The Ark Diary of Dylan De Rovia Book One of De Rovia Diaries

A Grift Made and Bought

Wednesday, December 9th, 2149

We had a reverse day today. Today it was Kye watching me work while he was writing. He had a meeting in the city today about new batch of data from Gillispie soil readings and how that should be adapted to our plants. I was in school but talked to him at lunch. He asked for an arcade meet but I said no that I had work in Mecha to do.

Being Kye he surprised me by coming in and sitting with me. I have a basic tool collection at home. But, in the main repair ward are all the tools I needed. I was finishing the base of Lori's gift.

"Watching you in your element is fascinating." He says as I expertly attach the lighting chip to the base smelting them together.

"Thanks." I say smiling. My parents never really watch me when I'm working at home. Here we all have the same appreciation for the work. Robbie as my new mentor says I have talent, I believe him because he's fourth generation Mecha. "This is the easy part."

"I see wires and junk none of what your doing looks easy."

I shrug, placing the plexi glass over the lights. "We all have talents. I could walk into greenhouse right now and name three plants maybe."

He chuckles, "Yeah you don't have the touch when it comes to plants."

Pressing the button the lights turn on and the cool blue hue fades into purple that chasaids into a red. "Least I'm good at something."

"Bea you are amazing."

"Yes. I am." I say turning off the lights. "Now if you would give me hint about you want for christmas I'll be all set."

Another shrug, "What more can I want I have a great life right now asking for more is bad karma."

Laughing lightly I say. "Your not a Hindu."

"They make a good point you get what you put in the world. Being greedy invites misery."

"Come on anything a underwear, a tie, throw me a bone here." I plead.

He sighs thinking on it we're outside on the way to the train before he says anything. "Socks, a pair of thick fuzzy socks to keep my feet warm."

"Socks I get with that."

"I bet you can do something great with that."

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Mom is with me tonight as we walk through the exchange. "Socks huh."

"Socks it's the only thing I could get out of him." My voice is ripe with annoyance.

Mom just shakes her head enjoying my situation. "All men are like that."

I'm glad she's here we don't go out much anymore, when I was little I would go everywhere with her the store, the exchange, even to work. I would sit in the breakroom, I liked it there cause music played in there. Then I could walk along halls I loved to going to the third floor were the maternity ward is. I liked looking at all the new babies the little movements they made. They didn't know they were in the world yet. Other times I would visit all the elderly patients. I guess that's why being a nurse was my first choice because I'm a people person.

"Do you ever wish I had stayed in the nursing field?"

"For about a week I did then you came home from your first day at the mecha and I knew you loved it. What I don't know is way your waiting."

"People ask me that all the time I'm just holding the last bit of childhood is that so wrong." Being fourteen is the end of childhood from fifteen to sixteen you're a young adult then your paired the end happy adulthood.

She looks at me with sorrow in her eyes so I know I'm right. "You still have a little bit left."

I wonder if it will be that easy to lie when I'm a parent. We walk back to the clothing sections, Mom goes to look at sweaters and I stay at the socks. They come in may different materials I find the thick ones alright but they all looked so plain black, white, a few pink but nothing really jumping out at me. If this was the only thing that I could get him I wanted it be something cute not ordinary.

Going down a row I hear a voice talking that is vaguely familiar at first I think its real person. I find group of children watching a video cube. I know this program it's a documentary made about fifty years ago to commemorate the halfway point in the journey. The girl on screen is my ago her name read Hannah Martin, ago 15. But, she on Earth talking about her excitement about into space.

"Are you ready to go even though your not going to see the new earth."

She nods. "I could live to be eighty years old. That's sixty-five years of deep space travel. You know only about seven hundred people have gone to space two hundred of where the people who built the ship. Only twenty-four people have gone beyond low earth orbit and only 12 people have gone to the moon. I won't see the new planet but when I think of all the things that I will see..."

"Dylan?"

I turn to my mother. "Yeah."

She looks at the wall where Hannah Martin is walking on the beach. "I think I found what you're looking for."

"Great."

I follow her to a booth. Socks of course but the designs are cute and funny. Picking up a pair I feel them nice and thick. "Prefect for the man you hates shoe's."

"Really?" My Mother asks. Most Uppers have collection of four pairs each. Kye has two his work boots and the fancy loafers.

I nod. "Yeah when he gets to his apartment that's the first thing he does takes off his shoes and walk around in his socks even it freezing."

Mom looks down hiding a smile probably because I wear my shoes all the time if not my boots then I'm asleep. "You two are different in just about every way."

"So, opposites attract not everyone can be a synchronous coupling." I say then regete it almost instantly as I watch her face change a moment of sorrow. "Sorry I know that's a sore subject."

"Little Bit, we're getting better all the time."

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When I came home I looked up the name of a young woman a founder. She said she might live to be eighty. Turns out Hannah Martin paired with a man named Remo Drake they had one child a boy named David. Hannah lived to be 82, staying married to her husband until her death. He died a month later of BHS, Broken Heart Syndrome. All accounts said that she lived a happy life her bloodline lives on with the Drakes being family in Farmlands.

Dad's watch is coming along, I've been studying old blueprints. I've been working on it in a simulation because with the time I have this will only be a one shot deal. The watch is done in the sim. For every second out here its a minute in there. If it makes it with a problem for the whole sim then I'll fix it like that out here.

Mom and I found Kye's socks. They're a cool blue color with little gary donkey's on them. He a stubborn and I think Kye will like them, I hope he does. Lori's gift is coming right along. The metal work for the statue is being done right now. I did the basic work riveting the form together and welding it into a rough shape. Now it's being polished by Robbie, in exchange for me making a similar one for his daughter.

Everyone is getting ready for the holidays, festive designs on doors and music is all around. Kye is talking about his family dinner, he wants me to come. This isn't a public place he says it's just the family. But, his family doesn't like me so I'm still on the fence about it. I still have my fancy black dress. Mom and Dad will be fine with it, Dad will be okay with it.

We'll have breakfast there open presents with Lori and Kye then go have lunch at Uncle Mike's apartment in the farmlands. I don't see my cousins all that much they're both boys and older then me. Eddie is up for pairing this year and settled into a Guard career like his father. Eli, 20 is homosexual enjoying single life for the moment part with job in food processing.