Jimmy sat outside beneath the streetlight, staring up at the moon and stars and trying not to fall asleep where he sat.
“I am glad to see you are still awake, Jimmy,” Nïce Solen said as he approached with his family. He and Yet Jum were pushing strollers, taking advantage of the pleasant May night and children who had finally settled down. “You are the hero of at least one duplex tonight.”
“Please tell me they haven’t found another skunk.”
“No, they are finally asleep,” Yet said. He glanced down into one of the strollers and chuckled. “This one, too. We wanted some air before trying to sleep ourselves.”
Nïce stopped beside Jimmy. “We also wanted to say that if there is anything you need from us, we are in your debt.”
“Nothing specific.” Jimmy yawned. “I learned a lot about how V’ren families work tonight, so I know you both have duties to your children. All I ask is that when something comes up that you can help with, pitch in where you can.”
“We will,” Nïce said.
“May I sit with you?” Teash Jum asked.
“Of course.” Jimmy scooted over to make room.
“Do not keep him awake too long, daughter,” Yet said, smiling as he and Nïce continued their stroll with the babies.
Teash sat beside Jimmy and watched them move slowly down the path.
“How did you know what to do for the children?”
“Skunks are abundant around here. Knowing what to do isn’t unusual.”
“That is not what I meant.”
Jimmy smiled tiredly. “My little sister and several of her friends got sprayed when they were a little younger than those two. I was in charge of hosing them off. Repeatedly. I’m just glad you thought to get me before sending them into the shower.”
“Hot water would have made the situation worse?”
“A lot worse. The scent is oil-based. Hot water spreads it around and opens the pores. They would have smelled for days.”
Teash looked at him for a moment, perhaps trying to decide how many strange Earth hazards he considered ordinary.
“I have something for you,” Jimmy said.
“For me?”
“Yes, for you.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, tubular stone.
Teash accepted it carefully. “I have never had anyone give me a rock before.”
Jimmy turned on his phone light so she could examine it beneath the streetlamp.
“It’s a crinoid fossil.”
“What is a crinoid?”
Jimmy pulled up an image on his phone and held it beside the fossil. “That. This piece came from the stem here. They’re common in the local stone. Around three hundred and fifty million years ago, this whole area was beneath a shallow inland sea.”
Teash studied the little fossil more intently.
Jimmy had seen hundreds like it while building stone retaining walls. A few of his friends were serious rock hounds, and trips into the Ozarks or the Bootheel had taught him enough to recognize the common ones. He was no geologist, but fossils had interested him since his dinosaur phase, and he had never entirely stopped watching documentaries about them.
“And this is for me?” Teash asked.
“Yes. I thought I would give you part of your new home’s past.”
She turned it between her fingers. On V’ren, something this old would have been impossible. Here, Jimmy had found it lying in gravel beside a path.
“I knew you said you were wondering what you might do as a geologist here,” he continued. “I made an inquiry. I hope you don’t mind.”
“You proposed me for a position of employment?” Her heart began beating faster.
“I know someone who might need a geologist.”
“I was only a student.”
“A senior student. From what I understand, that puts you close to one of our master’s degrees.” Jimmy leaned back and looked at the stars again. “Why don’t you let him decide where you might fit instead of worrying tonight about whether you are good enough?”
