Linc’s eyes flashed over Ford’s shoulder. Slowly, like he was thinking something through, his hand came up to rub his chin, and he said, “You’re right, maybe I should kill you now—”
Ford’s fist plunged into Linc’s unprotected abdomen. Are you kidding? Sadie said. There’s no way you can—
Linc staggered backward and fell to the ground.
From behind Ford came the low clack of Kevlar boots. Swinging around he was confronted by two Serenity Services Counselors in full matte black body armor and helmets. A computer-modulated voice said, “Citizen Ford Winter, you are in violation of Part 445-W of the Good Neighbor Initiative. Place your hands out and state your intention to accompany us, or risk serious injury.”
Thank god, Sadie thought, seeing the Serenity Services uniforms. Tell them that he was going to kill you, Sadie urged Ford. Tell them you were just defending yourself.
“He was going to—”
“Citizen Ford Winter, comply with our order or we will fire on three,” the same voice said, and both Counselors leveled their tasers.
Ford put out his wrists. “I agree to accompany you.”
Ford’s processing at the Serenity Services Compliance Center happened in a kind of fog. They asked him almost no questions, and when he tried to explain that Linc had been about to beat him up, the Counselor gave him a weak smile and said, “That guy had, what, ninety pounds on you? If he’d been trying to beat you up, you would have been beaten. As it is, you’re lucky we came around when we did. He wouldn’t have stayed down for long.”
After forty minutes, another Serenity Services Counselor came in and announced, “Your brother posted your bail. You’re free to go.”
If only, Ford thought. His last thought before punching Linc, Sadie knew, had been how disappointed his mother would be.
Ford braced himself, but when he walked into the waiting room the only person there was Mason.
“You?” Ford looked behind him. “For me? Why?” Then, getting it, “That’s why they said brother.”
“I told them we had a family emergency, Mom was sick, that’s why you’d flown off the handle, contrition all around, and they sped things up.” That was slick, Sadie thought, and was conscious of a twinge of unease. Too slick? Too easy?
Ford was impressed. “Nice work.” Mason pried himself out of a chair made for someone half his size, and they headed for the exit. “You’re taller than my brother.”
Mason chuckled. “I’m taller than everyone’s brother.”
“Why’d you do it?” Ford asked, looking up at him.
Mason jammed his hands in his pockets. “Wedding present for Lulu.”
Ford laughed outright, and so did Sadie, momentarily shelving her apprehensions to share Ford’s openness toward Mason.
“No, I figured this way you’d owe me, I could knock your salary down.”
Ford shook his head. “You must be a really bad poker player. This way I know what I’m worth to you and can ask for a raise.”
“Don’t push your luck,” Mason cautioned.
Sadie felt Ford reaching into a part of him he didn’t share with everyone, a rich, warm place. Gratitude, she thought. And also friendship. “Thanks,” he said, offering both. “Was it expensive?”
“No. Couple hundred. He’s not pressing charges.” Mason seemed impressed. “Pretty bold, though. He’s a big guy. I don’t think I could have knocked him out.”
“You just have to know where to punch,” Ford said, but he was distracted inside, thinking, That was too easy. As if Linc had somehow orchestrated the whole thing on purpose.
Sadie had the same idea, but it didn’t make sense.
“So, you’ll take the job?” Mason prodded.
Ford’s insides still felt warm like melted caramel. “I guess. But it has to be a real job. No charity. I want to work hard. I’m useless otherwise.”
Mason said seriously, “I’m counting on it,” and Sadie felt Ford’s warm contentment increase. He trusted Mason, she realized, trusted that Mason’s professions of respect were real.
Don’t let him down, Sadie cautioned Mason in her mind.
Mason dropped Ford off. When Ford got upstairs Lulu was standing in the open door. She put a finger to her lips and whispered, “I thought you’d never get home. I’m starving.”
Ford glanced behind her and saw their mother’s door was closed. “Did you call Mason?” he whispered.
“You mean Mr. Lulu? No, he called me. Really he called you to ask about his offer, but I had your phone so I answered. I told him I’d seen those people from Serenity Services take you away, and he said he’d take care of it. Isn’t he just lovely to look at?”
“Sure,” Ford said. “And Mom…” He let it trail off.
“I didn’t think it necessary to advise her majesty,” Lulu told him.
“Thanks.” Ford smiled, a real, genuine, from-his-toes smile that lit Sadie up too.
Lulu curtseyed. “At your service.” Then she looked at him with narrowed eyes. “But you owe me. Which means you’re making dinner.”
As he brushed his teeth later, Ford’s mind kept replaying Linc’s description of the Pharmacist: “Many forms, almost all of them too good to be true.”
Ford fell asleep thinking of Plum. Sadie fell asleep thinking of Mason.
CHAPTER 22
WEEK 3
The invitation was printed on washcloths.
Wee Willy Productions proudly presents:
The Fourth of July
A Midweek Drunktacular
At: The Old Baths
Dress: To Impress While Wet
Bring: Cheer, Beer, No Fear
Ford had never been to the Old Turkish Baths before, and he was impressed by the entrance. Thick pillars of rose marble topped with griffins flanked a set of brass doors, nine feet tall with spikes poking outward.
“They took off the doorknobs when the rulers came in so they could bathe in peace,” Willy explained when Ford was inside. “Impossible to get the door open without slicing your arm off. Neat, huh?”
Willy was wearing a white boater hat, a white linen shirt open over a white tank top, white shorts, and white loafers. He looked ridiculous, Sadie heard Ford think, but she also picked up a twinge of jealousy at how new everything was.
“Yeah, neat,” Ford agreed.
The baths weren’t as fancy inside as they were outside, although Ford’s eye directed Sadie to a half-hidden mural on the ceiling that suggested they once had been.
Mason would like that, she heard him think, and he reached for his phone.
Sadie gritted her teeth. This is a party. On a holiday. You’re not supposed to spend it texting your boss.
Of course, Mason had quickly become more like a friend than a boss. Very quickly. Objectively Sadie thought it was fine, but there was still something about their relationship that made her… uneasy.
She was glad for Ford to have a friend, or she was neutral since her job was to observe, not judge, but she wished Ford would be more careful. More reserved. He was so thirsty for affection, so hungry to be appreciated that she feared he might trust the wrong person or make bad decisions that would haunt him.
He and Mason talked the entire time they looked at places, and that was another thing that annoyed Sadie. The constant conversation made it harder for her to hear Ford’s thoughts, and those she could hear mostly consisted of things like Mason’s so great and I need to show this to Mason.