Page 179 of Commander’s Mate

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Harper

Halor gave us one afternoon with nowhere we had to be.

That turned out to be dangerous.

Scarlet found a market.

Zoe found shoes.

Nora found a clinic and somehow turned free time into professional curiosity.

I found a bench.

We ended up there together because apparently trauma had not destroyed our ability to waste an afternoon.

Scarlet had bought something fried on a stick.

“What is it?” I asked.

“No idea.”

“You’re eating unidentified alien food.”

“I survived Army chow.”

“Fair.”

Zoe sat down with two bags.

“You bought shoes.”

“I bought hope.”

“They’re purple.”

“Exactly.”

Nora arrived carrying a medical pamphlet.

Scarlet stared.

“You are banned from leisure.”

“I was curious.”

“You are always curious.”

“It’s useful.”

I looked around the market.

Families.

Workers.

Couples.