Chapter Five
There weren’tmany people around when I quietly thanked Azio and hurried away with the traded food safely hidden in my jacket. I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do first. Go home and show Grandma what I’d managed to get or find Greyly. Part of me was worried that, if I went straight home, anyone there would demand a share of the girl’s treat.
Spotting Abi and Greyly lingering near the storage shed saved me from having to make any decision.
“Hi, Terri,” Abi said when she saw me. “Any luck today?”
The woman beside her snorted, her humor twinkling in her eyes.
“From what I hear, it wouldn’t take any effort to get lucky with the fey.”
Abi gave me a confused look.
“I tried trading with the fey. Let’s walk home together.”
Abi wasn’t at all put off by my vague answer or my passive-aggressive demand to go home. She simply nodded and took Greyly’s hand. I waited until we were a fair distance away before speaking softly to Abi.
“It went well. It turns out there’s a demand for baby clothes over in Tolerance.”
“No way. How many women are pregnant over there?”
“Not many. The fey are collecting things in hopes that they’ll connect with a woman in the future.”
“Wow. Did they have anything good over there?”
“I had chili for lunch. So much that I’m still full.”
“You traded for a meal?” she asked with a troubled side-glance at me. “I wouldn’t tell the others that.”
“It was part of the trade. So was this.” I paused and pulled the twin pack of snack rolls out of my jacket. “It’s for Greyly. I have rice and beans for everyone, too.”
“Terri, that’s really sweet to think of her. Are you sure you want to give it to her? It might cause problems.”
“I’m positive.”
She gave me a grateful smile and opened the package for the little girl. I watched her consume every bite far too quickly and doubted she tasted much of it.
“She shouldn’t skip lunch,” I said.
“No, she shouldn’t. Maybe we could have a house vote on that again.”
I nodded, remembering how it had gone the last time. No one wanted to go light on the calories. Neither did they want to run short on food and go a day or two without anything. It wouldn’t even be a problem if Bram and Bobby weren’t the only ones going out for supplies.
“I’ll sort through more of the clothes tonight and go back tomorrow.” These trades would never bring home as much as a real supply run would. But maybe I’d stop fainting so much and eventually be able to do my part, too.
“See if you can trade for some cans of veggies. It’s been a while.” As she spoke, Abi smoothed back Greyly’s hair.
The girl gave the woman a small smile as she continued walking.
“I saw a little girl around Greyly’s age there. She’s part of a mixed family and seemed very happy. Well-fed too. Have you ever thought of…you know?”
Abi chewed on her lip for a minute.
“I have. But I want to make sure I’m making the right choice for everyone involved, not just for Greyly and me.”
“Can you afford to be that considerate?”
“I don’t want to agree to spend my life chained to someone who’s going to treat me like I’m less than.”