Chapter Forty-Eight - Recreational Respiratory Deterioration


    Chapter Forty-Eight - Recreational Respiratory Deterioration


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    ***


    The next day was a vacation day.


    I wasn''t heading out to snoop around the sewers. I wasn''t saving the city. I was going to work on my hobbies until sometime in the afternoon when See-Three and her pals were going to show up.


    That was a later problem, and... yeah, it wasn''t much of a problem at all. I''d change into something nicer and less stained for the occasion, then say hello and walk them around. I wasn''t worried about it.


    What I was worried about was getting some sensation back into my hands. "Fuck, it''s cold," I said.


    The current temperature is four degrees celsius, which is approaching cold, yes. The humidity is making it far worse, I suspect.


    I cupped my hands before my mouth and blew some hot air between them. I was seriously considering a change of venue for my mechanical work. Mostly, doing it just outside was fun. If I needed a snack, I was only a hop away from the kitchen. Needed to shit? The bathroom was right there.


    It was nice and convenient. But not when I was freezing so hard that I was having a hard time picking up the pieces on my workbench. Besides, I''d been dealing with wind and rain a lot too. There was a reason people did things indoors.


    "Probably not good for my lungs, either," I muttered.


    Are you speaking about being outdoors?


    "Yeah," I said.


    The level of VOCs in this region is quite high. I suspect that the time you spend out here every day is leading to increased deterioration of your lungs.


    I coughed, but it was mostly because we were talking about it. Imagining cancer-causing stuff going down my throat made it feel scratchy. "That''s... not ideal," I said.


    "Right," I said. "Do you still only have one bedroom?"


    Franny flushed, then levelled a glare at me. "If, if you must know, we do," she said.


    "Oh-hoh!" I said. Gomorrah was my best samurai friend at this point, so poking at her private life was definitely not something I should be doing... but it was definitely something I''d be doing anyway, because I was a bitch like that.


    "Nothing like that''s happened," Franny said.


    "Really?" I asked. "You''re sleeping in the same room, but not... you know."


    Franny sniffed. "We''re saving that kind of thing for after marriage."


    I... didn''t know what to say about that. Maybe ''poor Gomorrah'' or maybe it was more ''poor Franny,'' but that was on them. "Okay," I said. "I won''t dig if you don''t want. Can''t say the same for Lucy though, but if you lay down the law, she''ll probably leave you alone."


    Franny let out a long breath. "Thanks," she said. "This whole thing is... new for Delilah and I. We''re both kind of feeling our way through this."


    I nodded along. I had no idea what that was like, but I could imagine it. "So, things going well enough, otherwise?"


    "Yes. Slower than I''d like, but I think faster than we''d have any right to expect. I think by this time next week we''ll be settled in," she said. "It''ll be nice to have a place to crash that isn''t the convent. What about you?"


    "Eh, still on vacation," I said with a shrug. "Probably not for very long."


    I wasn''t paying too much attention to the news, because I never liked that kind of reality entertainment stuff, but I was still vaguely aware that things weren''t all rainbows and puppies past the new walls of New Montreal. There were plenty of cities in a rough shape, and hives growing all over the damned place.


    I''d have to move out sooner rather than later, do my part and all that. But that could wait another day or two. I... had maybe been pushing myself before. Non-stop action with no breaks and mounting stress and responsibility. It was getting to me. The pace of the last couple of days was much more relaxed.


    It felt... off, to only have time off like this. I was almost looking forward to being back on the front lines.


    Weird how that worked out.


    "Hey, you lemme know what Gom has to say about me using the corner of the garage. And if you need anything, just... I don''t know, come knock at our door."


    "Like to ask for milk?" Franny asked.


    "I don''t know if we have any, but hey, if you need cookies or something, I think we have, like, six brands," I said with a grin. I gestured to the floor above. "I need to head back up. I''ll get my mech down... later today, somehow, then we''ll see about walling off a corner."


    I had that meeting with See-Three, then it was a full day of rest for me. Perfect!


    ***