Page 41 of Tamiko and the Two Janitors
“You’re not listening, Melissa.” Jiminy wagged a finger ather. “My family is here. From my perspective, I’m a wolf of the Nightspanglepack.”
“My biological parents are both battlers.” She pulled carkeys from her pocket and unlocked the car doors. Popping the hatch, shemanhandled his case inside. “I was born under contract, but my mother raisedme.”
Jiminy hadn’t expected to learn so much. A rattled Melissawas a talkative Melissa.
Once they were underway, she asked, “Which academy did youattend?”
“Bellwether.”
“I meant your early courses.”
“I was bought and brought to become this enclave’s anchor,and I was raised in the Amaranthine style. They don’t send away their children.”Jiminy kept his eyes on the road as she guided the car toward the highway. “Idon’t often leave campus, so this is something of an adventure.”
“They don’t let you leave?”
“Nothing like that. I go where they go, and I’ve traveledquite a bit.” He slyly boasted, “I’ve been to a Song Circle four times, if youcount the year I was two.”
That earned him a look. “Youcan’tbe that old.”
Song Circles convened once every ten years.
“The circles in different regions each mark timedifferently, probably to encourage visitors from far and away. I’ve only beento this area’s Song Circle once.”
Melissa cautiously asked, “How old are you?”
Ah, they were in personal territory now. He smiled andasked, “How old are you?”
He was sure they’d reached an impasse, but she shot him amutinous look.
“Twenty-four,” she snapped.
Jiminy figured his own transparency had earned him the rightto ask, but he chose his words with care. “Will it offend you if I ask aboutthe nature of your contract?”
“I don’t have one.” They were beyond the city limits, speedingthrough increasingly rural territory. “I paid my late fee last Dichotomy Day,and I’m saving for this winter’s fine.”
Okay, that was really surprising.
Jiminy ventured, “Are you … waiting for someone younger?”
Melissa snorted.
“Well, most of the reasons I can think of for a reaver toput off their obligation are either really delicate or really sad … or both.” Hequietly added, “I was raised by wolves, Melissa. You have to know how we are.”
“I would rather have a Kith partner than a husband.” Melissastiffly added, “I’m aware of how irresponsible that sounds, and Iwilldo my part. Eventually. But right now, I’m focusing on the only kind of partnerI’ve ever wanted.”
“Oh. That one hadn’t occurred to me.” Jiminy looked out atpassing cornfields. “I’m twenty-six.”
Her lips compressed, but she rose to the bait. In a lightlymocking tone, she asked, “Will it offend you if I ask about the nature ofyourcontract?”
“If there have been offers for me, I haven’t seen them.Doon-wen is very protective.” He idly drew a series of sigils on his pantleg.“And … well …wolves.”
“Your pack won’t let you marry?”
“Oh, nothing as ominous as that. But when Doon-wen took mein, it was for keeps. Biologically, I’m a reaver. I hold a reaver’s rank,title, and classification. But I’m not in the reaver registry, nor am I boundby reaver laws.” Jiminy met her startled glance with a small smile. “It’s likeI’ve been trying to tell you, Melissa. I’m a wolf.”
Joe sat back and watched his family do what they didbest—Tami taking charge, Dad befriending the child, Mom asking questions. ButGrandad wasn’t giving answers. His jaw was set as he hauled out a big, old mapthat showed their boundary lines. Grandad unrolled it on the center of thekitchen table, and Joe quietly helped him anchor the corners with the sugarbowl and a potted violet.
“What’s this for?” asked Joe.
