When she mentioned her sister he couldn’t help but smile small and wry, following her through the house. Old houses always sounded different when you walked in them, almost more hollow in a sense, like more a living organism than a dull ton of bricks thrown together. That was always his impression at any rate, with newer houses there was an undue sense of haste. Houses were wanted and so they were built, and built quickly, little to no thought put into them. A house like this on the other hand, was the product of many years, slowly added to and every change considered as carefully as a life decision.
He glanced at her when she mentioned her parents passing away. “There is yet something more we have in common.” He mentioned. “I like to think they’re lucky, in the sense they didn’t have to see the world come to where it is now.” He bit his lip slightly, but seemed convinced they were in fact better off dead. “I have no doubt in my mind—it would have broken them.”
The Planet of the Apes reference was one of the few he got, and he snorted. “I wonder if that comes as a compliment or not.” He wondered, “Am I to take from that—my appearance resembles the great Charlton Heston, or that—something along the lines of being a hairy, wild–” He stopped himself, shaking his head in slight bemusement. “No, I’ll take the first.” He decided, but went on to answer her question. “Had. Certainly. But they’re on the opposite side you must understand.” He explained, referring to the extra distance it would have taken to get there. “Plan B so to speak.”
Arriving at the cellar he stepped forward, turning a searching eye over the structure. The generators were loud, droning away, at least to him. Still, in a sense it did help him keep grounded to his task. The woodwork, aside from a few replacements was for the most part original. It had been good work. He took a deep breath, nostalgia giving him pause. He noticed a piece that couldn’t be older than a few months. “Yours or your Harry’s?” He wondered out loud.
Though she hadn’t to admit it, Sasha found she had to agree. Her parents didn’t like anything that was even a little sci-fi, finding out about Evos would be bad enough for them. But to see the country plunged into segregation and cruelty - after everything they’d seen during the 20th century, it would have been too much. Still, what she wouldn’t give to hold her mother’s hand one more time. Sighing sadly, Sasha shrugged “I wish they’d gotten to meet her.” She said, putting a hand on Ada’s back. “But I suppose you’re right.”
Moving quickly on, Sasha was glad that he’d gotten her reference, but wasn’t offended, which was the last thing she wanted to do. “Oh definitely Charlton-Heston-esk.” She laughed, walking through the garden to the door of the root cellar. It had occurred to her that they might want to use the cellar as intended, but the property was large enough that they had other options for when they started growing their own food.
Once inside, Sasha kept Ada next to her, to keep her away from the machinery. “The renovations were a little difficult actually. Harry was in a wheelchair and I’m barely five foot, so there was a lot of working together.” She smiled, thinking of the many balancing acts they’d had to perform to get everything working.
