Chapter 39: Work

“Does bacon and eggs sound good?”

“Wonderful, thanks, Nena. I’m going to have a quick shower. I have clothes here, so I’ll change for the day. How do you want to spend it?”

Nena blinked at Tom. “Um, can we go on a ferry ride? I haven’t been on the river for ages.”

Tom looked thoughtful, “We could go to Riverside. There is a really good Bar and Grill near the terminal. We can walk around the River Centre and then have lunch there.”

“Yeah, that sounds really nice. It will be wonderful to spend a day without worrying about work.”

“True, I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a bitch. Sweeny is not going to be happy when I hand in my notice, and Carol isn’t going to take it much better.”

She looked at him questioningly, and Tom realised she didn’t know who or what he was talking about. “I’ll tell you about my current job on the ferry, okay?”

Nena nodded and bustled around, getting them breakfast, while Tom had another shower.

Nena and Tom had a wonderful day together.

Once Nena had showered and dressed in jeans and a green, waist-length, camisole-style shirt, they went back to the flat. Tom wanted to pick up his backpack and swap his shoes. He made sure they had water and snacks in the pack.

He also collected hats and sunscreen for Nena. He even gave her one of his light button-up, short-sleeved shirts to protect her shoulders. Nena slipped it on and tied the tails in front but left it otherwise unbuttoned.

Once organised, they headed to the ferry terminal. Tom was apprehensive as to whether his Go-Card would work or not, but the pay device beeped happily when the card was presented. They were able to find seats on the fore-deck and settled in for the ride.

It took just over half an hour to navigate the oxbow meanders of the river. They happily pointed out the different features along the river as they enjoyed the sunshine. The ferry had to criss-cross the river to stop at other terminals, as it made its way up to the stop at which they planned to get off.

Nena and Tom spent the rest of the day like any other new couple that was still testing the waters. They flirted lightly and took the time to learn more about each other as they walked and talked and ate. By the end of the day, they were very comfortable in each other’s company.

Tom didn’t even think it odd that he let Nena cuddle up to him as they rode the ferry home later that afternoon. He found that he had as much fun escorting Nena around Riverside as he’d had walking around Uluru with Victoria.

He didn’t for one minute confuse the two women as he found Nena had some very different views on life to Victoria. However, that didn’t detract from the experience of getting to know her.

When they got back to the bus, Tom went into the bedroom and closed the door behind him. Nena was surprised to find the door locked. Perplexed, she went back to the kitchen to make coffee.

Tom came out of the bedroom a couple of minutes later and put a small book on the table in front of Nena. He grinned at her, “Just to keep you amused while I’m at work tomorrow. This is called a Primer. Can you open it for me and tell me what you see?”

Nena opened the small, thin book. It looked like a weekly-planner diary with a blue leather-like cover. She flipped through some of the pages and stopped every so often to look at the information and pictures in it. She soon realised that there were a lot more pages in the book than it seemed.

Tom drank his coffee and watched as a variety of expressions flittered across Nena’s face as she read. He was quite sure she could read both pages, and he suspected she had the magical capabilities to support the disciplines that the disc represented.

He believed that she could handle having a more powerful magical item even now, but he was worried about her having access to it here on Earth. If they were on Harmony or even Dara, he wouldn’t have hesitated, but people openly practising true magic on this planet at this time in history was not a smart thing to do.

The limitations of the disc and even the compulsion-spells on it should help keep her inquisitive nature in check; he hoped. Nena may not have realised just how much Tom had learnt about her on their day trip.

After careful contemplation, Tom had decided that there was no harm in her learning, even if the doing was limited. Part of her education would include just how bloody dangerous she could be if she didn’t think before she acted. After all, they had plenty of time to spread her learning over.

Tom was quite certain that her life span had at least doubled. With the health spells, she would stay young and healthy until near the end of her life, just like the Keltrian people who wore magical items did.

Tom let her read and got up to make fresh coffees.

After about twenty minutes, Nena looked up at Tom, “You weren’t bullshitting me, were you?”

Tom moved his head in the negative. Nena glanced down and then back up at him. She then grinned like a Cheshire cat. “This is fucking amazing you know that don’t you?”

“Yes,” Tom answered and smiled back at her enthusiasm.

Nena tapped her wrist and had the disc appear. She then studied it for a minute or so. She glanced at a page in the book and back at the disc several times. “I think it says that I have the disciplines Energy, Physics, Earth, and Psychic.”

“Yes, that is the order that Monte and I believe the disciplines are in, too,” Tom stated.

Nena grinned again, “You know that I specialise in Electrical Energy Systems, so these disciplines are perfect for me.”

Tom nodded, “A bit of Lore wouldn’t hurt, but then if you are going back to school, we can’t have you seem to be too smart.”