worried Kris a bit, but not for long. When they stopped at Gramma Ruth’s apartment, three Marines dismounted. Not uniformed Marines, but individuals in civilian clothes that were way too clean-cut and ramrod straight to be students.
Gramma Ruth spotted them at once. She gave them a cheery wave, then waved at her own hired guard. The guards took a long look at the Marines.
Kris was gone before the next act of that play.
For once, Kris hoped the afternoon bargaining went long. She needed time. She and Nelly needed a serious research session. If the ambassador had plans for Kris’s evening, he would find one princess who’d learned to say no. After all, she’d said it a lot at the bargaining table.
Abby intercepted Kris on her way to rejoin her team. “Your Highness, boss, and lord, I’ve been trying to take some time ever since you landed. You mind if I take the evening off?”
“You can have the afternoon, too,” Kris said. “I am not going out tonight. And I still remember how to fill my own tub. You go look up your mommy or daddy or ex-boyfriend or whoever it is you want to see here.”
“I’ll give them all a hug from you,” Abby said, as dry as any bone.
15
Abby found that the old neighborhood had changed a lot… and not changed at all.
Tram Line 79 no longer went to Five Corners. It was now Line 128. But the tram Abby rode in could have been the same one she rode out fifteen years ago. She was tempted to peel off the layers of graffiti to find what it had sported back then.
The evil-eye of the tram cop suggested he’d be none too happy if she produced a knife and took it to his bit of Eden. On reflection, the layers of graffiti might be all that held the old wreck together.
Abby had been careful to dress down. Still, she wasn’t nearly as shabbily dressed as the young woman whose name Abby refused to remember after she left Five Corners and swore it had seen the last of her.
So why was she coming back?
She’d already been greeted. Twice.
She’d pulled one young girl’s hand out of her purse. The kid had her hand already around Abby’s wallet. The maid of many faces restrained the urge to break a wrist. The kid, maybe ten, was just trying to make it through the day.
Abby had sent her on her way with five bucks. Eden. Not all that much.
The cutpurse had not gotten off so easy. Abby hadn’t returned his knife by plunging it between a rib. Not quite. It had been a close thing. But blood on the streets made the neighbors talk. That was not something Abby wanted.
No, she’d confiscated the knife and shoved the fourteen-or fifteen-year-old boy into a brick wall. Maybe he’d learn something from the lesson.
Maybe not.
Not everything that was the same in the old hood was that exciting. Old man Artork’s ice cream cart was still on the same corner. Closer approach showed he wasn’t still running it. Had he been late once too often with his “insurance check” and actually ended up sleeping with the fishes… as he’d often joked with the kids? Or had he actually lived to retire and turn it over to his son?
Abby ordered a chocolate cone, her old favorite. It was still down there in the frosty cool. One lick and Abby scowled. The memory was much tastier than the having.
She started to toss it. Then caught sight of the wide eyes of a little girl. Seven, maybe eight. Or six. Now that Abby recalled, the kid had been lurking nearby. Not so close as to be accused of trying to steal anything. Not so far as to miss any scent of those wonderful concoctions. How often had a young— no, forget that name.
Abby handed the cone to the girl.
The urchin eyed Abby for a long moment, to see what this icy delight would cost. Only when Abby let the silence stretch, did the girl half run, half skip away.
Hopefully, Abby hadn’t taught the little thing a bad lesson. That you could get something for nothing. That someone could give her joy. A very bad lesson in Five Corners.
Abby watched the kid go,
Gramma Ruth spotted them at once. She gave them a cheery wave, then waved at her own hired guard. The guards took a long look at the Marines.
Kris was gone before the next act of that play.
For once, Kris hoped the afternoon bargaining went long. She needed time. She and Nelly needed a serious research session. If the ambassador had plans for Kris’s evening, he would find one princess who’d learned to say no. After all, she’d said it a lot at the bargaining table.
Abby intercepted Kris on her way to rejoin her team. “Your Highness, boss, and lord, I’ve been trying to take some time ever since you landed. You mind if I take the evening off?”
“You can have the afternoon, too,” Kris said. “I am not going out tonight. And I still remember how to fill my own tub. You go look up your mommy or daddy or ex-boyfriend or whoever it is you want to see here.”
“I’ll give them all a hug from you,” Abby said, as dry as any bone.
15
Abby found that the old neighborhood had changed a lot… and not changed at all.
Tram Line 79 no longer went to Five Corners. It was now Line 128. But the tram Abby rode in could have been the same one she rode out fifteen years ago. She was tempted to peel off the layers of graffiti to find what it had sported back then.
The evil-eye of the tram cop suggested he’d be none too happy if she produced a knife and took it to his bit of Eden. On reflection, the layers of graffiti might be all that held the old wreck together.
Abby had been careful to dress down. Still, she wasn’t nearly as shabbily dressed as the young woman whose name Abby refused to remember after she left Five Corners and swore it had seen the last of her.
So why was she coming back?
She’d already been greeted. Twice.
She’d pulled one young girl’s hand out of her purse. The kid had her hand already around Abby’s wallet. The maid of many faces restrained the urge to break a wrist. The kid, maybe ten, was just trying to make it through the day.
Abby had sent her on her way with five bucks. Eden. Not all that much.
The cutpurse had not gotten off so easy. Abby hadn’t returned his knife by plunging it between a rib. Not quite. It had been a close thing. But blood on the streets made the neighbors talk. That was not something Abby wanted.
No, she’d confiscated the knife and shoved the fourteen-or fifteen-year-old boy into a brick wall. Maybe he’d learn something from the lesson.
Maybe not.
Not everything that was the same in the old hood was that exciting. Old man Artork’s ice cream cart was still on the same corner. Closer approach showed he wasn’t still running it. Had he been late once too often with his “insurance check” and actually ended up sleeping with the fishes… as he’d often joked with the kids? Or had he actually lived to retire and turn it over to his son?
Abby ordered a chocolate cone, her old favorite. It was still down there in the frosty cool. One lick and Abby scowled. The memory was much tastier than the having.
She started to toss it. Then caught sight of the wide eyes of a little girl. Seven, maybe eight. Or six. Now that Abby recalled, the kid had been lurking nearby. Not so close as to be accused of trying to steal anything. Not so far as to miss any scent of those wonderful concoctions. How often had a young— no, forget that name.
Abby handed the cone to the girl.
The urchin eyed Abby for a long moment, to see what this icy delight would cost. Only when Abby let the silence stretch, did the girl half run, half skip away.
Hopefully, Abby hadn’t taught the little thing a bad lesson. That you could get something for nothing. That someone could give her joy. A very bad lesson in Five Corners.
Abby watched the kid go,
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