Three Converts

Part 51

Griffin's business was thriving. His workshop wasn't as packed as it had been. And it still smelled like fire, no matter how we tried to get rid of the odor, but he was most definitely building his business back up. Every day somebody stopped by to request a piece of furniture, or trinket, or carving from him. He was working nearly around the clock. "Have you ever thought about taking on an apprentice?" I asked him. When I had a few spare moments, I would sit on the floor and watch him. It was an indulgence. I should always be out prepping for our next runaway, but I couldn't resist watching him work every now and then. It was a thing to see. He would take the plainest, ugliest lumps of wood, and in a matter of minutes, make it something worthwhile.

He nodded at my questions, but didn't look up. "I have. But it would take so much time to train somebody. We need money now and we need it fast." I stopped talking after that. My measly ten hours a week hardly contributed to our coffers. The others were earning the money and I got to do the fun stuff like build up our closet of assorted clothes for the runaways we were anticipating. The guilt forced me to stand up. "Speaking of money, I'm going to look for a job."

Griffin grabbed my wrist. "You're pulling your weight around here, Luce. Don't think you're not."

"Still. We could always use the extra money."

He gave my wrist a little tug and I bent down. "I love you," he whispered into my ear.

"No, I love you," I whispered back to him. He was making it very hard for me to leave. "I'll be back. With a job this time!" We reluctantly waved good-bye. I headed straight into town. I knew exactly where I wanted to apply.

First, I checked on Frida. She was working today, and the livery was hopping. I didn't want to bother her, but caught her eye. She smiled brightly and gave me a thumbs up. Freedom really did look good on her. I thought about the girl I'd talked to the other day in town. I hadn't seen her since, and could only pray she didn't move to the commune after all. Maybe Frida would be willing to run some interference too, if she saw a Robe trying to recruit somebody. I'd ask her about that later.

My second stop was the donut shop. It smelled like Annie and I sent up a prayer for her safety. They hired me on the spot. I didn't feel quite as passionate about donuts as I did delivering babies, but I did have happy memories of the shop and donuts would forever symbolize freedom to me. The workers and customers were cheerful, and the work was easy. I would be able to keep an eye on the town and the Robes through the window, but knew the recruiters wouldn't dare step inside. I signed a couple papers and the owner gave me a box of donuts as a welcome gift.

Rocco was especially excited about my new job. "Free donuts!" He stuffed one whole into his mouth.

"Yum!" Misty took one too, a little more daintily.

Griff took a bite, then kissed me and if I thought donuts tasted good before, the faint flavor on his mouth made them even more delicious. Gordo grabbed one too, then announced, "Maybe I'll take a couple over to Frida?" He was really inspecting the donuts, not looking at us at all. The four of us exchanged amused looks.

"Great idea," I managed, just barely giggling. He rolled his eyes at us, and jetted out the door before we could grill him. Misty and Rocco had the night off and Griff was pushing his right thumb into his left hand, which was a telltale sign that he was done working for the day. We flopped on the living room floor, exhausted, full of sugar, and happy. We lay talking about the goodness of life until we shifted to sleepy, nonsensical sentences. Eventually we stumbled into our beds, only to hear a rap on the door shortly after.

For all our exhaustion, we sprung out of bed to usher in our second (and as it turned out, third) guests from the commune. This couple I knew well. They were in their mid-sixties, and my parents chatted with them every weekend after the council's service. I was always interested in them, because they seemed much more jovial than anybody else in the commune. Sermons were always somber events, but it never seemed to dampen their moods. While others filed out of the sermons quietly, weighted down with guilt and fear of the Diety's wrath, Mr. and Mrs. Cornwall laughed and joked and slapped friends on the back. I'd seen the councilmembers give them more than one dirty look.

Even standing on the front porch, they didn't look meek or scared as Frida had. "Good Evening!" Mr. Cornwall bellowed. Mrs. Cornwall gave me a hug. "Lucy! You're running this operation? Good for you, sweetheart, good for you!" We ushered them in before they could wake the neighbors. They fussed over Misty, when we introduced her. "Of course! Of course we remember Misty. I wouldn't have known it was you, though, dear. You don't look the same at all!"

Misty smiled, "That's the idea!"

We asked them the questions we'd agreed to ask each guest: "Did anybody see you leave or suspect you were about to leave?"

"Oh no, nobody cares one whit about two old toads!" That might be true, I thought. But they'd surely notice their absence after the next sermon. It would be noticeably quieter.

"Why did you decide to leave?" We asked this one as gently as possible, but we had to have some sort of screening if they were actually sent as spies. "We haven't believed in that mumbo-jumbo the council spews about in years. We were just staying out of habit really. But we aren't getting any younger, are we honey?" Mr. Cornwall patted his wife's leg. "We wanted to get out while we are still young enough to live a little!" I smiled. They were probably twenty years older than my parents. I dared a look at Griff. I couldn't help imagining him, imagining us, at their age. He gave me a sideways grin that made me lose focus of what we were doing for a moment.

Misty took over for me. "What about Lucy's family? Have you seen or talked to them lately?" I snapped back to attention. The Cornwalls looked at each other worriedly. "We have. But they don't seem themselves."

"Oh, they're perfectly healthy!" Mrs. Cornwall assured me. "They just seem..."

"Stressed." Mr. Cornwall offered.

Stressed. About me? I wondered, or is something else going on?

"Well, we can get you set up with some clothes and food. We'll help you find jobs too, and you can stay here until then." Rocco explained.

"We will surely take you up on the clothes and the food, but we won't be staying," Mrs. Cornwall explained. She gave her husband a sappy smile. "We're off to have some adventures."

"No time like the present time!" Mr. Cornwall agreed. Their plan was to walk through the night in case anybody from the commune was following. They were going to travel around, doing odd jobs and "having adventures" until they found a place they wanted to settle. We encouraged them to stay, but they wouldn't hear of it, so we loaded them up with all the clothes and food they could carry. Griffin insisted on giving Mr. Cornwall some cash "just in case." They enjoyed our last two donuts before taking off into the night.

We watched them walk into the darkness. "That was an easy one," Rocco said. I smiled. I sort of wished they had stayed. They were wonderful. I prayed they would be safe and have all the adventures they could ever want.

"Why do you think my parents are stressed?" I asked Griff later.

"I don't know. It could be anything. They might be worried about you."

"Or they're being threatened," I said.

He pulled me to him. "We'll rescue them just as soon as we can. You know Annie and Gibby are looking out for them too." I supposed he was right, but I was uneasy. Sleep eluded me the rest of the night.