they've got Narnia in there too," replied Seth.
Through a sea of people packed into tiny tables, Seth spotted Clio waving from a large booth in the corner. Pints of Mexican beer were pushed into their hands as they sat down. Sitting next to Clio was a girl who looked exactly like Clio, but with a grease-stained shirt over plaid golf pants and combat boots.
Max stared openly at the two purple-streaked pigtails exploding out of her head. The not-Clio girl gave him a grin and shoved a basket of warm tortilla chips towards them. Max couldn't think of how he wanted to form his question, so he dipped a chip into the bowl of fresh salsa sitting on the table and took a tentative bite. After a minute, he rolled his eyes back with bliss and rapidly began making the chips and salsa disappear.
Seth took a bite and hot peppers punched him right in the taste buds. His mouth was on fire and his eyes watered. He wondered if he was going blind. He fumbled for a glass of water.
"Oh, sorry. I forgot to warn you that the salsa is a little spicy tonight," shouted Clio over the band. "But don't stop eating or it will only get worse. Here, have a beer."
Seth thankfully drowned his screaming tongue in beer.
"Delicious," said Max around a mouthful.
"This is my sister, Kalliope," Clio shouted back.
"Twins?" asked Max.
"Quadruplets," Kalliope answered. Seth's mouth formed a silent "Oh." Kalliope continued to grin while swigging her beer, as if daring them to ask how her mother, a splicer, came to have quadruplets if human gene modification had been banned for over forty years. They didn't.
Then an older woman arrived who looked so much like the two girls, they must be related. Harmony was taller than her daughters and had straight, should-length hair like spun bronze. She usually kept it up in Chinese hairsticks, but tonight she wore it down with a thin summer dress.
"I see you men have met my daughters. I'm Harmony," she said with an easy smile as the mariachi band finished their last ode to lost love. She'd had a long day full of worries, but decided to leave them at work for the evening. Harmony hoped the men would provide interesting conversation.
Max leapt to his feet and hastily wiped his mouth. He almost tripped over a waitress as he pulled Harmony's chair out for her.
"You cannot possibly be old enough to be their mother," he declared, kissing her hand outrageously. "No, I will not believe it. This must be the famous Texas twit I have heard so much about."
Harmony could help but laugh. "I believe you mean Texas twang, darlin'," she said, laying the twang as thick as she could.
"Ah yes," Max laughed. "And no doubt y'all is fixin' ta ride you a cow?" He said, enthusiastically mangling the accent.
They fell into easy conversation as plates of warm handmade tortillas, enchiladas, and fajitas competed for table space with pitchers of margaritas and beer. Since The Troubles, it was prohibitively expensive to import or export food. Which had an unexpected upside. People tended to focus more on their local cuisine. So while there wasn't a sushi restaurant for a hundred miles, the Tex-Mex and other local favorites were even better than before.
For all the advances in technology, most people found that the cheapest, tastiest and healthiest food was grown locally, eaten in season, and prepared using recipes from your area. And since most people didn't travel much, they had time to do things like keep a kitchen garden and cook their own dinner.
"So, I'm sorry, but what does your company do exactly?" Harmony asked.
"Omerta provides complete security solutions for a wide variety of businesses and organizations," Seth recited from the company brochure. He failed to notice as Harmony's eyebrows rose. She shot an inquiring look at Clio who nodded without taking her eyes off Seth.
Since The Troubles, more and more happened in the virtual world. All education from kindergarten to college was now done via globenet from the home. Most people
Through a sea of people packed into tiny tables, Seth spotted Clio waving from a large booth in the corner. Pints of Mexican beer were pushed into their hands as they sat down. Sitting next to Clio was a girl who looked exactly like Clio, but with a grease-stained shirt over plaid golf pants and combat boots.
Max stared openly at the two purple-streaked pigtails exploding out of her head. The not-Clio girl gave him a grin and shoved a basket of warm tortilla chips towards them. Max couldn't think of how he wanted to form his question, so he dipped a chip into the bowl of fresh salsa sitting on the table and took a tentative bite. After a minute, he rolled his eyes back with bliss and rapidly began making the chips and salsa disappear.
Seth took a bite and hot peppers punched him right in the taste buds. His mouth was on fire and his eyes watered. He wondered if he was going blind. He fumbled for a glass of water.
"Oh, sorry. I forgot to warn you that the salsa is a little spicy tonight," shouted Clio over the band. "But don't stop eating or it will only get worse. Here, have a beer."
Seth thankfully drowned his screaming tongue in beer.
"Delicious," said Max around a mouthful.
"This is my sister, Kalliope," Clio shouted back.
"Twins?" asked Max.
"Quadruplets," Kalliope answered. Seth's mouth formed a silent "Oh." Kalliope continued to grin while swigging her beer, as if daring them to ask how her mother, a splicer, came to have quadruplets if human gene modification had been banned for over forty years. They didn't.
Then an older woman arrived who looked so much like the two girls, they must be related. Harmony was taller than her daughters and had straight, should-length hair like spun bronze. She usually kept it up in Chinese hairsticks, but tonight she wore it down with a thin summer dress.
"I see you men have met my daughters. I'm Harmony," she said with an easy smile as the mariachi band finished their last ode to lost love. She'd had a long day full of worries, but decided to leave them at work for the evening. Harmony hoped the men would provide interesting conversation.
Max leapt to his feet and hastily wiped his mouth. He almost tripped over a waitress as he pulled Harmony's chair out for her.
"You cannot possibly be old enough to be their mother," he declared, kissing her hand outrageously. "No, I will not believe it. This must be the famous Texas twit I have heard so much about."
Harmony could help but laugh. "I believe you mean Texas twang, darlin'," she said, laying the twang as thick as she could.
"Ah yes," Max laughed. "And no doubt y'all is fixin' ta ride you a cow?" He said, enthusiastically mangling the accent.
They fell into easy conversation as plates of warm handmade tortillas, enchiladas, and fajitas competed for table space with pitchers of margaritas and beer. Since The Troubles, it was prohibitively expensive to import or export food. Which had an unexpected upside. People tended to focus more on their local cuisine. So while there wasn't a sushi restaurant for a hundred miles, the Tex-Mex and other local favorites were even better than before.
For all the advances in technology, most people found that the cheapest, tastiest and healthiest food was grown locally, eaten in season, and prepared using recipes from your area. And since most people didn't travel much, they had time to do things like keep a kitchen garden and cook their own dinner.
"So, I'm sorry, but what does your company do exactly?" Harmony asked.
"Omerta provides complete security solutions for a wide variety of businesses and organizations," Seth recited from the company brochure. He failed to notice as Harmony's eyebrows rose. She shot an inquiring look at Clio who nodded without taking her eyes off Seth.
Since The Troubles, more and more happened in the virtual world. All education from kindergarten to college was now done via globenet from the home. Most people
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