The afternoon wore on under a mountain of paperwork and hours later, she yawned and squeezed her tired eyes shut. Her mouth was dry and tacky at the same time, and she decided she needed something covered in melted cheese and topped with olives. She gathered her things and walked through the nearly empty office. Most everyone had left hours ago, and it was already dark outside.
Her phone rang, and she froze when she saw the name, and she nearly didn’t answer. But she wasn’t a coward. “River. This is a surprise.”
“To both of us,” River said. “I heard from a friend that you’re concerned for the safety of the youth who come here.”
“River, I?—”
“I get it. But given that you’re on the side of the wealthy bad guys, I wanted to extend an invitation. Come to tonight’s workshop. See what we’re doing in action. Get a real feel for it. See what it is you’re trying to shut down. Unless the thought of that knowledge scares you.”
Marina bristled. “I’m not easily scared. But I am hungry, and I’ve had a long day.”
“Grab food and bring it along. Several of the kids do.” She hesitated. “It starts at eight. Maybe I’ll see you then.”
She hung up, and Marina stared at her phone. Damn it all. She’d just have to pick up nachos on her way over.
CHAPTER 14
River grinnedat the noise of the kids’ chatter that filled the downstairs room. They used it for all kinds of workshops, and she and Audrey had done her best to make it comfortable. A mishmash array of beanbags, old chairs, and beat-up sofas lined the walls. There were a couple desks, too, as well as lap trays.
“Let me get that,” Leo said, popping into the kitchen next to River. They picked up the tray laden with mugs and cookies.
“Thanks.” River picked up the coffee urn and followed Leo downstairs into the cacophony. They set everything on the table, and River barely made it out of the way before the group descended on the food. Several of them would hardly have eaten that day, and she was glad to see no one hanging back. New kids always took a little time to settle in and get comfortable helping themselves. But there hadn’t been anyone new in a while.
River plunged into an enormous beanbag and began shuffling the cards slowly. She listened and laughed, occasionally joining in, but mostly just let the kids settle into their safe space.
She felt Marina before she saw her. Energy, tightly wound and about as smooth as churned-up gravel, moved down the stairs well ahead of her body. River watched, her breath hitchingas Marina’s black heels came into view first, and she was treated to a slow reveal of Marina’s body as she made her way down. It was like a piece of polished marble had dropped into a noisy, disheveled cave. Normally, River would have gotten up, greeted her, and found a good chair for her.
Today, she stayed put. She gave her a quick smile and a nod. “You made it,” she said, continuing to lazily shuffle the deck in her hands.
Marina held up a box. “I brought my dinner.” She glanced around the room, her eyes shifting fast, her smile practiced. “Hey there,” she said to Leo, who didn’t smile back.
“Grab a seat. We were just about to get started.” River watched as Marina looked around and finally chose a discarded straight-backed chair up against a wall at the back. She couldn’t have placed herself more outside the circle and remained in the room. River was about to suggest a different chair and then mentally shrugged. It would probably be fine.
“All right, folks. Let’s mellow.” River reached over and lit the small sandalwood cone, and one of the kids lit the simple white candles in the middle of the circle. The group slowly grew quiet and still. “Who wants to start us off?”
“I do!” Jenny raised her hand, then pressed her palms together and placed them in front of her forehead. “We are grateful for what we have, we accept who we are, we help those in need, and we’re open to healing so we can be the best versions of ourselves.”
There was a murmur of agreement as the others lowered their hands from their foreheads, or unclasped them from their laps, or returned their palms from upturned to face down on their legs.
“That was nice, Jenny. Simple and clear.” River smiled at the girl who’d been nonvocal when she’d first arrived. Now she was not only one of the first to speak, she was also trying out for thedebate team at school. “Anyone have anything to say before we start?”
The room was quiet for a moment, and then Tim sighed. “I went to a protest last week. I was totally ready, you know? Excited and stuff. But then shit kicked off, and it was so fucking scary. Like, I wondered what I was doing there.”
River nodded. These kids were political in a way her generation hadn’t been. “Protests are like that, especially right now. Want to talk about what happened?”
He scuffed at the worn reddish carpet with his equally worn sneakers. “Not really. But I decided that even though I was scared, I wasn’t going to leave. People were there, shoulder to shoulder, and it felt really good too. I’m going to do it again, but now I’ll know what I’m in for.”
“That’s really awesome.” River concentrated on him and pulled a card from the deck. She glanced at it and then showed it to him.
“The Fool.” He frowned and looked up at the ceiling. “Doing something stupid?” he finally asked.
“No,” Leo said, staring at the card. “It means taking a leap of faith. Or being open to a new journey.” They looked at River. “Right?”
“Right.” River was pretty sure Leo had some insight gifts of their own, but their life hadn’t been one that provided enough safety for them to dig into that possibility. Not until they’d started coming to Echoes. It might be that River needed to do some work with them to help develop those skills.
A loud crunching sound came from the back of the room, and everyone turned to look for the source. Marina stopped chewing, wide-eyed, like she’d been caught doing something naughty. “Sorry,” she mumbled around her mouthful of tortilla chips.
The group began to laugh, and River joined in.
