jumps. Now I’m just happy to sit up for any length of time without it hurting. And yes, I know it’s temporary,” she added before I could speak. “I’ll get there. I damn near took a step today, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did.” I kissed her hair again, drinking in its silky softness and the lingering scent of my hair soap. “Have you slept better these last few days?”

“I have.” She looked up at me. “Maybe that’s why I’m not as tired during the day today. Have you seen me acting like I’m having a nightmare?”

“No, I have not.” I smiled. “Nor have I needed to coo for you during the night. I hoped that meant your dreams have been more pleasant.”

“Not all of them, but some.” She squeezed my hand a littletighter than before. She was getting stronger. “I had one last night that you and I were in the garden surrounded by plants and it wasn’t raining. It seemed so real, but I knew it was a dream because it’s never not raining.”

The thought of sitting in the garden with my Calla made my hearts sing. “It will not always rain. The rainy season is drawing to an end.”

“I wonder if I’ll miss the sound of rain,” she mused. “Assuming you’re right and itdoesstop raining. Which I will believe only when I see it.”

How wonderful to be comfortably teased like this. My mood, already light, became almost effervescent.

Quiet minutes passed as Calla drank her water and we watched and listened to heavy, windblown raindrops pummeling the window above the sofa. Poe had withdrawn into her shell to sleep, and eventually I found myself almost dozing.

“Vos,” Calla murmured.

I pressed my lips to her hair. “Yes?”

“Tell me about the ocean.”

I had not expected that question, but if she wanted to know more about our surroundings, I was happy to oblige.

“The oceans of Iosa are very beautiful,” I said. “From my home, it is a two-kilometer journey across marsh and swamp to a small inlet where I like to enter the ocean. The walk is not entirely safe, but if you walk quickly and quietly, most trips are uneventful.”

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