Jean hooted, then stuck her fingers in her mouth and whistled. “Go, Myra!”
Red Weeds got their truck loaded first and all the skaters hopped into the back of the bed. Two Blue Owls stood in front of the truck, blocking it and trying to keep it from pulling out of the lot. They got honked at, the engine revved, and the judge from the back of the Blue Owls’s truck yelled out a foul, at which the crowd laughed and booed.
That delay gave the Blue Owls just enough time to finish loading their deliveries. The two truck-blockers quickly got out of the way and hopped into the back of their own truck.
Red Weeds was the first out of the parking lot, with Team Blue right behind. One lane of the main road had been orange-coned off for the event, and both trucks rolled out at about five miles over speed limit, the motorcycles and bicycles following behind them like a school of bright, honking, bell-ringing fish.
“This is insane,” I said with a laugh.
Jean bumped her shoulder into mine. “It’s good to see you smile.”
“I smile.”
“Not since the Mithra thing you haven’t.”
We were walking with the crowd, watching for ordinary trouble in our ordinary town, and keeping an eye on the screen, which showed the trucks currently stopped at a red light. The skaters were either yelling insults, or laying down the most recent pop dance moves.
Bicyclists got into it, and it suddenly looked like the least coordinated flash mob in history, gyrating randomly and spastically throwing hands in the air.
Myra was laughing, her blue eyes curved in crescents. She waved at one of the cameras and curled her arm to show off seriously impressive biceps.
It was good to see her having fun.
“I guess we’ve all had a pretty hard go of it lately. We’ll get through it.” I said.
Jean shrugged.
“Hey. We will. There’s nothing we Reeds can’t do.”
That made her smile. She sipped her cocoa. “Hogan wants to move in with me.”
“That’s great,” I said. Then at her silence: “That’s not great?”
“I’m not sure it makes sense. With my job.”
“Because you work late and he works early? We can get someone in to handle the switchboard. Or just forward calls. I’d be happy to swap a few days with you so you had evenings with him.”
“Thanks, but it’s not the hours.”
“Then what?” I didn’t think Jean wanted to quit the force. Though I hadn’t asked her. Ever since she was small she’d been putting on Dad’s shoes, wearing his hat and coat any time she got a chance. But maybe now that she was an officer, she had discovered she didn’t like the work.
If she wanted to change careers, I would support her wholeheartedly. But selfishly, I hoped she wouldn’t leave. One of the best things about my job was working with my sisters.
“I don’t know if I want to lie to him all the time.”
We stopped near the front of the line of tents where there was currently less traffic.
“About Ordinary?”
She nodded, the morning light softening her features so that for a moment, I could imagine she was painted in watercolor.
“You know if you want to tell him, that’s your call. I’ll back you up. Myra and I both will back you up.”
“I know. Thanks.” She fell silent for a minute. “Are you happy Ryder knows?”
“He doesn’t know. Not all of it.”
“But he will.”
