Hidden Talents

once more.”
    “And therefore changes,” Quinton said. “One can't stop change. The best thing one can do is manage it so that one doesn't get crushed by it.”
    “What does politics have to do with this?” Caleb asked.
    “Politics is how the universe manages change. This town needs someone who can do what you did last night.”
    “Handle the outside authorities?”
    “For starters. I expect there will be more and more of that kind of work as we here in Witt's End are obliged to deal with the outside world. Bound to get more tourists, for one thing, especially in the summer. Then there will be people from the health department wanting to inspect people's kitchens because of the foodstuff they're selling in the catalog. We'll probably have traffic problems, sewage problems, security problems. You name it.”
    “Quinton, I'm in a hurry here. Could you get to the point?”
    Quinton looked at him. “Point is, Blade isn't the only one around here who doesn't deal well with the outside establishment. Most of us here in Witt's End have a problem with that kind of thing. It's one of the reasons we wound up here. So we took a vote this morning.”
    Caleb eyed him. “A vote?”
    “We all got together first thing at Ariadne's café and talked it over. We voted you in as the first mayor of Witt's End.”

    Serenity took her customary seat in the window of the Sunshine Café and poured the tea Ariadne had just made. Zone sat on the other side of the table. From this position they could both keep an eye on the front door of Witt's End Grocery. It was only ten o'clock and there was no one in the store at the moment. Serenity had decided that she and Zone needed a chance to talk.
    “Here's to a real bonding experience.” Serenity raised her mug of tea in a salute. “I, for one, will never wear a scarf again as long as I live.”
    “I'm so sorry about everything that happened,” Zone said for what must have been the hundredth time. “I came here to hide. I never intended for my problems to become a threat to anyone else. I'm just so sorry.”
    “Stop blaming yourself. It wasn't your fault. At any rate, it's over and everything turned out all right.”
    “Thanks to Blade and Caleb.” Zone shuddered. “And I can't bear to think about what might have happened if you hadn't known those self-defense techniques.”
    “Quit torturing yourself with what-ifs,” Serenity said crisply. “I've got something important to ask you.”
    “What's that?”
    “Now that Kincaid is permanently out of your life, what are you going to do?”
    “Do?”
    “Are you going back to California?”
    Zone looked confused. “Why would I do that?”
    “You said that you came to Witt's End to hide from Kincaid. Now that you no longer have to hide, I just wondered if you planned to stay.”
    “I hadn't thought about leaving,” Zone said hesitantly. “Somehow Witt's End feels like where I want to be.” She met Serenity's eyes. “Are you trying to tell me that you might not need me at the store? I know you only gave me that job because you felt sorry for me. If it's a question of not being able to pay me the same salary, I could take a cut in my wages.”
    “Hang on here.”
    “It doesn't cost much to live in Witt's End. I'm sure that I could get by on less.”
    “Don't be ridiculous. Getting rid of you is the last thing I want to do. Who else in Witt's End knows how to open a store on time every day?” Serenity chuckled. “I was panicked at the thought that you might leave and I'd have to hire a new assistant.”
    Zone smiled tremulously. “I don't plan to go anywhere.”
    “That's a relief. For the record, I don't plan to cut your wages. If that fancy, high-priced business consultant of mine is a tenth as good as he says he is, I should be able to give you a raise soon.”
    “Your fancy, high-priced consultant and partner ,” Caleb said dryly, “is even better than he's told you.”
    “And so refreshingly humble, too.” Serenity turned in her seat and saw Caleb standing directly behind her. Something about his newly polished shoes worried her. “Going somewhere?”
    “Yes.”
    A deep sense of unease stirred to life in the pit of Serenity's stomach. “Where?”
    “That's what I came to tell you.”
    Serenity stared at him. “Coming back soon?”
    “Tonight.”
    She let out the breath that she had been holding and managed what she hoped was a bright, breezy smile. “For a minute there I thought maybe you had decided