Annie F


No one got drunk at the bar. Nolan didn’t even drink alcohol. “Someone has to get the both of us home, later, and I know Kerri will be absolutely legless.”

The groans were all he could have asked for. Deliah made as if to slap him.

“Don’t reward bad behavior,” Denise said. She glanced at Ray and Conrad, both. “And I’m looking at you and you, too,” she told them.

They expressed innocence.

Samantha got a little more inebriated than anyone else. She didn’t quite get to the point of calling ex boyfriends, but she did start to express her love for everyone at the table.

“You guys… GET it,” she said.

“I got it from Agnes,” Conrad started to sing. Deliah made as if to slap him silent. Denise seconded the motion.

“What do you mean, Sam?” Nolan asked.

“You guys talked with the sylphs.”

“My telepathy subscription ran out,” Ray said.

“None of you are as funny as you think you are,” Denise said. “So shut it and let the woman talk.”

“You…” Sam pointed to Ray. “You boss people around.”

“After everyone asked me to fix-“

“No, no, no, no, no!” Sam protested. “You gave orders to humans and sylphs the very. Same. Way. Like there was no difference between them.”

“Well, I-“ Ray started to reply.

“YOU!” she turned to Denise. “You discussed catergrees WITH the people on each team. You didn’t just say ‘this is the subcasive we’re going with’ and be done with it.”

“We were a team,” Denise pointed out.

Deliah leaned over the table to take Sam’s hand. “I get it.”

“You all do!” Sam said. She turned to Nolan. “You… YOUR sylph told YOU what she was gonna do. And you said okay.”

“I’m afraid of her,” he admitted.

“Stop telling jokes!” Sam snapped.

“He wasn’t,” Conrad said. “Trust me, I know a joke when I hear one.”

“Conrad!” Sam shouted as if surprised he was there, too. “You let a six inch sylph who looks like Thor call himself Cher! And you had to cashole… Car-jewel… Cash-pool…”

“Cajole?” Ray guessed.

“That’s it! Did you know he had to beg one of his sylphs to wear clothes?”

“Would that be the one who got naked ten minutes into the sorting?” Denise asked with a smile.

“Piffle. She arrived with clothes on. For Costume, that’s an accomplishment.”

“Who’s costume?” Nolan asked.

“Electra’s costumes. All of her costumes,” Sam said.

“Okay, is anyone else as confused as me?” Ray asked.

“Costume was Ghirardelli’s name when she belonged to the network. We changed it,” Nolan explained.

“Ah,” several people nodded.

“You, you all of you! You GET it! They’re people. Leeeetle, teeny, tiny people.”

“Little annoying people,” Ray muttered.

“Ah, amore,” Denise smiled at her husband. She and Sam started to sing ‘When the moon hits your eye…’

“And on that note,” Conrad said.

“All those notes,” Ray said.

“None of them the right note,” Deliah added.

They returned to the Center.





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Index

114. Electra E

116. Electra F