Shady

She nodded. "Hey, maybe your kids cooked and have food waiting for you."

Sadie sobered a bit, then shook her head. "No, I ate at the pub. Meyer's out of town."

"If that's how I go, that's how I go," she said with a chuckle.

"Can't wait to meet him," Sadie said with a smile.

Sadie glanced over at him quickly, realizing she'd embarrassed him. "Oh, no, no, it's a compliment, sorry. I love that. It's an awesome name."

"You're a nerd !" Sadie said with a broad grin, genuinely delighted. She'd thought it was after Martin Luther, what with him being a Lutheran priest and all. This was ...

She nodded. "What'd you say his name was? Luther?"

"Awww." She smiled at that. "I bet he's adorable! We're getting close, yeah?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I mean... we don't have one. But I volunteer at the shelter sometimes to get to play with them... why?"

"Yeah," she muttered with a nod. "I mean... our house isn't too bad. But... yeah."

Sadie shrugged. "They didn't put that warning on the lease," she said dryly.

Sadie grimaced. "... Yeah... as you said, it's definitely... othering... when you move here unsolicited."

"Heh." Sadie scratched her chin with a mirthless grin. "You could put it that way. It's... a little different than what we're used to, yeah."

Rek took a drink of his ale, tapping his foot along with the tempo. He liked this song. He'd always wanted to learn how to play it -- if he ...

"Meyer." She shrugged. "I don't much mind where I live as long as it's with him. And he wanted to move here. So. Here we are." Though they'd had a ...