This is not the Endgame

Quicker than a ray of light

Bucky started keeping more normal hours once he got back from his swing through Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, El Paso, New Orleans, and Miami. He was very satisfied with what he'd found out. He started running into Ava more in the building as his hours got increasingly regular; one evening he helped her bring up a large flat box. "Thanks," she said. "It's not heavy but it's awkward."

"For the short, maybe," he said absently, teasingly, then stiffened, worried that he'd insulted her. But she laughed, and he relaxed.

"I'm a slave to my genetics," she said lightly, and went ahead to unlock her door. She held it open for him, and and he placed the box on the sofa. The label said it was a two-burner induction cooktop. He was glad he hadn't accidentally bashed it on the banister. "Mine gave out last week, and Stan the Schmuck said he'd put me on the list. I'll die of old age before he replaces it."

"Do you need help replacing it?"

"Naw, it's an easy fix. I'll just put the old one in the box, stash it in the corner, and replace it if I ever get to move out, just to be mean."

"Matt said you did a lot of appliance repair."

"Yeah, people need their fridges and cooktops, the window AC units, the ancient electric heaters. And we can't have microwaves because they'll overload the circuits." She shook her head in disbelief.

"I thought you were a civil engineer?"

"Well, I knew I wanted to be an engineer when I first went to college, but I didn't know what flavor. So the first semester, I took an intro course for non-majors that focused on mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering, took a liking to civil. But the mechanical and electrical units gave me a basis to learn how to fix some appliances, and I was really motivated to figure it out. These are all really old, so they're easier to fix. People have to pay for the parts--and I know where you can get less expensive parts, recycling centers, junkyards, in case you need to fix something. But maybe you can do it yourself. You look like you might be pretty handy, Jim."

"It's nice to know I can get help if I'm in over my head." He smiled at her. "How long did it take to complete that degree program?" He didn't miss how her smile dimmed.

"It took me six years, but I had to drop out for a semester after the Snap." She picked at a cuticle. "My parents were killed in a traffic accident, like a lot of people. The driver had dusted. They had been paying for my college, same as they had for my sister, and they had good life insurance, so it shouldn't have been a problem. But it turned out that the insurance refused to pay; they called the Snap an act of God. There's still a class-action lawsuit against the companies, but again, I'll probably be dead before it settles, if it's not just thrown out. The car insurance paid out some, as little as possible, but we had to pay outstanding debt and there wasn't much left. My sister and I couldn't afford the mortgage payments for the house, couldn't get it refinanced when the real estate market tanked, and it was foreclosed. I ended up taking off a semester while I applied for scholarships, got my financial aid redone. Got used to everybody not being there. And I had to retake a couple of classes that I didn't do well enough in, from that semester that the Snap happened. I worked for a few years before starting my masters;  I did better with that, got that in two years. There's a really good on-line civil engineering program with an available focus in construction engineering from NC State. It was non-thesis, so I didn't have to travel to defend it, a real help."

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I was dusted. For me, it was just like taking a nap. We missed out on all the chaos."

"Don't apologize, it wasn't your fault." She smiled at him a little.

"I like your place." Topic jump, but he did.  The walls were brighter white in here, she had curtains over the battered metal-slat blinds that came with the place. He'd expected the furniture to be worn too, but it was unexpectedly magnificent. She must have inherited it. They couldn't put nails in the walls because the ancient plaster would crack and fall off, more than it had already, but she had pretty, lightweight posters put up with clear reusable tape. The doors were taken off the upper cabinets, and her plates were placed in wire racks, bowls and glasses upside down on a wire riser. He recognized anti-cockroach measures when he saw them. There were pretty little rugs on the floor and colorful towels on a drying rod screwed into the end of the kitchen cabinet. The clothesline was present. "It's cozy here. You've got some nice pieces," he said, and she wouldn't meet his eye. She had a six drawer step cabinet, hand forged iron corner protectors and drawer pulls, aged wood. A half moon table with gracefully curved, carved legs and a marble top by the door where she set her keys. An interesting Art Deco piece that had a small wardrobe with a mirror on the door of one side and an integrated bureau with five drawers, original hardware on the other side. A solid, snug, beautiful wood sleigh bed, a carved Asian screen to partition the studio apartment. A shiny chrome kitchen table and two chairs, like from an old diner. A wood valet folding chair and a dining room chair, used as bedside tables, and a comfortable leather sofa, the most modern-looking of the furniture.