Creative Commons – The Plainsrunner – Chapter Twenty-Five

Continuing the serial release of The Plainsrunner under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license – (CC-BY-SA).

Tallgrass gets to know Street and might get to drive a truck.

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Chapter Twenty-Five – The Penthouse

The Professor was back in his lab and the rest of them were walking around the rectangle toward the gate. Tallgrass was going the long way too, only on the grass. Sage said to the men, “Why don’t the two of you come over for a cup of tea? We can get caught up.”

“Yeah!” said Tallgrass.

Digger looked at Street, who shrugged. “You don’t have to be anywhere, Street?” he said. “No plans? Nobody you need to meet?”

“No,” said Street. “All my accounts are up to date. The crew is, uh, occupied with the things they do when we get back.” He glanced at Tallgrass, then looked at Sage to be sure he hadn’t offended. When she nodded he finished, “And I always set aside a little time at the end of a trip for myself. Nothing to do but rest and re-adjust to city life.”

“That’s wise,” Sage said. “As I recall, it does take some adjusting.”

“Nowhere near what it must have been like for you,” said Street, “but I find I still need to do it. I get used to it out there. The quiet. The simplicity. Everything is so straightforward. You do what you have to to survive, and that’s all it asks of you.” He looked around, then at them again. “But mostly the people. Honest. They say what they mean, and they go by their word.” He looked at Tallgrass and winked. “And everybody is allowed on the grass.”

Tallgrass gaped and looked at his mother. “Can we go there some day?” he asked.

She smiled at him and said, “I think we should, some day. The trouble is, it’s a month of walking each way, and there are too many things out there that would love to eat a little thing like you.”

“But you’d protect me,” he said. “You could bring your spear and your necklace.” He looked at Street. “And we could go with them, couldn’t we? The traders? Then we’d all be safe.” He nodded his head, all settled.

Street said, “For sure. You can come with us any time.” He grinned at Sage.

She narrowed her eyes at him, but with a smile crinkling their corners, and said to Tallgrass, “That sounds good, but there’s still the matter of the time. I can’t just take two months off whenever I want. And there’s your education to think of.”

“We could take a truck,” he said, referring to one of the wagons that pulled themselves. “That would be faster.” His eyes flashed. “Or an airplane. That would be really fast.”

They were going to arrive at the gate soon, so Sage said, “Airplanes don’t go that way, and there’s no place for them to land out there, anyway.” As his face fell, she carried on, “But you’ve given me an idea.” His face rose again. “I don’t see why we can’t take a truck part way. It wouldn’t make it all the way to the village, but it could take us to the hut.” She looked at Street.

“Sure,” he said, setting Tallgrass to bouncing. “That’s how we replenish its supplies anyway. By the way, Sage, you didn’t make very good use of the supplies when you were there.”

“They weren’t mine,” she said, “and I didn’t have anything worth trading.” Not looking at them, she said, “And I did take something. I ate some of the dried fruit. But I left my torch and its fuel. I thought that might be enough.”

“I noticed,” said Street, “and it was more than enough. You should have taken more. That’s what it’s there for.”

“Okay,” she said. “Next time. In the meantime, do you think we could take a truck out there? Maybe take a picnic up onto the prairie by the sentinel tree. Tallgrass could have a run in some real grass, and we could watch out for him.”

Tallgrass was really bouncing now, his eyes on Street, who said, “Sure, I don’t see why not. Some time in the next week?”

Now Tallgrass was still, hardly breathing as he watched his mother, who said, “That sounds good. Let’s make plans over tea,“ then watched her son caper for joy.

Sage and Tallgrass lived in a place with a view. The big window looked out over the harbor, where they could watch the ships come and go. The airport was also close to the water, so they could see the airplanes on approach and departure. When they came in, Tallgrass went to his room to change blankets, and Sage went to the kitchen, but their two guests went straight to the window.

The city was laid out below them. From Sage’s penthouse you could see it all, from the nearby towers, through the neat neighborhoods surrounding them, all the way down to the waterfront. Digger had been here before, of course, not only as he brought Sage her refugees, but also as a friend. He often brought Skylight and Fisher along for the evening. Their son, Star, had taken to Tallgrass like a big brother. So Digger was familiar with the view, but it was new to Street and he was quiet while he tried to take it all in.

That’s where Sage found them when she came back from the kitchen. Tallgrass was standing between them, his house blanket on, but askew. Straightening it, Sage said, “Moonshadow will be out with the tea shortly.”

Digger turned from the window and asked, “How is she working out? Is she settling in okay?”

Sage nodded. “I think she’s going to be all right. She’s certainly a good worker. But I think it’s a good thing you found her when you did. She’s a sensitive girl.”

“I know,” said Digger. “It was really hard to get through to her when I found her. She was afraid of everything and wouldn’t talk to anyone. It was all I could do to get her here.” He glanced toward the kitchen. “Has she told you anything?”

“Not really,” said Sage. “There’s something there all right. Something bad. But I told her she doesn’t have to talk about it. If she wants to some day, that’s up to her. Meanwhile, she knows she’s somewhere safe.”

Digger nodded. “I think that’s best. I’m curious, of course, but it’s her story and she can decide if she wants to tell it.”

At that moment Moonshadow came in carrying a tray. Her hesitation when she saw a stranger, Street, was almost imperceptible. She set it down on a tall table in the middle of the room, then turned to face Sage.

Sage said, “Thank you, Moonshadow. We won’t need anything else for now, but let me introduce Street. He’s a trader and a good friend. You can trust him.”

She flinched very slightly at the word “trader,” but she managed a smile. “Pleased to meet you, sir,” she said.

“And you, Moonshadow,” he said. “But you don’t need to call me sir. I’m just a common trader.” The flinch this time was almost invisible, but he caught it.

“Thank you, sir,” she said, and at Sage’s nod she left the room.

The three adults exchanged a look. They had all seen her reaction, and they all guessed that her trauma had something to do with traders. But before they could talk about it, Tallgrass turned away from the window and said, “Can we go on the picnic tomorrow? Can we?”

The grownups laughed as the tension disappeared. Sage said, “Not tomorrow, Tally. We need at least a day to prepare, so it will be the next day at the earliest.”

Tallgrass sagged only a little and not for long. “What are we going to take? What kind of truck? Can I drive it? I like date bars. Can we take date bars?”

Digger and Street were grinning at Sage as she endeavored to answer her son’s questions. “We can certainly take date bars. And I might let you steer the truck for a little while, as long as it’s safe. As for your other questions, that’s what we have to figure out today.” She walked to the table. “Tea everyone?” she said as she began to pour.