Private Finished Vetting the Cat

She didn't expect Sushi to suggest something like sleeping in a bathtub. That sounded horrible, but it did give Violet a realization: Sushi was desperate for this to work. She kept a poker face up, but her mind started racing again - was something going on at the school to make him want to leave? Was Jack using some kind of fae trickery on him?

Jack's words calmed her down a little bit. The indoor pool seemed like an ideal solution to Violet. She could imagine it being retrofitted with the filters and such that it would need, and it would give him more space to work with. And, of course, it was nice to hear he wouldn't make the kid sleep in a bathtub.

But then he started talking about getting Sushi a whole other aquarium-room, with an airlock installed. Violet blinked a few times. There weren't a lot of people able and willing to go that far. "Well... wow, that sounds really cool." She flashed Sushi a smile.

Another fear occurred to her, just then: where was all Jack's money really coming from? "Those books must be selling pretty well if you can afford all that. What's the name you write under in the narrow reality?"

What was said next was a very pleasant surprise. Not only was Jack okay with the tank, he also had something better planned than a bath tub. Sushi didn’t really get what an airlock was, but the aquarium idea sounded really cool. Sushi glanced at Violet as she smiled to him, giving a quick nod.

His helmet turned back to facing Jack as Violet asked him another question.

That seemed to satisfy Violet well enough. All of her biggest concerns have been addressed as well as this conversation could address them - at least until she thought of another credible threat she thought Jack could pose to Sushi, which would be worth asking about here.

She was also starting to worry that she had inserted herself into this process too much.

"I think... I've probably asked more than enough for right now," Violet said. "This is about you and Sushi, really. So, Sushi and I can answer any questions you have for us, and - Sushi, do you have any questions you would like to ask Jack?"

This sounded good. Sushi liked listening to stories and Jack seemed to like telling them. There was a smile on his face, hidden behind the mask on his helmet. He had no idea what financially secure meant, but what was probably also a good thing.

As for any questions he had, he balled his hand into a fist and knocked gently against the side of his helmet trying to thing of everything he wanted to know. He was pretty sure there was nothing that could possibly turn him away from this. Unless...

He stopped knocking and looked at Jack a second before asking. "If it all works out and I get adopted. Will I still get to see Violet and Callie a lot? Or at least Violet... I know Callie is busy." Callie always had way too much going on, he could understand if she had a hard time visiting often but it was important that she could if she wanted to and that Violet could too.

Violet answered each of these questions in turn. First, Jack's. "Sushi is actually a big part of the reason I started working at Starlight. I ran into him off campus, and I was helping him learn new words and guiding him back to Callie when he'd sneak off before I was even being paid for it. Callie was the one who floated the idea that I should be getting paid for stuff like that, so now I've officially been working as a minder and a tutor for Sushi and other kids like him." She chuckled. "That's probably a longer answer than you were looking for.

Secondly, Sushi wanted to keep seeing her and Callie? That just warmed her heart. "I'll definitely have time to visit. And even if Callie doesn't, you can still visit her here every now and then."

Sushi remembered that. Sneaking away from Callie. At the time he didn’t completely understand it was wrong and he kind of regretted it. But at the same time, sneaking off helped him meet a lot of cool people so maybe he didn’t.

Hearing Jack’s reply gave him a sense of relief. That was exactly what he wanted to hear. He turned to Violet while she told them she’d have time to visit. He already had a feeling she would say that. Violet may have been looking out for him as a job but he knew she cared for reasons other than that. After all, it was just like she said, she’d been looking out for him before she was getting paid for it.

All Sushi said was a quiet but serious “Thank you.” It may not have been clear but it was directed at both of them.

Then he considered Jack’s questions. “I collect shells. All sorts of them, and I use some for crafts too. Callie taught me how.” He had to think a bit more for something he wanted to do but hadn’t. “I want to go to the space station someday. It sounds really good.” He’d wanted to check that place out for a while.

Sushi was all for the idea of Violet continuing to tutor him. She was a good teacher and he likes learning from her but it was also just a good excuse to make sure he still saw her lots.

The scuba diver then smiled as Jack was interested in his shell art. “I can show you some time. I have lots of them.” He liked showing off his little masterpieces, that was just going to be another thing to look forward to.

Then to make things sweeter, it seemed Jack was more than willing to check out the space station. The amusement park and the VR room each sounded like a lot of fun. Sushi began to slightly bounce up and down in his chair.

“I can not wait, that will be so much fun.”

Another question popped into his head, this one kind of directed at both of them. “If Jack really wants to adopt me and I want to be adopted, does it happen for sure? And how long will it be?”