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."A bit tangled, but Tannim got the gist of it, and muttered imprecations under his breath.Fox looked crestfallen."Awww," he said."You guessed! That's not fair!""Life's like that," Joe and Tannim said in chorus and complete synchronization.They exchanged a startled glance, then both broke up in laughter.Fox pouted for a moment, then joined them.Either he's handling this really well, or he's so blitzed by Fox and all that he only seems to be.I think my bet's on the kid."Well now that Fox has joined us, I was wondering if you wanted to tool around Tulsa for a while." Tannim looked at the young man out of the corner of his eye."Keighvin told me to outfit you while we were here, and I can put it all on the company card.I kind of figured you didn't have a lot of stuff.""Take him up on it, Joe," Fox advised from the backseat."Tannim's a Fashion God."Tannim flashed the kitsune a withering look."I'm supposed to get Nomex for youthat's fireproof underwear, basically, real popular back at Fairgrove.Some jeans and boots, too, and a few other things.And" He paused.This was a delicate subject."And personal gear.It can't be a lot, since the Mustang will hold only so much, but Keighvin seemed to think you ought to get yourself the same kind of things you'd be furnishing a dorm room with.You know, CD player, clock-radio, that kind of thing.And clothes."Joe's face darkened."I don't take handouts," he said stubbornly.Tannim sighed."Look, it isn't a handout, all right? You're going to be meeting people, some of them important.If you're gonna be Sarge's assistant, you'll have to escort Big Guns from places like Goodyear and March and STP all over the plant.You can't do that wearing jeans and a t-shirt.And as for the rest of it, well, if you had anything to move, Fairgrove would be paying moving expenses, right? But you don't, so you're getting it in gear."Now Joe looked confused."I don't know," he said uneasily."I never knew anyone who got a job with a place like Fairgrove.I don't know what's right."And until you get to Fairgrove, you won't ever meet anyone who's gotten a job like this."Trust me," he said persuasively."It's perfectly normal."For Fairgrove."If you say so, sir," Joe replied, looking very young and uncertain."I say so," Tannim said firmly, taking the Mach I onto the on-ramp for the interstate.And in his head, though he was certain it was only in his head, he heard Fox snickering."That's right, he says so! Now how much would you pay?" the radio blared in Fox's voice."But wait, there's more if you order by midnight tonight! You get two free neuroses, a fixation, and your choice of"Click.* * * There weren't a lot of bags in the back of the Mustang, and not just because Joe had balked at purchasing too much.It had occurred to Tannim that "shopping for Joe" could be the way out of the house that he had been looking for.In fact, "shopping for Joe" might become his salvation.He could use it as an excuse to flee the house even when Joe wasn't with him.So, Joe was now wearing a good pair of Bugle Boy pants and a snappy shirt ("You want to impress my folks, don't you?"); and there was a bag of Nomex jumpsuits in red and black in the trunk of the car, and a box containing a clock-radio.It was not the one Joe had selected; Tannim had switched it on him for a pricier model with a CD player in it.But since it was going to remain in the trunk of the Mach I until they reached Savannah, Joe wasn't going to find that out.Fox was gone; he'd lost interest in the proceedings early on and simply vanished.He'd claimed he had a karaoke tournament to judge.It hadn't been easy persuading Joe that clothing could look good and be comfortable, but Tannim had managed.The kid looked really good, actually.He was probably going to cut a wide swath through the secretaries at Fairgrove.Tannim guided the Mach I through the traffic of south Memorial on the way to Bixby, feeling relaxed and pleased with himself.Modest, polite, and a hunk.And he has round ears.Uh huh.They aren't gonna know what hit them.He isn't going to know what hit him.Oh, things are going to be interesting around there.Well, heck, why limit the mayhem to the secretaries? There weren't too many unattached female mechanics and engineers, but there were a fewand the elven ladies would probably be just as intrigued with the polite young human.Tannim grinned, but only to himself, and freed a hand just long enough to pull his hair away from the back of his neck to let the sweat dry.Joe's mere presence would get some of the ladies, human and elven, off his back.Not that they weren't charming, but they tended to get possessive, and there just wasn't a one of them that Tannim foundright.Yeah, throw Joe into the pool and see all the lady-fish go into display, ignoring me.Good plan! Keighvin would see to it that they didn't eat him alive or get him into any trouble, physical or emotional.And if he didn't, Bob, Al and Sarge would.Do the lad some good.Loosen him up.With those thoughts to elevate his mood, he pulled into the driveway and into his "spot" beside the horse trailers, reflexively checking his watch as he turned off the engine.Right on time for dinner, just like Mom asked.Perfect.The folks always said, "tardiness is the height of conceit, punctuality the height of respect."His parents came out to meet them, both obviously very curious about Joe.They climbed out, and Joe waited diffidently beside the passenger's door while Tannim made introductions.He charmed Tannim's mother immediately with his politeness, and impressed Trevor Drake with his soft-spoken attitude.Supper was waiting for them, and it went much more smoothly tonight, since Trevor could not say enough good things about Keighvin Silverhair and Fairgrove, and Joe could not say enough good things about the food.He completely won over Tannim's mother by volunteering to do the dishes afterward, and by insisting that he help clear the table.Tannim vetoed the former, and helped with the latter."You and Dad can go enjoy the horses," he said."I'll give Mom a hand.I'm not allergic to dishwashing."So Joe changed back into his jeans and t-shirt for a trip to the stables to inspect the horses, leaving Tannim alone with his mother."I was a little worried about this Joe," she told him, as she stacked the dishes he rinsed in the dishwasher."We saw so much about those awful people on the news, and I was afraid he'd beoh, I don't knowjust someone I wouldn't feel comfortable around.But he's a really nice boy, honey." She paused to fix him with a look he knew only too well."He's so polite, and he looks respectable."She did not say "why can't you be more like him?" but Tannim knew that was what she was thinking."Well, Mom, when your father puts a gun in your mouth to discipline you, you learn to be polite pretty quick," he said, off-handedly."He didn't!" she exclaimed, eyes round.At her son's nod of confirmation, she turned just a little pale [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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."A bit tangled, but Tannim got the gist of it, and muttered imprecations under his breath.Fox looked crestfallen."Awww," he said."You guessed! That's not fair!""Life's like that," Joe and Tannim said in chorus and complete synchronization.They exchanged a startled glance, then both broke up in laughter.Fox pouted for a moment, then joined them.Either he's handling this really well, or he's so blitzed by Fox and all that he only seems to be.I think my bet's on the kid."Well now that Fox has joined us, I was wondering if you wanted to tool around Tulsa for a while." Tannim looked at the young man out of the corner of his eye."Keighvin told me to outfit you while we were here, and I can put it all on the company card.I kind of figured you didn't have a lot of stuff.""Take him up on it, Joe," Fox advised from the backseat."Tannim's a Fashion God."Tannim flashed the kitsune a withering look."I'm supposed to get Nomex for youthat's fireproof underwear, basically, real popular back at Fairgrove.Some jeans and boots, too, and a few other things.And" He paused.This was a delicate subject."And personal gear.It can't be a lot, since the Mustang will hold only so much, but Keighvin seemed to think you ought to get yourself the same kind of things you'd be furnishing a dorm room with.You know, CD player, clock-radio, that kind of thing.And clothes."Joe's face darkened."I don't take handouts," he said stubbornly.Tannim sighed."Look, it isn't a handout, all right? You're going to be meeting people, some of them important.If you're gonna be Sarge's assistant, you'll have to escort Big Guns from places like Goodyear and March and STP all over the plant.You can't do that wearing jeans and a t-shirt.And as for the rest of it, well, if you had anything to move, Fairgrove would be paying moving expenses, right? But you don't, so you're getting it in gear."Now Joe looked confused."I don't know," he said uneasily."I never knew anyone who got a job with a place like Fairgrove.I don't know what's right."And until you get to Fairgrove, you won't ever meet anyone who's gotten a job like this."Trust me," he said persuasively."It's perfectly normal."For Fairgrove."If you say so, sir," Joe replied, looking very young and uncertain."I say so," Tannim said firmly, taking the Mach I onto the on-ramp for the interstate.And in his head, though he was certain it was only in his head, he heard Fox snickering."That's right, he says so! Now how much would you pay?" the radio blared in Fox's voice."But wait, there's more if you order by midnight tonight! You get two free neuroses, a fixation, and your choice of"Click.* * * There weren't a lot of bags in the back of the Mustang, and not just because Joe had balked at purchasing too much.It had occurred to Tannim that "shopping for Joe" could be the way out of the house that he had been looking for.In fact, "shopping for Joe" might become his salvation.He could use it as an excuse to flee the house even when Joe wasn't with him.So, Joe was now wearing a good pair of Bugle Boy pants and a snappy shirt ("You want to impress my folks, don't you?"); and there was a bag of Nomex jumpsuits in red and black in the trunk of the car, and a box containing a clock-radio.It was not the one Joe had selected; Tannim had switched it on him for a pricier model with a CD player in it.But since it was going to remain in the trunk of the Mach I until they reached Savannah, Joe wasn't going to find that out.Fox was gone; he'd lost interest in the proceedings early on and simply vanished.He'd claimed he had a karaoke tournament to judge.It hadn't been easy persuading Joe that clothing could look good and be comfortable, but Tannim had managed.The kid looked really good, actually.He was probably going to cut a wide swath through the secretaries at Fairgrove.Tannim guided the Mach I through the traffic of south Memorial on the way to Bixby, feeling relaxed and pleased with himself.Modest, polite, and a hunk.And he has round ears.Uh huh.They aren't gonna know what hit them.He isn't going to know what hit him.Oh, things are going to be interesting around there.Well, heck, why limit the mayhem to the secretaries? There weren't too many unattached female mechanics and engineers, but there were a fewand the elven ladies would probably be just as intrigued with the polite young human.Tannim grinned, but only to himself, and freed a hand just long enough to pull his hair away from the back of his neck to let the sweat dry.Joe's mere presence would get some of the ladies, human and elven, off his back.Not that they weren't charming, but they tended to get possessive, and there just wasn't a one of them that Tannim foundright.Yeah, throw Joe into the pool and see all the lady-fish go into display, ignoring me.Good plan! Keighvin would see to it that they didn't eat him alive or get him into any trouble, physical or emotional.And if he didn't, Bob, Al and Sarge would.Do the lad some good.Loosen him up.With those thoughts to elevate his mood, he pulled into the driveway and into his "spot" beside the horse trailers, reflexively checking his watch as he turned off the engine.Right on time for dinner, just like Mom asked.Perfect.The folks always said, "tardiness is the height of conceit, punctuality the height of respect."His parents came out to meet them, both obviously very curious about Joe.They climbed out, and Joe waited diffidently beside the passenger's door while Tannim made introductions.He charmed Tannim's mother immediately with his politeness, and impressed Trevor Drake with his soft-spoken attitude.Supper was waiting for them, and it went much more smoothly tonight, since Trevor could not say enough good things about Keighvin Silverhair and Fairgrove, and Joe could not say enough good things about the food.He completely won over Tannim's mother by volunteering to do the dishes afterward, and by insisting that he help clear the table.Tannim vetoed the former, and helped with the latter."You and Dad can go enjoy the horses," he said."I'll give Mom a hand.I'm not allergic to dishwashing."So Joe changed back into his jeans and t-shirt for a trip to the stables to inspect the horses, leaving Tannim alone with his mother."I was a little worried about this Joe," she told him, as she stacked the dishes he rinsed in the dishwasher."We saw so much about those awful people on the news, and I was afraid he'd beoh, I don't knowjust someone I wouldn't feel comfortable around.But he's a really nice boy, honey." She paused to fix him with a look he knew only too well."He's so polite, and he looks respectable."She did not say "why can't you be more like him?" but Tannim knew that was what she was thinking."Well, Mom, when your father puts a gun in your mouth to discipline you, you learn to be polite pretty quick," he said, off-handedly."He didn't!" she exclaimed, eyes round.At her son's nod of confirmation, she turned just a little pale [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]