In honour of all who carried us this far.

She arrived, at last, at a mud-and-metal home, not particularly different from the others. This one, though, had a painted sign beside the door. Santoso, it read, underlined by four handprints – two big, two small. She relaxed as she saw a familiar red scoot-bike tossed unceremoniously onto the front porch. Aya was home. She’d be receiving yet another talking-to about putting her things away properly, but still – she was home.

The warm air inside made Tessa melt with relief, and a wonderful smell met her nose. George stuck his head out of the kitchen doorway. His beard and belly were streaked with flour, and he wore a pair of oven mitts. ‘You are about fifteen minutes away from a kickass desert chicken soup and what is, I believe, my best bread yet,’ he said. He looked her up and down. ‘Did you forget your jacket again?’

Tessa rolled her eyes. ‘What’s so special about this bread?’ she asked as she pulled off her boots.

‘Nuh uh,’ he said, ducking back into the kitchen. ‘A chef never reveals his secrets.’

Tessa shook her head with a smile. The previous winter – their first on Seed – when there’d been little to do but stay warm and go bonkers, George had discovered a previously unknown love for baking. He was honestly talking about quitting the construction crew to open up a shop. George. Her husband, George. Tessa privately thought he could do with a few more loaves that weren’t gooey on the inside before he made the leap, but she wasn’t about to squash his enthusiasm, and besides, she was happy to eat her way through as many experiments as it took.

Stars, but it was nice having him around.

‘Where’s Aya?’ she asked.

‘Talking to your dad,’ he said.

Tessa raised her eyebrows and made her way to the living room. There indeed was her daughter, covered in dirt from head to toe, having an animated discussion with Pop on the sib.

‘And then,’ Aya said, ‘Jasmin was like, I bet you can’t jump that ditch, and I said, yeah, I can, and I did. I crashed when I landed, though. Look, see.’ She raised up her elbows toward the screen. ‘I’ve already got crazy bruises.’

‘Yikes,’ Pop said. Light glinted off his ocular implant as he nodded approvingly. ‘Those are impressive.’

‘Yeah, tomorrow we’re gonna go off the dock into the lake. Tommy built a ramp, and it’s fine, the water’s real deep.’

Pop laughed from way deep in his chest. ‘You’ll have to show me when I come visit.’

‘When are you coming?’

‘Early next standard. Takes a long time to get there. Think you can find a scoot-bike for me?’

Aya giggled. ‘I dunno.’ She turned her head. ‘Mom’s here, do you want to talk to her?’

‘Nah,’ he said. ‘Don’t have time.’

Tessa raised her voice. ‘Thanks, Pop.’

Pop leaned toward his screen confidentially. ‘Tell your mom I can’t talk because I’ve got a hot date.’

Aya craned her head back. ‘Grandpa says he can’t talk, he’s got a hot date.’

‘Oh, stars,’ Tessa said. She pinched the bridge of her nose, then walked into frame. ‘Lupe?’

‘Psh,’ Pop said. ‘Old news. I’m meeting Marjo at Top to Bottom.’

‘And I’m sorry I asked,’ Tessa said. She gave a sarcastic wave. ‘Have fun.’

‘Bye, Grandpa,’ Aya said.

Pop was still waving and smiling as the screen went dark.

Tessa put her hands on her hips. ‘So speaking of scoot-bikes . . .’

‘Oops.’ Aya gave her a charming smile.

Tessa was not swayed. She plucked at her daughter’s shirt. ‘Have you been strolling around this house in this nasty shirt?’ She moved her hand to Aya’s scalp. ‘Stars, your hair.’ Crusty bundles of dirt clung to her daughter’s locks.

Aya looked down as if seeing her clothing for the first time. ‘Oops,’ she said again.

Tessa brushed the transferred crud off her palm, wondering just how much of Seed was now coating the inside of her home. ‘Kiddo, you have got to remember that dirt exists.’

‘And you have to remember to bring a jacket.’

Tessa ignored the poorly smothered laugh from the kitchen. She narrowed her eyelids. ‘Shower. Clean clothes. Now.’ Aya made a face, but she obeyed, and received a gentle swat on the shoulder from Tessa as she went.

Tessa sighed and surveyed her wreck of a living room. Toys, tools, visible footprints. She bent over and started tidying up, knowing her efforts would be made futile by tomorrow. Her limbs were sore from the day spent in the field, and she knew that while the next day would be less strenuous, it’d be just as busy. They had to start covering the roots before the first fall frost hit, and the pollinators needed to be cleaned before they got packed away. Plus, there was laundry that needed doing, and globulbs that needed replacing, and a draughty wall that needing patching, and . . . stars, it never ended, did it?

‘Hey,’ George called. ‘You’re not cleaning, are you?’

‘I’m just tidying up.’

‘Tessa. It’s not hurting anybody, and I can do it in the morning. Sit down, have some kick, warm up.’