4
Two sweat-full hours, thirty-two never-rending minutes, and forty-seven stressful seconds later, I successfully disarm the bomb. It felt like old days in the vault a little bit. I had my own vault 101 utility jumpsuit. Sleeves rolled up, old oil grease stains, hair up in a bun; it felt like old times, besides the thing I was tinkering with was a bomb.
Lucas Simms seemed more ecstatic than I was. He gave me the caps and a home in Megaton. I couldn't explain how nice it was to have my own home. Someplace to come back too. Then I realize, I didn't have a home since Vault 101. I was always going where my dad was going. When I get into my new humble abode, I jump about three feet when I am greeted by a robot. I give a sigh of relief.
"Good evening Madam. I am Wadsworth, your personal robot butler. Is there anything I can do for you?" he asks. This robot has a weird accent. I think it might be British. The robot seems to be hovering and gives a humming sound.
"No thank you Wadsworth." I say. I look around at the dull shack but I smile. This is my home. It's my own.
"Well come to me if you need anything, madam." Says Wadsworth. I nod at him and he hovers up the stairs. The front room has a few chairs and lockers on both walls. There was some weird machine against the wall to my left. It had little stands, and then I abandoned the pondering about the curious machine and go up the stairs. I see my room and see a bed with old brown blanket and dirty pillow. I sigh and lean against the door way. But I smile again. I take the blanket and pillow and trot down the stairs.
I find some Abraxo Cleaner on the shelves in the kitchen. I try to find a bathroom, but I don't seem to have one. I settle for a sink. Before I clean my dirty bedding, I turn on the jukebox that is upstairs. I hear Three Dog on the radio.
"Hello fellow wastelanders this is Threeeeee Doooooogg!" he draws out his own name for effect. I smile and shake my head.
I turn on the faucet. There is a low stream of water pouring into the bowl of the sink. It's better than nothing. I pour some Abraxo Cleaning on my blanket and put it in the sink. I start scrubbing.
"Now listen people of the capital wasteland, remember that vault dweller from 101? Well she is back! Insiders say that she and her dear old dad are working on a project off by Rivet City. Now you might ask what kind of Project? Well I hear it's a project to purify water. To give everyone water freely. If the project works drinks on me." he says.
I smile. Three Dog sure knows how to shine his personality through the radio. It is especially entertaining.
"Thanks for listening children! This is Three Dog! Ooooowww! And you are listening to Galaxy News Radio, bringing you the truth no matter how bad it hurts. And now, some music." He closes off and I hear some old jazz music play. I recognized the song. In the vault we had our own radio that played old songs.
It was one of my favorites. A dream to build a kiss on by Louis Armstrong. I sing along without even noticing. It was almost like I was in the Vault.
"Give me your lips for just a moment. And my imagination will make that moment live."
I scrub until my finger sting. The blanket was soaking wet but clean. I go up the stairs and put the drenched blanket over the railing to dry.
"When I'm alone with my fancies...I'll be with you. Weaving romances...making believe they're true."
Next is the pillow. I do the same. Scrubbing the dirty pillow, I start to smell the stink coming out of the fabric. My hands are very dry from the soap.
"And my imagination will thrive upon that kiss."
I place the pillow by the blanket. Extremely exhausted I go to my room and sit on my bed. My pack is in bad shape. Honestly it has seen better days. Luckily, I find an old military backpack under my bed. Going through my pack, I look at the old Vault jumpsuits and my baseball bat. I sigh at the memories.
Then I pull out Butch's Tunnel Snake Jacket. My mouth parts. I look at the leather, my fingers lightly feel the snake patch on the back. I put it on because I won't be able to sleep in my blanket. I flinch when I inhale the smell. It smells like him.
I breathe in deeply and shut my eyes. Butch may be an asshole, an annoying bastard, and a stupid shit, but he is… there is something there. Something that was undetected by me. It was a weird feeling that I had in the pit of my stomach. I bite the inside of my cheek hard when a thought crosses my mind. I miss him.
"Ah sweetheart, I ask no more than this. A kiss to build a dream on."