Lacuna

Chapter 21

The construction of the bridge across the Portia River was a far more challenging project than the bridge Kahli built to Amber Island that spring. It was much bigger in every aspect - wider to account for heavy vehicle travel, and thus needed to be able to hold a heavier load than standard foot traffic. But by now, Kahli was more than familiar with the ins and outs of her workshop and all the machines she needed to use. She could have welded the parts she needed with her eyes closed; of course, she didn't.

Her tan suffered severely in the following weeks as she spent more and more time inside her workshop. The heat inside was no better than the summer heat, and she took to spending more time at the river to cool off after a long day's work. It had become a new routine: she spent the mornings working on all the parts she would need for the bridge, then hit the river with Emily before heading to the Round Table for the evening for dinner and drinks.

When the majority of the parts she needed were made, Star helped her transport the pieces to the construction site where she worked with the other builders to begin construction on the bridge. The project took the majority of the summer to complete, and though the days were still warm, the evening air was cool with the promise of the approaching autumn.

It was late in the afternoon, and Kahli rode Star to the bridge to admire their work. Admittedly, she was impressed with herself and how far she had come in the six months she had been in Portia, and she felt a sense of pride in being able to say she helped build the massive bridge.

"Look at that." Arlo and Spacer trotted up to them. Arlo admired the bridge and whistled. "And I didn't even have to help you with this one."

"I know," Kahli said. "I'm impressed with myself, too."

Arlo laughed. "I never doubted you."

Kahli's gaze narrowed on him playfully. "I think you did."

"You only doubted yourself."

"Well," Kahli started. "I guess I redeemed myself." She sighed as she looked out over the bridge. "Guess being a builder was in my blood after all."

"Not what you planned?"

Kahli shrugged. "I didn't really have much of a plan, to be honest," she admitted. "Guess this is better than nothing."

"If you could do anything, what would you do? Anything at all?"

"I never thought about it."

"So, think about it."

Kahli blew her hair out of her face. "I guess at one point... I always thought I'd go on some adventure." She laughed lightly. "But doesn't everyone think that at some point? Especially as a child. You read all these stories and it sounds so exciting. And... that's what my father left me to do. So. I guess I always thought we could be some father-daughter team or something. I dunno." She met Arlo's gaze. "We don't all know how we want to spend our lives."

"Nothing wrong with that," Arlo said. "But, you know, I don't think you're far off. It was an adventure to come here, wasn't it?"

"Maybe," Kahli said. She grinned. "I have encountered some wild shit since I've been here. More than I ever would have in Barnarock." She sighed heavily. "It's been a while since I've taken on a hoard of bandirats. I miss those days."

Arlo laughed. "Well, to be honest, I'm glad you're keeping out of trouble. Just means less work for me."

"I'm so sorry to be an inconvenience to you," Kahli said.

"You're never an inconvenience," Arlo said. "It's just nice not to have to worry about you."

"I'll try to make your job easier for you, then."