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Of course, it didn’t all need to get done today. I mean, it could easily keep until tomorrow. Most of it, anyway. There were a couple of very important items I needed to take care of right away.
Well, there was no time like the present, was there?
I picked up the piece of paper on top and began reading through it. I got halfway down the page when I realized I couldn’t remember what it’d said at the very top. I went back and read through it again.
This time, I told myself, I would understand what it said perfectly.
I read the words again.
And still didn’t know what it was talking about.
I stood up and stared out the window. I just needed to reset my brain, that’s all. It’d been a tumultuous evening and morning. I needed peace and quiet to put myself in the right frame of mind for the day. There was little chance of that this morning with her staring at me the way she did.
It really was a beautiful day. Perfect for arjath riding…
Bianca would be laughing and smiling, her thick hair bouncing over her bare shoulders…
Cleb would scream with joy as the arjaths bounded through the dense forest foliage.
And there I was, standing in silence indoors, too proud to ask to join them. I knew they wouldn’t reject me—they’d already asked me the day before!
It was no good. I couldn’t concentrate.
It was a waste of time me being at work if I couldn’t focus. That was no good for anybody at all.
A day off wouldn’t kill me. A little fresh air and somewhere to stretch my legs could help me be more productive.
I grabbed a cinnamon roll and bit into it. I chugged a mouthful of hot coffee into my mouth and swallowed it along with the half-chewed cinnamon bun. I crossed the office—this time, in less than two strides—and stepped into the hall.
“Waev!” I called. “Waev! Where are you? Ah. There you are.”
He wore an apron covered in black smudges. He must have been in the middle of cleaning something. Come to think of it, I didn’t think I’d ever seen what he got up to while I was busy at work.
“What is it, sir?” he said.
“I need my arjath saddled,” I said.
“Do you intend on joining Bianca and Cleb, sir?” he said, eyebrows rising so high I was surprised they didn’t get stuck to the back of his neck.
“Yes,” I said. “Is that a problem?”
“No, sir,” he said. “Of course not. It’s just… I’ve never known you to take a day off. Are you well? Do you want me to call the doctor?”
He pressed a hand to my forehead to check for a fever.
“You do seem a little hot, sir,” he said. “I’ll call the doctor just in case—”
“I’m fine!” I said. “No doctor. Can’t a man take a day off without something being wrong?”
Waev’s expression might have been written in ink it was so clear: “But you’ve never exactly been a… normal man, sir.”
“Are you going to have my arjath saddled or not?” I growled.
Waev reached into his pocket and raised the communicator to his lips. He seemed a little unsure of how to use it. Why would he? He hadn’t needed to use it since he joined me at the house.
“Ejam, come in Ejam,” he said. “Traes wishes to ride his arjath. Yes, I know he doesn’t usually go out but today he decided he will. I don’t care if you’re still in bed. You have to come and prepare his arjath now!”
“Problems?” I said.
