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Shatter spat out a huge glob of mucus and took a bite of deer jerky. Pieces of it sprayed the air when he said, “I ain’t never seen her before.”
The store owner squinted at the child, now wrapped around Aapeli’s leg. “It’s hard to be certain, though, with all that dirt on her face.” His words had finally been punctuated by a large piece of spit and jerky landing on his chin and settling there.
Aapeli itched to reached over and flick it off, but instead swiped at an invisible speck of dust on his own chin. It was never easy carrying on a conversation with Shatter without feeling a certain dismay at the old man’s disgusting personal habits. While it was true the world had had to start from ground zero after The Great War, most people at least tried to carry on with some degree of good manners. Unfortunately, Shatter had his own thoughts on manners and personal hygiene.
“A couple years back, a young couple came in here hoping to trade in some old rags for some jerky. The young man had the same color of hair as the girl. I felt sorry for them but had to turn them away.” Shatter scratched at the gray stubble on his chin and in doing so dislodged the deer jerky. It fell onto his soiled shirt. “I ain’t seen neither of them since.”
He wiped under his nose and added, “I just figured they must have gotten themselves killed.” He took another large bite of jerky before saying, “I bet if anyone would know about the kid, it would be Tinker and Mary. They meet a lot of folks while out testing Tinker’s crazy gadgets.”
Aapeli couldn’t help but notice that the longer Shatter studied the little girl the tighter she griped the leg of his pants. He needed to figure out who she belonged to as soon as possible, so he could get on with his trip.
He patted the top of her head yet again, but something turned inside his chest when this time it brought a giggle. Aapeli cleared his throat. “Maybe you could take her and find out who she belongs to?” He patted her head once more. “After all, how hard could it be to watch a little girl for a few days?”
He patted her head again, as though it was becoming a habit. “Look at her. She hasn’t been the least bit of trouble the entire time she’s been with me.”
Shatter laughed. “And how long has that been, from the lake to here?”
The old man spat another large glob of spit onto the floor. “And what makes you think it will only be for a few days? For all we know her parents may be dead.” He pointed the jerky at the child. “When you look at her, she may be dirty but someone’s obviously been feeding and taking good care of her. See those chubby cheeks? That’s proof that someone loved her. She couldn’t have been out there by the lake for long or the mountain men would have found her before you did, and she’s damn lucky you did. No good mother would leave her out there to be killed, so, by reason of deduction, her mother must be dead or for some reason couldn’t take care of her any longer.”
Aapeli nodded. “So you’ll take her and find out?”
“Hell, no.” Shatter waved his arms. “Look around you, man. This place’s a death trap, and what would I do with a child? I can barely take care of myself.”
The cluttered room did look like an accident waiting to happen so Aapeli couldn’t argue with him about that.
Funny enough, instead of being disappointed, Aapeli felt relieved by Shatter’s refusal. Hell. He was going to do something stupid, but first he would drop by Tinker’s just in case he or Mary knew something about the child.
The little girl let go of the leg of Aapeli’s pants and wandered over to a barrel of jerky. She was reaching in to grab a piece when Shatter’s sharp bark of “Mine” froze her in place. Her lips quivered but she didn’t start crying, as Aapeli feared she would. She just looked over to him, seeking reassurance.
Turning back to Aapeli, Shatter added, “Winter’s coming and it’s all that’s standing between me and starvation.”
Aapeli walked over to the girl. “I’ll trade you three apples for a piece.” He knelt by her and smiled. They both waited for Shatter’s answer.
“You throw in a jar of honey and you’ve got yourself a deal.” Shatter’s eyes widened with something that could have been pleasure.
Aapeli would have given the old man three jars of honey to give this little girl the first thing she had asked for since asking for her mother. He wasn’t at all certain if he could find her mother, but he could at least easily afford a piece of deer jerky. His cabinets were filled with jars of honey.
“Okay.” He reached into the barrel and pulled out the largest piece lying on top and handed it to the little girl. She giggled and wrapped both hands around it.
Her big brown eyes now filled with joy. “Mine.”
Aapeli nodded. “Certainly is.” He picked her up and stood, telling Shatter, “Come on out to Airus and get your apples and honey.”
The little girl held the jerky out to show Shatter. “Mine.”
Shatter grinned. “You certainly got the hang of that word, but do you know your name?”
He tapped the center of his chest. “Shatter,” he said then reached over and tapped the center of her chest. “What’s your name?” He tapped his chest once more and repeated, “Shatter.”
She giggled but instead of answering tried to put the end of the jerky in Aapeli’s mouth.
Aapeli laughed. “That’s yours.” He pointed at the shop owner, “Shatter,” then patted his own chest. “Aapeli.”
She sucked on the jerky but then said, “Api,” and giggled.
Aapeli shook his head. “No. Not Api. Aapeli.”
“Api.”
Seeing it was a lost cause, he pointed at himself. “Api.” He then tapped the end of her nose. “So, what’s your name?”
She again tried to poke the jerky in his mouth.
Shatter laughed. “You might as well forget it. She ain’t got no idea what her name is.”
She giggled and held the jerky in the air. “Mine. Mine. Mine. Liberty’s got mine.”
Aapeli looked over at Shatter. “Did she say ‘Liberty’?”
The little girl giggled and tried to poke the jerky into Aapeli’s mouth yet again. “Api want mine?”
Her quizzical expression made him laugh. “No thank you. Liberty, the jerky belongs to you.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed. “Mine.”
Oh, hell. Was he in trouble now.
Shatter laughed. “It looks like she’s made the decision for you.” He spat on the floor. “Now, let’s go get those apples and honey.”