>You wake up before your alarm goes off and turn it off, letting Lilly get all the sleep she wants
>After taking a shower and getting dressed you go to the kitchen to make yourself breakfast and coffee
>The smell of frying bacon, potatoes, and toast wafts through the air
>In the middle of making scrambled eggs for the second plate you hear the sound of bare feet against wooden flooring
>You turn around as see Lilly walking into the kitchen, still wearing the t-shirt and flannel pants you gave her to sleep in
"Good morning Lilly, You're just in time for breakfast"
>"Good morning Anon, thank you for letting me sleep in your bed. It was greatly appreciated"
"No need to thank me, seat yourself at the dinning room table if you want to, I set it already"
>She sits down in a seat at the table as you balance both plates as you walk towards the table
>You set one of the plates down in front of her then take yours and sit down on the other side of the table
>"Oh my, you shouldn't have"
"Is there a problem with gun spirits and food?"
>"No I mean, now that I'm living with you I should have taken care of the cooking, It's my duty" she replies shaking her head slightly
"I've been living by myself for a while so I can cook for myself. If you really want to cook by all means go ahead, If you know how everything works" You reply giving Lilly a sly grin
>"Well I....I can figure it out on my own" Lilly replies, straightening her posture more
>You look down at your watch then begin to dig into your breakfast
>When you're done you look up to Lilly half finished with hers, going slowly. Eating in a way that you would see out of that show Downten Abbey
>She pats her lips with a napkin before speaking
>"You're a quick eater, are you not?"
"I normally eat slower but I need to be off to work very soon" you say as you get up and start to take your plate over to wash it
>Lilly stands up and partly blocks your path
>"I will take your plate Anon, you need to finish getting ready for work"
>You relinquish the dirty plate which Lilly takes and heads for the sink
>You go back into your room and grab you EDC stuff and a coat then head for the door
>You open the door and turn around
"I'm off to work, try not to break anything. I'll be back at around five thirty"
>Lilly appears from the corner to the Kitchen
>"Be safe Anon, have a good day at work"
>As you drive to work all you can think of is Lilly
>Her dignified and posh manner she has, her style of dress, and the way she has offered to do almost every house related chore so far
>You know she's more than a little old fashioned, but damn do you find it cute
>Work and the drive home goes by uneventfully, but during so you make a mental list of what needs to be done
> First off Lilly needs to be cleaned, don't know how much gunk is still in there and for how long
>The list goes on with teaching her how to use most home appliances if she wants to do the cooking and other chores and to keep herself entertained
>Finally you say after that you should take her clothes shopping, because one dress and pajamas isn't going to cut it
>You pull into the drive way and get out of the car
"I'm home" you say as you enter the house
>Lilly walks up to you in her Victorian era dress and gives a slight bow
>"Welcome back Anon, I'm sorry to say I was not able to complete all the tasks I wanted to complete today"
"What do you mean by that Lilly?"
>"If you would follow me I will show you" she says as she turns around and motions you to follow
>As you walk towards the garage she continues speaking
>"I tried to do the laundry but could not find a washer or a wringer anywhere."
>You both enter the garage and point towards the white washing machine against the wall next to the dryer
"That is the washing machine"
>"I see, how does it work?"
"If you could show me where you put the laundry I will show you"
>"Don't worry Anon, I'll get it for you" she says before quickly walking out and returning with the laundry basket full of light colored clothes
"First off we open the lid and put all the clothes in the machine" You say while grabbing bundles of clothes out of the basket and tossing them in
"Then you take one of these packets from this container here and throw one in. They're a tad bit more expensive than a box of laundry soap but they come with the right amount already measured  "
"Next you set the the knobs here to these settings and pull"
>The machine springs to life, the all known sound of water entering the machine
>Lilly jumps back a little back and yelps with surprise then quickly regains controls
>You give out a snort of laughter, finding the startled woman both funny and cute
>She gives you a dirty look then looks back at the washer
>"Are there any steps after this?"
"We wait an hour then take them out and put them in the dryer, which is the machine next to it. Same principal that you put them in, take any lint off the lint guard, then set it to 'normal' then press start"
>She looks amazed at the two machines in front of her
>"I never imagined laundry could be this easy" she says then claps her hands and pivots to face you
>"Thank you so much for showing me Anon, you don't know how grateful I am"
"Was there anything else you needed me to show you how to use?"
>"Actually...Yes there was"
>You spend a majority of the afternoon showing her how to properly use many of the appliances and items around the house, with her wanting to know how to use most of the kitchen and cleaning ones
>"Is there a new easier way of mopping Anon?" She asks excitedly after showing her the vacuum cleaner, which like the washing machine made her jump.
"No"
>"Oh, seems somethings never change" see says with a sigh
>"Anyways, because of your hospitality up to this point, I would like to make dinner tonight"
"By all means go ahead"
>She nods then turns and walks down the hall
>You sit in your chair and let out a tired sigh
>With work and teaching Lilly how to use things all afternoon you're plum tired out
>You look over to the end table next to the chair and pick up the book sitting on it
>You begin reading where you left off, mentally taking note of things that you deem wrong in this Cold War gone hot alternative history
>While you read the smell of food wafts through the air, making you all the more hungry
>Three chapters later you hear the sound of clinking silverware and look up to find Lilly setting the table
>She notices your gaze and smiles at you
>"If you want to sit at the table it is ready and dinner will be out shortly" she says before returning to her cooking
>You put the book-mark back in and set it down on the end table before getting up and walking to the table
>You sit yourself down and Lilly returns with two plates and sets them down at your place and hers then stands next to you waiting for you to begin
>You look down to see the plate full of Roast Beef, potatoes, carrots, broccoli, with gravy drizzled over the beef and potatoes
>You thank yourself for liking to eat well on a budget
>You take your fork and knife and begin to eat
>The first bite of the roast beef is absolutely delicious,every bite you take feeling like you are eating something from heaven
>You swallow then turn towards Lilly smiling
"This is amazing Lilly, I don't think I would be able to make something like this for myself"
>She blushes slightly at the complement and looks away slightly
>"Thank you kindly Anon" she says before taking her seat and beginning to eat
>During dinner she asks questions about your work and other advancements in the world
>After dinner you offer to clear the table and do dishes, as you explain that it's only fair that you do the clean up work if she did the prep and cooking
>While washing the dishes you hear the sound of Netflix opening and the flipping through different movies
>"Anon, what's the movie 'Blood Diamond' about" Lilly calls out from the living room
"We'll find out if that's what you want to watch tonight"
>You finish up the dishes and head into the living room
>Lilly is sitting on the couch where we was yesterday, sitting up straight with remote in hand
>When you sit down she moves closer and leans on you and starts the movie
>Part way through she turns to you
>"Hey Anon, have you ever been to Africa?"
"umm...no, why do you ask?"
>"I was shipped and given to a trooper who was part of the BSAP somewhere around 1891" she says staring at the movie
>"We fought at the battle of Bembezi. It was a glorious day for the regiment" she says with a slight smirk
"Would you mind telling me what happened?"
>"Well we were marching to Bulawayo and stopped for the night when those savages the Matabele ambushed us with 6,000 warriors"
>"Too bad for them we had the maxim gun on our side. We gave them a thorough thrashing that night"
"Whatever happens, we have the maxim gun,and they have not" You say turning your head towards her to show you were paying attention
>"Precisely, I could not have said it better" she says with the smirk still on her face like she was remembering the day
"There's one thing I forgot to tell you Lilly. Tomorrow I'm going into town to get a rifle cleaning kit so that we can get you clea-"
>SLAP
>You are shocked by the sudden sound and stinging on your face and stare at Lilly who's face is now a bright shade of red
>"H...h-how DARE you speak of such l-lewd things! We've only known each other for two days"
>Lilly is no longer leaning on you and is sitting straight up, as to take the moral high ground physically
"Listen, you want to shoot right?"
>"Well....Yes" she mumbles
"Before we can go shooting I have to clean you. I don't know when the last time you were cleaned" you respond rubbing the side of your face
>For someone of her size and stature she sure can hit hard
>After a while of staring down at her lap bright red in the face she finally speaks
>"Fine, but you must be gentle"
"Alright, it's settled" you say before turning back to the film
>Lilly doesn't lean on you for the rest of the movie, instead watches is sitting on the other side of the couch in perfect posture as always
>After the movie you both get ready for bed and say goodnight
>But tonight you can't go to sleep as quickly as last night
>Lilly mentioned she was given to a man who was in the BSAP
>You remember they were part of the police force in Rhodesia
>Suddenly it dawns upon you that one day you might have to tell her what happened
>The decolonization, the UDI, the bush was, Mugabe, all of it
>You pray silently that you never have to do that before listening to the calm breathing of the woman sleeping next to you
>This calms you and you finally drift off to sleep, dreaming of the Red Flame Lilly and Alouettes flying low over the African Bush