"Hello, there. You've got company!"

She watched as the redheaded man entered, and kept her eyes on him, but simultaneously watched nearly everything else too.

(Note: If you don't read her bio, then she's a she pretending to be a he. Wearing a seargeant's uniform with a custom-made Maverick pistol, as well as a Maverick rifle. She's short, stocky, and wears what is technically a baseball cap, though they are mostly unknown in his world except where Thrifts live, since they invented them here..)

[This message has been edited by Walker (edited May 29, 2005).]

And, a lovely town it was fresh with spring upon her breast. People spoke kindly. He hadn't heard one shout of hysteria from anyone from fear of catching his blindness.

He clicked his tongue three times as a signal to China to stop and stop she did. She stopped and sat right down to scratch her ear. Avery let his doodle bug roam around and could see three people in the nearby inn. He took off his rather Quakerish looking hat to wipe his brow and the sun glowed like burnished copper off his hair.

He scooted in his boots to try to find the first step that led up to the inn and kicked it with the toe of his boot. That sent a shiver up all the connected planks which brought to him a vision of where exactly the steps, porch, door, and even the building itself stood.

He had the two letters ready for Mr. Baker. Works of art, he thought. Amazing this man has a building standing at all for all his bullying around. Avery grabbed the doorknob and considered kicking the door down, but considered how hard it was for a blind man to win a fight with a seeing man, though he could ... even if he did have to cheat a little. He walked in and stamped his feet to set up a vibration that would show him the way to go.

There was a woman sitting in one corner. Costumes didn't make any difference to a blind man. And a man standing at a counter. He decided that was where he should wait. He clicked his tongue three times and China stopped and sat on his boot.

She stood up and walked over to the counter. "Hello," she said in her false voice "I'm Gene Dearc."

"Pleased to meet you. Names Red, Red O'Leary. That's quiet the dog you've got there. Did you train him yourself?"

Turning to the second man, Red contiued, "Pleased to meet you Mr. Dearc." Red and clasped the man's hand. It was surprisingly slight for a man. Sickly perhaps?

"Well, I'll venture we eat well, but I can't say I'm impressed with a guester who leaves his customers standing at the door."

He missed the old days when the "other" Bakers ran the place. No telling when they'd be back. In typical Shep fashion he'd had little luck in hiring in help. After the first couple of girls run off, no one would even consider working with him.

He realized he could be a descent guester, or an excellent baker, but not both. Not by a long shot.

Shep burst through the door that seperated the kitchen the common area. He saw three men standing waiting to be helped. If only these people would quit interrupting him.

Putting on his best fake smile he stepped toward the men.

"Why scribbler! Nice to see ya. You finally finish them letters? I surely would like to know where that . . . you know who . . . is at." Shep decided he didn't want to be blurting out names in front of people he didn't know.

"No one has called me carrot-top since I was old enough to hold a gun." He let the implication sink in.

"Name's Red O'Leary. I assume this is your place? Although it's always a shame when people have to take a job in a profession that they clearly don't have an aptitude for." Red wasn't sure if the large man followed everything he'd said, or if he picked up the blatent insult wrapped in his words.

"I'm new to town and since your's appears to be the only Inn of any kind, I'm here looking for a room. I expect to be staying on indefinitely, so I'd appreciate a private room. A clean one if you've got it."

After she greeted the others a rather clumsy, slow seeming man burst out. She waited while he greeted the others, and then decided to wait until he completely finished with them. She remained silent, just watching and listening.

She loosened the pistol in her holster at the stirrings of a fight between the innkeeper and Red, but also lowered her hand into her pocket for her folding knife, since that would be less likely to be permanent.

Of all the people in the room least likely to be the recipient of the first punch, he figured the scribbler's assistant was it. Taking two quick steps past the soldier and carrot-top he reached out and grabbed the scribbler's helpers hand.

"Why I'm right happy to see you. Can't imagine anyone'd get my ramblin thoughts all straightened out that quick." Shep gave a forced laugh which no one joined him in.

"Less just take a look at those letters." Turning to the others he said, "You gentleman will just have to 'cuse me. Official bid'ness you know." Looking at the towering redhead he added, "Last room on the right is free, " softly as he turned away, "carrots."

"Now, tell me again which of these is for Whiskey and which is for 'you know who?'"

This wasn't how he had intended to make his entrance into Hatrack. He didn't yet know who held the power in Hatrack. Strange as it might seem, the clumsy oaf might even have friends. The blind man seemed friendly enough, if a little rattled at the tense situation.

No, now was not the time to lash out irrationally. "Bide your time Red. His time will come." He said to himself.

Red gave out a boistrous sincere sounding laugh. "If you cook as good as you talk, I'm going to grow fat and lazy staying here." It wasn't much of a joke, but it seemed to have the desired effect.

The guester took the letters. "Oh, heh-heh, them. Yes, sir." Avery was wound tighter than a German cuckoo clock fixing to strike the hour.

So was the other redhead who'd balled up a fist so as to knock the guester into next Sunday. China started yapping so she yapped herself into a backward motion. Avery hissed at her, and the big man backed off. "'S o.k. Missy," Avery said and she settled right down. "Good China dog."

The guester asked Avery which was which which put Avery in a bit of a bind. What's a blind man to say? He said, "Well, yes, sir," thinking quickly. "Ah," he reached out as the Guester held the letters out before himself.

Avery fumbled around for the letters as a blind man would and in the process touched the man's hands. He kept the fingertips of one hand lightly on the man's knuckles and thumb as he took his time feeling the two letters with the other. Every hair and freckle began to colour in from his knuckles, up his arm, to his shoulder. If he could keep contact for a little while, it would be just like looking at him with seeing eyes.

"Hey there, you ol Meanie." The girl marched right up to him, holding out her hand to shake as she was on official business.

So, he said to Shep, "Seems you are getting so busy here just now, I think I'll come back later to clear up this business.

Turning to lady in front of him Shep considered her offer. "I'm a fair employer. I expect a lot of my help, but not more than I'm willing to do myself." Well, at least what he'd do when he was their age, Shep thought to himself.

"You just send him around b'fore suppertime and I'll learn him what I need. I can't promise nothin bout that massage bizness. But, I'll listen to his ideas, I spose."

Shep fixed the soldier fella with his eye, "Don't mistake slow o' speech with slow o' mind. I've always found the best is advice to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt. Even if you whisper."

"Ain't never thought much about knacks and such. Most folks round here just do what comes natural to em. Iffin somebody can do something a mite better'n someone else, well, I guess we just figure that's the way things is."

"Don't knows that I've ever met someone with something call a 'knack.'" Shep paused for effect.

"Ahhhh... Of course. I should have realized that. Very good hearing though, my many-talented friend."

"Hi, I'm Sara Larner. Thank you for your kind invitation, I would greatly enjoy your company this evening." Sara settled down on the chair next to Still and allowed a little of her tension and nervousness drain away as Still's friendliness warmed the air. There was a pause as Sara sat down, and Sara decided to initiate conversation by asking Still to share a bit about herself.

There were some dusty glasses--not crystal but nice enough. Fargus wiped them with his shirt tail a poured a couple fingerfulls. He sipped deeply, sighing at the warmth in his belly, and nodded to the women on his way back to his seat.

Hatrack still felt the same but she could also tell that there were many new faces in town. In fact, there were very few faces she remembered at all.

She managed somehow to get into the lobby area of the Inn and immediately felt the memories of her life here before come rushing back. She in the kitchen and tending the candy shop area while Obadiah would work the desk and try to overcharge the guests until she coughed in a disapproving tone to which he would finally relent.

She was not sure that Ben would be happy that she was back in Hatrack. She had just gotten tired of being in New Amsterdam, going to parties where women with too much time on their hands gossiped about people who were supposedly beneath them. It was in fact, during one of those same parties she loathed so much that a certain Mrs. Abershire made reference to how common her sons wife appeared to be. Adelyne excused herself for a moment and walked over to a serving table where she took up one of the custard pies and without hesitation walked back and planted it firmly in Mrs. Abershires face. "It's a COMMON known thing that Baker women stick up for each other. And its a COMMON known fact that my sons wife has more grace and compassion in her little finger than you have in your entire body, which I must mention, has enough mass to sink any ship in the harbour. And I will beg your pardon if I may sound arrogant for a moment, but my son and his wife have more money than every one of your families in this room and have often lent your husbands money to finance little adventures that have paid off handsomely with not a single thank you in return. So before you ever refer to my daughter in law as common again, let it be understood that it will be a common thing for Adelyne Baker to put a pie in your face and you would be quite lucky if I didn't plant a foot up your arse." With that said Adelyne gathered up her things, bid everyone good day and left the house.

She packed up and left for Hatrack the next day. After finally arriving in Hatrack her first desire was to go straight to her sons house and see her great granddaughter. But no, first things first. She intended to do something with herself instead of sitting in that house. And she thought that just maybe there might be a place for in the Inn. And if not perhaps a sweet shop or some other place would have her. Maybe she could start a place of her own in time. She put such thoughts aside for the time being. She would first see what was available to her here.

She dropped her bags on the floor and rang the bell at the desk.

Dear Miss Larner,

We have received your application and have decided that you seem to be qualified for the teaching position at the Hatrack School. We would like you to meet us for an interview at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,

Chairman of the School Board.

This was incredible. She had sent applications to the school boards in all the towns in this area, but out of all of them, the one that responded was this one! The only one of these towns on her route home!

She sat down and wrote a letter to her family.

Dear Mother and Father,

While on my way home, I received a response from the school board in Hatrack, the town in which I stopped to rest. The school board requests an interview at my earliest convenience, and therefore I plan to stay in this town for a few days at least.

Give everyone my love. If I am hired by the school board I will try to come home for a visit before school starts...

Your loving daughter,

Sara

Leo bowed, an arm across his middle where he bent - not too fast, not like an acorn falling but more like a leaf on a windless day, then up again. He smiled. "Misses, my name's Leonardo Amaro Duarte, 'cept, mos' folks calls me Leo, which I'd be happy to have you call me." He smiled up at her bright as the sun itself, cheery as the full moon at night, sparkling as the stars in the night sky. He tugged on his arm. "I seen it roll to jes' over there. I'd be ever so glad to git it fer you." He leaned away from Juan as far as he could lean. "May I go 'n git it? It's jes over there."