The sun was already beginning to set as they sat down to eat. The world took on a golden hue: Li Yang was reminded of the advertising posters in the old days, with beautiful happy young people cavorting on sandy beaches, each holding a bottle of Buy-This-Right-Now soda.
The waiting food looked even better. Three picnic tables had been set together end to end, and there was hardly any space between tin trays piled high with meat, bowls of potatoes and corn, and jars of pickles. Li Yang's mouth was full of saliva, and so was Jake's - Li Yang heard him swallow a couple of times.
"Sit down, sit down," said Jimmy. "Where are the plates? Janice! The plates and forks and knives, now! No no no, guys, y'all sit on one side of the table and we'll sit on the other. That way, we'll get to know each other real fast. Harper, you sit near that end; I'll be across from you."
"Where are you going?" asked Harper.
"To tell the Poet everything's ready. Be right back."
"This is the America I like. The land of meat and money," said Olga. She quickly took a seat at the table.
Li Yang and Jake chose to sit at the other end from Harper. Li Yang had Jake to his right, and Olga to his left. He would have preferred Charlene, but she sat down next to her brother. They immediately started a whispered conversation.
"Wow," said Jake. "Just wow." He was staring at the pile of meat on the tray right in front of him. The pieces were all shapes and sizes, all colored a dark, angry red streaked black from being cooked over an open fire. Li Yang was very tempted to grab a small piece, and stuff it in his mouth.
"Looks good, doesn't it," said Jake. "Hey! Look at that."
Li Yang turned his head. A small procession was approaching. At its front, Bud and a white guy Li Yang hadn't seen before were carrying folded director's chairs - they rushed forward to unfold and set them down, one at each end of the long table. They were followed by Linda and Janice carrying paper plates and cutlery and rolls of paper towels. The rear was brought up by the black guy they'd seen with Bud upon arrival; he was bearing two half-gallon jugs of red wine and a stack of waxed paper cups.
"This is a fucking feast," said Jake, with wonder in his voice.
"It's not every day that we have visitors," said Bud. He was standing next to Jake, dusting the canvas backrest of the chair he'd just set down with the back of his hand. He gave it one final slap, and added:
"Great, the Poet's here. We can get down to business."
Li Yang's view was blocked by Olga: he leaned forward, and looked.
A tall, thin white guy in a long sheepskin coat over a T-shirt and jeans was approaching the table; Jimmy Dow was prancing by his side as if he was attending a royalty. This had to be the Poet. He had long, lanky blond hair and a wispy mustache and goatee. Li Yang had the impression the Poet was stoned out of his mind.
He stopped by the director's chair at the far end of the table and said:
"Thank you, Billy Joe."
Then he sat down, with Harper on his right and Jimmy on his left, and reached out and grabbed a cob of corn. It was a signal for intense action.
Li Yang opted to start with meat. It was quite tough, and had a slightly bitter taste, like a blade of grass that has been chewed for too long. But it made a wonderful change from the military rations, and the boiled potatoes and corn and everything else was wonderful, too. Li Yang ate like an automaton, pausing only to sigh with contentment. He had a surprise when Janice, seated across from him, filled and put a paper cup of wine in front of him.
"You can drink my wine," he said to Jake.
"I sure will."
"You don't like wine?" asked Janice.
"I don't drink alcohol."
"No kidding," said Janice. "Do you smoke pot?"
"No."
"Do any drug at all?"
"No."
"Do you fuck?"
Li Yang was silent. Janice giggled.
"Sorry," she said. "It kinda slipped out." She turned to Jake and said:
"Your friend belongs to a monastic order or something like that?"
"What's a monastic order?" said Jake, his face blank.
"Never mind."
Li Yang definitely didn't. He was happy. He hadn't imagined a welcome like that in his wildest dreams. There he was, stuffing himself stupid on a beautiful evening, as warm as if it were spring, surrounded by friends and trees and bushes that were beginning to sprout new leaves - this was so much better than New York!
He was reaching to grab a fresh piece of meat when a deep, beautiful male voice said:
"May I have your attention, please. Everyone. May I have your attention please."
Every head swiveled to look at the head of the table. Li Yang was shocked. The voice belonged to the man everyone called the Poet! The way he looked, he should have sounded thin and reedy.
"This is a special day," said the Poet. "Our commune welcomes six new members."
"What's he talking about, what fucking commune?" Li Yang whispered to Jake. "I didn't join no fucking commune."
"It's not what you think," Jake whispered back.
"Then what is it?"
"Shut up, you two," hissed Janice. All of a sudden, she was looking really stern.
The Poet went on speaking, but Li Yang wasn't listening to him any more. He knew what to think, all right. A commune shared everything, correct? Harper knew he, Li Yang, had many extra implant kits. He'd be forced to give them up, give them to their hosts: the Poet and his merry band.
It all came to him in a flash and the moment it did, he was convinced it was true. You never got something for nothing. He'd be paying for that great meal with his implant kits.
He glanced down the line of their hosts, seated at the other side of the long table. He noticed that the old woman in the red robe wasn't among them. The director's seat at their end of the table had been occupied by Bud. He winked and smiled at Li Yang. It didn't feel reassuring.
The Poet was saying:
"... a mint of our own, thanks to the generosity shown by brother Harper. Brother Harper, please stand up so everyone can see you when they applaud you."
Harper stood up with difficulty. He had to lean on the table for support. He'd just found out he was expected to give up all the gold, silver, and copper brought from New York, and he didn't like it. He was also regretting he'd told Jimmy everything he did. The Poet's people all smiled at him, and clapped - his own group were all silent and frowning.
Harper said:
"Thank you. Thank you very much. Of course we haven't worked out any details yet - "
"We'll discuss the details later," boomed the Poet. "May I finish saying what I have to say? Given these circumstances, I think we all agree it is only fair to include our new members in our colony."
"Colony? What colony? You didn't say anything about a colony," Harper said to Jimmy.
"Our colony in the New World," said the Poet. "We founded it at the end of January. That's around nine months in the New World. It's a well established colony, I am proud to say. And your arrival here is very fortunate. We were about to start looking for some fresh blood."
Harper cringed.
"Fresh blood?" he said.
"More people. More colonists."
"I see."
"I understand from brother Jimmy you want to venture into the New World."
"Well yes, we do."
"Of course," said the Poet, "You may prefer to found your own colony. Preferably somewhere nearby so that we can work together. We'll be happy to offer you an alliance."
"I told you everything, and you didn't say a single word about a colony," Harper snarled at Jimmy. Jimmy remained totally relaxed. He smiled at Harper.
"Relax, brother Harper," said the Poet. "Will you let me finish? I want to make clear your generosity will be reciprocated. If you and your friends join our colony, each of you will receive two implant kits. From us, in addition to the ones you'll be getting with your licenses. Because of course we're going to keep everything nice and legal."
Li Yang was dumbfounded. This was the exact opposite of what he was expecting! It was all happening so fast, too fast. He didn't know what to think.
"I don't know what to say," said Harper.
"Then don't say anything," advised the Poet. "We'll have a long talk later."
"Yes, we must."
"But not before I'd had a word with you, Harper," Charlene's voice rang out. The silence that followed was heavy with meaning.
It was broken by Olga. She said:
"Is this finished now? Can I get back to my dinner?"
NOTICE
This work is available to read online exclusively at Webnovel.com.
https://www.webnovel.com/book/15767933905886705
If you are reading it at a different site, it has been copied and reproduced without the author's consent. The owner of that site is a thief.