“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
“They had to run a bunch of tests on Wendell a few years ago. Thought he might have it. Turned out to be a lingering case of pneumonia, but it was scary as shit. I’m sorry.”
“It’s better to have an answer. She’s going to be okay.” But my voice wobbles. After so many years of living just with April, I’m not great at sharing my emotions with people. I’m also realizing I’m not great at hiding them, either. I’ve had no practice.
“Totally. It’s treatable, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So it might take some time to get used to. But you’re both gonna be okay.”
“For sure.”
Sid is letting the pauses between us linger long enough that if I wanted to, I could say far more. He’s my sanctuary host. It’s his job to be friendly and listen to me. But maybe the label is why I don’t go on. No matter how nice he tries to be, he still represents the Salt Spring government on some level. He could report anything I say to Tom Sullivan.
Though Tom was his immigration officer, too. Thatdoespique my curiosity.
“How long ago did you come to the island?” I ask.
“Me?”
“You. And the other guys. Did you all come over together or—”
“Um, yeah. All of us.”
“Where did you guys come from?”
He takes a long drink from his mug, staring out at the ducks rather than me. “A shitty situation. Like you.”
“Okay. Fair enough.” I know a request to kindly fuck off when I hear it. But if I’m not going to talk about my shitand he’s not going to talk about his, I can’t see the point in this discussion. Plus, I’m exhausted, which is weird since I hardly hiked anywhere today.
But as I stand to leave, Sid rallies. “Hold on. I wanted to talk to you about next steps. You know, so you aren’t blindsided by anything.”
“Oh. Right.” I sit back down. “Like what?”
“You need to get April registered for school. She’ll need to take a placement test. Carlos can help her get there every day.”
“Every day?” It makes me sick thinking about it.
“They get weekends off.”
“Weekends?”
“Saturdays and Sundays. You’ll get used to it. They’re big on dates and months and shit here.”
“Right.” I nod, pretending this is what has me worried and not the idea of April going to a school. On the one hand, school was great when I was a kid in Port Alberni. My mum taught us real things about the world, plus math and spelling. Astolia was another matter. It was ground zero for the Grand Astrologue to indoctrinate kids with whatever nonsense he wanted.
“We’re in the middle of harvest right now, which kinda sucks for you. Busy time of the year. But I can try to take some time off and show you around town, too.”
“No, don’t go out of your way for me.” I already owe this man too much and even now, I keep wondering when the act will drop and he’ll demand something in exchange for all the trouble I’ve caused him. I think of April and her grand dreams about being good at life on this island and in a way, I get it. We have to figure out how to exist on our own terms here, rather than constantly being in debt to everyone. I need to get a job and our own place to live and the hell out of here before we end up trapped.
Unfortunately, that does mean asking Sid for one more small favour. “There is one thing I could use your help with.”
“Of course,” he says, perking up.
“I need a job. Maybe two. Where do people get jobs?”
