Suzanne rested her head against the wall. “I just didn’t think I would miss my babies so much. I’m not usually this emotional. The lack of sleep is catching up with me.”
“Me too. I hope Ginger was able to rest.” Kindra wrapped her arm around her friend. “We might have to sleep in shifts if we don’t get another room.”
“It would be nice if we could all get on the same body clock before we left. The trip certainly isn’t matching up to what I thought it would be.”
“You make plans and God makes plans; guess who has seniority in the planning department.” Kindra pulled a white T-shirt out of one of her bags and held it up.
A bear walked by on the other side of the hallway that divided the stores. Kindra jumped to her feet. “Hey, it’s Xabier.” Earlier, a toy soldier and a showgirl with a headdress and tail feathers had gone into the coffee shop. Nobody craned their neck at the bear. Weird was the new normal around the Wind-Up.
Suzanne rearranged her bags around her. “Xabier?”
“This cute actor Ginger and I met earlier. He invited me to get together with him later.” Kindra waved and bounced on her heels. “Hey, Xabier.” He wasn’t more than twenty feet away. Why wasn’t he responding? “Xabier. Hey.”
The bear turned in the direction of the shouting and then turned away. Kindra’s hand fell limp at her side. He had looked right at her and not waved. So much for blossoming romance.
“He kind of ignored you.” Suzanne tucked a strand of wayward brown, curly hair behind her ear. “Are you still keeping your date?”
“It’s not a date.” Already her heart was sinking to the vicinity of her loafers. “Okay, it’s kinda sorta a date. Of course I’m going. At the very least, he has to tell me why he just treated me like I was invisible.”
The bear glanced behind him. His shoulders jerked up. He took big strides. Again, he craned his neck and then ran down the corridor.
Kindra slumped back down. “Maybe he didn’t hear me.”
“Everyone in Calamity heard you.” Suzanne rested her head against the wall again.
Kindra crossed her arms and slipped even farther down on the bench. “That means Xabier did hear me and didn’t want to say hi to me. Not the option I wanted to pick. If he doesn’t like me, why would he invite me up to the rooftop garden?”
“You like him?”
“He seemed kind of sweet. His eyes were all warm when he looked at me.”
“Is he a believer?”
“I only talked to him for like five minutes. He didn’t take the bait when I mentioned God, but how do you know? Unless you meet a guy in church or on the mission field, it’s not like the first thing you bring up.”
Suzanne touched Kindra’s arm. “Check out those two.”
Two men dressed in sports coats and slacks strode through the corridor. One of them was short, middle-aged with a paunch. The other bore a resemblance to Frankenstein: tall, square shoulders, square features. They wove through the tunnel peering in shop windows, each working a different side of the hallway. They looked at each other and nodded, some signal passing between them.
“It must still be seventy degrees above ground. Those guys could use a tank top and shorts.” Just watching them made Kindra sweat.
The middle-aged man lifted his chin, indicating something in front of him to Frankenstein. They increased their pace but did not break into a run. Even with their attempt at nonchalance, they stood out like a hot pink suit among navy and gray. They were on some kind of focused mission. Everyone else was wandering.
Suzanne whispered in her ear. “Kindra dear, you can’t hide a gun with a tank top.”
Kindra inhaled a sharp gasp of air. “No way.”
“Didn’t you see the bulge?” Suzanne patted her hip. “This may not be Vegas, but it is Nevada.”
Kindra stood up and peered down the curving concrete corridor. “You don’t think they’re chasing after the cute teddy bear, do you?” She massaged the back of her neck, attempting
“Me too. I hope Ginger was able to rest.” Kindra wrapped her arm around her friend. “We might have to sleep in shifts if we don’t get another room.”
“It would be nice if we could all get on the same body clock before we left. The trip certainly isn’t matching up to what I thought it would be.”
“You make plans and God makes plans; guess who has seniority in the planning department.” Kindra pulled a white T-shirt out of one of her bags and held it up.
A bear walked by on the other side of the hallway that divided the stores. Kindra jumped to her feet. “Hey, it’s Xabier.” Earlier, a toy soldier and a showgirl with a headdress and tail feathers had gone into the coffee shop. Nobody craned their neck at the bear. Weird was the new normal around the Wind-Up.
Suzanne rearranged her bags around her. “Xabier?”
“This cute actor Ginger and I met earlier. He invited me to get together with him later.” Kindra waved and bounced on her heels. “Hey, Xabier.” He wasn’t more than twenty feet away. Why wasn’t he responding? “Xabier. Hey.”
The bear turned in the direction of the shouting and then turned away. Kindra’s hand fell limp at her side. He had looked right at her and not waved. So much for blossoming romance.
“He kind of ignored you.” Suzanne tucked a strand of wayward brown, curly hair behind her ear. “Are you still keeping your date?”
“It’s not a date.” Already her heart was sinking to the vicinity of her loafers. “Okay, it’s kinda sorta a date. Of course I’m going. At the very least, he has to tell me why he just treated me like I was invisible.”
The bear glanced behind him. His shoulders jerked up. He took big strides. Again, he craned his neck and then ran down the corridor.
Kindra slumped back down. “Maybe he didn’t hear me.”
“Everyone in Calamity heard you.” Suzanne rested her head against the wall again.
Kindra crossed her arms and slipped even farther down on the bench. “That means Xabier did hear me and didn’t want to say hi to me. Not the option I wanted to pick. If he doesn’t like me, why would he invite me up to the rooftop garden?”
“You like him?”
“He seemed kind of sweet. His eyes were all warm when he looked at me.”
“Is he a believer?”
“I only talked to him for like five minutes. He didn’t take the bait when I mentioned God, but how do you know? Unless you meet a guy in church or on the mission field, it’s not like the first thing you bring up.”
Suzanne touched Kindra’s arm. “Check out those two.”
Two men dressed in sports coats and slacks strode through the corridor. One of them was short, middle-aged with a paunch. The other bore a resemblance to Frankenstein: tall, square shoulders, square features. They wove through the tunnel peering in shop windows, each working a different side of the hallway. They looked at each other and nodded, some signal passing between them.
“It must still be seventy degrees above ground. Those guys could use a tank top and shorts.” Just watching them made Kindra sweat.
The middle-aged man lifted his chin, indicating something in front of him to Frankenstein. They increased their pace but did not break into a run. Even with their attempt at nonchalance, they stood out like a hot pink suit among navy and gray. They were on some kind of focused mission. Everyone else was wandering.
Suzanne whispered in her ear. “Kindra dear, you can’t hide a gun with a tank top.”
Kindra inhaled a sharp gasp of air. “No way.”
“Didn’t you see the bulge?” Suzanne patted her hip. “This may not be Vegas, but it is Nevada.”
Kindra stood up and peered down the curving concrete corridor. “You don’t think they’re chasing after the cute teddy bear, do you?” She massaged the back of her neck, attempting
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