by Simon Archer
The crowd went crazy again. Calvin walked to the front edge of the stage and raised the mic to his lips once more and waited for the crowd to quiet. When they did, he said, “I have a special place in my heart for the woman who found me on the Las Vegas streets, performing for food, and made it possible for me to have a home, have a family, and do what I love.” Calvin’s voice had gotten soft with emotion. He looked over to Leah and smiled while he regained his composure. Then he looked back at the crowd, threw his arm up again, and yelled into the microphone, “Let’s give it up for the most generous, brilliant, and in my opinion, beautiful, woman in Nevada! Mrs. Leah Lindy!”
Upon hearing her name, Leah walked up the stairs and out onto the stage as the audience shouted and whistled. She took the microphone from Calvin and hugged him. They spoke a couple of words away from the mic, and Calvin turned and walked to his dance troop. The boys exited the stage. When they were all off, Leah turned to the crowd.
“Thank you for such a warm welcome!” she said confidently into the mic. “We have some wonderful shows in store for the rest of your day, so I’m going to make this brief so I can get you back to your entertainment.”
Leah started the slow walk from one side of the stage to the other, as all good speakers do. “My mission in founding UsForThem is to create a culture where the ethical treatment of cat girls is expected, respected, and upheld. These creatures are gorgeous inventions who add so much value to this world through their willingness to share their talents and brilliance, unselfishly and for the benefit of all.” Leah stopped quick, turned directly toward the crowd for dramatic effect, and lowered her voice.
“I’ve met humans that don’t even do that,” she said, dead serious. After a long pause, she quickly resumed her walking. “Your support here today means the world to me, and I appreciate all the support UsForThem has received. As you may, or may not know, any purchase made from one of our local vendors equals a small-sum donation for this foundation, and a matching benefit to the building of children’s toys and furniture, going on in the beautiful, white tent just over there.”
Leah held an arm out to direct attention to the tent. The crowd’s gaze followed her arm and then returned to her before she continued.
“I’ve been so moved by the show of gratitude, decency, and philanthropy that I’ve seen here today that I wanted to let you all know…” Leah paused once again. The crowd, who was hanging onto every word she said, got so quiet it was almost eerie. When the awkward silence was at its peak, she continued.
“I’ve decided to do a giveaway. A week-long stay at your choice of Lindy hotel properties. Anyone here who purchases an item from a local vendor, or buys food… Just send your proof of purchase to the registrar, and you will be entered into the giveaway.”
The audience was on their feet with excitement. Leah smiled right along with them. She was in her element on a stage, that was for sure. I wondered if the giveaway had been planned all along. It would be a master move, waiting until halfway through the event and then pulling out a prize like that to encourage sales.
When the crowd died down again, Leah said, “I appreciate you all, once again. Please, enjoy the day’s festivities, and take care of each other.” Leah stopped walking, turned toward the crowd once more, and took a stance that could’ve rivaled Wonder Woman’s. “UsForThem!” she shouted into the microphone. The audience started screaming and clapping. Leah paused in her stance for just a moment, then quickly bowed, waved, and walked off the stage. She handed the microphone to a young woman, who was the next act, at the bottom of the stairs, and made her way back to our table.
“That was so powerful!” Kennedi shouted as she stood up and hugged Leah. Leah hugged her back and smiled. She was outwardly energized and grabbed Kennedi by the hand.
“Let’s go see how Macy and Krysta are doing with the kid stuff!” Leah said. She turned to Theo and me and said, “would you boys like to join us?” Theo and I glanced at each other.
“Yes, ma’am,” we said in unison. We stood up, and the four of us sauntered over to the white tent.
13
When we opened the white canvas flap doors of the tent, a rush of cool air hit our faces. Leah had extra cooling fans set up to lower the temperature in the tent for those working on building furniture and using tools. While the temperature had gone down, the noise level had gone up. I was surprised that the banging, drilling, sawing, and various stereo systems in different areas of the tent weren’t heard on the outside. I paused just inside the doorway to take a look around. Theo stepped up beside me and looked around also, while Leah led Kennedi further into the chaos. Theo crossed his arms and grinned.
“This reminds me of a million different home construction sites I’ve been on over the years,” he said. “It always seemed irritating to be around such noise until you’re not. Then it becomes kinda nostalgic.” I chuckled and slapped him on the shoulder.
“Well, you’re going to get a big dose of nostalgia here in a few weeks when we get started on the house!” Theo just smiled, nodded his head, and rolled his eyes. I was still surveying the room when I saw a figure at the far side waving at Theo and me. “Hey, there’s Charlie. You coming?” I asked Theo.
“Absolutely,” Theo was quick to respond. “There is no way I want to get stuck with one of the girls gushing over baby toys!”
“If that’s a possibility, we’d better move!” We followed the walkway that had been made by laying masking tape on the ground. We passed sectioned off areas, each dedicated to its own type of toy or furniture. I admired some of the work as we passed. There was one particularly well-made, wooden push-bike that caught my eye. A huge beast of a man was sitting cross-legged on the floor, applying sealant to it. Being the vintage movie fan that I was, I instantly thought of the iconic comedy line, “Big man on a little bike!” I laughed to myself as we passed.
When we strolled up to Charlie, I shook his hand and patted him on the back. “Good to see you, man,” I said. Charlie shook my hand and then shook Theo’s.
“Good to see the both of you,” Charlie said. “Have you made it all around the courtyard?” Theo started shaking his head.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “I’m here for moral support of the suckers that volunteered to work this event, and for the food.” Theo held a straight face for a moment but then laughed at himself.
“I’m going to come to you for lessons on how to get away with that one day, Theo,” Charlie laughed as well. He turned to me and raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, I’ve made the rounds,” I started. “I managed to watch Kennedi turn a yogi’s world upside down, pay Samuel’s booth rent in trade for glass-blowing lessons, eat some fucking amazing food, and catch your wife’s stellar speech!” Charlie smiled proudly at the mention of his wife.
“She gets so nervous, but you’d never know it, the way that woman handles a crowd,” Charlie gushed. “I was able to step out for it. I can’t wait to tell her how awesome she did.”
“Well, she is just on the other side of the tent with Macy, Krysta, and Kennedi,” I informed him. Charlie stepped by me to see if he could spot her. When he did, I was surprised to see another familiar face. The man standing behind Charlie was just a tad shorter than me and in good physical shape. He had a trusting smile, a full head of dark blonde hair, and brown eyes. It was Abraham Gunther, or Abe, as his friends called him. I’d met him at a party after one of my Platform matches. He was one of the few people in that room that didn’t make me want to throw a punch. He just didn’t have the same aura of self-serving entitlement that a lot of suits in his circle did. He was more like Charlie. I stepped forward and reached my hand out.
“Abe, I didn’t know you were going to be out to this,” I said as we shook. “It’s great to see you again.”
“Hey hey! Clark!” Abe said enthusiastically. “Nice to see you again, man! I’m glad this time it isn’t in an Omnicorp snakepit!” He chuckled and glanced over to Charlie, who had just stepped back after
locating his wife.
“That’s right!” Charlie chimed in. “You two have met.” Charlie turned to Theo. He and Bev weren’t with us at the party the night that I’d met Abe.
“Where the hell are my manners?” I said. “Theo, please meet Mr. Abraham Gunther. He and Charlie have known each other for quite some time.” I put my hand on Theo’s shoulder and turned to Abe. “Abe, this is Theo. Theo, his wife, Bev, and Ellie, who you met at the party, own Belavi. He’s been my Rand McNally since I got to Elko,” I said, doing my best to make it known to Abe just how highly I thought of Theo.
“Good to meet you, Abraham,” Theo extended his hand.
“Abe, please,” Abe told Theo. “It’s a pleasure. Charlie had mentioned you several times. Seems like you have quite the fan club around here.” Abe smiled, and I could tell Theo seemed comfortable with him.
“I don’t know about all that, but I do go where the food is, so if that gets me fans, it’s all coincidental,” Theo joked.
“Hey, I think Charlie was on the right path when he said he needed lessons from you. I’ll take some too if it gets me to the amazing food I keep hearing about!” Abe laughed. I looked around at the flurry of activity around us that I had been completely oblivious to while we were making introductions. Apparently, Charlie and Abe had been helping to build cribs. There were four cribs put together that just needed to be stained and finished. Even without it, though, I could tell they were solidly made. I walked a few steps to get a closer look at one.
“Did you two make these?” I glanced at Charlie and Abe. They looked over at the crib I was admiring.
Charlie, humble as he is, just said, “Mmm-hmm.” I looked at Abe, hoping for a few more vowels out of him.
“Yes, we made them.” Abe didn’t disappoint. “Charlie and I were woodshop partners a million years ago in high school, but we got the old rhythm back real quick. Good thing too because we have two more to build.”
“Those are Nordstrom-worthy,” Theo said as he came over to examine the cribs.
“Thanks, both of you,” Abe said and looked at Charlie.
“Yes, thank you,” Charlie echoed. “I’m grateful that they will be put to good use. We have two left to get built, and then our servitude is done for the day.” Charlie joked.
From the pathway near where the four of us were standing, I heard an unfamiliar man’s voice say, “Abe, did I just hear that you built that?”
The four of us turned to see who the voice belonged to. The man standing before us was about six-foot-two-inches tall and had neatly combed, black hair. He had an athletic build but wasn’t ‘gym-rat’ big. His hazel eyes and square jaw were his most noticeable features. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Theo tip his head slightly when he looked at this newcomer. Abe stepped out onto the path and extended a hand to the man.
“Trevor, hi,” Abe greeted him and turned to Charlie, Theo, and I. “Gentlemen, this is Trevor Callis. He is a supply chain logistics expert that has saved me a lot of money over the past four months or so.” Abe nodded his head toward the three of us, and said, “here you have Charlie Lindy, Theo Cavanaugh, and Clark Watkins.” I appreciated the way Abe structured his introduction. I didn’t like a lot of details about me being given to strangers.
“It’s nice to meet you all.” Trevor stepped forward long enough to shake hands with each of us, then stepped back. “So, Abe. The cribs?”
“Oh! Yes, Charlie and I built them.” Abe walked over to the nearest crib, and Trevor followed. “It’s been a bit since I’ve played with power tools for an extended period of time, but it was fun.”
“The woodwork on these is great,” Trevor crouched down and admired the routed edges and sanded curves. “Makes me miss my woodshop days.”
“Ha!” Charlie chuckled. “We were just talking about woodshop.” Trevor glanced over at Charlie and smiled.
“It’s definitely been a bit, but I bet I could find my way around some tools still,” Trevor said and caught Abe’s eye. “Next time you have something like this going on, I’m more than happy to pitch in.” Abe looked from Trevor to Charlie.
“We’ll keep that in mind, Trevor. Thank you,” Charlie said, smiling politely.
“Of course,” Trevor stood up and faced the three of us. “I have to run now, but it was really nice to meet you two.” He extended his hand once more to Charlie, Theo, and I. Then he turned to Abe. “I’ll have a new set of logistics over to you early next week. Good running into you.” Abe shook Trevor's hand and nodded.
“Sounds good. See ya, Trevor.” Abe stepped aside so Trevor could make his way back to the masking tape path. The three of us watched him walk towards the front of the tent for a few moments before returning to our own conversation. I slapped Abe on the back to lighten the mood which had somehow become slightly awkward.
“Well, Abe. All this talk about your history with power tools just got you an invitation to my house-building party.” I raised an eyebrow and waited.
“Oh, it did, did it?” he replied sarcastically. “I charge a pretty penny for these skills. Top-end pizza and beer minimum.” Abe held a straight face as I put on a stressed look.
“I have no idea if I can scrape that together, but I’ll give it my best,” I faked sadness. Theo stepped up beside me.
“Abe, you leave the pizza to me,” Theo said jokingly. “If you ask me, it’s too much to ask, but I know Clark has his heart set on you helping.” Theo gently laid a hand on my shoulder as if to comfort me.
“Okay, okay. You don’t have to tug at heartstrings, Theo,” Abe was having a hard time maintaining the act without smiling. He threw his head back, sticking his nose up in the air.
“Send the details to my people!” Abe sniped playfully. The three of us busted up laughing. When he could get words out again, Abe said, “In all seriousness, I’d be glad to help. I spend too much time inside as it is.”
“Great!” I told him. “It’s settled then.” I turned and looked across the tent, but my gaze fell short when I saw Krysta talking with Trevor by the door of the tent.
A tingle shot up my spine. I was very alert when it came to who spoke with her. She had been an Omnicorp executive slave for quite some time and was present for an unending number of shady business deals and illegal activity. Although very few people knew that, I didn’t like the idea that someone would try to take advantage of that fact and try to pump her for information. I stepped out of the crib-building area and onto the path and turned to Charlie and Theo.
“Excuse me. I need to go check on something real quick.” I extended my hand to Abe. “If I don’t see you again before the shindig is over, it was great to see you again.”
Abe and I shook, the three of them bid me goodbye, and I headed towards Krysta. Before I had a chance to catch up to her, Krysta and Trevor’s conversation had ended, and Trevor had exited the tent. She turned to go back to where Macy, Leah, and Kennedi were decorating newly built toys and saw me approaching her.
“Clark!” Krysta threw her arms around my neck. “This is so much fun!” I let her hug me and then pushed her back a little when she let go. She was all smiles and looked so innocent.
“I’m happy you are having a good time, Krysta,” I said to her. Her expression instantly changed from happy to concerned.
“What is wrong, Clark?” she asked.
“Why do you think something is wrong?” I was surprised by her question. I hadn’t even said anything to her about Trevor yet.
“I’ve been privy to enough meetings to know what happens when people’s voices change, even slightly, due to stress of some sort. It usually either means things aren’t going their way, or they are unprepared,” Krysta replied. “Since we aren’t in any of those situations currently, the change in your voice merely indicates stress of some sort.” There was never a shortage of things cat girls could do that most humans can’t. I took her by the hand and led her further into the tent, away from the door, and then looked her in the eyes.
“The ma
n who was just talking to you, what did he want?” I whispered to her. She looked back at me and tilted her head a bit.
“At first, he was apologizing because he had accidentally stepped in front of me as I was walking down the path,” Krysta started. “Then we started chatting about the success of the event.” Her eyes were curious as to why I was asking, but she didn’t say anything more.
“Did he ask you any specific questions?” I worked to keep an even tone even though I was feeling a nagging sense of unrest looming. Krysta thought for a moment.
“No,” she said. “He told me his name and commented on how he admired the foundation and the work it does for the betterment of the community. I asked if he was enjoying himself, and he said he was. I asked what his favorite part was, he joked about it being the food. Then he got more serious and named a few vendors that he’d enjoyed talking to.” Krysta took a small step back and put her hands on her hips. “Why?”
“I’ll get to why in a minute,” I told her. “Did he say which vendors?”
“A home repair company, a water-feature installation service, and glass blowing,” she answered.
“Did he mention specifics about why he liked those vendors?” Krysta was a lot like me in that she didn’t offer up extreme detail easily. She wasn’t trying to hide anything. She was just trained that passing along as little information as possible was best for business.
“No. When I asked if he had something specific he was working on that would benefit from him making those connections, he said he had a small home project that he liked to work on, but otherwise, he was networking for his job. Something about quality control for supply chains.” She tilted her head a little and squinted her eyes. “Clark, why are you asking?”
