“I do not know. I was. Like you, we had not lived together for some months, but that was not estrangement. I was in space. Now … so many have died. My wife was Russian; the base was in the Ukraine. John Woodward tells me he heard tales of revolt in the Soviet Union. The Moslem republics would see this invasion as the punishment of Allah. The Ukraine was never satisfied to be part of Russia either. Perhaps …” He shrugged. “So many have died.”
“Doesn’t it upset you? Not knowing?”
“Of course. We Russians are great sentimentalists. What should I do, mourn? To her I am dead, even if she lives. I am not likely to see her again in any case.”
Jeri gasped. “I … I guess I never thought about it that way. We’re none of us going to get back alive, are we?”
Arvid shrugged again. “The only way we will be taken to Earth is as part of their herd. That implies victory for them. I do not believe Russia will surrender easily. Or the United States. Americans are stubborn.”
“Stubborn. Maybe that’s it. We like to say we love freedom.”
“Did you hear much of Russia?” Arvid asked seriously.
“No. There was a little on the radio, about how Russia was being attacked just like we were. I didn’t see much of what they did to us. The dam, I saw that. And Harry told me about other dams and bridges. And they made a big crater on a main highway, right where two highways crossed. But I didn’t see much until they landed.”
“And that was the first attack,” Arvid said. “The next time will be more serious.”
“What will they do?”
“The ship is ‘mated to a foot.’ I do not think it will be long mated. Nikolai has seen it.” He told her of Nikolai’s report.
“So you think they’ll throw the asteroid at Earth?”
“Why should they not?” Arvid asked seriously.
“No, of course it makes sense.” She shuddered. “And we thought it was bad when they attacked the bridges and dams! Now’s when it gets really bad.”
“Yes. I must say it is pleasant not having to explain these things to you.”
She made an irritated gesture. “Women aren’t stupid, you know.”
He shrugged. “Some are, some are not. As with men. Perhaps it is time to begin work again. Come, we can stay together. If you do not mind?”
“It’s all right.”
Fog lay across the Bellingham harbor, and rain drizzled from the skies. From the harbor area distant sounds of work drifted up to the Enclave: hammers, trucks, barge motors… something that buzzed…
“They’re sure building a hell of a greenhouse,” Isadore said. He laughed.
George Tate-Evans looked at their own efforts and joined the laughter. “Well, I guess it’s more than we did.” They went back into the house.
Kevin Shakes watched them go, then went back to work. “I thought we’d done pretty well,” he said.
“Sure,” Miranda answered. “Enough to send Mom up the walls.” In fact they had done a lot. Where picture windows had surrounded the X-shaped house, now there were steel shutters. Where the tennis court had been, above the hidden bomb shelter, there stood the skeleton of a greenhouse. Kevin was nailing glass plates into place with exquisite care. He’d finished the bottom two rows. Now he must work on the ladder, with Miranda to hand him tools and panes and move the ladder on its wheeled base.
George Tate-Evans and Isadore Leiber came out carrying half a dozen sheets of glass, laughing as they came. Kevin heard: “-still isn’t talking to you?”
“Vicki is ominously silent. Iz, I thought it was over once we got the shutters up. You know, ‘The house feels like a prison! I never thought we’d be living in a prison …’ And then she settled down. And then there was the President saying everyone should build greenhouses, and two days later you and Jack were saying that for once the fuzzy-headed liberal son of a bitch was probably right… Kevin, Miranda, how’re you doing?”
“So far so good,” Kevin said. “Maybe another two days. You could start planting now.”
“Let’s look it over, Iz.”
The older men set the glass on a pair of sawhorses. Isadore followed George around the corner and into the greenhouse. They walked the imaginary aisles, avoiding the white chalk markings put down to show where the plants would go. There was no glass to diminish their voices.
George was saying, “Iz, by the time we got serious about the greenhouse, all the glass in Bellingham and most of the plastic was bought up. Where else were we going to get glass?”
“You can see their point, though.”
“Clara too?”
“Damn straight.”
“All right, so it’s ugly. Why do we have to have all the women on our backs?”
“It’s not just ugly. We took out the windows. That means we’ll have these damn shutters till we can take down the greenhouse. If ever. Maybe we can put the windows back after the government job gets going.”
From above their heads Kevin said, “What?”
Isadore looked up in surprise. George didn’t bother. “Iz, you’re nuts. Depend on the government for food? God knows what the government’s going to do with the stuff it grows, but you can be sure we don’t get any of it.”
