It was the first celebration of this kind in many years. Everyone realized that they were on the threshold of a new era. Even Devin was inspired knowing that they would all work a little harder now. He just might get his platform for the BlackStar before the Su-12 was completed.
After things began to wind down, Lynn asked Raymond if he would like to come to dinner. He was taken aback at first.
“How is that possible? Don’t you live on Level–5 with the other scientists?”
“I do, so what?”
“Did you mean in the dining facility?”
“No. At my place. Haven’t you been in one of the pods yet?”
“Pods?”
“That’s what we call them. It isn’t just a room with four walls. I have a living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and study. I even have a laundry room and an exercise room,” she explained.
“Well, in that case, I would be honored. What time would you like me to come by?”
“Eightish would be just fine, I’m in 112.”
“Then eight it shall be. I have a bottle of wine in my quarters, would you like me to bring it?”
“You poor misguided man. I have a rack of wine. Do you think I could stay here this long without a steady supply of fine wine?”
“I guess I never thought about it. Then I will see you at eight he said.
When he got back to his residence he immediately took the paper he had found on Level–9 and opened it. It was a schedule of some kind. No name was on it but it was definitely a test schedule of some kind. Someone had written THE HUMP in bold letters and the number 5725 after it. He had no idea what it meant. Maybe he could work it into his conversation with Lynn later tonight.
After taking a long hot shower and shaving he put on a clean pair of slacks and a polo shirt. He decided to just wear his Dockers without socks. He wasn’t going to be any more formal than necessary.
He wished he could take some flowers to her but that seemed impossible out here in the middle of this wasteland. He went out to the Hummer and got the map and brought it in looking for anything that referred to the Hump.
He found a magnifying glass in the desk drawer and sat down at the table and started an inch by inch search. After twenty minutes he gave up. Nothing on his map said anything about a Hump and no elevations were listed. Maybe it referred to something entirely different. Whatever it was, he was no closer now than when he started.
It was going on 7:30 p.m. when he hopped in the Hummer and headed back to the S-4 facility. The sun was directly in his eyes as he drove along the dusty path. He passed one of the patrol cars but all they did was watch as he drove by.
It was three minutes after eight when he knocked on the door to her pod as she called it. She opened the door and invited him in. She looked stunning in a black chiffon dress with spaghetti straps.
“Welcome to my pod,” she said.
“You look lovely,” he said.
She laughed, “Just lovely? I put a lot of work into this buster.”
“Did I say lovely? I meant spectacular, gorgeous, and beautiful.”
“Come on, don’t stop now,” she said, laughing again.
“De-lovely, delightful.”
Okay, okay.I guess that will do. All kidding aside, I did appreciate the lovely comment the most,” she replied. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”
They took a tour of her pod and he was surprised at how nice it really was. The rooms were spacious and very well appointed. There was an awkward pause when they got to the bedroom.
“This is my bedroom. I don’t spend much time here,” she said.
“That’s too bad.”
“I meant, I spend a lot of the time in the lab,” she said, slapping him playfully on the chest, “Anyway, would you like to open the wine? I have a very nice Merlot to go with our meal.”
“Show me the bottle and I will do the honors.”
She took him to the kitchen and gave him a captain’s tool to open the wine.
“A captain’s tool. I’m impressed,” he said.
“It’s the only way to open wine. Those things with the wings on them are for pretenders. Real wine drinkers use one of those,” she said, inclining her head towards where he had laid it on the counter.
He let the wine sit to breathe while they talked about the various wines they liked. He poured a small amount in the wine glass and swirled it around before offering it to her. She took a small sip and let it roll over her tongue and around in her mouth. She let it slide down the back of her throat.
“Nice,” she said.
Raymond took a sip from the same glass and did the same before pronouncing it delightful.
They had a simple meal of New York Strip steak, baked potato, and asparagus. His was medium rare, the same as hers.
“How did you know I would want mine medium rare?” he asked.
“Real steak lovers wouldn’t think of going past that so I figured I would be safe with medium rare,” she said.
“How can you cook a steak down here? I see the Jenn-air but where does the exhaust go?
“It connects into the exhaust vent that goes to the surface. I once asked how they kept people from smelling the food we cook and was told it had several different types of filters.”
