Day Is Done

Posted on Wed 5th Jun, 2019 @ 10:28pm by Lieutenant Damion Ildaran & Elizabeth Anderson M.D.

1,032 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: A Diplomatic Affair
Location: Damion Ildaran's Quarters, Deck 30
Timeline: MD-2, 1800

"When someone is going through a storm, your silent presence is more powerful than a million empty words." --Kimberly Jones Pothier

It had been a long day, Damion thought as he entered his quarters in the Starfleet section of the base, thankful that tonight wasn't an evening when he was pretending to be Corin Durant--though Corin's sleeping pod contained a top-notch bed that would not have gone amiss, right about now. He changed out of his uniform, turned on FNN to get the station news, and then drank a tumbler of iced water, which felt good going down.

Damion looked over the extensive hydroponics set-up that lined one wall of his quarters. More of the latest vegetable crop was ripe; he would have to do some canning this weekend. He took a basket out of his kitchen and walked over to the plants.

As he harvested his produce, Damion wondered for the hundredth time that day anyone was caring for Zelda Alegari's plants. The question had bothered him ever since he'd learned earlier in the day that she had bought plants from Scents of Love. It likely wouldn't have bothered anyone else, he thought, but for him, healthy plants were survival. If a plant disease struck Turkana City's hydroponics labs, his people usually half-starved until the menace could be eradicated--either that, or they had to go topside to gather and replenish their stores of plants, or spend time fishing. No one liked doing that, though, as too many dangers lurked in the Upper City's ruins. Convenient edible plants and fishing holes were often traps for the unwary.

And so he looked at his own plants--the cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, and strawberries, and couldn't put Zelda's out of his mind. How long had she been locked up? A good two weeks, at least. He grimaced, imagining the damage her plants had likely suffered while Zelda was not there to care for them. Damion devoutly hoped she had an automatic watering system, as he did.

* * *

The last client left Elizabeth's office. She leaned her head back against her chair, reflecting on the fact that business was steadily growing. She no longer worried that she wouldn't be able to make a living on her own. Rolling her head to one side, she looked at the large antique clock on the wall. It was after 6, 1800, so perhaps Damion was home by now. It looked as if his day had been interesting. What would he feel he could share with her, if anything?

Anderson fiddled with her wrist-configured ID communications device,¹ thinking about Damion and her feelings for him. It was odd, still, to think in terms of even having feelings. She still didn't completely understand them, and if they weren't so intense on the subject of Damion, she would probably have an engineer reprogram her. On the other hand, to be human was to have feelings. Where did she want the process to stop ... or did she? Questions for another day, she thought, with a sigh.

Finally, she flipped open the cover of the device and said, "Damion Ildaran." That woman at lunch had been a beauty.

Damian heard his earpiece ring as he carried a couple of ripened yellow squash and some tomatoes to his kitchenette. He perked up slightly, as the ringtone was a piece of Japanese music that he had assigned to Elizabeth's number. "Elizabeth?" he said as he set the vegetables down and briefly tightened a muscle in his face to pick up the call. "How are you? It's good to hear your voice."

"Really? At lunch you looked supremely happy with your company," she teased, with a laugh. Of course, he hadn't. He'd seemed tense, which she rarely saw in him, and his eyes had been everywhere at once. Hence, the message she'd sent. "It's quite a blow to my ego to see you enjoy lunch with a beautiful woman. I'm not sure this bodes well for our future."

Damion laughed. "Supremely happy--Is that the word for it?" he teased back. "Thank you for the note you sent, by the way. It gave me a good laugh, which I very much needed. Interesting as she was, I would rather have spent the lunch with you."

Elizabeth smiled and, though Damion couldn't see her, it sounded in her voice as dry humor. "What a relief! I was quite concerned that I was going to be replaced by a fascinating criminal."

She shifted topics. "What are you up to this evening? No, before you tell me, let me tell you that I'm fixing a very ancient recipe tonight for dinner - it's called enchilada pie. If you wanted to join me in about an hour, you'd be welcome. Unless you have a better offer, or more work to do, of course."

"And I was about to invite you over here," Damion said. "It seems as if I always go over to your place, and I didn't want to impose. I have some fresh yellow squash and tomatoes I've just harvested, and some strawberries I haven't gotten to yet. Shall I bring any of that with me?"

"If you feel like sharing, I love all of those," Elizabeth admitted. "Or save them and feed me tomorrow night, also a lovely plan. I haven't seen the garden since the squash blossoms were just opening. Wouldn't it be heavenly to have two quiet evenings at home ... in a row?"

Damion laughed. "Yes, it would! Deal, then. I'll cook for us here, tomorrow night. But I've enough strawberries for tonight and tomorrow, if you wouldn't be sick of them by tomorrow."

"Are there actually people who get sick of strawberries?" Elizabeth wondered. "I can't imagine such a thing. In fact, if you show up in an hour without them, I would be tempted not to let you in."

"Now that would be a shame, as I'm quite curious about this enchilada pie. See you in an hour, with fresh fruit in hand," Damion promised and hung up.

---

¹ iPhone Watch Device from Apple Technologies - civilian communications device - one among many. =)

 

RSS Feed