by P. S. Power
Then the girl on his left took a few steps forward, to the edge of the porch.
“Morris, are we in charge of transporting that food? It would be most welcome and I do think it would hearten Lois to no end, if it could be gotten in quickly?” She smiled at the man, seeming happy enough about it, but didn’t blush or giggle. Even though chatting with him like this, for her, would have been a bit like Jake suddenly hanging out with the President.
If he was still alive. Otherwise Jake would have to shoot him. For a half second he wondered if that would still be illegal in the U.S. If so the next State of the Union address was likely to be a little shorter than was traditional. Just a few moans as he tried to eat the nearest audience member or secret service agent.
Morris looked at his people and smiled, which got most of them to just vanish, almost instantly. They were good at their jobs at least. Fast. Three stayed with him, and they weren’t the youngest by any means. One was a solid looking man who was openly carrying a weapon. It was just a single pistol, but worn openly. Looking around he noticed that one person in each group was similarly armed. It wasn’t a bad idea, what with all the undead coming and going, but he really would have expected the Vals to have all been armed. It was kind of what they did wasn’t it?
Sammi smiled and gave his arm a small squeeze to get his attention.
“I’ll tell Lois about this, shall I?”
Jake smiled too, figuring that his own would look a lot more phony, but he tried, which had to be worth something, didn’t it?
Sure it did. About as much as that stack of money he’d found earlier.
“Sure Sammi. I’d open with the fact that extra food has been brought, a lot of it. Then ease into the added people?” It’s what he’d planned to do, if it was up to tell the kitchen lady himself.
It was hours before meal time, and they didn’t have gifts for everyone at all. They’d gotten some set aside, enough for thirty of them, generic things like jewelry and some nice knives from a mall store he and Cam had looted. Her ability to teleport was handy for that. In fact she’d gotten most of the presents personally. He had no clue what to do now though.
Or, well, really, he did. He’d get with the group leaders and just ask them what they suggested, while they filled Nate, Burt and him in on why the numbers had grown so much. It was kind of rude, normally, to invite an extra person to a party without asking. An extra fifty was probably saying something in particular though. Possibly that they just didn’t think that the people at the House mattered at all? Or maybe, given what that woman, Alyssian had said, that they all thought that everyone else here was a servant? That didn’t make sense though. Hadn’t they been told about him being kicked out, and then leaving later again, on his own? This wasn’t even his house at all.
Without having to say anything seven people slowly started to walk towards him, as if on a prearranged signal. It looked very measured and official. He knew some of them, the leaders that had been around before. Plus the Grand Comtrice, an ancient looking lady that had been nice enough when they’d last met, the one that had tested him for… whatever he was supposed to have going on. Very Goodness?
He still didn’t buy it, but that didn’t mean she’d lied. He could very well just be broken. So much so that he wasn’t what he was supposed to be? It was an idea he could rent at least. Otherwise the whole thing kind of seemed ridiculous.
Everyone else hung back, though all the guards had walked forward as well, staying almost exactly ten feet behind their individual person. It all looked very planned. Like they’d practiced it. If so it might have been nice of them to have dropped a letter in, mentioning all the other people coming, wouldn’t it? Lois had nearly flipped when he’d invited the original extra thirty.
The food was set on heavily loaded tables, five of them, all of which were brought instantly and set in the snow, about twenty feet beyond where the last person was standing in the crowd. They were fine wooden pieces and he had to figure being outside wouldn’t help them at all. Big things too. Probably enough food for all of them right there. If so, it should take some of the strain off of the kitchen. Then he just had to figure out how to stuff this many people into the House without slighting anyone.
It was screwed up, of course.
He remembered the stuff from last time and bowed again, making sure he included each of them. Darian stiffened a little, but didn’t take offense this time it seemed. Jake had probably gotten the order wrong. Then, he’d bowed to the Bawdri last. He’d started on the left though, so it made sense, Darian just stood on the far right. For a second no one spoke, then Jake looked at each person in turn.
“So, you brought some new friends?” He tried to sound happy about it, but as soft as he spoke, it sounded blank and almost without emotion. He forced a smile to his face that didn’t reach his eyes. At the rate he was going they’d probably all take turns scorning him later. As a group they seemed like they’d be good at that. Scorn.
Maybe that was unfair of him to think. It could just be that the Bawdri lived differently due to their long years for instance, or even that he was just dealing with a single dick that was all entitled and acted like he was the ruler of everything. Because, in his world, he was. It wouldn’t do to lump everyone into the same category though. Some of the others were way more laid back seeming. Morris seemed OK for instance and Lamont was cool enough.
So Jake did his best and tried not to be a complete tool about the whole thing, smiling and working to make it seem actually pleasant. It didn’t really work, but no one screamed at him, so at least there was that.
It was Darian that spoke, his voice low enough not to be heard even ten feet away, which was pretty good control of volume. If they all managed even half of that they might not even have to fight off zombies during dinner later. He smiled as the man spoke, really feeling it this time. The old man who looked about forty had obviously practiced not being too loud. Jake felt proud of him for it.
“When we mentioned this event, and announced that The Very Good Man had been confirmed to be among us, many wanted to come. Far more than stand here today. There are other groups that desire to meet with you, and a few that felt the rest of us were abusing our positions, having people already with you here, in order to influence your judgment of us. So we had to add some additional people to keep the peace. Most were willing to forego coming at this time, for a promise of later visits, but some were eager to enjoy your presence. By tradition all the delegate groups must be of equal numbers, so things grew rather quickly. Nothing to be done about it.” The man smiled, a wintry thing that seemed like he tasted something unpleasant. He sounded that way too, so at least it fit with everything else. Apparently somewhere deep in his head he got that it wasn’t a brilliant idea. Maybe.
Darian kept going, glancing at everyone else in the line of leaders.
“I apologize for the imposition. I know that the agreement was for a smaller number and that the resources here are smaller than many would have expected, making this a hardship.” Darian gave a small bow as he said the words and actually managed to look halfway humble as he spoke, which was a greater emotional range than Jake had thought the Bawdri leader possessed.
From behind the man, in the second line, there was a gasp. The gentleman standing there suddenly had a weapon in his hand, a vast looking side arm of a kind Jake had never seen before. This particular man wasn’t huge, but looked fit, like a fighter. He had dusky skin and stood behind one of the three people that Jake just didn’t know, who hadn’t realized what was happening yet. No one standing in the front line did, since they were all watching him.
The second line was faster to catch on and respond, with three weapons coming out fast enough that Jake barely had his own out and aimed by the time he realized what was happening. It was a simple reflex for him, and probably these others, getting a weapon ready when someone else did.
Because that was the way to open an honest and useful discussion, wasn’t it?
> No one moved after that though, not in the front couple of lines. A few of the people standing further back made moves as if going for things hidden under layers of cloth that probably weren’t sandwiches or presents for the kids. It was only natural. The very first thing he’d have done if someone said he couldn’t be armed, was arm himself. Hard to blame anyone else for doing the same thing.
Jake just sighed.
He made eye contact with the man pointing the hand cannon at Darian, aimed for center mass, not a head shot. So not someone used to fighting zombies probably.
“Problem?” His voice was soft, as always, but more bland than usual. Almost peaceful. It wouldn’t pay to tick this guy off, whoever he was, and it would ruin everyone’s holiday if there was a murder.
Another murder. If he was going to count Holsom. That thought got him to smile a bit, though he tried to suppress it.
The guard, who looked middle eastern, let his eyes go big when he realized that he was being talked to and finally put the weapon away without being asked. Taking that as a good sign, Jake did the same and a few seconds later everyone else did too.
See, Jake thought to himself feeling far too tired to put up with this stuff for long, friends already.
The man bowed towards Jake and looked down, speaking no louder than Darian had.
“Forgiveness great one. The Bawdri suggested that you were poor, an insult… I responded too quickly however.” He kept his eyes down then, humbly.
“Oh.” Jake nodded to him and waved his hand in the air. “Right then, a few things since we seem to need to talk about this before we start having fun…
First, let’s just assume for the day that no one is intending to insult anyone. We have a lot of people with different ways and customs here suddenly, so if we do anything else we’re asking for misunderstandings. To go along with that, let’s, I don’t know, each make a point of not being…” Jake smiled and shook his head before speaking again. Telling these people not to be dicks might not go over so well.
Lamont the telepath grinned, getting it, but no one else did.
“I mean, let’s make a point of not insulting anyone, just to go along with that. Also, as an aside, keep your voices down. We had a large attack last night, so everyone is going to be a little on edge. We can talk about it inside, as long as this is resolved?” Jake let himself smile hugely. After all, if it wasn’t resolved, he was just going home. That would be fun. Home meant he could go to bed and sleep.
Everyone nodded, but, as a group, all the Bawdri looked angry over the incident. Except Sammi who walked out onto the back porch with Lois just about then. The older woman looked at the tables with their dishes and containers of food and nodded.
“We don’t have enough plates and silverware for everyone to eat all at once, but if we do it in shifts it will work. Why is everyone standing out in the cold? We should move them into the living room. And the front room.” She looked doubtful though, as if not thinking they’d all really fit.
From behind her came a warm voice, Nate, who smiled at everyone, dressed in nicer clothing than Jake had seen him in since the third day after the announcement. It was a real suit and actually fit him well, tailored to his thin frame. Something planned then, not just thrown together. It was a nice charcoal gray, with a matching vest and a solid black tie. Jake suddenly felt a little underdressed, but didn’t let the thought linger. At least one of them needed to make a good impression, didn’t they? So far he was kind of making a hash of the whole day.
Well, he could only try to fix things once the problems had happened.
“That’s a wonderful idea Lois. Some of the others are freeing space in the second bedroom as well. We’re about to trim the tree, a tradition for Christmas, perhaps you’d all wish to help? Or at least watch while chatting with each other?” He smiled as if this was something real and not just Jake being too stupid to remember to get a tree until that morning.
They needed to do something though, so why not? Thank goodness he’d found those decorations. Hopefully the ghosts of the Connor family wouldn’t feel upset about them using those things. So far they’d been pretty good about that though, their things being used, so probably not.
The House was a large place, with two stories, three, if you counted the rooms they’d built below ground, but it was normally cramped with a hundred and forty plus men, women and children. Adding another eighty to the mix was positively oppressive, especially as most of them were filing into the living room, trying to get in on the tree decorating. That’s where Jake had gone, figuring the job would be his, having been the one thinking of the idea.
At least he’d set the thing up towards the back, away from the tables that had already been arranged for the meal. It was still so tight that people were clumped into little groups, touching at the shoulder, as they stood waiting. Except that not all of them did, obviously not liking or trusting some of the others, causing gaps that took up space between them. Why they’d brought a bunch of people that didn’t like each other he had no clue, but Jake tried to resist the urge to just send them all away as they crowded in to watch, everyone just standing.
Nate worked his way to the front and waved to some of the younger people to come forward. He had a big smile on his bearded face and patted one of the small children that came to him on the back.
“We’ll leave the actual work to the kids, I think. They’re small and agile.” He looked at them, and smiled happily.
“Garlands first?”
Considering it, Jake had to agree. They didn’t have lights, so that would be the correct order, he thought.
It took some coordination and a bit of pointing to get each step done, though the majority of people stayed back. They all stood though, except the kids from the house, some of the older girls too, who sat in the very front and spoke gentle suggestions to the younger ones. Most of the people from the house weren’t even in the room, even though it was their tree. Then, if they’d come in nothing would get done at all. The kids needed some room to move around, didn’t they?
Jake kept standing too, shifting his weight a little and flexing his right hand, working it to keep the stiffness down. It wasn’t working totally, his hand ached and was pretty tight already. Worth it though. Even if hitting a corps in the nuts for ten minutes really was insane. The man had earned that treatment and more. Really, if just killing him hadn’t made so much more sense, Jake would have left him alive for that part. The beating that followed the being shot in the head.
It only took about half an hour to really decorate the tree, since they had half a dozen people working on it at the same time and more than that offering suggestions from the back of the room. Just as that was ending Nate turned and looked at the kitchen door, catching Cam’s eye, her bright red hair making it clear who it was, even in the slightly dim space. They had windows, but it wasn’t a bright day out, which effected the light levels for the whole house. The girl spun rapidly and gestured, which got five people walking out with large silver trays covered with goodies.
Nate cleared his throat and stepped in front of the tree, which got everyone’s attention pretty well.
“Let’s go and mingle, grab something to eat or drink and move into the other rooms? I know that everyone here would love to meet you all, so don’t be shy, please.” He sounded smooth, like someone that did this kind of thing all the time.
Which he really was, but most of what he did wasn’t half as fun, was it? Jake considered that for a moment, then let it go. Too much thinking about the man would get his attention and the House’s leader needed his focus to be clear just then.
He smiled and so did about half the people watching him. No one moved though. Instead they just waited. As if they expected more of a party or something. Dancing maybe? Music? They could, probably, do that, if they had any instruments. Jake hadn’t bothered with it for a long time, not since the zombies had come at least, so ten months or so, but he could still play the guitar, if his hand would w
ork well enough.
It was Colleen that came in and got people moving, looking a little frustrated. That was probably because, instead of doing anything, every single one of the visitors was just watching him. Only he wasn’t doing anything interesting at all either. The tiny woman plastered a smile on her face and gestured broadly, her voice almost perky sounding, if you didn’t know what she should really sound like.
“So, food, over on the table here, we’re bringing drinks and glasses in. We have a nice mulled cider coming in a few minutes. Then we’re going to have a reading of the Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens later.” She sounded so exasperated it was cute. She’d changed into a nice green and red outfit, with a little hat. It wasn’t the same one that Rachel had always worn, but he recognized what she was going for. An elf costume.
A freaking elf costume.
Jake nearly left.
Of everyone in the whole place, she was the only one that might know that he wouldn’t want to be reminded of Rachel, and that being dressed like that might do it. He glared at her for a few seconds, but looked away before anyone could read anything into it. After all, he didn’t want to be the jerk that ruined the whole day. No, he’d leave that to some of the others. Maybe they could get Becky to come in and accuse him of being a rapist again? That or get someone to start a deadly gun battle in the living room.
They’d better not though.
They’d knock over the tree and it actually looked pretty nice. It would be a shame if that happened.
The party, Jake realized, was flagging pretty badly. No one moved to mingle as Nate had suggested, or even get a snack. Some of the food was clearly unusual, like the hard spice cookies Sammi had made, which were a traditional Bawdri thing. So it wasn’t just that all the food was new to the people. No, it was like everyone was waiting for someone else to go first, so they wouldn’t seem greedy.
