Honey Beaumont

by Sara Bushway

  The man nodded. "Why, certainly. Come on in." He led Honey inside and pointed out one of the tables, all of which were empty. "Can I get you something while you wait?"

  Honey suddenly wished he had money in which to buy something to eat or at least a fizzy drink.

  "Uh, water would be nice," Honey said, trying to ignore his growling stomach. He sat down and silently cursed Ettie for being such a pain and flinging his dinner all over his bedroom. Honey jumped slightly at the sound of a glass being set on the table. He looked up at the man, who was smiling down at him innocently enough, but something felt off. He's Asian, Honey thought. That's odd. I haven't seen many Asian people around here. Plus, this place has an Italian theme, lots of reds and greens...pictures of pasta and saucy sandwiches... He glanced around the room and spotted a picture of a Caucasian man with brown hair in a frame that was engraved. Owned and operated by Ben Levins, Honey silently read to himself. He looked back at the man who had served him his water and spotted a name tag on his apron. "Ben," Honey whispered to himself, appraising the man. He's a Nobody. The man nodded to Honey and returned to his work. Honey smiled back at him, still unsure of what to think. Dane made a Nobody sound kind of pitiful, but this man seemed completely content to sweep up and fill shakers on the tables as someone else. Honey started to feel ashamed at how much he was staring and how knowing what the man was made him feel differently about him. Dane never said that a Nobody was a bad person. Perhaps it's just his training, but he seems pretty happy to be "Ben." After all, would he not run away or something if he didn't like it? He took a sip of his water and stared into the table to regain his focus on his current problem, and an idea emerged.

  Honey's mind raced. Honey had believed that Dane intended to help him gain citizenship and legally get out on his own, but it had taken weeks for him to get the paperwork without alarming Anastasia. It may have taken months, maybe even years, for Honey to volley the paperwork back and forth with the government bodies before he ever got to experience what it meant to be free. And then there was the issue of money. Dane never talked about how much the total cost was to become legal, but he had made Honey aware that every form had a submission fee and that it was not cheap. Then again, nothing was cheap for someone who couldn't earn.

  That's quite a loophole they have going for them, Honey thought, baffled by how difficult that process sounded. One needed to be legal to work, but one needed a great deal of money to become legal. That means that rich people get to decide who is legal, or non-citizens have to work "under the table" so to speak, in order to better themselves.

  Honey shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind. Citizenship was low on the priority list now. The first thing he needed to do was find himself a place to go. He sipped his glass of water through the straw and thought hard about all of his outings with Dane. There were no Houses at this end of town. People didn't even seem to solicit on the corners here. It would make sense that an area that could afford to pay a bigger, better police force could have the luxury of clean streets and empty street-corners where, in poorer communities, there would be a buffet of flesh for sale. They didn't even have opium dens.

  It's no wonder everyone here is rich, Honey decided with a sigh. There were no vices to buy except alcohol, and the library was free.

  A little bell atop the entry jingled. Honey didn't look up from watching the sweat drip down the side of his glass. With nothing to do and nowhere to go, it looked like what little luck he might have had was gone. He assumed it was going to be Dane or Anastasia, maybe both, and they would take him home where Anastasia would further punish him for being such a pain, and--

  "Honey," a little voice said. Honey looked up and saw Chroma's beautiful green eyes beaming down at him. He nearly knocked his chair over as he stood and hugged her. "I'm glad to see you too," she said through stifled giggles.

  He released her and looked her in the eyes. "I can't really explain everything, but so much has happened. I need your help."

  "I know," she chirped and patted his shoulder. She turned approached the man behind the counter. She waved for Honey to join her and returned to her transaction. Honey wiped the water-ring off the table where his glass had been and brought his glass up to the counter. He wasn't sure that this was how things were done in fancier restaurants, but he wasn't going to leave Chroma's side again if he could help it. He arrived just in time to see the man disappear into the kitchen behind him and reappear with a paper bag that bowed at the bottom as though there was something heavy in it. She paid the man with a handful of coins, took the bag, and bid him farewell.

  "Come with me," Chroma said, gesturing for Honey to follow. Honey turned and thanked the man for the water, bidding him farewell as well.

  *****

  They walked on together in silence for a while. She led him off the main road and through small alleys behind little shops on the main road. It was obvious to Honey that she was trying to avoid him being seen if there even was anyone looking for him. Honey could feel the warmth in his face from smiling for too long. Just being near her made the day seem less terrible. Though, after a while, he started to be afraid again.

  He finally asked, "So, where are we going?"

  "Home," she chirped.

  "Home?" Honey said. "Not like...my home, right?"

  Chroma gasped as she stopped and looked at him.

  "Absolutely not! I would never take you back there, not where that mean woman is. No. We're going to my home. This is soup for my Nana. She's not well, and soup is one of the few things that doesn't make her sick." Chroma opened the top of the paper bag and leaned it so that Honey could look in, and he did.

  "Oh," he said. "What is wrong with Nana? Does she need a healer? I know someone, but we would have to bring Nana to her...and it might be difficult to convince Nana to go to her..."

  Chroma shook her head.

  "She's just getting old, and sometimes old people get sick. She's been like this ever since I can remember." She closed the bag and started to walk on. She turned a corner at the end of the main road. It was obvious that this little section of town wasn't as rich as Anastasia's neighborhood. There were fewer autos, most of which were white, and more manual cycles and people wearing wheeled shoes. Honey watched as they zipped around, passing pedestrians, and creating patterns as they zipped around in a kind of a dance. Chroma looked back and giggled at Honey's reaction.

  "They look like birds flying through the air," Honey said.

  "Skating?" Chroma asked. "It's kind of is like flying. It's super-fun. Sometimes I like to go skating, but I have to wear a helmet and pads. I fall down a lot."

  Honey's smile faded. "You fall? And your Nana still lets you do it? What if you get hurt?"

  Chroma shrugged. "Hurt heals, that's what Mama and Nana say. I can't let a silly thing like a fall stop me from having fun. Then I wouldn't be able to do anything ever."

  "That makes sense," Honey nodded. He opened his mouth to continue a thought, but it was immediately lost as he bumped into her. "Oh, sorry--"

  "This is my house," Chroma said, shifting her gaze between Honey and the simple, little slate-blue house before them. It was quite small compared to Anastasia's, but the yard was still quite large. The porch of the house was bordered by pillars made of brick that had been painted the same slate blue as the house. It had obviously been done years before because it was cracking and peeling around the corners of the bricks and in the grout between them.

  Chroma led him up the stone stairs and stopped in front of the door.

  "Stay here for a minute. I'm going to go give this to Nana and talk to Mama."

  Honey nodded in understanding and stepped back, as though standing behind that pillar of bricks was going to make him invisible to anyone passing nearby.

  Chroma disappeared into the house. The white door let out a loud click as it shut behind her. He wasn't waiting long before he took notice of the little dents and scratches, revealing a matte grey finish beneath the white paint.
>
  A steel door, Honey thought and looked around. It seemed several houses in the area had similar front doors, also made of steel. This struck Honey as strange because the neighborhood didn't look especially poor or like anyone felt that they were in danger. Though a steel door seemed like a strange style choice if it was one, assuming a door made of steel would cost much more than a standard wooden door. The only time Honey had seen a steel door was in Beaumont's office. It might have looked nice once, but by the time Honey had come around, the paint had begun to peel around large dents near the middle of the door, as though someone tried really hard to get in but never did.

  Chroma stepped out onto the porch, forcing Honey to release his gaze from the door, and stood next to him. A tall, slender woman with stringy, black hair haphazardly pulled up into a bun stepped out onto the porch and allowed the door to swing closed.

  "Honey," Chroma said, "this is my mama."

  Honey smiled but stayed still. The woman looked somewhat disheveled in her pink and white striped dress. It buttoned up to the neckline, but the buttons were not correctly done, so the collar hung strangely off to one side. Her eyes looked tired and her skin ashen, but she smiled back at him.

  "Hello, Honey," she said, extending her hand. "It's nice to meet you."

  Honey reached out and took her hand, as a lord would a lady's, and kissed it.

  "Hello, Mrs. Chroma's mom...ma'am."

  She seemed taken aback as she pulled her hand away, but her smile only grew wider and her cheeks took on a pink similar to that of her dress.

  "Oh my. All of that isn't necessary, but thank you," she said. "My name is Menna. Chroma says that you are in need of a place to stay."

  Honey nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I won't make any trouble or anything. I just need a place to sleep until I can find some work and make it on my own, is all."

  The woman nodded to Chroma and then to Honey, whom she seemed to be analyzing for a few moments of silence that followed after.

  "Well, Chroma says you're a good boy, and she's a very good judge of character," Menna explained.

  Honey nodded again, "Yes, ma'am. Women have a great sense of intuition about things, even magical and spiritual things when they put their minds to it. Betty taught me that lying to a woman does about as much good as trying to convince a rock that it's a tree."

  Menna laughed. "Well, Betty seems like a smart woman. Let me show you the room we have to offer, and we can talk about the rules of the house along the way."

  Menna and Chroma descended the front porch stairs and stepped onto an old concrete path that ran down the length of the side-yard. Honey followed after but found himself struggling to keep up with the two. Still, Menna went on about the house rules. No pets inside or outdoors because of Chroma's allergies, no smoking of any substances in the house, though candles and incense were fine, and neither were allowed in each other's rooms ever for any amount of time. Chroma blushed at Menna's explanation of the last rule.

  "Mom...."

  "Chroma is growing into a fine young lady, but she is not of age yet," Menna said coolly, as though she hadn't heard her daughter's complaining. "I expect you to show respect to her and this household by not finding yourselves alone together in either of your rooms. You may spend time together in the common areas of the main house and when you go to the public library together, but it's not proper for a girl of her age to be alone with a boy." She turned and looked Honey dead in the eye. "Understood?"

  The look in Menna's eye was both motherly and intimidating, something Honey hadn't seen much of in his experience with the girls at the House. Truthfully, Chroma had never crossed his mind as a potential girlfriend or as a client, should he ever return to that life, and if he ever had, the intensity of Menna's stare surely would have quashed them. Honey nodded and shifted his gaze between both women in an attempt to make his assent clear to both of them.

  "Yes, ma'am," he said. "I would never disrespect Chroma or your house by advancing on her in any way..."

  Menna's smile returned, and her gaze softened. "Good. Let's take a look at the space then."

  She approached a little house that somewhat resembled the main house in color and style but was obviously much smaller. She removed a skeleton key from her pocket and unlocked it. The girls walked in with Honey close-behind and looked around at the dusty, cluttered space. Once Menna turned the light on, Honey could see that this was a small living room-style set-up that also contained some of the furnishings of a kitchen, though they were quite small in scale compared to others he had seen before. A small stove with two burners sat atop a very small oven next to a sink, and above all of those was a handful of simple kitchen cabinets. There were two doors at the far end of the room, both of which were stuck open due to the amount of clutter. One led to a small bathroom with a standing shower, and the other room looked like it was a little smaller than the main room.

  A bedroom, Honey guessed. What a quaint, little house.

  Menna opened a window and began wafting the dusty air out it while Chroma picked up a box and stacked it on another.

  "After Nana had to be moved into the house, we started using this for storage," Chroma explained. "Sorry about the stuff everywhere."

  "It's no problem," Honey said He picked up a box and placed it on the stack Chroma had started. "I know a little bit about cleaning and organizing. This will be a breeze to clean up."

  Menna turned and faced Honey. "So, it'll do?"

  "Oh, it's more than I could have imagined, ma'am." Honey looked around again, realizing that they hadn't finished discussing the payment part of the arrangement. "So...how much?"

  Menna stopped and turned around to look at him. He could feel her eyes appraising him again. "Well, I know you don't have any money yet, but maybe we can make a deal. You see, I have to work, and Chroma has to go to school, so there is no one home to take care of Nana sometimes. Maybe you could watch her from time to time until you find work, and we'll call it even for a little bit of space and some hot food every night for dinner?"

  Honey smiled broadly. "That sounds wonderful. Thank you, ma'am."

  The three had a small meal together while Nana rested in her room, having had her soup. Honey helped with the after-dinner clean up and returned to the little house with the girls to make a little more space for himself inside.

  After a big enough area had been cleared, Chroma found an old bedroll she had used for camping, laid it out for him, and offered to help him clean up more after her mom was home from work the next day. Honey graciously accepted and apologized for keeping them up so late. Neither of them seemed to mind much, claiming that they were "night people" anyway, but that didn't stop Menna from having to be up early in the morning to work at a diner as a waitress. He bid the both of them goodnight and settled in for the night. It felt very strange compared to his old room and the life he knew with Anastasia. There wouldn't be any calls to service, that was for sure. Despite how drastically things had changed for him over the course of the last few hours, he wasn't afraid. Even with the separation between the two houses, he still felt as though he was with friends, and that was all he needed.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The morning after Honey's escape, Honey continued mourning the loss of Loretta's perfume bottle. It had comforted him in stressful times, and he was not lost to whatever madness was happening back at Anastasia's. He still didn't understand Ashelynn's motives and feared he never would.

  He joined Chroma and her family in the main house for breakfast, still wearing the clothes he was wearing the night before. He worried this would make a bad impression on the family but realized there was little to nothing he could do about it until he could find a way to afford some new ones. He had made sure to take them off before bed and fold them neatly, hoping the creases from the folds would make them look less worn.

  To Honey, the house seemed a bit small for the three of them. There were two bedrooms, one bathroom, a decent-sized kitchen, and a door that Honey hadn't seen any o
f them use. Probably a basement, he reasoned. He couldn't see any reason why he would need to go down there and decided it was best not to pry. He was only a temporary guest, after all. Besides, after having to load the wood-burning stove a few times in Anastasia's house because Jaq was sore, Honey realized that basements freaked him out. It was cold and dark, and it didn't feel homey like the rest of the house. He suspected Chroma's basement would feel worse because the main floor was probably the warmest, most comforting place he had ever been. It wasn't immaculately clean like Anastasia's, but there were colorful blankets on the sofa and chairs, pretty drawings hanging up that Chroma had made in school, and cute little knickknacks sat atop tables made of very old wood.

  He thought it was interesting that Chroma shared a room with Nana and suspected it was because Chroma helped take care of her while Menna was at work.

  How nice, Honey thought. I bet they have a lot of fun together.

  Menna was finishing frying up the bacon and eggs when Honey walked into the kitchen. She gestured for him to take a seat at the little wooden table next to Chroma and Nana and returned to her cooking. Nana took his arm before he sat down and pulled him close. "Come here, boy. Let me have a look at you."

  Honey smiled and shuffled closer to her. She reached out and touched his face with her free hand, looking deep into his eyes. Honey also took a moment to really look at Nana. She was much older than Menna. Her skin looked very thin and wrinkly, with clusters of dark spots near the edges of her dark bluish-green eyes deeply set below long strands of pale grey hair that streamed down the front of her dark purple frock. It, like her, seemed worn out but well-loved. The holes near the ends of the sleeves and around the hem told him that it had been washed and worn over and over for a great many years.

  "What's your name, boy?"