It’ll Do

The old woman brought them inside her cabin. The smell of old people was rank in the air.

'She probably hasn't had a bath in who knows how long?'

Trying not to breath too much Jace listened as the quaint little cottage was described.

There was only one room complete with a bed, a table, and against the left wall cabinets and a counter for preparing food.

"Back there is my storage room."

As soon as Jace heard the woman mention a storage room she lost patience and directly opened the heavy wooden door.

This was the lady's pantry. It was cold and mostly empty.

"Can I sleep here?"

"Missy this ain't no place to sleep. Take the bed out there."

Agatha as the old lady had introduced herself as urged Jace to go back to the bed in the living room.

"Don't disturb me, on pain of death. I might be here for a few days. Don't come it."

So saying Jace hustled Tony and Agatha out before closing the door behind them.

After kicking the humans out and rearranging the floor Jace laid down and started slowing down her breathing.

She didn't have her sleep pod here so she couldn't go into a comma directly. It would have been even nicer to have her tank which could both deprive her senses of any stimulation and support a catatonic state. However, this was the best she could do on short notice. And she was proud of herself. This pantry was built into the center of the hill that the little cottage itself was built into. Very little would disturb her here.

Not that she cared. If she was disturbed, heaven help them. Hopefully Tony could convince Agatha that she was a vampire. That would deter the old woman from getting too nosy.

As time passed Jace slowly controlled her own body to calm down. With a full belly she could digest for a few days and let her pylon energy restore itself to some degree.

_____

"She's a pushy one, isn't she?"

Agatha was blunt, most old people are.

"Yes, but she has every right to be. As a vampire she is protecting us from her. Don't worry, she is a nice vampire!"

Tony explained and then added a few words to reassure Agatha when he saw her alarm increase.

"Heavens! What have I done? What have I let into my home!!"

She declared and then put her hands together in prayer.

"No, really it is okay! She is pretty mean, but I spent the whole day around her and she was only nice!"

Pleading Jace's case Tony tried to make clear that Agatha would be fine.

Mumbling something Agatha went about puttering around the room.

"Sure, tall drinks of water don't have nothing to worry about. But sweet tender women like me are probably the vampire's meal of choice…"

But Tony couldn't hear all of what Agatha said and headed out of the house to go check out the barn as soon as he could.

______

"Phewww, that is some tense female emotions!"

Tony said to himself once he was out in the barn.

He wasn't really sure how to do take the horse out of the reins from the cart, so it took him until well past night fall to get the horse into a stall. The cart he just parked outside the barn.

Of course the urchins had thought about needing light. Finding some oil and a lamp in the cart had not been hard so after getting the cart unpacked, parked, and the horse munching on some straw in the barn James went to explore a little.

There was an open shop out here with tools wracked neatly on the wall. Each tool had its own spot. A few took chests were stowed under the benches, too. Three wood bins stuffed half full of rotted wood were at various locations. A table in the middle of this shop area had a few pieces of joined wood and tools laid nearby. 

A few empty stalls and a hay loft up above completed the barn's layout.

'Wow, these tools are completely rusted.'

But despite his thoughts he was actually really impressed. Someone loved woodworking.

'It is almost like someone just left this barn for some reason in the middle of making something on that table and then never came back.'

Obviously this was some sort of shrine to Agatha's husband. She must have loved him very much.

Careful not to disturb the shop, Tony backed up and took a look up in the hayloft. pushing the molding hay out onto the ground below he tried to make it clean enough for a night of sleep. The day had been full of more exercise than he had had in a long time. Being a programmer wasn't conducive to staying fit.

Soon, he fell fast asleep.

The next morning was a slow morning. After a lifetime of struggle and effort. Forty some odd years of it Tony was used to having the crushing pressure of providing for a family.

Right this moment his wife and two kids were gone. So far away that it was inconceivable. His wife had long since decided that he was worthless and unlovable. They had stayed together for the kids and because starting a life with someone else would be just as much or more work.

His wife Katrina was not loving, but it was comfortable. She had thrown him away and perused her dreams ever since their youngest child had hit his teens.

With both of their kids seeking to define themselves outside of their parents there had been more and more time for Katrina to really find out what she wanted. And she has pursuing her career in journalism relentlessly.

Truck kun had taken Tony from his old life, but he had seen his wife's face as he was laying on the asphalt bleeding out.

Several emotions had flitted across her face. At first horror, then sadness, and at the end relief and maybe even a glow of happiness.

Yesterday had been so busy. He had plenty of time to contemplate his old life.

Two conflicting desires burned within him. The first was to free his wife. Katrina deserved to be free from him. She should be able to replace him if she wanted.

On the other hand, he wanted to make sure his kids were okay. His daughter and his son were both adults, now. His son just barely and his daughter at twenty was so busy there was no time for a father.

Still though he wanted to see how well they were doing and let them know that their father would always be looking out for them.

But really there was nothing he could do from a whole different dimension. At least nothing he thought he could do.

'I have to trust them and trust Katrina to take care of them if they need anything.'

Which of course she would. He had no worries on that score.

'It is just that I wanted to be there for them!'

There was no answer to this problem. At least none that he could accept at this time.

He didn't feel like doing anything today and just stayed in the hayloft. Agatha didn't need him and for certain Jace had no need of him.