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58.
Tedda awoke on a strange bed under the crushing tons of a broken ceiling about to fall down upon her. She sat up, startled.
"Tedda!" Edgar called from someplace. She sat up at the edge of the bed. As she did so, she caught movement in the corners of her eyes. Momentarily, she felt dizzy. For just an instant, the entire world did a single lightning twirl, like barbershop pole. It was over in a flash. Had the crushed buildings and the frozen street all been part of a dream? And what of Amy and Watka?
She was in a hotel room over looking Green Station, whose gloriously illuminated neon letters glowed outside the window. Edgar came in holding a container of chicken dinners and cola bottles. "Hey, Tedda, wake up. The day's a-wasting."
"What happened?"
He shrugged. "You must have been right upstairs, whatever you told them to do. We went to sleep in a rat-hole, and woke up this morning in a first-class hotel. He walked past her and opened the curtains. He stood near her wearing shorts and a shirt, and she caressed his bare leg. "Hey, don't get me started. The chicken's getting cold."
They both laughed. Sitting on the balcony, overlooking Monopol City, they had their bare feet up on the railing as they ate batter-fried chicken breasts, roasted potato slices, fresh sweet cole slaw, and barbecue baked beans. The cola was cold and fizzy and went down nicely too.
Hedrock told a dumb joke, and they both laughed. "Why do Gotha dogs have flat foreheads?" Answer: "From chasing parked cars."
Monopol City sprawled all around them. They could hear the music and the dancing in the streets below. Palm trees waved in a balmy breeze as the City Monorail rattled past smartly on its tracks. The signal horn brayed as the cars entered Green Station to take on and let off passengers. Beyond the bustling city skyscrapers, miles and miles of blue ocean glittered in the warm midday sun. A blue, nearly cloudless sky sweltered overhead.
Hedrock told her: "When I got here, I figured I might as well live it up for whatever short time was left. I was miserable without you, but I blew most of my wad on this hotel room, so we're good here for at least another month. In that time, I can get us set up over in one of the better suburbs."
She laughed. "We'll need jobs."
"Yeah, or just be beach bums. I could use a long rest without all the anxiety."
She wiggled her toes on his. "And we'll get tans from head to foot."
He looked at her. "I'm bored already. Shall we go dance, or have a drink, or walk on the beach, or make love, or just sleep some more?"
She kissed him and wrapped her arm around his neck. "Whatever you want to do. I just totally don't care right now."
So, lacking the energy to make a decision, they stayed where they were while the afternoon wore on. The air was balmy. Planes landed and took off, trolleys rattled by through the Green and Red and Blue Stations. The air smelled like eucalyptus and coconut milk, with lavender and diesel burn mixed in. It was a very relaxing time, and they watched cruise ships come and go over the rims of their toes.
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