Here’s my new address. I’ll probably be moved in by the time you get this letter, but even if I’m not, Bennett doesn’t have a lot of residents yet, so the boardinghouse will hold my mail if you send it there.
Speaking of residents, a Wolf is our new sheriff. His name is Virgil Wolfgard, and he gives off an “I’m so dangerous I don’t need a gun” vibe. Actually, it isn’t a vibe because he really doesn’t need a gun. He just shows his teeth and growls to encourage law and order. He calls me Barbara Ellen. So does Tolya. I don’t know why. Everyone else calls me Barb.
And speaking of dangerous vibes, one of the Panthergard has taken possession of a small cabin just outside of town. There’s a young guy, a human, living with him. I’ve seen them walking around the town square, but they’ve kept to themselves so far. We’ve all been told to give them space—no bringing over a casserole to welcome the new neighbors. Not that any of us are really cooking since meals at the boardinghouse and hotel are free for the residents but you have to buy food that you cook for yourself. So why make a sandwich when you can get a Mom-approved balanced meal made by someone else?
Have to go. Love and big hugs to Mom and Dad. And you too.
Barb
To: Vladimir Sanguinati and Simon Wolfgard, Urgent
Jesse Walker is unhappy and has threatened to withdraw her assistance in dealing with all the stores and houses in Bennett. She wants to know what we intend to do with the town and the other human places that the Elders cleansed and reclaimed. Are we intending to repopulate them with Intuits and terra indigene? Are some places going to be abandoned and allowed to decay? Are the humans who have come to Bennett just temporary help and muscle or will they be residents in the fullest sense, taking up a trade or working in the businesses? She wants to know if Bennett is going to be a real town or just a stage setting for humans getting off the train.
As Grandfather Erebus requested, the Sanguinati are now established here. We are in charge of the railway station, the bank, and the post office/telegraph office, and I am the acknowledged leader of the town. We have shifters from many gards who have come in and are willing to work here, but most have little direct experience in being around humans. Most of the Intuit youngsters who have come to Bennett have little direct experience in being around the terra indigene. Since the Elders are never far away, this is a concern.
That said, I think Jesse Walker has a point. Originally, the intention was to secure Bennett because it had the only train station for many miles and shouldn’t be allowed to fall into the hands of humans who might be enemies of the terra indigene. To that end, I made note of the essential businesses we would have to keep. But if the town is going to be more than a handful of businesses that support the individuals working at the station, then we need to compromise and allow those who want to settle in a new place to come to Bennett—especially individuals who, like Barbara Ellen Debany, have a particular skill that we need here. We might even use Bennett as a posting station to send teams out to reclaim the other empty towns. But selecting the right humans is vital. We have plenty of young people who would stay if they had the opportunity to learn a trade. What we need now are adults who can run the other businesses.
Could the Lakeside Courtyard act as a filter and send applicants to Bennett? Enclosed is a list of professions and trades Jesse Walker feels should be filled, especially since the offices and businesses already exist. I do not think all these professional vacancies need to be filled immediately if a suitable candidate is not found, but I think an effort must be made if we want to build a mixed community here in the same way you are creating one near Lakeside.
—Tolya
P.S. Barbara Ellen is doing well. I have encouraged her to write to her family, and I was told by a Crow working in the post office that she did send a letter on Sumor 26, but she may not write as often as her family desires because she is busy making new friends and is equally busy taking care of all the house animals that were left behind. With so many pets, as she calls them, needing new homes—or at least new caretakers—she suggested giving a dog, cat, or bird to every new resident as a welcome gift. I am trying to discourage this idea without telling her that new terra indigene residents might think she was giving them an easy dinner.
CHAPTER 3
Thaisday, Messis 2
Out of sight of the females in the apartment, Simon paused at the open doorway and listened.
“That does it for this place,” Eve Denby said. “This cream color isn’t exciting, but it’s a good neutral, and doing all the apartments in the same color sure makes it easier.”
“Personal touches will add the color,” Twyla Montgomery said. “Besides, I don’t think any of the tenants are going to want to go out and spend the money right now to buy different paint and do this work again on their own.”
“You got that right. My instructions were to clean and paint and make sure everything was in working order. The plumbing works. So does the electricity. And may the gods bless them, the Others purchased new appliances for all the apartments, including a washer and dryer installed in each of the basements of the two stone apartment buildings as well as the two-family.”
“One washer and dryer shared by the folks living in four units? You planning to assign laundry days for each unit?”
“If it comes to that. I’m thinking more of a sign-up sheet to reserve the washers and dryers if someone wants or needs a particular time or day. Besides, there are coin-operated machines in the Courtyard’s social center, as well as a launderette in the Bird Park Plaza. Tenants can enjoy cooperation and convenience, or they can take their laundry elsewhere.”
Simon thought that sounded fair. A laundry pecking order. Not that dissimilar to feeding on a deer—the dominant members of the pack had first choice. It would be interesting to see how the females taking up residence in the apartments sorted out their dominance.
While this talk about laundry was interesting, up to a point, he had a reason for coming over to the apartment building before going into the meeting to talk about the e-mail he and Vlad had received from Tolya Sanguinati.
He stepped into the apartment and waited for the two females to notice him.
“Mr. Wolfgard.” Eve wiped her paint-smeared hands on a rag. “Give it a day for the paint to dry, and Sierra and her girls can move in.”
“Kitchen is clean, cupboards and floor, and the dishes and the rest are put away,” Twyla added. “It was thoughtful of you to supply the basics.”
Simon shrugged. The Business Association had a lengthy discussion about how much they should provide to their tenants. In the end, the decision was based on the humans who would be living in those dens. Ruthie and Karl Kowalski had already lived together in a different place before being driven out, so they hadn’t needed much beyond the appliances when they moved into the top floor of the two-family house that sat between the two stone apartment buildings. But Merri Lee hadn’t had anything of her own but clothing, books, and personal items, and Nadine Fallacaro had been burned out of her den and lost everything but a couple of boxes of business papers. So he and Henry and Vlad had gone to the Bird Park Plaza with Ruthie and Eve Denby to purchase basics: glasses, silverware, cooking utensils, four-place settings of dishes, pots and pans, bed linens, and bath towels. They purchased the basics for each of the eight apartments, even though only four were about to be occupied.