APRIL
The elevator doors opened into the lobby, and April had to jog after Bo.
Her young charge had bounded out without a second thought. She was definitely eager to go see the jam offerings at the local grocery.
April could only hope that the store actually had more than one or two flavor choices. Otherwise, she had broken Tenet 58 - Never make promises you can’t keep.
While she certainly hadn’t posed jam selections as a promise, she knew that if she was wrong about this, she would have seriously compromised Bo’s trust in her.
The little girl deserved better than that. And April was resolved to do better next time.
As much as she might have judged the parents of kids who were having temper tantrums in public, she now understood fully how difficult it was to stay cool and make good decisions while trying to talk down a furious child. She had done her best, and next time she would be better prepared.
Bo was anything but furious now, though. She darted through the lobby like a winged gazelle.
“Hey wait up, speedy,” April teased.
Unfortunately, Bo looked back over her shoulder at just the wrong moment, and bumped into an elderly lady.
“Oh dear,” the lady said in a grumpy voice. She was a tiny Vystian in a long, flowered housedress, her head covered in pale, pink tentacles.
Stars preserve us. Please let her be okay.
April sprinted over to the lady, chastising herself for not making Bo hold her hand.
“I’m so sorry, are you all right?” she asked. “Bo, what do we say?”
The woman turned and her eyes lit up when she saw Bo. April didn’t blame her. The little girl was undeniably adorable.
“I’m sorry,” Bo said in a soft voice, her eyes fixed on the floor and her color going a pale green like the underside of a new leaf.
“Well, we were all young once,” the woman said kindly. “Where are you ladies off to in such a hurry.”
“I’m going to choose jam,” Bo announced, perking up completely as if she had forgotten she was feeling ashamed.
“How lovely,” the lady said. “And what’s your name, dear?”
“I’m Bolynne Rivvor, but everyone calls me Bo,” Bo said. “That’s April. She takes care of me when my daddy is flying his craft.”
“Oh, how nice, dear,” the lady said. “My name is Astyr Gingerooox-Toxfylt.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. … Mrs. …” Bo’s little face was squeezed up with concentration.
“You can call me Mrs. Ginger,” the lady told her kindly. “Everyone else does. It’s much easier.”
Bo grinned at her.
“I noticed you used the elevator,” Mrs. Ginger said, winking to April. “Is the airship broken?”
“April said I need fresh air and exercise,” Bo said suspiciously.
“Oh, did she now?” Mrs. Ginger asked, looking over at April delightedly.
“My mother believed in it, so do I,” April said with a smile. “We spend too much time indoors.”
“That’s right, dear, and feet on the ground too,” Mrs. Ginger said. “The way it’s supposed to be - that’s why my flat is on the first floor. I don’t care for airships and elevators.”
“If we were meant to fly, we would have been born with wings,” April agreed, regretting the words as soon as they left her mouth.