I raise an eyebrow at his request. "Well, I'm afraid, friend, that that would be up to them and not me. I ain't HM, so I tend not to just give people out like that. That sorta thing is up to them."
I pause, thinking.
"Havin' said that, I do get t…
Hmmm... Tryin' to think o' somewhere not too difficult fer Evergreen to come meet me. I would say I'll be hangin' around Val's place as long as we're at Safeco. Anywhere by there should be fine. And no, nothin' else to do until I chat with her.
I smile warmly at her and speak quietly. "Course you are, Green. Tell you what, I do gotta talk to WotCee, but I don't want to take up any o' yer time here. Why don'tcha come find me when you can peel away for a minute. I'll tell you a story and we …
Smart kid, as always, she is.
I kneel down to get more on her level and speak quietly.
"Thanks, Green. I'd be interested in jabberin' with WotCee, just fer a few minutes. How would someone like me make that happen?"
I catch Evergreen's eye and she breaks away from her friends to come runnin' over to me. She's a good kid. Can't be more than 8 or 10, and she looks like she's been to hell n' back a few times, but fer some odd reason she just took a shine to me fir…
Yeah, as long as Fortyfour is takin' care o' things here, I'll tell QuePasa she's in charge soon as she gets back from spreadin' the goodwill around and head off to find WotCee. And yes, by my lonesome.
I shake my head as Fortyfour snaps me out of my communion.
"Sounds good, friend. I hear 'ya."
I reach into my pocket and pull out some jingle.
Does money matter to the eternal?
I look at it in my hand. The words of the Lord fill my head.
Beho…
I had been halfheartedly tellin' the family that it's okay we're doin' what we're doin' because folks need a place to lay their head, regardless o' who they are and what they do.
That's true.
But still, QuePasa and Jones and Fremont are all right.…
I thought long and hard about the work HM offered us. On the one hand, the family needs work to keep dry. What's more, just cause folks work for HM don't mean they don't deserve a roof over their heads. But that man... I don't like takin' his jingle…
When I see the commotion, and some of the folks move in, my eyes widen. That scav makin' trouble? I've met him before. His name is Ferndale and he don't much care for spiritual type folks. Don't think any of my family seem to remember him, don't thi…
"This Boeing kid... he's desperate, Val. At first I was a little put off but, I'll tell ya what, it's mostly just sad is what is it. I feel bad for him. Not sure what the deal is, but he's scared and desperate. Hopin' things work out for him.
I meander back over to Val.
"Kid's name is Boeing. The one I think might be keepin' an eye on me. Not too worried about it. Don't have much to hide. Wouldn't mind helpin' him out while he keeps an eye on me, though. Some folks you turn the other ch…
Hmmm. Handles pointing at the right folks. That's clever.
I nod as Val finishes up. "Indeed, we do, my friend. This thing yer callin' Leviathan seems like a problem for all of us."
I pause as I pick up the tray.
"On the topic o' feelin' selfis…
I smile at Val's wordplay. "Complexi-teas." That's a clever one. Zir mind always seems t' be workin' overtime. One step ahead. Wavin' as everyone else drowns. I don't always like what goes on in zir place, but it's hard not to like zir.
"The harbo…
I smile when I see Valentine.
"Of course, friend. We'd be happy to help out." Turning to the assembled family I say "Go on back in and see what kind o' help Needle needs from all y'all. I know some o' you can cook and some o' you can clean, so we s…
No need for us all to go stampin' around if we don't need to, but I'll definitely bring some folks. QuePasa if she's around, maybe one or two more, while other folks can just hang out and wait until we figure out what we're doin'.
"Well, Boeing, that's kind of ya, but I think what I might do is ask Valentine if ze's got anything in mind, first. Then maybe we'll return to yer idea. Why don't ya come with, in fact, while, I go track zir down?"