Page 98 of Beyond the Cottage

Eyes cast down, Heron nodded.I understand. Thank you, Miss Hag Hacker.

“Gretta,” she said.

Bluish skin flushed purple, he gave her a smile, and she returned it. People didn’t usually like her at first, so his starstruck delight was novel. She also felt comfortable around Heron. His grief reminded her of Ansel as a kid, and it made him feel familiar, or something.

She squeezed his hand, and Ansel emerged from the tunnel. He stopped short in the middle of the room, eyes narrowed at Heron. Naturally, River appeared out of nowhere to intercept him. She pulled Ansel’s hand, and he resisted at first, then he let her lead him to a pile of cushions near the fire.

Gretta did her best not to throw up her carrots.

“Want me to say something to her?” Lil asked.

“What do you mean?” Gretta watched River gracefully sink to the cushions, tugging Ansel down beside her.

Lil sighed. “As the goddess ordains, we practice free love, but we do it ethically. If he’s your man, River will honor that.”

“He’s not my man. He can do whatever he wants.”

Lil smirked and took a pull off the cigarette. A nearby couple started grunting and moaning.

“What does free love mean, anyway?” Gretta asked. “Is this some kind of sex cult?”

Lil laughed, and Heron smiled.

No cult, he wrote.Love is part of the natural world.

“But you all keep bringing up your goddess.”

“Think of it as an energy, not a religion,” Lil said. “We believe love is part of that energy. Sharing our bodies is one way we express it.”

That didn’t exactly clear things up, but to each their own. Gretta had never given much thought to alternative relationships because she never thought about relationships period. She had better ways to waste her time.

Heron nudged her with his chalkboard.Love is the way to heal what wounds us.

“Um, yeah,” Gretta said. “Right on.”

I see your eyes,he wrote.I don’t know what happened to you, but I know how it feels.

It startled her, but maybe it shouldn’t. As much as she understood Heron’s trauma, she supposed he could understand hers, too.

She recalled what Brand had said a million years ago at the Painted Tit, but couldn’t bring herself to say anything. When it came to talking about the past, understanding wasn’t enough. She liked Heron and Lil, and they’d probably be happy to listen, but they were new acquaintances.

Ansel, on the other hand…

The band kicked into a sultrier tune. Once again, Gretta’s eyes strayed across the room. Ansel and River weren’t touching, but the pretty nereid lay on her stomach beside him, staring raptly like he was the most fascinating man to ever explain chemistry.

Except, Gretta was pretty sure it wasn’t chemistry on their minds. At least, not the sciencey kind.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Lil asked. “He may not be your man, but I’m picking up…tension.”

“It’s fine.” Totally and completely fine.

And even if it wasn’t, what the hell was she supposed to do about it? Send Lil over to drag River off by the ear and wag her finger at Ansel for doing what any unattached, touch-starved man would do? Gretta had no right to give a fuck.

“What is he to you?” Lil asked. “I’m damn sure you aren’t related.”

“We’re friends. I think.”

Have you known him long?Heron wrote.

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