Ellis flashed a huge smile. “Flora, I hope you’re having a good morning. I figured you’d be up, too.”
“Come in.”
“Thank you. I brought the phone, and we’ll practice using it. I wanted to make sure you have enough clothes, so I brought some over.” Ellis held up a bag for her.
“Oh, I couldn’t take your clothes.”
“They aren’t mine. I went to a thrift store and picked some up. I swear I didn’t spend much money. If they fit, you can have them; if not, I’ll donate them to a local shelter.”
A shiver slid through her. “A shelter. Q tried to take me to one.”
“I heard. He said it was awful. I’m sorry that was one of your first experiences in the city. You deserve better.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know about that.”
“I do. You deserve good things. You’re a good person.”
“I ran away from my community and the man my father picked for me to marry. If they find me, they’ll punish me.”
Ellis started making coffee and met her gaze after she started the coffee maker. “They were wrong. You shouldn’t be punished. You are a good person.”
She lifted one shoulder, a response she’d seen all the women make. In the community, she would have been beaten if she’d done that. She had been hit the one time she’d made that movement in front of her father. She’d learned not to shrug, but she didn’t think Ellis would be mad at her reaction. Q hadn’t seemed to care if she shrugged, which was so weird to her. She wondered what, if anything, would make Q hit her.
“My thoughts on what makes a person good are messed up. I don’t know what good is versus bad. I spent my life thinking I was a terrible person, and then I left and met Q and the rest of you, and now I don’t know anything.”
Ellis reached out and squeezed her hand. “Well, I’ve met plenty of people who aren’t good, and I can say without fail that you are a good person.”
“I hope I can be. I don’t know how to live here.”
“Well, we’re here to help. For now, let’s work on your phone skills. I’ll enter our information, and you can call or text.”
“Text?”
“I’ll explain that. Don’t worry. We’ll work on it together, and everything will be okay.”
Flora grabbed water instead of coffee while they worked on phone skills and texting. She actually talked to Vera on thephone, which was weird. Then she texted with Clove and sent a text to Remi. They were all happy to find out that she was able to communicate with them. It felt amazing to pick up this skill. Maybe living in this world wouldn’t be too bad.
She sent a text to Q and her phone rang almost immediately. She jumped with shock but laughed as she answered.
“Hello?”
“It’s Q. I’m glad you have a phone. I’m on lunch, so I can talk. Is Ellis still there?”
“Yes. Do you need to talk to her?”
“No, just wanted to make sure you weren’t alone.”
“Thank you for having them come over to help me. I know I wouldn’t have been able to do this without their help.”
“I’m glad you have help. I’ll be home around three-thirty.”
“Oh, okay. Do I need to have food ready?”
“No, we can cook together tonight.”
“That sounds good. I can’t wait for you to get home.”
“Goodbye, Flora. I’ll see you later.”
