Aahz folded up the map, put it back in his pouch, and stood.
“Tanda and I will go find a secluded place to hop back,” he whispered, leaning forward so only the three of us could hear him. “Think you two can get out of here without being noticed?”
“Easy,” Glenda said.
“See you there,” Tanda said, standing and moving toward the front door.
After we had pretended to eat more of our lunch, pushing the stuff into a pile on one side of the plate like I used to do as a kid, Glenda got up and went back over to the guy behind the bar.
I kept pretending, wishing the stuff tasted good, since the idea of eating had made me hungry.
After a moment the guy in charge nodded to Glenda, smiling as if she had promised him more than I wanted to think about.
She motioned that I should join her and I did, carrying our plates. The guy led us through the door and into what might be called a kitchen. There were barrels of the different veggies against one wall, and some dirty plates and glasses stacked near a water barrel. No wonder everything tasted so bad. I didn’t want to even think about the fact that I had eaten a bite of some of the stuff from this room.
“Wash water is in the barrel,” he said. He tossed me a dirty towel. “Dry the dishes before wiping down everything else.”
Glenda put her hand on his shoulder and eased him around toward the door.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll get everything all cleaned up.”
“I know you will,” he said. The guy was more putty in her hands than I was, and for some reason that thought just annoyed me.