"Yeah."
"We've probably done jobs for a lot of the same people over the years. Before I joined up with the Henchmen. Gus said you were in some trouble. If you want, we can compare some notes, see if anything about the people you've been involved with sounds familiar."
"That'd be great," I said, glad for something familiar to talk about, needing to ease myself into the girl group that was Harmon, Gus, and Ayanna.
And, luckily, West turned out to be fun and light, full of stories about the various jobs he had done, the trouble he had gotten into, back when he was a "free agent" like I was, leaving out the information about any club troubles he'd been through.
His stories proved to be just the distraction I needed to get through one of the longest days of my life as we all sat around and pretended we weren't waiting for information about the fates of the men we all cared about.
"Okay. There is something dire we all need to talk about," Gus declared a few hours later, voice grave, making my stomach plummet. "The sleeping situation," she added, and the rush of relief was alarming. "Huck warned me that if we showed up, we would have to stay. And Teddy only has two guest rooms."
"I will let you guys have my room," Teddy said, always, it seemed, the gracious host.
"No," I objected, drawing everyone's attention to me. "No, they can have my room," I insisted. "You've been nice enough to let us all stay, there's no reason for you to give up your room. Besides, there's two of them, and only one of me."
"Oh, that's cute," Gus declared, pressing a hand to her heart. "She thinks I want to sleep with you," she added, sending West a saucy smirk. "Like I don't get to do that every other night. No, I want to hang with my girl," she added, giving Ayanna a squeeze. So, we will crash here," she said, patting the couch she was sitting on. "Harm is hormonal and sleepy, so she can stay in her room. West can crash on the couch in Teddy's room, and you can keep your room. I know you're not used to all of us yet. I get that it would be awkward to have a big old sleepover with us. Besides, it could be a while. I've been told I am better in small doses until you get used to me," she added, sounding very proud of that.
Because nothing about Gus suggested there was any point in fighting, we all cleaned up after dinner, and took off to the rooms she'd assigned to all of us.
I was secretly thankful for my privacy as Gus and Ayanna seemed to run through all the possible emotions old friends could. From raised, angry voices to sobbing to hysterical laughing.
I would have been a killjoy to all of that, what with my swirling anxiety that took a turn toward downright despondence as the night got small, and morning drew near, and it seemed none of us had heard from any of the men.
The next day started with some levity, the girls trying to stay upbeat, ordering groceries, so they could make French toast and cinnamon buns—since no one could decide which was better—then gathering on the couch to talk.
Anytime the conversation ebbed, though, you could feel the steady pulsing of uncertainty in the air.
As the day went on, it seemed to weigh on each of us more and more. Even the animated and upbeat Gus seemed to lose her enthusiasm. Sure, she had her man, but her brother was out there, her old friends were out there.
And no one had heard from any of them.
Harmon took herself to bed early, likely wanting to sleep instead of stress which would have been tough on her and the baby.
Gus and Ayanna put on a movie while I straightened up the kitchen.
"I don't know how much of a comfort this is," Teddy said, pointing to a cabinet when I couldn't find where the pan from breakfast went. "But I have been keeping an ear on the scanners. There hasn't been anything going on yet that I've heard."
"Let's just hope it doesn't take too much longer," I said, feeling the weight of uncertainty on my chest. And if I was feeling it, I knew everyone else who had known and loved these people longer than I had must have been really struggling.
But another day passed with no word.
I started to wonder if something had happened, but it just hadn't gotten back to us yet.
Like Harmon and, increasingly, Ayanna and Gus, I took to my bed out of the desperate need to escape the clawing uncertainty.
I worried myself to sleep.
But then, finally, I woke up warm again.
Chapter Eleven
Che
The exhaustion had woven itself into the fabrics of our very beings.