defend. "I have two days until we load out and leave. I can lose three or four kilograms if I exercise."
* * *
"I had the carpet and walls cleaned. The sofa and love seat don't match," April said, frowning at them, "but they are clean and the cushions don't slump. You have a decent wall screen and some extra Hardoy chairs if you have company. It really needs a low table in front of the sofa doesn't it?"
"You fret too much," Mama-san told April. "When we were newly married we slept the first half year on a camping mat, in a Tokyo apartment half this size. We sat on the floor around a shipping crate for a table. It wasn't at a comfortable half G either."
"If you want me to get my kitchen installed ahead of time so you guys can use it I'd be happy to do that."
"We have the cafeteria and we'll keep a few packs of self heating stuff here, for if we have an off day and don't want to march to the cafeteria. If you have it installed you can bet something will need torn out again when you do the rest. It's only for a couple months."
"All right, you're sure easygoing. It feels weird being a landlord before I ever had a real chance to be a homeowner."
"You have your Hawaiian home," Papa-san pointed out.
"But I never got to spend a night there. It never felt like home. I'm not sure I'll ever get back to use it. Com me if you need anything," she offered at the door, reluctant to leave.
"We shall," Mama-san assured her, waved American style and closed the entry on her, firmly.
Papa-san made a brief call on his hand com and they relaxed on the new-to-them sofa.
In about five minutes Chen and his wife Huian were at the door with luggage. Papa-san set the entry to their hands and welcomed them.
"Are the children not interested in seeing their new place?" Mama-san asked.
"It was near time to report for their full G sleeping period, so they remained in the cafeteria which is near the nursery. They'll see it tomorrow. Our son is trustworthy to get himself and his sister there," Huian said tensely, like that might meet with disapproval.
"No criticism implied," Mama-san assured her. "We didn't coddle our daughter like North Americans. We lived in Hawaii, but we didn't adopt the culture when it didn't suit us."
"How badly do you want to keep our sublease secret from Miss Lewis?" Chen asked.
"I don't expect either of us to skulk around or lie. It's not forbidden. It's just a long standing habit to keep my business to myself. It has avoided so many complications over the years."
"Do you want to run our households on staggered shifts or the same shift? Chen asked.
"Trying to be quiet on staggered sleeping shifts is hard. Main shift seems to be for business. The other two shifts have active maintenance and things like ship repair, but things like personal services and retail are on Main. Why should one of us miss that? Let's do the same shift, but staggered wake-ups, so we are not all wanting the bath at the same time. Say 0600 and 0700?"
"That sounds good. Who first?"
Papa-san took a bright new gold Solar from his pocket and flipped it carefully in the unfamiliar half G. The trajectory was a bit odd. "Call it," he said, snatching it from the air and slapping it on the back of his other hand, covered. "Scenic face, or assay tail?"
* * *
The gossip news site was tacky, catty, trashy and vulgar. It needlessly presented itself on the screen as garishly flashy too. April used serious rating sites for business reputation or reviewing hardware, but didn't approve of sites like this, that just spread personal rumor and gossip. The sad fact was it had far more readers than serious journals with reputable news. It was sited in England, but had readers in America, Europe, a serious number in Australia and the moneyed parts of Asia. To April's irritation, it apparently had readers even on the habs and the Moon. She received a note that it mentioned her and to check it out with a link provided, but not a hint how the sender found it, amusing
* * *
"I had the carpet and walls cleaned. The sofa and love seat don't match," April said, frowning at them, "but they are clean and the cushions don't slump. You have a decent wall screen and some extra Hardoy chairs if you have company. It really needs a low table in front of the sofa doesn't it?"
"You fret too much," Mama-san told April. "When we were newly married we slept the first half year on a camping mat, in a Tokyo apartment half this size. We sat on the floor around a shipping crate for a table. It wasn't at a comfortable half G either."
"If you want me to get my kitchen installed ahead of time so you guys can use it I'd be happy to do that."
"We have the cafeteria and we'll keep a few packs of self heating stuff here, for if we have an off day and don't want to march to the cafeteria. If you have it installed you can bet something will need torn out again when you do the rest. It's only for a couple months."
"All right, you're sure easygoing. It feels weird being a landlord before I ever had a real chance to be a homeowner."
"You have your Hawaiian home," Papa-san pointed out.
"But I never got to spend a night there. It never felt like home. I'm not sure I'll ever get back to use it. Com me if you need anything," she offered at the door, reluctant to leave.
"We shall," Mama-san assured her, waved American style and closed the entry on her, firmly.
Papa-san made a brief call on his hand com and they relaxed on the new-to-them sofa.
In about five minutes Chen and his wife Huian were at the door with luggage. Papa-san set the entry to their hands and welcomed them.
"Are the children not interested in seeing their new place?" Mama-san asked.
"It was near time to report for their full G sleeping period, so they remained in the cafeteria which is near the nursery. They'll see it tomorrow. Our son is trustworthy to get himself and his sister there," Huian said tensely, like that might meet with disapproval.
"No criticism implied," Mama-san assured her. "We didn't coddle our daughter like North Americans. We lived in Hawaii, but we didn't adopt the culture when it didn't suit us."
"How badly do you want to keep our sublease secret from Miss Lewis?" Chen asked.
"I don't expect either of us to skulk around or lie. It's not forbidden. It's just a long standing habit to keep my business to myself. It has avoided so many complications over the years."
"Do you want to run our households on staggered shifts or the same shift? Chen asked.
"Trying to be quiet on staggered sleeping shifts is hard. Main shift seems to be for business. The other two shifts have active maintenance and things like ship repair, but things like personal services and retail are on Main. Why should one of us miss that? Let's do the same shift, but staggered wake-ups, so we are not all wanting the bath at the same time. Say 0600 and 0700?"
"That sounds good. Who first?"
Papa-san took a bright new gold Solar from his pocket and flipped it carefully in the unfamiliar half G. The trajectory was a bit odd. "Call it," he said, snatching it from the air and slapping it on the back of his other hand, covered. "Scenic face, or assay tail?"
* * *
The gossip news site was tacky, catty, trashy and vulgar. It needlessly presented itself on the screen as garishly flashy too. April used serious rating sites for business reputation or reviewing hardware, but didn't approve of sites like this, that just spread personal rumor and gossip. The sad fact was it had far more readers than serious journals with reputable news. It was sited in England, but had readers in America, Europe, a serious number in Australia and the moneyed parts of Asia. To April's irritation, it apparently had readers even on the habs and the Moon. She received a note that it mentioned her and to check it out with a link provided, but not a hint how the sender found it, amusing
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