She took an experimental taste… and smiled, nodding. “That’s not half bad.”
Cal frowned at her.
“Now,” she said defensively, “this isn’t as good as it’ll be when I can make it right. But.” She handed him the cup.
He made a big show of sniffing at it. He raised his eyebrows and nodded a little. Very slowly and very delicately, he sipped at it. Then he held it in his hand and stood there.
After what Viv considered an overly generous few moments, she couldn’t help herself. “Well?”
“Hm,” said Cal. “I’ll allow… it’s actually not that terrible.”
* * *
Later,they sat at the big table, each with their own cup. Cal pretended to ignore his, but Viv caught him stealing cautious sips now and then, when he thought she wasn’t looking. She held her own in both hands contemplatively, absorbing the heat and the scent. It felt like completing a loop, like the satisfying click of a clasp snapping closed.
“So,” she said. “You can also make these with milk. You might like it.”
“Milk?” Cal made a face.
“Better than it sounds. You’ll have to try it once I have the machine. The gnomes called it alatte.”
“Latte? That mean somethin’?”
“Named after the gnomish barista who invented them, I think—Latte Diameter.”
Cal gave her a longsuffering look. “Can’t explain what one word means with another word nobody knows. What’s a barista?”
“Cal, I didn’tinventthe words.”
“Folks gonna need a new education just to buy some bean w–… some coffee.”
“I don’t know. I kind of like it. It’s more exotic that way.”
“Ladies’ stockin’s and exotic bean water. Gods help us.”
5
The jobs board sat at the east end of the largest square in Thune. It was long and low and, beneath newer scraps of parchment or foolscap, furred with the ragged flakes of a hundred others. As Viv scanned the notices, she endured a weary onrush of memory—beast hunts, bounties, and battles. She might’ve torn down five score of those sheets herself in one city or another, knuckles bloodied, to claim her due for a job done.
She’d even posted a few in her time—a hireling here, filling out a hunting party there.
This one was nothing like the others.
She spiked her notice on one of the many iron studs and read over what she’d written.
Assistant Wanted: Must Be Willing to Learn
Management & Food Service Experience Desired
Advancement Opportunities
Patience a Plus
Wages Commensurate
Inquire at the Old Livery on Redstone
Afternoon to Dusk
