The Resistance, page 24
“Do you think you will be happy on Buru, sayid?”
“Happy? Hardly. Buru is a poor substitute for Earth. I will miss my coffee and my chocolate—but I will live, and I suppose that is something.”
“Since you mentioned coffee, sayid, Old Ben here has a small gift for you.” She looked over at Old Ben, who was rocking back and forth from one foot to the other while waiting for his big moment. Now he dug into his pockets and came out with a handful of seeds, placing them carefully into Oho’s enormous hands.
“These here are coffee beans,” Old Ben said in English. He mimed drinking a cup of coffee. “Unroasted, dontcha know, so you can plant ‘em. Here’s hopin’ they give ya a little taste of home wherever ya go.”
Elena translated for him, and Oho looked touched at the gesture, which was saying a lot for Oho. The two of them had been unlikely roommates for years now, and Old Ben certainly knew Oho well enough to know how much he craved his morning cup of coffee.
“And I got this for you,” Connor said, stepping forward uncertainly and handing Oho a small package wrapped in brown paper with a single piece of flimsy tape stuck to the top. He mimed unwrapping it, and Oho complied. Inside was a single bar of dark chocolate. Oho’s eyes lit up. He nodded his thanks but resisted Connor’s attempts at a farewell hug.
Lim knew better than to try and hug him. Instead she bowed to Oho, said a grave farewell in Phant, with a final sayid thrown in for good measure, then stepped back to let the last Phant of her acquaintance leave planet Earth.
Chapter 89
So what now?” Royce asked. “Now that the Resistance is over and the planet is ours again, what are we going to do with ourselves?”
They were back at their old home in the Shenandoah Valley, rocking on their front porch and looking out at a glorious sunset. It had been years since they had been able to relax like this, with no obligations, no worries, and no Resistance to run.
“Do?” Aubrey asked. “Well, let’s see: we’ll take long naps, we’ll go on vacation somewhere, and we’ll remember how to enjoy ourselves again. How does that sound?”
“That sounds great. But I’ll bet we get bored before too long.”
“You always say that,” Aubrey said with a delicious yawn and a stretch. “And you know what? It’s never true! Boredom sounds pretty good to me right now. I’m a little afraid to ask, but what were you thinking?”
Royce smiled, rocking for a beat or two in silence. “I hear they’ll be electing a new President soon.”
Aubrey stared at him in stunned silence. “What? Of the United States of America? Are you kidding me, Royce?”
“Why not? You’d be perfect for it.”
“Me? I thought you meant you.”
Royce shrugged. “Take your pick. I’d be happy either way. The country’s going to need a lot of help getting back on its feet, Aubrey. Things are still a mess around here, in case you haven’t noticed. And we’re already kind of famous, so why not?”
“Royce, hon, you are a piece of work, you know that?” Aubrey leaned in and kissed him. “President! My God! Here I am thinking Cancún and piña coladas, and here you are thinking about one of us becoming President!” Aubrey shook her head with a wry smile and stared out into the distance.
But Royce could see she was thinking about it, and for now that was good enough for him.
The End
This completes the Occupy Earth Trilogy
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this trilogy,
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Robert Charlton hopes readers have enjoyed this little tale of life under the dominion of others not us. He had great fun writing these overbearing, know-it-all beings into existence then watching the humans squirm out from under their thumb. He’d dearly love to see “Earth or Bust!” bumper stickers on cars and RVs in the not-too-distant future.
Robert lives in Boulder, Colorado. He and his wife retired in 2006 at the age of 43 and have since traveled to over eighty countries. His crosswords have been published in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He is the co-author of How to Retire Early: Your Guide to Getting Rich Slowly and Retiring on Less. The Occupy Earth Trilogy is his first foray into fiction. Leave it to him to start with a thousand-page-plus trilogy—he swears his next work will be a stand-alone novel of three hundred pages or less. If you’d like to follow along with his latest adventures in uncommon living, visit www.wherewebe.com.
Robert Charlton, The Resistance
