“No,” Dace whispered softly. “You’re the only friend I’ve made aside from Buu and Carrie that I know isn’t just tolerating me for someone else,” she admitted.
“I’m here because I want to be.” Finished wringing out my shirt, I rolled it up and placed it in the blue bag I’d brought along.
“They’re both so busy with their families now… I don’t want to be the third wheel just hanging around and being in the way. You know?” She spoke softly, quietly, glancing over in the direction of the larger group of women down the way.
“I can’t say I have all that many friends, either.” My admission was met with an understanding smile.
Her smile dropped just as fast. “You really probably shouldn’t be seen with me, though. Mina hates me. She has every right to.” Again, her gaze darted from me to the group of women.
“What do you all do for food around here?” I asked her. My stomach chose that moment to growl angrily.
Dace blinked at the sudden subject change. Her eyes widened at the noise my stomach made. Her hand clapped to her mouth as she began to chortle out a laugh. She did the piggy snorts giggling thing. “There’s a community garden for vegetables and eggs, fruit is gathered nearby, I can show you where, and grain is harvested from the fields just before Sorak’splace. He’s the Monociren that runs the kep-kep ranch across the way over there.” Lifting her hand, she pointed off in the direction behind me. “Monociren are unicorn men.” With a roll of her eyes, she muttered sarcastically, “Or horn heads, as Rek likes to call them.”
“I got the impression Rek was not on good terms with him.”
Dace laughed at that. “Besides Joanie, Celuk, and Buu there’s not really anyone else Rek really gets along with.” After a moment, she conceded, “He gets along well with the babies. He loves babies.” Huffing softly, she added, “Maybe because he IS a big baby. Babies are his people.”
Her softly mumbled train of thought did not feel meant for my ears but I’d heard it all the same.
“Sorry.” Dace blushed then, her pale skin going beet red with embarrassment. “I’m too used to talking to myself and not being heard.”
Sobering at that, I ventured, “Surely it wasn’t all that bad, whatever caused a rift between you and Mina you can’t be civil. Maybe-”
“It’s worse than whatever you’re thinking.” Dace’s shoulders slumped as her gaze dropped. “It’s too awful.” Daring a peek at me, she bit her lip. “I’m afraid if I tell you, you’ll decide you don’t want to be friends with me anymore.” Sighing heavily, her lips pulled down into a disconcerted frown. “I should tell you. You should know.”
“Only if you think I should.” The idea of Dace doing something absolutely heinous to deserve a communal shunning baffled me, but I acknowledge my bias at the start. I’m coming into all this blindly, based solely on what little I do actually know.
When she hesitated, I eyed her. “Did you murder someone?”
Dace glanced up sharply and a splutter escaped her. “Heavens no!”
“Did you… shoot someone?”
Dace paused there and I wondered if I had my answer. Yikes. She shot someone?
My eyeballs must have been majorly bugging when Dace glanced up because she glanced from me to the group again and quickly shook her head.
Leaning in from across the way, she whispered, “I’m nearly done. If you’d like to talk some more, I’ll wait for you past the buildings just over there,” she gestured with her eyes past a string of huts, then over to the women staring at us and trying to pretend they weren’t, “we can take the back way to my place. I have the fixin’s for sandwiches. We have to space it out so it’s not obvious you’re leaving with me.”
Nodding, I continued with my wash. Dace finished up hers, grabbed her things, said a short good-bye to me, then the ladies, and was off.
Counting Mississippily in my head, I pretended I hadn’t finished shortly after Dace had, buying just enough time our departures didn’t appear suspicious. It was kind of silly to pretend like this but if it made her feel better about it I would.
Gathering my things up, I stood, thanked the ladies still gathered for their help with the wash, and left.
Walking down the path, I was just shy of our rendezvous point when I heard voices, one gravelly and deep, the other high and squeaky.
“Nobody asked you,” Dace boldly sassed. She seemed so meek at times, it surprised me to hear her slap some grr on there. “Why do you care what I do? I thought you had better things to do than follow me around all day.”
“Berkr not follow Candy-ass ‘round all the days,” Skunk-butt grumbled.
Peeking around the corner, I caught a glimpse of Dace glaring up at the male.
He had her laundry tucked under a thick arm and was fighting her to yank her washboard from her grasp. She had that thing in a death grip.
“Coulda fooled me,” she huffed and puffed out under her breath.
Berkr tilted his head as he eyed her. “What Candy-ass want, bother Kehlor’s mate? Why Kehlor female want be ‘round Candy-ass for, Kehlor’s Purr-roo can have good females friends? Why she want be friends bad female like Candy-ass?”
