Page 40 of Nave
Proud to be challenged with the task, Edith glanced between the beds before jumping up on Ariah’s old one.
“I’m sure the girls will have all the bedding and such hidden in here somewhere.”
With that, we began the search. Only to learn that the girls had painstakingly put everything away in either vacuum-sealed bags (the linens, towels, pillows, etc.) or plastic containers (all the cooking and eating supplies).
“I have a kitchen,” Lolly mused, a small smile tugging at her lips. “That I can actually use. Wait. How can I use it?”
“Looks like the oven is electric, so the solar panels should handle it.”
“I don’t have to worry about conserving energy?”
“I mean, maybe don’t turn every light on during the night and bake all day long, but you should be fine. The girls used to run the air and charge all their electronics on the panels on top of cooking.”
“I guess I will learn one way or another.”
“If you run out of juice, I’m sure Kit or Ria would be happy to have you over. And if you feel weird about that, you can come see me. Oh, speaking of, I have this for you.”
I reached in my pocket for the folded-up sheets of paper and handed them to her.
“What’s this?”
“Directions from here to the clubhouse. Printed. Like the olden days,” I said, getting a little laugh out of her.
“Thank you. This is perfect.”
So as not to lose it, she carefully placed it in one of the kitchen drawers and stashed her keys on top of it.
“Wanna go see Kit’s place? It’s a goth paradise, I’m sure.”
“Sure,” she agreed, reaching for Edith, then pausing.
“Bring her. Trust me, everywhere here is animal-friendly. My cousin Layna told me that she visited once and there was a chick brooder on the kitchen counter and a little pool full of pullets in the living room.”
“Well, in that case,” she said, smiling as she scooped up her dog.
“Get back here, you little devil,” a voice said as we stepped outside.
Then we were treated to the sight of Ria—wearing baby pink overalls with only a black sports bra beneath and big, rubber boots—chasing after a massive, wide-breasted white male turkey who was making those warbling noises as he ran away, looking like he was having the time of his life.
“Trouble with the locals?” I asked, making Ria stop, hands on hips, sucking in greedy breaths, her head thrown back for a moment.
Like with Kit, it was obvious when you looked at Ariah why her travel content went viral. She was gorgeous. She had soft curves, rich dark skin, an oval face, golden-brown eyes, and her long hair in twists, though she had a scarf wrapped around her head to keep the twists back and, likely, keep the sweat out of her face as she worked outside.
“He keeps breaking into the goat pen and eating their food,” she explained, sighing. “And he knows I want to catch him to stick him in his own pen for being such a menace.”
The turkey in question stopped near the trees to pick at something on the ground.
“He’s a pig,” she added. “You must be Lolly. I would shake your hand, but, well,” she said, waving down toward where her hands had left dirt marks on her hips. “I’m Ria. And who is that?” she asked, her voice going into a coo as she looked at Edith.
“Edith.”
“Edith! Love that,” Ria said, beaming. “My girls are currently guarding the ducklings with their lives as they play in the pond. But I will introduce you guys later, so you’re not afraid and they know you’re our people now.”
“Thank you,” Lolly said, her eyes going misty again.
“Of course. Welcome to the homestead,” Ria said, her tone light and chipper right before she leapt at the turkey, wrapping her arms around him as he kicked his feet and warbled.
“I’ve never seen someone carry a turkey around like a misbehaving child.”
