Chapter 36: Shopping, Part 2

They decided to stop for a quick lunch before the exhausting work of siphoning diesel. Carmella had packed sandwiches spread with softened cheese she had made that morning. Homemade brownies and bottled iced tea rounded out the meal, and Raj enjoyed his mother's breast.

They sat on the back of the truck and watched the Ohio River from the Roebling Bridge. Bilal had never been more content in his life. This is what it is to be human, he thought.

"Raj's sensors haven't come out again, have they?" Bilal asked.

"No, thank God."

Bilal swallowed some tea. "I'm going to begin training him how to use them."

Carmella frowned. "So soon?"

"Yes, he's capable of understanding how to use them. Soon he will need to explore items with the sensors, so he needs to understand how to use them."

"How old were you when you learned to use yours?"