Текст книги "Sunset Rising"

Автор книги: S. McEachern

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Текущая страница: 17 (всего у книги 22 страниц)

Chapter Twenty-Four

I watched in utter shock as Madi struggled to hold onto life. She obviously couldn’t breathe, and I didn’t know how to help. A heated numbness flushed through my entire body as the shock of what I had done penetrated my brain. I became aware of Crystal and Di staring at me. Sweat was dripping from my face, and I felt a little dizzy.

I stepped up to the sink and stuck my head under the faucet. I let the cold water run over the back of my neck before I turned my mouth to the stream and gulped. Finished, I leaned against the sink for a moment, trying to collect my scrambled thoughts.

I turned around to face them. “I didn’t mean to hurt her that much!”

Di picked up a sheet and threw it over Madi’s spastic body. Crystal and I both gave her a strange look.

“What? I don’t want to watch that mean old thing die.” Di shuddered. “And she got what she deserved if you ask me. Well done, Sunny.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t put the sheet over her until she’s dead,” I said.

“You take the sheet off if you want to,” Di said, shaking with revulsion.

Within seconds, Madi’s body became still, although none of us moved for a long time.

“Do you think she’s dead now?” Crystal asked.

“Yes,” I said.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about killing someone. A jolt of panic went through me, but then I remembered how hateful Madi was, and it went away. I knew I would be in a lot of trouble for killing a supervisor, but I was already wanted for execution. Life really wasn’t going to get any worse for me.

“What are we going to do now?” Crystal asked.

“You’re going to get upstairs before you’re late for the president’s party,” I said. I would deal with the body.

“But I can’t just leave you with this mess. It’s because of me that you —” Crystal began, but I cut her off.

“This is not because of you. This is because she was a mean and hateful woman who was spoiling for a fight. And I gave her one.” I wouldn’t let Madi’s death make us feel guilty. Di was right. She got what she deserved.

“Where did you learn to fight like that?” Crystal asked.

“Jack taught me.” Fighting was the last thing I wanted to talk about right now.

“Is that what the two of you are teaching everyone in the common room?”

When Crystal mentioned it, I remembered I was supposed to be in the common room right then having dinner with Jack. After that we would train with whoever stayed behind to learn. Now I wasn’t sure I could make it there on time.

“It’s not just about self-defense. It’s about uniting everyone to work together for a better future. Unfortunately, fifty people in a common room learning a few good moves aren’t going to change anything. We need everyone to make it work.” I knew I sounded preachy, but I didn’t care.

“Well, you can sign me up,” Di said brightly.

Crystal was looking at the lump under the sheet that used to be Madi. “After tonight, I’m a believer. No matter what, you and Jack have to succeed. You’re our only hope.”

Tears streamed down her face. Was she crying for Madi or for something else? Then I remembered she said she had heard things. Things she wasn’t supposed to hear. Did she know something the rest of us didn’t? I wanted to talk to her, but she was going to be late if she didn’t leave now, and I had a mess to clean up.

“You better get yourself upstairs,” I said.

“You’re a good person, Sunny O’Donnell. Don’t ever forget that.” Crystal hugged me and then left.

“You want to check her or should I?” Di asked. I raised my eyebrows. “To see if she’s dead or not.”

“I will.” Though I was pretty sure she was. I pulled back the sheet and nearly ran away screaming when I saw Madi’s eyes open wide and staring vacantly at me. I forced myself to check her pulse. There was none. “She’s dead.”

“Well, that’s it then. What will we do with the body?”

“I’ll get rid of it. I don’t want you to get involved any more than you are.”

“I hated that woman from the day I met her. I don’t mind helping to get rid of her.”

“Look, I have nothing to lose here. I’m already wanted for execution. But you’re free. Don’t get involved in this.”

“Free?” Di sounded surprised. “There’s not one person living down here who is free. ‘Cull’ is just another word for execution, and I’m due in less than a year. So stop being self-righteous and learn to accept help when it’s offered.”

I hadn’t expected that response from Di. She had always seemed so… tolerant of her situation. It surprised me that she might be fed up and angry, too.

“Okay. Help me get her in one of the laundry carts. Are you able to finish Crystal’s work and get it upstairs? I really don’t need anyone nosing around here tonight.”

“I can do that.”

I retrieved a cart full of dirty laundry and wheeled it alongside Madi’s body. I took out some of the clothes and motioned for Di to grab her arms while I picked up her legs. We hoisted her into the cart.

“Where are you going to dump her?” Di asked.

“Probably best I don’t say. That way when they find the body you can look genuinely surprised.” I put the pile of dirty clothes on top of her and made sure no parts were showing. “I’ll be back as soon as I can to help you finish the ironing.”

“Best hurry up before she gets stiff in there or you’ll have a time getting her out.” I didn’t respond. The thought was gross enough.

I rolled the cart out of the laundry room and checked the halls to make sure they were clear. There was one guard lounging against the wall, and I would have to walk past him to get to the mineshaft. I pulled my hat down over my eyes and strode purposefully past him.

“What do you have there?” he asked with mild interest. Was he one of Liberty’s guards?

“Laundry.” I looked back at the room I just came from with the big “Laundry Room” sign over the door.

“Oh, yeah.” He waved me on.

I was grateful he didn’t ask me where I was going. There was no reason to take a laundry cart down this hall.

I continued on, rounding a corner, which took me out of view of the guard. Thankfully there were no more guards to be seen. Almost everyone in the Pit would be in the common rooms having dinner, so it was the time of evening the guards took a break, which was lucky for me.

I pulled open the door to the mineshaft and held it with my hip as I pushed the cart through. I gently closed the door behind me, trying not to make any noise, and stood for a moment to let my eyes adjust to the darkness. Once I was able to see the edge clearly, I wheeled the cart closer. I thought about sending the whole thing over, but realized that would be a mistake. I might have a chance of getting away with this if I made it look like Madi had fallen down the shaft.

I dug all the clothes out of the cart and piled them by the door. Then I turned the cart on its side and tipped it until I felt the body slide out. It was difficult work. Madi was a large person. The drop to the bottom was just slightly over two miles so it took nearly a minute before I heard a distant thud. I put the clothes back in the cart and left the shaft.

The same guard was standing there when I returned. He gave me a questioning look when he saw I still had the cart full of clothes.

“I took the wrong cart,” I said.

Di was almost finished with the ironing when I got back. She was obviously experienced at it because she was a lot faster than either Crystal or me. I started loading a cart with the freshly laundered clothes.

“No problems?” Di asked.

“There’s a guard outside. You might want to mumble something about doing it yourself if you want it done right.”

Di finished the last shirt and put it on top of the pile.

“Don’t come back here when you’re finished. If anyone asks why you’re bringing the laundry, you just say we’re short staffed after hours and you worked late to help out. I’m going to leave and not come back until tomorrow morning. In the morning, we’ll all just stand outside waiting for Madi like we always do. Okay?”

“Got it,” Di said. She sucked in a deep breath, scanned out and wheeled the cart through the doors.

I tidied up the mess Madi and I had made when we were fighting and scanned out, too. I made my way to the fourth-level common room, which was thankfully in the opposite direction of the guard I had passed earlier. There was another guard standing by the door outside of the common room.

“Good evening, ma’am,” he said as he opened the door. I didn’t think I was ever going to get used to being treated that way. I thanked him awkwardly and walked through the door.

The training session was already in full swing. Three guards stood with their rifles gripped in their hands while people lined up to take their turn disarming them. I noticed with disappointment that there weren’t as many people as the night before. Jack was correcting someone when he looked up and saw me come into the room. He shot me a questioning look, but I had no answer for him. He went back to his task, and I took the opportunity to sit down. I think it was the first time I rested all day.

The shock of what I had just done was starting to set in. My hands were beginning to shake, so I tucked them under my legs to try and still them. Then my legs started shaking. Emotionally, I didn’t really feel anything at all, so I was angry that my body would betray me like that. Jack motioned for me to come over and help. Would my legs support me? I wasn’t sure. I shook my head. Jack would have to do this on his own.

The training session seemed to take forever, but finally Jack said it was time to wrap up. Everyone thanked him and filed out of the room. I stood up to leave, although I still wasn’t sure my legs would work. I took a few steps, ignoring the weakness in my knees.

“Where were you?” Jack asked in a low voice. “I’ve been going out of my mind! I sent a guard to look for you.”

“Was that an Alliance guard outside of the laundry room?”

“Is that where you’ve been? Working late? Was Madi on you again?”

“Can we talk about this at home?” My lack of sleep last night and current trauma of having just killed someone was starting to crash in on me.

Jack put his hand at the small of my back and steered me toward the door. “You’re shaking.” He gave me a sidelong glance, but didn’t ask any more questions until we were safely inside our apartment.

“What happened?” he asked as soon as he shut the door.

I sat down heavily in the chair. “I killed her.” There was no sense keeping it from Jack. He just stood staring at me, not saying a word. Maybe he didn’t hear me. “I killed Madi.”

“You mean you killed her for real? She’s dead?” I could tell by his shocked expression that he didn’t believe me.

“I didn’t mean to kill her. She was beating Crystal, and I knew she was going to kill her… and I just snapped. I went after her, and we got into a fight. She had me pinned on the floor at one point, but as soon as she let go of my arms, I punched her. I got her here.” I pointed to the base of my neck.

“You throat punched her? Didn’t you know you could kill someone that way?”

“Well, I do now!”

He gave me an apologetic look and sat down in the chair across from me. “What did you do with the body?” he asked. I could almost see his mind trying to work out a plan to cover it up.

“I put her in a laundry cart, wheeled her to the mineshaft, and threw her body down the shaft. There was one guard who saw me with the cart. I’m hoping he was the one you sent to look for me.”

“He didn’t see the body, though?”

“No. She was covered up with dirty clothes.”

“What about any mess in the laundry room? Any blood?”

“No blood, and I picked up anything we knocked over during our fight.”

“I’m impressed, Sunny. It sounds like you covered your tracks well.”

“I feel like I just made a mess of everything. My life was already complicated enough without adding murder to the list.”

“Defending yourself against a crazy person isn’t murder. It’s self-defense.”

The lights went out and left us in darkness. I was exhausted, but I didn’t want to go to sleep. My numbed brain was still processing the events of the evening. Jack stood up and held his hand out to me. I knew he couldn’t find his way to the bedroom in the dark, so I took his hand and led him there. He crawled onto the bed, and I took the heavy vest off before I laid down myself. He surprised me when he pulled me into the crook of his arm. I pulled back, but he firmly put my head on his shoulder.

“I’m not looking for anything, Sunny. I just think we could both use the human contact tonight. And besides, we both know you’re going to be all over me again as soon as you fall asleep.” He laughed softly.

I couldn’t help but laugh, too. He was probably right. And after the day I’d had, it did feel good to be pressed against the length of him and feel his arms holding me.

“There weren’t as many people there tonight,” I said.

“Some left when they saw you weren’t there. I almost cancelled the whole thing to go look for you myself. But I knew if I did that I would never get the few back that were interested in being there. You don’t know how worried I was.” His arm tightened around me, hugging me closer.

“Did you think Holt caught me?”

“That was one scenario I imagined. I also thought maybe you suffered heat stroke and died. Or your supervisor was beating you to within an inch of your life. I can honestly say it never crossed my mind you killed her and dumped her body.” He started shaking with laughter

“It’s not funny.” I playfully hit him in the chest. He caught my hand in his and held it.

“I don’t know how this rebellion of yours is going to work if we don’t get more people involved,” Jack said, his voice serious.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Our time here is running out. I guess it was a stupid idea.”

“It’s not a stupid idea. We’ll find a way to make it work.”

As he talked, the rhythmic sound of his deep voice hypnotised me. I let go of all my fears and allowed myself to feel secure in his arms. Sleep took me almost instantly.

Chapter Twenty-Five

I bolted awake, my heart pounding, an image of Madi still burned into my mind. I’d dreamed that she wasn’t dead when I dumped her and that she was climbing back up the mineshaft looking for me. Now that I was awake, the dream seemed ridiculous. She was very dead when I sent her down there.

I was all over Jack again, just as he had predicted. My legs were entwined with his and my arm was sprawled across his chest. He was snoring softly, so I gently eased myself away from him and got out of bed. My stomach was protesting the fact that I’d missed dinner last night. I padded into the kitchen and drank a glass of water to fill the emptiness.

I was wide awake now and knew there was little chance of getting back to sleep. The back of my neck was tight with stress, and my head ached. I decided to exercise. It always eased my stress whenever I worked out with Jack.

“Sunny?” Jack called from the bedroom.

“You’ll be happy to know I’m working out. You’ve taught me well, Jack,” I said between deep breaths.

He stumbled his way into the living room, stubbing his toe on one of the chairs. When he was done cursing, he joined me on the floor. “You couldn’t sleep?”

“Bad dreams.”

“You shouldn’t let it bother you. I bet a lot of people in the laundry room will be happy today when she doesn’t show up.”

“It doesn’t bother me that Madi is dead. It bothers me that I killed her.”

“And yet you want to start a rebellion. People always get killed when there’s a struggle for power. No one’s going to miss a supervisor like Madi. They won’t blame you for killing her. They’ll respect you.”

“People aren’t going to know I killed her.”

“I thought there were other people in the room when it happened?”

“Di and Crystal were, but they won’t say anything.”

“Maybe not to a guard, but they’ll talk.”

The bong bongs rang out, and the lights clicked on. Jack had taken off his t-shirt, and there was a film of sweat on his muscular torso. I averted my eyes since I found the sight a little too appealing. I got up and filled the sink with cold water.

“I’ll give you some privacy if you want to get washed. But don’t drain the water,” Jack said as he left the room.

I bathed as quickly as I could, fearing he would come in while I was naked, but he remained a gentleman. Then we exchanged rooms, and I found more clean clothes in the bag Bron had brought us. I put the hated vest on and went back out when Jack was done.

The line for breakfast was already getting long by the time we got to the common room. People greeted us cheerfully when we joined the queue. It shocked me that Jack and I had become so well known in such a short span of time. Just the day before I had been a stressed-out ball of nerves waiting for Domers to come and take us away at gunpoint and hand us over to President Holt. Today I was being addressed as ma’am by the guards and had complete strangers wanting to shake my hand. It all felt so foreign, but it did help me to feel more confident that no one would turn us in.

Jack and I collected our rations and found a seat alone together. Despite my nervousness at the thought of returning to the scene of the crime, I was starving.

“You want mine, too?” Jack asked when he saw me gulping down my breakfast.

“No, thank you.” I was embarrassed at eating so fast. I was getting far too comfortable around him.

I looked around the room and saw Crystal get up and head for the door. She was leaving for work already. She walked with her head down, hiding her face behind the curtain of her long hair.

“Are you going to be okay this morning?”

“I have to be.”

We pushed our chairs back and left the room, heading for our respective jobs. I tried to squelch the nervousness in my stomach, but it wouldn’t go away. Jack reached for my hand and held it as we walked along the hall to the stairs. I was grateful for his support. He kissed the top of my head before he left, as had become his habit. I watched him walk down the stairs until I couldn’t see him anymore, as had become mine. I climbed the few levels to the laundry room.

Crystal was already there, standing in front of the doors looking a little lost. The bruising on her face was worse today. One of her eyes was almost swollen shut. She had a hand protectively wrapped around her side where Madi had kicked her.

“I’m not sure what to do,” Crystal whispered when I walked up to her.

“Just stay here as if we’re waiting for her. That’s what we do every morning.”

“Okay. By the way, I saw your friend last night.”

“Summer?”

Crystal nodded.

“You didn’t tell her what I did, did you?” I didn’t want Summer to know. I was worried about what she would think of me.

“No. I’m not going to tell anybody what we did. I just told her what you wanted me to tell her. She says she misses you, too. She also said that the president is getting really upset because you and Jack haven’t been found yet. He had a complete door-to-door search done in the Dome and didn’t find any sign of you. He’s finally beginning to think that maybe you’re hiding down here.”

“I’m surprised he hasn’t looked here yet. I mean, what is it that makes him think we wouldn’t come here?”

“Because he still thinks of Jack as one of them. As much as the Holts hate the Kenners, their family still belongs to their elite group. None of them would ever be caught dead in the Pit, so they assume neither would Jack.”

“They must know I would come home, though.” Could Holt really be that blinded by his own prejudices?

“Don’t forget, Leisel told her father that Jack married you for love, and he believes that every good wife follows her husband. It’s never occurred to him that Jack would follow you. But he’s come up empty looking for you two in the Dome.”

“How much time do you think we have left?” I knew I should be grateful for the amount of time we’d already had, but it still made me anxious to know that my death was getting closer.

“I don’t know. Last night I overheard the president tell Mr. Forbes to put together a search team for the Pit. You might have a day or two at the most. Sunny, can I ask you a personal question?”

I nodded.

“How did you and Jack end up married?”

“Leisel tricked us into it so she could discredit Jack. But don’t tell. Everyone thinks our marriage is a big love story.”

“You mean it isn’t a love story?” Crystal looked confused. “I see the way Jack looks at you. He never looked at Leisel like that.”

Her confession surprised me. I didn’t really think Jack was attracted to me. “No, we’re not together like that.” I shook my head. “Like every bourge I’ve ever met, he likes the finer things in life, and I’m… well, I’m just me. An urchin.”

“I think you’re wrong—on both counts.”

The conversation made me uncomfortable. “So things went okay at the party last night?”

“Mr. West was really angry when I showed up with a black eye. He likes me to look pretty when I sing at public events. He demanded to know who gave it to me, so I told him truthfully. He talked about sending his own guards down here to have a word with Madi. I’m sorry. I should’ve lied. I didn’t expect him to take any action.”

I put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “You had to tell the truth. If you lied, then you would be implicating someone who didn’t deserve punishment.” She nodded. “Just remember, if they do show up, act like you know nothing. We came to work this morning and Madi didn’t.”

“Oh good!” Di said, startling us. “It’s just the two of you here. I had an epiphany last night.” She marched right past us and into the laundry room.

Crystal and I looked at each other in confusion before we scrambled to follow her.

“Anyone here?” Di called out to the empty room. No one answered. “You know, I think I would’ve messed my pants if someone answered back.” She laughed nervously. “I was thinking last night if we keep this place running ourselves, it might be quite a while before they notice Madi is missing.”

I gave it some thought. We didn’t have many options. “It might work.”

Madi’s scanner was still sitting on the desk, so we scanned in. As we did, a few more workers came into the room and lined up behind us. No one seemed to notice Madi wasn’t at her desk. Crystal went to the sink, and I claimed a cart of dirty laundry and started my day. Di did the same. A few minutes later, Kai came in. I could tell by the look on his face that he wondered where Madi was. I held my breath for a moment waiting for him to ask, but he didn’t question it. He scanned in and went to see Di.

“There are some carts over there for you to take up,” Di said. “Drop those off and pick up the dirty ones for us to work on today.”

Kai did as she told him. We worked for a few hours before a pair of Domers came strolling into the room. I assumed they were the ones being sent by West on Crystal’s behalf.

“We’re looking for Supervisor Madi,” one of them called out to the room at large. No one said anything.

“I expect to be answered.” Both guards raised their firearms.

“We haven’t seen our supervisor all morning,” Di said.

“Who let you in this morning?”

“The place was already open when I got here. Guess she had somewhere else to be.”

“Any chance you know where that might be?” the other Domer asked.

“No, sir,” Di said.

“Does anyone here know?” he called out to the room again.

I watched the confused expressions on everyone’s faces and mimicked them. The guards went back to Madi’s desk, rummaged through her things, and checked her calendar. One of them picked up her communicator and gave the other guard a puzzled look. Guards and supervisors were supposed to have their communicators with them at all times. I had forgotten about that. The guard holding the device typed a message into it. They were probably letting Madi know she was wanted for questioning. I was relieved when they left.

I had some hand washing to give to Crystal and made my way over to the sink.

“Do you think those were West’s guards?” I asked.

“Probably. I don’t know for sure.”

I still felt sorry for Crystal. As bad as my situation was, at least I had some freedom. But she was a slave every single minute of her life. During the day, she worked here under the supervision of a malicious woman, and at night she belonged to a man old enough to be her grandfather. I knew that if I had not met Leisel on that fateful night, I might have ended up just like Crystal and Summer. I think I preferred my death sentence.

“How long have you… belonged to West?”

“Two years.”

I remembered she’d told me she was fourteen years old. “You were only twelve when you were sent upstairs?” Even I could hear the revulsion in my voice, and I felt bad for making my feelings so clear.

“I know.” She hung her head in embarrassment.

“I didn’t mean it the way it sounded, Crystal. I know it’s not your fault. Was Madi the one who sent you up there the first time?”

Crystal nodded.

“Then I’m glad I killed her. The Pit is a better place without her in it.” For a moment my guilt at having killed Madi morphed into a sense of justice, and I relished the feeling.

“The Pit is a better place with you in it, Sunny. I’m going to do everything I can to help you and Jack.” Tears rolled down Crystal’s cheeks. “Someone needs to save us and you’re the first person who’s ever stepped up.”

“Crystal, you said something last night —” I started to say, but she cut me off.

“People need to know what I know! And you need to get them ready.”

“Crystal, you’re scaring me. Just tell me what you know.” I tried not to sound frustrated, but I was. She kept hinting at something, and I wanted to know what it was.

Just then the bong bongs announced the beginning of the lunch break. Workers came in with the food and water cart and set up in their usual spot near Madi’s desk. Everyone stopped working and lined up to get their rations.

“We need to finish this conversation!” I told Crystal as we joined the queue.

“Finish what conversation?” Di asked as she came to stand behind me in the line.

I shrugged. “Nothing important.”

“Those guards that were here today looked official. Any idea where they came from?” Di asked.

“We think Mr. West sent them because of Crystal’s eye. She didn’t look very pretty singing for the bourge last night. They want to have a word with Madi.”

“Malcolm West?” Di seemed shocked.

I nodded. “Crystal’s owner.”

Di gave Crystal a look of understanding. “I owe you a big apology. I had you pegged all wrong, sweetie.”

“Most people do,” Crystal said, her tone defiant.

“Well, I expect they’ll be back when they don’t hear from her,” Di said.

“I think you’re right,” I said.

We halted our conversation as we collected our food and water and then returned to our stations to eat. The laundry room was every bit as hot as it always was, and I was relieved Madi wasn’t there to stop me from drinking water. I gulped the liquid down, and felt the moisture quench my parched tongue and throat. If I hadn’t been worried about the guards coming back, I would have been tempted to take off my vest and hat and let my skin breathe.

“Madi’s not here today. You can go to Crystal’s sink any time you want,” Di said.

“I hadn’t thought of that.” There were definitely perks to not having a supervisor around.

“What is it you’re wearing that makes you so hot?”

“Believe it or not, it’s a bulletproof vest.” I laughed. “It puts weight on my frame and makes me look less like Sunny O’Donnell.”

“Well, down here Sunny O’Donnell is a hero. You might want to start looking like yourself again. I told a few people how you saved Crystal last night. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Di, you weren’t supposed to tell anyone!” Now the news would be all over, just as Jack predicted it would be.

“Why not? It’s about time someone stood up to the Madis of the Pit. That woman was a mean, nasty piece of work. Good riddance, I say.”

“But I killed her,” I whispered. Was I the only one who understood the gravity of that act?

Someone announced the lunch break was over. We all returned our empty containers to the cart and went back to work. It nagged at me that Di had told people about my actions. Heroes weren’t murderers, so what would people think of me now? I hoped it wouldn’t impact the plan Jack and I were trying to implement. If people thought badly of me, maybe they would stop showing up.

The day was almost over when the doors burst open, and the two Domers that had been there earlier marched in unannounced.

“Has anyone seen Supervisor Madi today?” one of them demanded.

“No sir. She hasn’t been in today,” Di said.

“When was the last time anyone saw her?”

“Last night,” I said. If anyone was going to be questioned, it should be me.

The guard came closer to me. “At what time?”

“About six-thirty. We finished late last night.” At least that was the truth.

“Was she here when you left for the day?”

“Yes.” The lie made me a little nervous.

“Were you the last one to leave?”

“We both were,” Di said.

“I’ll need both your names.”

“My name is Diamond Murphy,” she said.

He looked at me expectantly. There was no way out of this. I cleared my throat. “Autumn Jones.”

The guard recorded our names on his communicator and then left without any further questions. Now they had my false name. How long before they figured out Autumn Jones was an imposter?

I spent the rest of the afternoon nervously looking over my shoulder at the doors, but no more guards came bursting through. A few times I went to Crystal’s sink to get a drink and put cold water on the back of my neck. I hoped no one else in the laundry room noticed, but the cool, refreshing liquid was too tempting to ignore. Madi’s absence was turning out to be a luxury.

For the first time since I came to work in the laundry room, I wasn’t struggling to finish my cart at the end of the workday. It was all done. Crystal and Di were finished, too. Maybe things did run smoother without a supervisor.

“I’ll be seeing you tonight,” Di said as we walked out the door. “I’m going to bring my lazy husband with me.”

“I’ll see you tonight then,” I said.

She walked away, leaving Crystal and me alone.

“I wish I could see you tonight, too,” I said to her.

“I’ll see what I can do.” She gave a brilliant smile and hugged me.

Then she was gone, running down the stairs without waiting to walk with me.