There's something quietly tolerable about this activity, which is a lot more than Joel can say for most of the pastimes he's tried to distract himself with, of late. And paranoid preparation can only take up so much of the weirdly uneventful days that fill the gaps between freak disasters (and unwanted confrontations with the self).

Still, his expertise ends with how to fit the pieces together. He leans back in his chair while she gets to work (with that almost eerie precision), only glancing at the items offered.

"Looks like you've got it covered."