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“Remember when I showed you that letter written by⁠—”

“Yeah, no, I remember the letter, but not what you said about the paper.”

Terri arrived with my lemon balm tea then, placing it beside me in a tumbler that opened when you tilted it to drink but otherwise remained closed. Couldn’t have anything else in the collection room, where we were at the moment. We handled folios and individual pieces in the clean room, and there was no food or liquid in there ever, and we’d all be in white gloves and masks. The humans also wore heavy sweaters, as the temperature was always in the low forties. As I was lupine, that was never an issue. My body temperature was elevated at all times, which was very helpful.

“Let’s drink our tea,” Terri suggested, smiling big at me and nodding.

I growled under my breath, which made her chuckle.

“How come you never bring me tea?” Bing asked her.

“Do you ever bring anything for anyone?” she retorted, then took a breath.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, all of the rest of us have a day. We bring something to share for breakfast, and each and every day, we check in with each other and offer to grab something if we’re going to the kitchen.”

“What?”

“It’s called common courtesy.”

“What?” he asked again.

She glanced at me. “Am I speaking English?”

I nodded.

Rounding on him, she said, “I asked you, when you first started, if you’d like to take part in bringing breakfast, and you said that was okay, you’d get your own.”

“Is that why I can’t ever find what everyone else is eating?”

“That would be it,” Marc called over to him.

Terri crossed her arms and nodded.

“What if I was too poor to get something every week?”

“For one, you’re not poor. You drive a Ducati here every day. And for two, most of us are on a budget, but we can all bake or whip up mini quiches like Sasha did this morning.”

I smiled at her. “I’m getting good with those, am I right?”

“Oh yes,” she gushed. “The feta-cheese-and-spinach ones are my favorite.”

“I prefer the ham and cheddar,” Marc chimed in, “but both are good. The herbs you’re putting in there, whatever they are, are quite savory, my friend.”

“I didn’t have one,” Bing grumbled.

“Because you don’t contribute,” Terri reminded him.

“Fine. I’ll bring donuts or⁠—”

“No donuts. Not everyone can have the sugar and dough and not pass out. We need protein in the morning to get our brains going, not only carbs. Pick something healthier. I know you can figure it out.”

He grunted.

“As today is Friday, we’ll count on you for breakfast on Monday.”

“Fine,” he grumbled.