Chapter 148 - Is This A Bad Time? (2/2)
For the first time today she was hit with guilt for leaving her friend out to dry. First he was stuck sitting in on a long conversation he had no interest in. Now he was discussing politics with someone he barely met.
She would make it up to him later. There had to be something she could do to try and repay him in some small way for helping her get here.
Adam was both curious and bright for his age and pointed out every interesting thing he saw, like birds and rocks and shrubs. ”Kitty!” he shrieked when he spotted Simba, who had finally woken up from his long nap on the bedroll and gone exploring.
It occurred to her that she hadn't even paid attention to where the horse ended up. Had somebody taken it to a stable? They must have or Blaise would have said something about it. He needed to use that horse to get back down the mountain later.
”Yeah, that's auntie's kitty,” Abby said, beckoning for the lynx to come forward.
It briefly rubbed up against her ankles before trotting off in search of food. She hoped it was smart enough to figure out where she was staying now if the stable was far away.
A heavily pregnant woman who had to be Nyla answered the door looking a bit haggard. Her house had been noisy before the door opened but afterward it was apparent how loud the chaos actually was. Five children were running everywhere, screaming and knocking things over.
”May I help you?”
”Hi…sorry to intrude. My name is Abby and Katie sent me to get directions to the playground from you,” Abby said a bit sheepishly. ”Is this a bad time?”
She sighed and shook her head. ”No. These rascals would be better off running around there than here. Give me a moment to round them up.” She called back into the house sharply. ”Jasper! Kari! Brisa! Hagan! Iida! If you want to go to the playground get your shoes on RIGHT NOW.”
All of the children, whose ages seemed to range from ten down to two, immediately stopped throwing things to get their shoes. ”Yes, Mama!”
Abby had to hold back her laughter. This may be another world but some things were consistent no matter where you went. Her mother used to get exasperated the same way when she and Katie were little because they were so close in age and neither of them liked to listen.
Nyla strictly informed her children that they were not to run ahead once all of their shoes were on and made them form a line linking hands. She held the hands of the two smallest and made everyone walk slowly to account for her protruding stomach.
The playground was a little over a mile away on the outskirts of town. Once it was in sight, all of the children rushed off despite their mother's protests. Even Adam, who had behaved very well up to this point, got caught up in the energy and squirmed until Abby put him down.