“I thought you’d like to know,” the troll announced, “I think I’ve figured out a way to charge the damage Markie caused this afternoon back to the Mob as a business expense!”
“That’s swell, Chumley,” Aahz said dully.
“Yeah. Terrific.”
“’Allo, ‘allo?” he said, cocking his head at us. “Any time the two biggest hustlers at the Bazaar fail to get excited over money, there’s got to be something wrong. Out with it now. What’s troubling you?”
“Do you want to tell him, Aahz?”
“Well…”
“I say, this wouldn’t be about little sister leaving the nest, would it? Oh, there’s a giggle.”
“You know? “I blinked.
“I can see you’re all broken up over it,” Aahz said in a dangerous tone.
“Tish tosh!” the troll exclaimed. “I don’t see where it’s anything to get upset about. Tananda’s just settling things in her mind, is all. She’s found that she likes something that goes against her self-image. It might take a few days, but eventually she’ll figure out that it’s not the end of the world. Everybody goes through it. It’s called ‘growing up.’ If anything, I think it’s bloody marvelous that she’s finally having to learn that things don’t stay the same forever.”
“You do?” I was suddenly starting to feel better.
“Certainly. Why, in just the time we’ve been chumming around together, Aahz has changed, you’ve changed, so have I, though I don’t tend to show it as dramatically as you two or little sister. You blokes have just got a bad case of the guilts. Poppycock! You can’t take the blame for everything, you know.”
“That’s good advice,” I said, standing up and stretching. “Why can’t you ever give me good advice like that, partner?”