[The thing is, for Bruce, it's not bad at all. He's having a hard time accepting that, but he can reluctantly admit that it's true. If Betty were here, he'd have literally everything he could want in one place, and it makes missing her gain an extra note of painful wistfulness.

With that in mind, he's happy enough to leave the subject alone and focus on his garden idea. Ender's willingness to laugh despite everything is something he silently admires, because Bruce himself is so incapable of it.]

I don't know, but if there are, I can't read them, [he says wryly, without a hint of shame.] They'd be in the kedan language. I've done a little bit of field work before, but not much, just temporarily. [He was much better suited to technical, mechanical work, and had moved on quickly in his long line of jobs.] I figured we could get the water filtration and circulation systems set up on our own, though. Someone else with growing experience can tell us what to plant.

... And don't worry about it. This is a lot for me to handle by myself. [It's as close as he can come to I like the company because he doesn't, strictly, ever prefer having company, but sometimes he doesn't entirely mind it, either.]