Part Six

The snow melted and the spring sun brought the field aside their home back to life. Wildflowers swayed in the gentle breeze and filled the air with a light fragrance. Suzy looked out over the field and felt inspired to head outside for a bit. She picked up her mat and gear, leaned down and kissed Steve on the cheek as he busily worked on his latest book, and headed out the front door.

She found her way to the steppingstones they had laid when the fields were low and walked to a small platform that they built at the high spot in the field. It was a serene location with 360-degree views of their property and their neighbors, along with sight to the mountains. She unrolled her mat and put a small strip of extra padding down for her knees.

She took in a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders as she exhaled. She looked at the house and saw Steve’s head bowed down working steadily. She refocused on her stance and started to move through her sequence.

She first moved into her Cat-Cow combination. Her knees revealed it had been a bit since she had practiced. The extra padding helped at least. She moved into down dog and stretched back, feeling the tightness in her legs begin to loosen.

She continued moving through to a standing position and came into Warrior II. Her balance swayed as she struggled to keep her footing. Finally, she was able to stabilize and move into triangle, but she remained unsteady. She started to move into side angle, then her being out of practice became apparent. She lost her ability to stand and landed on her butt.

Instinctively, she quickly sat up and looked around hoping no one saw. Well, making sure Steve didn’t see. She looked back at the window where he had been sitting, but he wasn’t there. She sighed in relief and stood back up, backing up to Warrior II to start the sequence again.

She struggled to get through, but finally moved on to chair, then folded over and moved into the floor positions. By now, she was sweating. It was something that amazed her; nothing in the sequence was too difficult, but she always found putting it together would cause her to get warm.

Finally, she approached the end of the sequence and Savasana, her favorite part in the practice. She stretched out and relaxed her body. As she came back to paying attention, she looked at the sky and decided to keep laying there a few more minutes watching the puffy clouds and enjoying being in the field.

The sound of steps came from behind her. A shadow cast across her as Steve kneeled down at her head and gently kissed her. Then she felt a chill on her shoulder. Steve had slipped a cold water against her skin and she jumped, then laughed. “Why, I oughtta!” she exclaimed as she sat up and turned towards him.

“Oughtta what?” he retorted with an impish smile as he set down a small basket on the platform. “I thought you could use a bite to eat. Can I join you?”

Her shock at the cold water faded and her face changed into a smile. She slid back on her mat to give him room to join her. “What did you bring us?”

He pulled out a few items from the basket – cheese, grapes, crackers, some dried meat. He hesitated a moment, then he pulled out two small bowls, one full of sweet gherkins and for dessert, some strawberries.

Suzy’s eyes lit up. “My favorites!”

The lab was abuzz with activity when Jon and Mikaela arrived. Sam was setting up the machines, no larger than a couple cubes while Gene set up the robotic arms. Several more cubes were set up to the side, in line for the configuration.

Sam’s tone had lightened from the earlier interchange. “Hey, Boss, did you give Jon the two-dollar tour?” followed by a chuckle. “You know, there’s always magic behind the curtain!”

Gene just shook his head and tended to connecting the robotic arm to its base. “You’re a nut, Sam.”

Mikaela just shook her head as she pulled out three chips required for the setup. She checked their integrity and slipped each one into the cubes. Slowly they pulsed. She looked at Jon. “The installs are automated with these chips. We’ll have to train the basic movements here, then make final adjustments on the floor.”

She handed Jon another set of chips similar to the three she had so he could start on the next set, then looked at her watch. She sharply exhaled and uttered, “Where is Scott?” She looked at the door and tapped her hand against the table. He’s always late. Why would tonight be different?

She turned back to the machines she was installing and saw they were finished. She popped out the chips and moved them a table by the robot, then came back. “Let’s build them all this evening, then train them tomorrow. We have 14 sets to get through. I hoped it would just be an hour, but looks like it might be a little longer if Scott’s a no-show.”

Jon looked over at Mikaela. He knew the look on her face, a mix of disappointment and displeasure. He’d seen it long ago. He knew this is why she was always so hands on with the work; she had a hard time trusting others to just show up.

15 minutes later, the door flew open and Scott, breathless, came in. “Sorry I’m late…”

Mikaela held up her hand, holding up three chips. “No excuses. Here are the chips, get to work.”

Scott stammered and his face turned a little red. “Sure thing, Boss.” A smell of tobacco followed behind him. He snatched the chips and took three more machines to start the install.

Gene piped up. “Well, Mikaela, I have the test robot set up. Want to come check it out?”

Mikaela walked over and Gene showed her all the connection points. “I also bolted it down temporarily, you know… should anything happen.”

Mikaela smiled with pleasure. Gene always delivers and thinks ahead. “Thanks Gene, great work. Why don’t you get out of here for the night?”

It was only the second genuine smile Jon had seen from her since they arrived at the lab. Jon wrapped up the next machine and looked up. “Looks like we have about three to go — one for each of us.”

Mikaela looked over. “No way, that’s great!” She looked at her watch and realized it had just reached 18:00. Her smile grew. “We’re basically on track.”

Sam pulled on Mikaela’s arm. “The machines are all here. Do you still need me?” He was almost timid suddenly talking to Mikaela. Jon couldn’t make heads or tails out of the interchange. Mikaela however didn’t seem surprised.

She knowingly blinked her eyes and looked at the door. “Get out of here. See you in the morning.”

Sam thanked her and quietly slipped out.

Scott and Jon finished up their final machines and Mikaela wrapped up hers shortly afterward. Jon could see exhaustion in Mikaela’s face and spoke up. “Ready to shut it down for the night, Mike?”

Mikaela looked up for a moment. “I’ll just be a few more minutes. I have some final things to wrap up. You two go ahead and head out.”

Scott bolted to the door, ready to leave. “Bye!” he shouted as the lab door shut behind him.

Jon pulled up a chair and took a seat next to Mikaela. “Mike, you haven’t changed.” He placed his hand on her device, and she looked up. “You need to stop. Dinner – let’s grab a bite and catch up.”

Mikaela forced a grin and pocketed her device. She shrugged, took a deep breath, then responded with hesitation, “Okay.”