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"Oh, Evan, you must be tired!"

I poured out the cup of vodka, capped the two jugs, got to my feet This last process was by far therhythmically to and fro I wasn’t all that drunk, I decided I was soray area of insobriety, neither as sober as a judge nor as drunk as a lord A full meal and a chance to walk off some of the alcohol would clear away the cobwebs

"Evan, we ought to go now"

"Breakfast," I said

"I a, and I think-"

"Hungry," I said "Eat first, then we’ll talk"

"You said last night that it was dangerous to stay here"

"It is A person could get drunk around here"

"Evan-"

"There’s nothing to worry about, Plum"

"But you said-"

"Never mind what I said What do I know?" She blinked at this "Coet started"

"Where?"

"There’s a kitchen in the far building"

"I do not want to go"

"Suit yourself"

"What e eat?"

"Oh, I’ll find sohtly "With all those bodies out there-"

"Evan!"

She had turned green again I assured her that I was joking and she looked up atbalefully I left her there and went to the kitchen, or,I stepped over bodies and parts of bodies without reacting to them at all I don’t knohether this was a result of the alcohol or if I was si accustomed to their presence, as one learns not to notice the wallpaper in a rented room

Sheena’s men had found the kitchen before me, and had done what they could to kill it The food they hadn’t carried off was now decorating the walls and floors A great nition I ignored all this, whistled a happy approxi pan in which to scramble the oil or, indeed, anything but the eggs, and the result was nothing James Beard would have wanted to hear about, but then he wouldn’t have been too happy with anything we had eaten since leaving Griggstown Neither, as far as that goes, e The eggs were better than starvation, I decided The smaller boll weevil

I dished them out on two presumably clean plates, scared up a pair of forks, and went off in search of Plum She here I’d left her but she wasn’t how I’d left her Her eyes were glassy and she had a stupid grin on her face

"Whee," she said "Shnored the fork, took a handful of egg, stuffed it into her hhh," she said

"I’m sorry if you don’t-"

"Yu and pushed it in my face "Eat, eat," she said "Later we’ll talk"

"You’ve been drinking," I said

"Jusht a little tashte"

"You’ve been drinking alcohol"

"I’ve been drinking alcohol," she agreed owlishly "Fourteen yearsh old and I’le-"

"How sh are terrible Are you shtill drunk?"

"I think sho Damn it to hell I think so They aren’t that bad"

"Dry and no tashte I shouldn’t have had that drink, I shupposhe It’sh bad for both of ush to be drunk, ishn’t it?"