we'll open up a restaurant in santa fe

[venatical]

Who: Reconstruction Club and whoever wants to come by to visit.
When: um... let's say a backdated Day 79 through Day 81? This could be flexible, too.
Where: The semi ruined diner.
What: Cleaning the diner site! Rebuilding the diner! Eating lunch/taking breaks!

The first day, Day 79 Dean's learned from the people who've been here the longest, is mostly spent doing the menial stuff -- making the site workable and cleaning it up a bit, and then training some of the people less familiar with what's going on, figuring out who should handle what and what's safe.

After that it's a matter of slowly getting everything together. Checking the foundation, fixing up the floor, rebuilding the walls, patching the roof. There's some electrical work to figure out and be careful with because some of the equipment is salvageable, so the wiring has to be checked, that kind of thing.

Dean, Erik, and Tony dole out the orders, keep an eye on everyone. Their supplies are what they've managed to gather or whatever people might've brought in.

Comments

Re: Any day!

[bluesrat]

At the age of forty-six, the knees start to put in a protest under excessive stress, and the back is just a little more fragile. Nonetheless, Rat has been helping to move and shift and haul, and when a beam moves past him apparently on air, he can't help but stop in his own work and stare a little. It takes him a minute to figure out who's doing it.

He waits until she's sat down for a break, though, before he fetches a couple of drinks and comes over to offer her one. "Feeling any better?"

[blackmagus]

"Much," Fortescue answers with a smile, accepting the drink. "Thank you."

Jazz is some distance away, flopped in the sun, but still within the tether range. They've been very careful about it, lately, ever since gaining the knowledge that it would take longer to heal than usual.

"It's already looking a lot better in here."

[bluesrat]

He glances around, and does take note of where Jazz is, since he's learned they're never far apart. "It is... a lot of work to go, but we've pretty much cleared the ground for it."

He takes a gulp, massaging his back absently as he surveys the place, then asks, "May I join you?"

[blackmagus]

"You have to ask?" she teases him warmly, nodding next to her. "Of course. I hope we have enough cooks to make this place work well. My roommate can cook up a storm, but the only thing I can do is make tea. And... sandwiches."

[bluesrat]

He just shrugs, because it probably is a silly formality after the last time he saw her they sat shoulder to shoulder on the floor of the bar, but he eases himself down beside her with a soft groan. It's been a long day already. "I'm afraid my cooking is only about bachelor-level. Sandwiches, soup, coffee..." He sighs wistfully, and murmurs, "My wife was a good cook..."

[blackmagus]

Not sure if she yet knows him enough to pursue that comment, Fortescue offers him a smile all the same.

"I suppose we're doing better than people who can supposedly burn water," she quips gently. "Have you done construction work before?"

[bluesrat]

He chuckles softly, and takes another swallow from his cup. "Some, as a day laborer. I've been... out of work for a while, but sometimes construction sites need a few extra pairs of hands around, so they'd hire me on under the table. Think I might be getting too old for it, though." He gives a grimace and rubs one knee.

[blackmagus]

She notices, and nods. "It's quite hard on knees. And fingers. And toes, if one isn't careful. I haven't done anything like this before today."

[bluesrat]

"And back." He sighs, but gives her a sympathetic smile. "Be careful, then. Nobody around here has hard hats, and there's no hospital."

[blackmagus]

"I hope that's not something we have to build," Fortescue jokes lightly. "I feel like the diner's enough of a struggle."

[bluesrat]

"I guess there's some kind of clinic set up, at least." He pulls off his cap to run a hand through his thinning hair. "If people got hurt badly enough trying to make this place liveable to use up our medical supplies, I'm not sure irony would be the right word for it..."

[blackmagus]

"Now that would be a tragedy." It's a very looming thing, the thought of them running out of supplies — with hostile creatures around and everything. "I haven't been in the pharmacy since my arrival, but hopefully our captors aren't looking forward to losing all of their subjects. Or most of them, at least."

[bluesrat]

"I haven't been there at all, but I guess I got lucky when I landed here. Compared to most of the new arrivals I've seen since, I mean." He frowns and takes a drink, then adds quietly, "Well, no, I do mean that the other way, too. Whatever horrors our captors might have in mind for us, I seem to have escaped them so far."

[blackmagus]

Fortescue nods. "People do seem to arrive injured, don't they?" she notes, just a bit wryly. She'd been injured, too, although that had been because of the removal of her celestial interface. That was strictly the fault of their captors. "I'm starting to think everyone who arrives needs a few bandages and a beer, as a welcome basket."

[bluesrat]

He chuckles softly. "Well I wasn't injured, but I'd still gladly accept a welcome basket like that. Maybe we could stick a pack of smokes in there, too? I'm low."

[blackmagus]

"I think we'd have to figure out how to produce those, first." She rubs her hands together idly. "Eventually we'll run out of paper. Even if we start using all of the books."

[bluesrat]

He cringes a little. "Okay, I'd rather have books than cigarettes." He gives a few rattling coughs, although this is a fading condition brought on by his experience in the midst of the forest fire, rather than a symptom of his habit. "It probably wouldn't hurt me to quit, anyway."

[blackmagus]

Fortescue smiles at him, maybe a little concerned by the coughing, and pats his shoulder gently. "It's just one more terrible point of being here. Quitting when the supply's low should be slightly easier than normal."

[bluesrat]

He leans into the touch a little, but shrugs. "Sometimes I do run out and can't afford more for a while, but... this strikes me as a more permanent shortage. It's harder to bum a spare off somebody here, too."

He glances at her with a wry smile. "Although I guess if that's my only complaint about this place, I'm doing just fine."

[blackmagus]

"I hope that's not your only complaint," she chuckles. "Unless you like a bit of the spotlight. I won't judge."

Even here, on break, there's still a camera fairly close by.