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"Actually, we’re setting up a commune," Shelly said "Anyone who joins us will share whatever money they have and we’ll divvy up the chores We’ll share everything equally Even child care"

Patrick nodded "Howsaid

"Mind if I take a look at the contract?" Patrick appeared to be taking the out how ill prepared and ill inforentleuy and he’s really supportive of our idea"

"Good I like the sound of it What do you intend to grow?"

"Mostly vegetables We’ll plant enough to live on and then put stuff by We plan to do a lot of canning and we’ll sell or trade the produce we can’t use Welike that if ant to turn a profit I mean, we don’t want to turn a profit per se, but ant to be self-sustaining We’ve visited a couple of co Sur and they’re keen They even said they’d help"

"Well," Patrick said "That’s a hell of an idea You haveif that’s what this is about I wish I had advice to offer you, but far his facial hair He’d taken to spinning strands of his scruffy beard between his fingers,little upturns like the villain of the piece "We were thinking about the money Granddad left me Didn’t you talk about that once?"

"Sure Forty thousand dollars, but it’s all in trust The ht I’dfrowned, baffled by the very idea "Why? That’s five years fro to the heart of the ue if he could work his way around to it

Patiently, Patrick said, "Those were the terave you ten thousand dollars when you were eighteen"

"And that was part of the forty?"

"No, no He was curious what you’d do with it If it’s any coh mine about as fast as you did"

"What, that was like a test or sorandfather was a bit of a pissant This was his ement"

"That’s not what he toldI wanted"

"He didn’t want to influence your process If you made a mistake or turned out to be a financial whiz, he wanted it to come from you Do you remember what you did with it?"