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“You harlot!” smirked Robin.
“I know, right?” she giggled.
“It seems a very common theme here,” said Katherine. “Understanding, brave, loving, loyal, kind men. I have to be honest. What you have here is not the norm in the outside world.”
“I think we forget that sometimes,” said Robin. “I’ve only been here a short time, but in that time, I’ve forgotten what men can be like outside of these gates.”
“You know, I think that the average man and these men are not average. But the average man knows that women outnumber men in America. He can be pickier; he can have several on the side, sort of testing them out. A woman is much more selective naturally. Women tend to want one man, and one man only. Usually,” she smirked.
“That’s true,” nodded Rose. “It’s not always the man with a lot of side honeys.”
“Side honeys?” frowned Baptiste, walking up behind her. “Who the hell has side honeys?”
“The average male,” laughed Rose. “You are anything but average, my sexy husband.”
“You got that right, woman,” he said, nuzzling her neck. “Let me get a plate, and I’ll be back.” Otto and Pork kissed their girls and followed Baptiste to the food.
“How did you meet Otto, Robin?” asked Katherine.
“Oh, well, it’s a rather long story. My sisters and I were kidnapped and placed in an auction that was trafficking children.”
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry. You don’t have to tell me anything else,” said Katherine.
“No, no, it’s fine. It’s a happy ending for a lot of people you see here.” Katherine frowned, looking around the grove. “You see, Luke, Adam, Carl, Ben, Lucy, and Violet were part of it as well. They were adopted by Gaspar and Alexandra. Ella and Ryan were a part of it as well. We were in different locations, but all run by the same man. We were saved, obviously, by these men.
“Years later, my sisters were killed one-by-one. I knew something was wrong and had no one to call except these people. Otto was the man that appeared on my doorstep,” she smiled. “I never thought I’d find love, Katherine. I was married briefly, but it was wrong on every level. With Otto, I immediately felt safe, loved, cherished. Strangest thing in the world.”
“Wow, that’s incredible. One more story that makes me question everything,” she said, shaking her head. The women made space for the three men as they sat down with plates piled high with food.
“Did you find anything today?” asked Katherine.
“Unfortunately, no. We have a lead, sort of. But we can’t follow it until tomorrow when the office opens. On the way back, we thought we might have found them, but it turned out to be something more benign. Just some kids selling their puppies that were legit.”
“Why does this feel so hard?” asked Robin.
“Because it is,” said Otto. “I doubt that this is the first time these men have done this, and unless we catch them, it won’t be the last.” Katherine stared over Otto’s shoulder, looking into the thick foliage of the gardens. She started to speak. Then someone came running at them, yelling.
“Hey! Hey, everyone! We need help,” said Sniff. “Sema got out, and we can’t find her.”
“Damn,” came a hundred cries. Men stood, women gathering the food, but it was Katherine that calmly raised her hand.
“Everyone! Everyone, please be quiet,” she said. Pork just stared at her, following her gaze. Slowly, Katherine moved toward the gardens, and then they all saw it. Glassy brown eyes staring back.
“Hello, sweet girl,” she cooed. “You didn’t escape. You just wanted to be part of the fun, didn’t you? It’s alright. Come out.”
“Sema,” smiled Claire. She held out a plate of watermelon, and the gorilla took a step toward them. She almost appeared as if she were afraid of retribution. She took a slice of the watermelon, eating rind and all, then took another. Keith walked up, laughing.
“It’s alright. You can sit with us.”
“Angry.” She signed to Keith. He shook his head.
“Not angry. Surprised. How did you get out?”
“Climb.”
“I’ll be damned,” muttered Gaspar. “He slowly walked toward the gorilla and signed that it was okay. She could sit with them. Sema seemed excited, happily making her way to the middle of the grove where George and Mama Irene were casually filling a bucket with fruits and vegetables.
“I’ll admit it’s fucking amazing,” said Nine, staring at Sniff, Lucy, and the rest of the animal team. “But it’s also dangerous. What would have happened if she tried to get off the property? If she touched the electric fences, she could have been killed.”
