Page 25 of Secondhand Soul

And she cared about how she looked in front of me. Probably just because that’s a girl thing.

“Give me a second to call Rhea and Manny. I’ll be right back. Uh. How’s walking?”

Victoria tries to push herself up out of the deep, Manny-sized chair, and lets out a hiss that hits something primal in me—and let’s face it, they didn’t do much to “refine” me to begin with. Everything is primal if you scratch the surface.

“Don’t move. Don’t.”

“I kinda need to. Nature calls,” she admits, blushing, her pale cream skin flushing pink at the edges.

“I’ll help you. Geez, let me check and make sure Manny still has supplies in the bathroom.” I rush in, and yep, there’s paper, soap, and towels that probably haven’t been touched in ten years. The little cabinet over the sink has bandages, light bulbs, and toothpaste that’s probably hardened into cement. “It’s good enough. I can go back to your car and bring it over if the folks like my idea.” I go back and scoop Victoria up, nice and gentle, and take her to the bathroom.

“I’ve got this. I’ll shout if I need help, but don’t bust in on me. It takes time to do things when you’re at fifty percent function,” she jokes with a tiny smile.

I smile back, suddenly remembering to close my lips because I don’t want to scare my new friend with my ugly shark teeth.

As soon as the door shuts, I call Manny.

He answers, and I can hear laughter and celebrating in the background.

I could have been there. Maybe next year I’ll be there, with Victoria.

It’s a fantasy, but for the first time it’s not trapped in black and white behind a screen. It’s pale and dark, a living version of my television friends, but it’s okay. It’s warm. It’s alive.

“Lazarus? What’s wrong? Is the girl okay?”

“She’s feeling a little better. Still can’t walk or move one arm worth a darn. Uh. Hey. You and Rhea... you and Rhea are probably going to have to take a little time off, right? Get a nursery ready? Stuff like that?”

“I don’t know. I want to. Rhea refuses to purchase a single thing, though, not until the baby is here and papers are signed. Not the preliminary stuff, the actual papers, which happens three days post-birth.”

I nod. “But that baby could come really soon?”

“Very soon.”

“Do you... Do you think we need more help around the shop? The office part?”

“I think we need more help everywhere! Do you know how rare it is to find a fully qualified ASE-certified tech? Or a monster genius mechanical prodigy?” he laughs, referring to me.

“If you’re both on leave with the baby, you know I can run the shop—but I’m bad with customers. But someone who does stuff like... Oh. Waitressing? Customer service? She could handle the desk. I’d help her with the parts system. Rhea could train—”

“Ah. I get it. This girl needs a job?”

“She got out of the CrossRealms area. She knows what I am. What we are. She lost her baby when a mob guy threw her down the stairs. We... We might even know some of the same people, not that that’s a good thing,” I rush the words out, “but if you don’t want to hire her, I get it. She’s a stranger. I don’t even know if I should be thinking like this. Trusting people. It’s probably stupid.”

“It’s probably uncomfortable for you, but I doubt that it’s stupid,” Manny says in his patient, soothing voice. Sometimes it pisses me off. Right now, it works. I feel calmer.

“She could use a helping hand. And you help more people than most people realize. You helped me,” I mutter.

“And look at my boy, giving back,” Manny says in the same soft tone, his voice just bursting with pride.

I confess, some of it sinks into me, too. “I’m trying, a little. I guess.”

“We can talk to her on Monday. We’re taking the long weekend off for Thanksgiving, just like you should.”

“Ah. Right.”

“You tell her to be our guest at the apartment. That place is probably covered in dust. I don’t think I’ve been in there for months. Rhea might have. Anyway, tidy it up, buy anything you need out of petty cash in the little black box under the counter at the front desk, and when she feels better, maybe we can meet her. Go to dinner.”

“We’re not double dating, Manny. She needs a job, and you need help. It’s just a rational fix.”