Chapter 44: Accusations

Walking over to the gesturing Bernie, I smiled, “What’s going on, Bernie?”

He spoke quietly, but clearly. “Billie would like to see you.” I nodded, but before I could ask if she wanted me to go up to their room, Bernie continued. “Buckle also wanted to talk with you.” I nodded again, wondering if he had settled into a room, or was in Ann’s space. With a smirk Bernie added on, “Ann too.”

I endeavored not to roll my eyes, as I seemed to be doing it too often. I failed to restrain them. “Billie sounds like the most fun, so I’ll save that. Or we could talk briefly now and then later.” Bernie’s smirk was a tiny bit bigger. “Fine fine, what do you suggest?”

He twitched his head back and indicated the kitchen doors with his eyes. “They're all there prepping dinner. I was there too, but Ann heard you and sent me to try and drag you back. Into the breach?” His smirk had entered grin territory, and with a glance I confirmed that he only had his thumb rings on. Thus defended from a poke in the ribs I stuck my tongue out at him. ‘I forgot to check at Wanda’s if my tongue is grey, too.’

Pushing into the kitchen I announced myself by casting aspersions on Bernie. “I think Bernie is trying to tease me, can someone glare at him for me? I can’t bring myself to bother.”

Looking around I noticed that Billie and Ann were… glaring at me. Even Buckle had a bit of a frown directed my way as he was cutting up what appeared to be large mushrooms.

“Uh, what did I do?” I asked before I tried to pull individual words from all three talking at once. I held my hands up in mock surrender. “One at a time maybe? Alphabetical order? Ann, would you kindly share what you believe I’ve done that is worthy of that glare? If it is still about my behavior this morning at the bath, I thought I’d already apologized and you had accepted.”

Ann’s eyes stayed a bit hard, maintaining her glare even as she was stirring the contents of a large pot atop the stove. She glanced away from my own gaze briefly before meeting it again. “Why didn’t you tell me you saved Buckle’s life?” The accusation hot and unexpected.

“Because I didn’t?” Not only Ann, but Buckle stared at me in disbelief. “Yes, I carried him from where the taz attack happened, and got the guard to get the healer and let him inside.” I held my hand up as it looked like they were going to interrupt me. “If I hadn’t been there, Buckle would have been in no real danger and would have used his normal escort. Buckle also chose to try and protect me, so I think he was more heroic. I also put his life at risk by deciding to run him to town instead of bandaging him as he requested.”

Buckle made a ‘Pffftttt’ sound and Ann just shoved my comments aside. “Maybe, perhaps and maybe… The first part where you carried my brother’s injured blue butt to town and got a healer to look at him. Thank you. But why didn’t you say anything? I just knew he was injured, you were traveling with him, and he referred you to stay here.”

“You didn’t ask. I didn't even know you were siblings until this morning when you called him brother.”

Buckle’s eyes didn’t roll, but he certainly looked away with a hint of a smirk and focused on the mushroom things for a moment. Billie certainly smirked, as she focused on the non pancake thin disks she was griddling. A glance to the side showed Bernie performing knife work on his own sets of vegetables, pointedly ignoring us.

Ann looked a hint perplexed for just a moment before achieving an epiphany and glaring at everyone in the kitchen, her eyes finally softening a little bit as she turned them back on me. A deep breath reminded me that she was far more endowed than I, or Billie, or Wanda, or even Feathers, before she released the breath and smiled at me with the warmest and most genuine smile I’d seen from her. “Yes yes, I’m a cold person and only seek advantage. Thank you for helping Buckle, Monday March. I’d like to give you back your money for the room and meals.”

“Nah, thanks though. Was that all you wanted to talk with me about?”

“But, I…”

“Ann, you let me have a room when I didn’t have a pin, and with no real security. Sure, you used me as leverage to get Benjamin Franklin Goode to back off, but I made money from that. Your presence allowed me to get me a good price from Wanda and your voice normally makes the inside of my head feel like…” I had a tiny, super tiny, totally not noticeable shiver. “To me that is a positive, by the way. Also, Buckle already gave me a bonus for saving his ‘Blue Butt’. If you really want to give me something for what I’d have done anyhow, I promised to buy dessert for the two scruffy boys in The Merits after dinner. If that isn’t enough, dessert for Roy and Jazmine, and maybe Dominick and their partner would be nice.” Ann looked like she was teetering on accepting what I’d said so I made the lightest push. “If that isn’t quite enough I mean I can always ask for things for my friends as I let my eyes wander towards Billie, still working with the thin flatbreads on the griddle.

Ann seemed to relent and nodded, rather than let her speak, I followed up. “Agreed then, and thank you, Ann. Now, Billie, what was the reason behind your glaring at me?”

The hint of amusement I thought I’d detected on her face at my pressuring her boss faded, and there was a flash of distress and heat. “I… I want to talk later, but I… I also want to… Ugh… Why are you leaving! Uh… I’ll talk to you after dinner. That’s okay, right?” Her eyes stayed on the griddle. I’d watched her enough to know that she would remove the sheets of corn dough before adding others. I waited until the discs on the griddle were nearly done and moved close to her.

“Wait a second before adding the next ones, and look at me please, Billie.” Holding the wooden spatula in front of her chest as if to defend against me she turned and met my eyes.

I held my hands up so she could see the rings and pointed briefly to my upgraded replacement pin. I leaned in close so I could whisper into her hair near her ear. “I want to flirt, and I’m comfortable with casual touching, maybe a little kiss if I find someone appealing… But I’m not looking for more than that right now, Billie. I kinda know what that might mean, but I’m not certain if I know what it would mean… To you, anyway… Do you know what I mean? I mean…” My intake of breath was laden with warmth, corn, mushrooms, spices and fresh vegetables. Tilting my head closer to her I spoke softly so as to be even harder to hear over chopping knives and the sizzling happening on the stove. “You can try to convince me about various things after dinner, but I’m going to Big Bay tomorrow. I promise I’ll write at least once, and more if you want, and you can have some distance from this Syssy and maybe get some fresh air into your head.” I leaned back and looked down into her slightly watery light blue eyes. “Anything else you wanted to say now, Billie?”

She took me in from the tip of my head down to my sandals clad toes. “I like your dress.” She admitted before turning back to the griddle. I blinked, no more than 3 times before taking a few steps from the young woman who, may have been wearing a tiny smirk, and looking at Buckle.

“Glad to see you looking well, Buckle. Thanks so much, and sorry you got hurt.”

The Goblin had to look up at me even further than Billie had to, the thin scales near his eyes shimmering as smile lines crinkled them. “Ya know, I’d ‘oped ya were smarter ‘en getting drug off. I mean, ya mebbe a Syssy, but ya ken say nay.”

“Sure, but if I don’t go open with my eyes wide, do you think it would let me be?” I held his eyes with my own for about 3 seconds before I saw his healthy ear dip a little.

“No, might as well gain if ya ken.” Buckle nodded.

“Not sure it’s about gain, Buckle. More like… if I don’t do it now I imagine the Sy… If I don’t go in when invited, I fear there is a chance that I might be drawn or pushed there through other means.” I had to stop myself a couple times to not say things that could get back to it through Friday or other means. Still, I said what I wanted to say.

Buckle’s hand stopped moving the knife and his eyes locked into mine. His voice dropped low. “Ann ken hear anythin’ she wants ta in a hundred meters er so. So she’s gonna know what I tell ya. Look Monday March, I like ya so be safe, but if ya ken find out anythin’ about Devi er Jess… Anythin’... Anythin’ ya wan’.”

The goblin had no rings, I’d thought about it as soon as I’d heard anything about the ‘ring language’ but I placed my hand on his shoulder anyhow, risking offending him as I had Crag. Buckle didn’t pull away.

“Buckle, if I get the chance to find out anything about them, I’ll let you know the soonest.”