Episode 1291: Make Plans

They’d still need to sort through it thoroughly of course, make sure it was all gently used and no one had shoved in anything so tattered that it belonged more in the trash bin than in the donation bin. Then it would be a matter of running it all through the washer and dryer she’d convinced her grandfather to donate back before he’d disowned her. There would also probably be whatever repairs her rudimentary sewing skills could handle. Then finally they’d be ready to distribute everything to people who could really use it.

“That was the last box, yeah?” Shelane asked, pressing a hand to her back and stretching her spine. Neither of them were as mindful of the whole lifting with your knees thing as you were supposed to be. Good thing they were both still young enough that their bodies mostly forgave them for doing that much lifting without due care.

“Thank you so much for helping me with all this. Sorry I keep asking you to spend your free time doing manual labor for me,” Tansy said. “I swear I do ask other people, I don’t just zero in on you, I’m not purposely taking advantage of you more often than not agreeing to help.”

“I don’t feel taken advantage of, I’m glad to help when I can. It’s a better use of my time off than binge-watching or whatever else I would have done instead,” Shelane said. “This was a really thoughtful idea, Tans, I’m happy to play a small part in it. You see drives for winter clothes, but warm weather needs like keeping cool and sun protection aren’t mentioned much, this is going to do some real good. I just wish I could stay and help you start tackling next steps with all these boxes of stuff, but I promised my brother I’d return his truck as soon as possible.”

“Be sure to tell him how much I appreciate it. Bringing all this from the college would have taken so much longer without his truck.”

“I’ll tell him.” Shelane reached out, collected Tansy’s hand, giving it a gentle, lasting squeeze. “Maybe we could make plans for dinner later?”

Before Tansy could answer or spend too much time thinking about the meaning of Shelane’s warm soft fingers continuing to hold her hand or read too much into that invitation, someone walked into the storage room from the shelter. Someone Tansy recognized.

Episode 1292 (Out There) Coming May 13, 2025