Page 31 of Up in Smoke

Alondra twisted in Ruby’s arms and waved at us. “Bye bye, Miss Jade. Bye bye, Mr. Sandro.”

I blew the little girl a kiss, grabbed the wagon’s handle, and pulled it down the road, turning off Old 271 to take Old 3 westbound in search of Tulsa.

Saturday, June 13, 2043.

Darwin, Oklahoma.

The Alley.

My fox sulkedthe entire three hour walk to Darwin, and I kept my ears back and grumbled curses over the realities of the Alley. Sandro kept pace with me, raising a brow at some of my more vehement exclamations. Otherwise, he kept quiet.

As promised, while Darwin lacked residents, it had plenty of cellars, and all of them were opened and ready for use. Some even had working toilets, and I picked one with running water so we could wash the worst of the dust off. After a short but vicious dispute over who would bring the wagon into the cellar, which Sandro won, he said, “If you’d taken her to Tulsa, Mansfield would have found some way to bring her into the courtesan system.”

His statement did a damned good job of killing off my regrets that I hadn’t been able to keep Alondra and her affectionate kitten. “She’s just a child!”

“And he’s an asshole. You’re a woman, and you were essentially sold into the system without your consent. He doesn’t care about people. To him, people are tools and little else. She’s safer in Antlers, because men like Mansfield won’t pay attention to the little places like Antlers. And you saw how people reacted around us, and that was even after Alondra shouted for her uncle. One woman came out to talk with us. Just one. They didn’t want us to know how many of them live there. That protects them. And if Mansfield asks, we can honestly say we only saw one person on the road the entire way to Tulsa. He isn’t going to act against a single straggler without a damned good reason.”

I dug out our mat and sleeping bag, going to work setting it up. “Are our e-readers out of charge yet?”

Sandro chuckled and shook his head. “I was running the solar chargers during the day, so they’re ready to serve you at your whim. Need some unwinding time tonight?”

“My fox is pretty upset,” I admitted.

“Well, your fox is hardwired to adore children, and we did have to let Alondra go with her family. And knowing how dedicated you were to the little ones in Tulsa, it’s no surprise to me you’re upset, too. It’s okay to get upset over it. I’m upset. She’s sweet, and she deserves a life of being spoiled and pampered. That said, I’m feeling a great deal more confident over my chances of winning my vixen as my wife.”

I took off my shoes, got onto the mat, and indulged in a sulk. “You were supposed to be passed out when I said that.”

“Passing through the boundary was a little like a slap to the face, but for the first few minutes, I was so fatigued I didn’t bother with opening my eyes. Then I saw what you were up to and decided to leave you to it. I think I napped a little here and there, but I wasn’t going to be any use to you, and you were determined to handle the situation. You did, so I enjoyed being lazy.” Sandro grinned, grabbed our e-readers from the wagon, took off his shoes, and joined me. “We can talk more about what I need to do to properly win you as my wife, however.”

“I wanted to make sure she knew you were safe to be around. I figured if I expressed you were not a horrible human, she would be more comfortable.”

Sandro laughed. “Sure, sure. Admit it, you just want me to chase you.”

Well, yes. I wanted to be hunted, but only if he was the one doing the hunting. “That’s possible.”

“Just possible?”

I shrugged, fighting my urge to grin. “Quite possible, really. I have a tendency to run when startled.”

“You are very talented at running, so I will have to be clever to catch you. I have plans for when I catch you, too.”

“Do those plans involve condoms?”

“Absolutely, until it’s time for us to try to buck off my father’s trend of only having sons. I’m afraid I definitely want to have at least one daughter. Alondra did a very good job of confirming I need a daughter in my life. But an entire pack of sons to safeguard our daughter would be acceptable. And if they inherit their mother’s ears and tail, I will have to work hard to defend our children. They will inevitably be tall, dark, and handsome like me, or a fiery beauty like their mother.”

The fiery part I could get behind, although I rarely viewed myself as beautiful—beyond my ears, tail, and hair, which were absolute perfection. “How many kids are in your little wish world now?”

“At least five. At least. I am unashamed that I take after my mother when it comes to children. Honestly, my father isn’t much better. He just likes making my mother beg. It wouldn’t surprise me if my mother’s heavily pregnant by the time we get back to the East.”

“One is out the door, so it’s all right to add another to the fray?” I guessed.

“That plus Dad knows Mom’ll hit menopause sooner than later, so he’ll want to try for one more before then. Frankly, it’s absurd she hasn’t started menopause yet. And if it doesn’t work out, well, I foresee them stalking orphanages for the next child to join the family.” Sandro handed over my e-reader. “I have determined that you need to read a book for an hour before I make us dinner. After you have finished reading, I will drag you to the sink and ritually cleanse you from the tips of your ears to your toes, and I will enjoy myself more than is appropriate. Tomorrow, we’ll head to Tulsa and see what there is to see.”

I hoped his plans included another attack on our condom stash. “Ritual cleanse?”

Sandro turned on his e-reader and gave it most of his attention. “I want to get you naked, and I refuse to be ashamed of this.”

“Why would you be ashamed of that?”