“Hey,” I just say.
“Are you really traveling with Griffin?”
“Hum, yeah.”
She beams at that. “How did you manage that?”
“I just asked, and he took me in,” I say.
“Really? We’ve asked him a few times to take one of us, but he always refuses.”
Beet told the truth then. Griffin never has any guests.
“I’m just hitching a ride.”
“What is it like inside theBeetle?” she asks.
“Not really my place to say.”
Do they even know Beet exists? Somehow, I doubt it. I’m starting to understand how secretive Griffin really is.
“How is he in private?” she continues. “Have you ever seen him without his hood up? Ronaldo says he has horns. He saw them once while they were hunting together. But Sarah says he’s full of shit.”
I frown. “What is it to you, anyway?”
She’s starting to rub me the wrong way. I don’t like nosy people.
“I just like him,” she says, a little self-consciously. “I like him a lot. But he only comes every three months or so and never stays more than a day or two. A few of us have already offered our beds to him over the years, but he always says no. Do you know if he has a lover somewhere?”
I shake my head but keep quiet. I don’t know anything about Griffin, besides what he told me about theBeetleand the scientists.
Laura sighs deeply. “I guess I’ll just take my shot again. Thanks.” And she leaves.
I watch her warily as she spends the next hour trying to get close to him. But, faithful to his usual self, Griffin is always on the move, never staying put long enough for her to say a word. It’s funny.
At some point, the villagers pull out a white sheet, tie it between two pine trees, and start a projector. I realize with delight that they’re putting on a movie. Everyone brings chairs and blankets to sit on the ground between the fires.
Griffin sits at the back of the crowd, on a bench. I notice how Laura looks at him, and I quickly make my way to sit by his side. I don’t know why it bothers me that she makes her move tonight. Not only that, I shouldn’t get involved, but I can’t help myself.
Griffin doesn’t try to escape me, and it pleases me.
“Why not go back to theBeetle?” I ask him. “It looks like they make you uncomfortable.”
I can’t see his face as he says, “You were having fun.”
I blink. “Did you stay for me?”
He nods imperceptibly. “Just in case.”
The rest is left unsaid. Just in case something happens. You never know when things can go sideways, no matter where you’re at.
“We can go back now,” I say.
“I can put the movie on the screen if you want. I have it in the database.”
“Really?” I stand up. “Then let’s go. I’m freezing my ass off out here.”
I follow Griffin out of the village and to theBeetlewithout a second glance at the villagers. Beet finds a nice spot to spend the night under the trees a little farther away. I fall asleep on the couch while watching the movie while Griffin sits in one of the chairs.
