Chapter 24: Ordinary Tuesday

Late September 2024

It started like any Tuesday in the fourth year of forever.

6:03 a.m. The alarm never went off anymore; Susan’s internal clock was more reliable than electricity. She slipped from the California king (careful not to wake Nawana, who slept sprawled across Bob’s chest like a possessive cat, or Alicia, who had curled into the crook of Bob’s arm with one leg thrown over his).

Susan padded downstairs naked, titanium collar cool against her throat, started the cezve, and began the quiet ritual that still felt like prayer.

Bob appeared ten minutes later, hair wild, eyes soft with sleep, wearing only the loose cotton pants he favored now that seventy-six had settled into his joints.

He kissed the top of her head, took the first cup, and leaned against the counter watching her move (the same way he had watched her every morning for over four years).

Nawana thundered down at 6:25, yawning, curls exploding, complaining in Spanish about the cold floor.

Alicia drifted in last at 6:31, silent as moonlight, and curled on the kitchen rug at Bob’s feet without a word.

Collars and coffee. Same as always. Sacred as ever.

8:15 a.m. – Grocery run

They dressed for the outside world like actors putting on costumes.

Bob was in jeans and a faded Marine Corps T-shirt. Susan was in a simple linen dress that hid the collar but not the grace. Nawana was in bright leggings and an off-shoulder top that made the teenage bag boy blush. Alicia in black leggings and an oversized hoodie, hood up, collar visible only if you knew where to look.

At the market, they moved like a single unit (Bob pushing the cart, Susan reading the list in her elegant handwriting, Nawana tossing in extra plantains “because life is short,” Alicia quietly adding the dark chocolate Bob pretended not to love).

In the produce aisle, an older woman stared at the way Nawana’s hand rested possessively on Bob’s arm, the way Susan’s fingers brushed Alicia’s as they chose avocados.