My Borrowed Son

Terse Table Talk

Chapter Twenty-Three | Terse Table Talk

Kers heard the voices extinguish like a snuffed candle as soon as the call of, "hello?" left his lips. There was a slight shuffle of light souled shoes. A few hushed whispers Kers couldn't make out but guessed it had something to do with protection and curiosity.

He decided to call out again.

This was one thing he hated about meeting new Borrowers – the apprehension and fear of whether they were kind or evil. Too many times his encounters ended up with the later rather than the former.

Images flashed in front of Kers' eyes of memories long passed. It was quick, but just enough to set Kers on edge as he spoke up again.

"Hello? Listen, I don't mean to intrude. My name is Kers. I just moved here with the human. If you don't want me around, I'll go somewhere else. You won't even know I'm here. I just wanted to explore the walls and set up a good place to stay. From one Borrower to another, any help is appreciated."

The words he spoke were words Kers heard his brothers say countless times when they moved around as kids. Just saying it made his throat constrict, but he would muddle through that later.

The silence that followed was deafening and thick with unease. It put the Borrower on edge to the point he reached for the pin on his side. The only hesitation came when a masculine voice, smooth and aged, answered.

"You alone?"

Kers breathed a relative sigh of relief, but he was far from being in the clear yet. It was a start though.

"Yes, I am," he replied as he thought of Parker, a topic he decided was not good to bring up right at this moment.

Another pause.

Then, emerging from the corner, was who Kers assumed was the father. He had thick facial hair but a thinning hair line, both speckled with blond and silver hair. The Borrower had fierce eyes that absorbed the light coming from the light that was on the end of his walking stick. He had his staff light held out defensively and quickly evaluated Kers. Whatever this Borrower had seen in his life, he obviously was a quick reader when it came to character.

It took a few moments before he retracted his staff.

"New arrival, you say?" he asked gruffly. Kers nodded.

"Yeah. Haven't even been here twenty minutes," replied Kers.

"From where?"

"Electrical outlet in the living room. Don't worry. I put it back."

"And the human? Does she know about you?"

Kers had to think about the Borrower's question for a moment. The truthful answer was yes and no, seeing that Amanda knew about Parker; but, that wasn't the question.

"No, she doesn't know about me. I've been around her for four years. I can share what I know. Patterns. Organization. Schedule," offered Kers.

The Borrower's eyes narrowed as he evaluated Kers' offer. He actually reached up and stroked at his silver streaked beard as he considered the possibilities in front of him.

"In exchange for?" he asked after several more tense seconds.

"Nothing. Just one Borrower being friendly to another," stated Kers. "Though if you have an idea of where would be good for me to set up camp to not be in your way or space, I'd appreciate it."

The offer of nothing obviously raised the Borrower's suspicions, but followed up with a suggestion of where to live seemed to, at the very least, amuse him. He nodded and, after a moment, extended his hand for Kers to shake, which he did gladly.