Sunday Snippet: Quality of Care

Man. Whatever alignment the planets are in has been wrecking things in my house lately. After the washing machine saga, our coffeemaker took a crap. It's less than a year old. Seriously … not the norm. But the good news is a new washer and coffeemaker should arrive sometime this week barring any other global server outages.

Had a super busy work week. Finished the holiday manuscript and received a mystery and a romance for copy edit. Picked back up with a novella I've been working on with an author for a while now and enjoying getting back into the groove of the book. Also had an author reach out about a new twist on a previous project. Really fun week!

I didn't get a lot of screentime this week, but I watched a few shows. I'm in a weird place with viewing. I want to watch stuff, but my brain isn't settled on exactly what. Kind of want to binge something with a lot of seasons for a while to see if that will reset the needle.

I loved the episode of My Life Is Murder. Actually really twisty with an interesting outcome. Once again, Madison shined. I love that character.

Caught another Best in Paradise. This one featured the farewell to Martha, which ended up being so funny and sad at the same time. Excellent episode.

Watched another Death in Paradise with the introduction of the new DS. Not completely sure if I like her or not. Stay tuned.

Started an episode of Elementary but struggled to stay focused so I'll finish it up this week.

And that's pretty much it for the life update. Tonight's post is from Quality of Care, a novella that brings a couple together during a very trying time.

Here's the miniblurb:

Stuck on the fringe of space, cut off by an enemy blockade, Phoebe Point and Dane Moragson keep their ragtag crewmembers from going stark, raving mad. When food rations become nonexistent, Phoebe and Dane plot a daring plan to improve the quality of care for their comrades—even if it means going against orders and risking court martial.

And a sneaky peek…

Dane sealed the hatch to the storage locker and met Phoebe by the middle rack of shelving. "I guess we should see what's in here." He opened the pouch and emptied the contents on a bare section.

Phoebe sucked in a breath and stared at the food. "I'm, uh, not sure where to begin." Her gaze skidded to Dane's.

Dane got her consternation. After going without for so long, the bounty on the counter seemed like a veritable feast. His mouth watered and his stomach gurgled at the thought of having something halfway appetizing. Phoebe's fingers twitched and her head tilted to one side. Her lower lip trembled a little.

Dane lifted his chin. "Do you want the dried fruit?" Before rationing, she had a preference for the sweet bits.

Phoebe's mouth worked for a moment, but she could only nod. Her face crumpled and she sagged, sinking to the floor. Dane dropped down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She'd been such a rock keeping him tethered, standing by his side, always there to get him through whatever crisis popped up. She deserved a tree to lean on, something—or someone—to offer a bit of shelter in the shitstorm they were trapped in.

She put her head on her knees, took a couple of deep breaths then pulled herself together. "I'm a little overwhelmed. I mean, I didn't think anyone gave a damn." She huffed out a breath. "And this generosity kinda blows me away." She clasped his hand and burrowed closer to his side. "I don't blame the crew for hoarding. Hell, I figure they deserve to have a little something to keep hope alive." Her lips twisted in wry grin.

Dane nodded. "Yeah, I've kept my mouth shut, deciding to let those who had stuff keep it until the very last possible moment." Which could be in the near future. "I'd only ask if it came down to life and death." He didn't want to think about that option.

But they might have to.

Phoebe raised her brows. "Haven't you felt like dying in the last two weeks?"

He lifted a shoulder. "Sometimes. The pain got intense a couple of times." If not for the supplements filled with vitamins and minerals, he didn't doubt the discomfort would be worse.

Phoebe lowered her voice. "Did you do the paper thing?"

The admiralty provided the suggestion when the blockade entered the third week. Try eating paper so the digestive track had something to move through it. Zero nutritional value, but the daily shots provided the necessary nutrients to keep them upright.

Dane grunted. "Yeah. Needed salt."

Phoebe sputtered with laughter and finally relaxed. She got to her feet and retrieved the food from the shelf. Sitting back down, she placed everything between them on the deck. They divvied up the items—the dried fruit, two candy bars, an energy bar, several MREs, a pack of jerky, and the crunchy chips they used to serve in the level ten galley.

Dane rifled through a couple of crates and found a case of bottled water. He handed one to Phoebe and kept one for himself.

Twisting the lid off, he toasted his container against hers. "Here's to this brief moment of downtime and sharing it together."

Phoebe flashed a smile. "I'll definitely drink to that." She tilted the bottle back and took a drink.

Dane also swigged some of the clear liquid, then carefully opened one of the candy bars.

Gotta say, I'm having fun with this story. It's a little dark but there's a lot of humor mixed in with the dire circumstances.

 

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye