seek out enemy agents who have come to conduct espionage against you and bribe them

[numberhuang]

I have been in the city of Darrow for over a month. And that is a little frightening to think about. I don't think that I am any closer to finding any answers about why I am here, how people are brought here, or how I can leave. While I have worked for longer to achieve many things in my life, I have to admit that this might be the most frustrating experience yet. I don't know what kind of progress I'm making. Every day, I work from dawn until dusk to either learn more about the city or at least find ways to keep myself afloat while I'm here. I go to bed exhausted, I never get good sleep.

But I feel that I am still at square one.

The only possible place that I think I could investigate more than I have is City Hall. There must be some reason why the politics of this city is so strange. Why is there a mayor that almost nobody knows about or is able to speak to? I mean, nobody in Orlando knows who their mayor is either, but that's why the mayor is so happy to receive some kind of attention when the people actually decide that it's important to speak with him. Here, you don't have that. You only have receptionists who use all kinds of ways to keep you from making an appointment with the mayor.

I think this means they're hiding something, and I am going to find out what. Today, I am waiting in the bushes outside of City Hall. Some people might think that I look strange, but I have made sure to stay far enough that I cannot legally get in trouble for loitering. I have a lunch box with me that is filled with pork buns that I munch on as I look through my pair of binoculars, trying to see into the City Hall windows. Sometimes I can see people walking down the hall, not well enough to make out their faces, but enough to know that there's something going on inside.

Now I just need to figure out a plan to get myself in there. Maybe not today, but I figure that if I apply for a job with the city government, then they definitely won't be able to keep me out. I mean, I would only be doing my job.

Comments

[numberhuang]

"Then congratulations!" I say, glad that I can be as happy as I feel, seeing a young woman who is excited for the arrival of her child. I am far from a touchy-feely person, I would not reach out to touch another woman's belly and I never know what exactly I am supposed to do at a baby shower, but I am a parent, and happily so. My three boys are the best things that have ever happened in my life.

Yes, even Eddie, even on the days that he is going around playing his rap music too loud.

"I am going to guess that it's a girl," I tell her with a nod. "My mother is much better than I am with the guesses, but I have a certain feeling that you would be such a good mother to a little girl. I never had a girl myself — just three rowdy boys. None of them are here, but... you know." I tilt my head back and forth, trying not to make a big deal of the fact that my children aren't here with me, because that seems like a terrible thing to emphasize in front of a mother-to-be. They say that people can disappear randomly from Darrow. I think the only thing worse than being pulled away from your children is having your children pulled away from you.

But in my research, I did not find any case of a child born in Darrow being pulled out of the city from their parents. I doubt records are complete, but that is at least a hopeful pattern to see.

"So council elections are every year... that's good, that's good, that means it only takes one year to prepare again if the first time doesn't work. Do you know when they are? Is it like the United States, do we vote in the fall?"

[losttheright]

"Between you and me, I'm kind of hoping it is," Molly replies, lowering her voice just a little as she speaks, her nose wrinkling. She's decided against finding out before now, and she knows she'll be happy — or as happy as she can be — regardless, but she likes the idea of having a girl, thinks it might come a little more easily to her. At this rate, she's going to need all the help she can get. "But I guess I'll find out soon. I'm sorry to hear that your kids aren't here with you, that's got to be rough." In fact, now that she's going to be a parent herself, it's one of the most difficult scenarios she can imagine, but if Jessica isn't going to make too much of it, then she doesn't think she should, either. It's not really her place to, anyway, and there's plenty else at hand to talk about.

In response to Jessica's question, she shakes her head. "They're the same time as the mayoral election, so the end of March," she explains. "So you'd have a little over six months if you do decide to run. I've seen people here pull together city council campaigns in less time, and you'd have the beginnings of a platform already." It's exciting, really, the idea of someone not from Darrow running for office. She's liked most of the people she's worked with, has found that she fits in well, but that doesn't change the fact that she's something of an odd one out when it comes to her background.

[numberhuang]

I nod when Molly says it must be hard for me. What's the point in lying? It's probably the most hard part about being in Darrow. I can deal with strange new technology, I can deal with different fashions, I can even deal with the idea of vampires and werewolves being real even if it's a bit terrifying. But being without my kids is very unusual and makes me feel like everything is a little less real. It's been a long time since I heard my sons' voices.

I hope I never forget what they sound like. If I'm here too long, maybe their voices will even start to sound different.

"Well, if you have a boy, I can give you lots of advice and tips on how to keep him in line. Actually, if you have a girl, I might have some ideas, too..." I say, thinking of Evan. He's the baby of the family, and my husband and I decided we would not have kids after him. That means many of the things we wanted to do with a daughter, we basically did with Evan instead. I think this is why he gets along so well with Deidre and the other ladies in the neighborhood.

"But okay, election in six months. That makes sense, it's right around Founder's Day, right? I haven't been here for that yet but I read about it," I say. "You really think that I can pull together a campaign in that amount of time? How should I get started?"

[losttheright]

"I've seen people pull one together in less," Molly says, one shoulder lifting in a shrug. Whether Jessica can or not depends, really, on her, but based on what she's seen so far, including Jessica looking into City Hall with a pair of binoculars, it wouldn't surprise her if she could manage it. One of the most important things in politics is drive. It doesn't seem like that will be an issue in this instance. "It might not be easy, but it's not impossible. And, hey, worst case scenario, you get your name out there, more people find out who you are and what you'd be focused on, and you can run again the next year, so it's... kind of a win either way, in that sense. And there are two seats per district, so really, that's double the odds. As for where to start..."

Trailing off, she pauses and takes a deep breath. "I'd say meet people. As many as you can. Others who work in and for the government, others who live nearby, people who aren't from here. You'd have the — let's call it the outsider vote all but in the bag, so the important thing is to establish yourself with people for whom that won't immediately be the deciding factor. If they know who you are, it's more likely that they'll vote for you."

[numberhuang]

She says that she has seen people pull a campaign together in less. Of course, that makes me want to ask the follow-up question of whether or not any of those people have ever won... but it's a good enough place to start. I don't need to win on my first time; I think if I can get my name out there, if I can show people that I care, then I can keep working and working until I'm successful.

"I'll do it. I'll try," I say firmly with a frown and a nod. "This is all very helpful to hear. I will try to meet people, I will put myself out there. I am already working as a real estate agent here, that's not too bad for meeting people, especially because people hunting for homes are sometimes talking about how much they hate the prices, how high the taxes are, all these things I can talk about. And I can talk about small business because my husband back in Orlando, he owns his own restaurant. It looks impressive but I think anybody would be surprised by how little we make for how hard we have to work."

I turn to Molly. "Is it okay if I keep in touch with you? Of course, I am sure that you have other things on your mind... but if I have questions, it would be helpful to have someone to talk to. I will offer my help with the baby. I raised three sons, I can offer great advice, and I would make a great babysitter in a pinch if you need it. My job has very flexible hours anyway."

[losttheright]

"Oh, it's definitely okay," Molly assures her with a smile, the response coming easily. "I'd be glad to help out however I can. And... I will probably very much be in need of advice." She may have warmed somewhat to the idea of actually doing this, of being a parent, but she still feels clueless at the best of times, uncertain how she and Lee are possibly going to manage this. Getting some tips from someone who's had not just one, but three kids, is bound to be invaluable. She'd have been more than willing to help regardless, with as much as she loves what she does and as nice as it would be to see someone from outside of Darrow make it into the government, but that just makes the idea of staying in touch all the more appealing. In these coming months, she has a feeling she's going to need all the help she can get.

Fishing her wallet out of her purse, she takes out a business card, offering it to Jessica. "Here, this has my email and cell number on it. Feel free to call me anytime — I might be a little less available in a month or so, but if so, I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

[numberhuang]

"Wow, very professional," I commend her, flipping the card slowly in my hand. It's quality card stock, and that to me says that this young woman is very much in control of her life. It's really no wonder that she is working for the government — this is the kind of person I want to be helping to oversee how the city is doing.

Of course, I know that being in control of your professional life doesn't mean that you'll automatically be a great parent. I don't think anyone can prepare themselves completely for parenthood before it happens, so I am very happy to offer whatever I can to help her, especially after she's helped me to feel better about the city and my place in it.

"I don't have a business card, but I will give you a text with my name on it," I say, pulling out my phone to do so, punching in the number that she just gave to me. "And I mean it, I would be very happy to help you in a month. Having your first baby can be hard but it's much better when you have other people to help. What's the English quote — it takes a village?"

[losttheright]

"That's the one," Molly says with a nod, smile still in place. It is, if nothing else, a little easier to think about what lies ahead of her when she considers that she won't be entirely alone in this. She might still feel pretty clueless, and she knows that Lee is freaking out about it, too, but there are people who'll be able to help her — Katie and Russell, Andrea, and now Jessica, too. Maybe she's offered assistance of her own where navigating the government is concerned, but with something as personal as this, given that they've only just met, it means a hell of a lot that Jessica would be so willing to help her. "I don't think I ever realized just how true that is until I got pregnant myself."

There's plenty else she could say about it, but she's never entirely sure how much to divulge with someone she's only just met, knowing full well that the circumstances of her pregnancy aren't exactly conventional. She's young and unmarried, this was unplanned to say the least, and she still sometimes isn't sure she's going through with it for the right reasons. There'd been no other choice for her to make, though, and at least now, eight months along, she's come around to the idea a lot more than she expected to, no matter how strange she finds the idea of herself with a baby.

[numberhuang]

"Oh, you're never really prepared for it until you're actually pregnant, and then when you have the kid," I tell her with a firm nod. "You think that you are totally prepared and logical and will think of every possibility... but you won't. That is the wonder of kids. They will do things that you never could have imagined. In both good ways and bad." I shake my head. In some ways, it's good that Eddie is my oldest, that he's the one who is most outside what any of us expected. It made the other two boys easier to manage. Evan is practically a breath of relief.

"I don't mean to make it sound so scary, though. Because even though kids are always surprises, you know, as a parent you start to surprise yourself. Things that maybe you never thought you could do, you find a way. So I'm sure you will be fine even if you don't have other people to help you," I say, moving my hand in a smooth, flattening motion, like I'm trying to iron her nerves. Not that she seems to have too many of them. She's probably like most people who work for the government; they know how to keep up face. "But that doesn't mean you should turn away help when you can get it, you know?"

[losttheright]

As daunting as the whole idea of this is, Molly finds that there's something almost comforting in Jessica's words, too. All this time, even knowing she needed to go through with it, she's doubted her own capabilities, wondered just how she'd be able to be a parent at twenty-five with a boyfriend in law school and her career on an upswing, however tenuous her position may be, relying on Mayor McDillet's ability to get reelected. If someone who's had three children, though, can tell her that being able to do things that she wouldn't have thought she could comes with the territory of being a parent, maybe there's a chance she'll be able to get this right. She sure as hell means to try. It won't make up for what happened in the past and it certainly isn't a way to atone for her sins, but it's a step in the right direction.

"I definitely won't be turning away from any help," she says, chuckling at herself as she does. "And, really, it's okay, I don't think you can make it sound any scarier than it is in my head. I'd rather... you know, be as ready for it as I can be, even if that means being ready for not being ready." The last thing she needs, really, is someone who'll sugarcoat the whole thing, make it sound easier than it is. "Just knowing that I have people around who've already been through it goes such a long way, you know? I'd really be freaking out otherwise."