It’s only a few miles down the highway. And I only make one driving mistake, something Madeline calls ‘blowing through a stop sign,’ and in just a few minutes we’re in the parking lot of an old mechanic shop with a huge, hand-painted sign that says, ‘Kitchen Sink’.
I point at the sign. “I don’t understand this name.”
“Oh.” Madeline laughs. “You know that saying, ‘Everything and the kitchen sink?’ It’s like a junk drawer in a building.”
“Oh.” I still don’t understand. But once we’re out of the truck and standing in the parking lot, Madeline takes my hand in hers and I feel like this is the real beginning of our romantic evening.
I smile at her and she smiles back. “I like you, Tomas.”
I feel a swell of happiness when these words come out. “I like you too, Madeline.”
She shrugs up her shoulders, grinning wide, and then leads me into the store.
“Big Jim!” she yells, once we’re inside. “Big Jim!”
“Who is Big Jim?”
“My uncle,” she says, then belts out, “I brought you a customer!”
No one answers.
“He’s probably on the shitter,” Madeline says. I make a face and she laughs. “You’re not used to people like us, are you?”
“I’m more of a loner,” I say, not wanting to hurt her feelings. But she’s right. I’m not used to people like her at all. It’s nothing personal. The only humans I’ve ever had contact with were all slave caretakers.
“Well, if I get too crude for you, just poke me and I’ll settle down. I have five brothers so I’m not really a girly-girl. But”—she holds up a finger—“I do like men. You know. In that way.”
I smile at her. Placating. Secretly wishing that we were somewhere else. But she starts looking around, then points to an aisle filled with large black box things.
“There. Those are the solar generators. Wanna check one out?”
I hesitate, not sure what a solar generator is or why I need one.
“Oh. I’m so stupid,” she says. “They’re super-expensive. I’m sorry. I’m not trying to pressure you into spending money you don’t have.”
“Oh, I have plenty of money. That’s not it.”
She brightens. “Oh, good. But…” Then her face falls again. “Then what is it?”
I want to come up with a lie that will explain my confusion at all these new, modern contraptions. But I can’t think of anything. So I just blurt out the truth. “I don’t know what any of this stuff is. Or what it does. Or why I would need it.”
“Oh.” Once again, she brightens. “Well. I can explain it all, if you want.”
I would much rather be taking a much-fantasized-about romantic walk in the town park while holding her hand and dreaming about my first real kiss—because that kiss with Pie doesn’t count. But I agree. “OK. Please do.”
And thirty minutes later my world is… transformed.
Electricity can be mined from the sun and captured in one of these black boxes. And if one owns a black box, one can plug things in.
Things like… radios. And computers. And phones. And toasters, and heating pads, and kettles.
Big Jim finally appears once I have all my things on the counter, ready to pay.
“Is this all for you?” he says. His voice is gruff and rustic, like his person. And he talks the same way the sheriff does. He is a massive man. Much taller than me, and I’m very tall. But he is wide, too, and has a gray beard that stretches down to his chest. His bib overalls are light denim and one of the straps is undone and hanging down the side of his pot belly, allowing me to glimpse a picture of an eagle printed in white on a black t-shirt and the letters ‘SHTF’ over the top of it.
I look around the store, wondering if I should buy more things. I can’t wait to get it all home. We have attempted to wire in electricity at the sanctuary in the past, and it would work for a short period of time. But then, of course, the curse would break it.
I tried explaining this to Madeline, but she said there are no wires to power the generator. It’s all energy from the sun. Which has not been tried yet at our sanctuary, and we do have sun, so I’m taking a chance.