The Extension, Part 4

I looked at Janie for another second, and then Marge and I drifted off toward the kitchen, as if to check that we had enough food for the three of us. Marge settled in behind our mini-bar and started pawing through the cupboard for some ingredients. I watched her for a second, and then turned to our dining area to see if anything needed cleaning up before we sat down to eat. I noticed a beautiful red velour hat on the table, a sort of squat little thing, with a small feather tucked into the band.

“What a cute little number,” I said, picking up the hat to get a closer look.

“Oh, yes! The pork-pie!”

“The what?” I felt like I had heard the term at some point, but the syllables seemed to dissipate before I could put them together.

“The pork-pie! Do you like it? I found it at a Hattery in the old market today! Licensed it for you, second-hand!”

I picked up the little hat. It fit snugly on my head, of course – CONTRACT would have alerted Marge if she tried to license me a hat that didn't fit me. I turned and looked at myself in the mirrored partition of the Southern wall. The pork-pie was fetching on me, although I didn't fully approve of the way my hair tufted out on the sides.

“Thank you, Margie. Love it.”

“Wonderful! I think it'll be especially nice with your purple tweed jacket. Remember to hang it up when you take it off.”

The evening meandered forward. I joined Janie for the last bit of her homework, and then we sat down together for dinner. This was our peaceful life, here in our little home, out at CONTRACT District KX Extension C.


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