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Hamster Wheel

Paul stepped into the bakery and unraveled the scarf he’d wrapped around his mouth and throat.

Aundrea was sliding a tray of blueberry muffins into the display case. “You look cold, Paul. Have one of these while they’re still warm.”

“Thanks, I had to walk here from the park.” He slid his gloves off and stuffed them in his coat pocket.

“Why didn’t Sarah bring you? It’s so cold out today.” She handed him a muffin.

He took it and peeled the muffin liner away. “She’s mad at me for kissing Carol instead of her.”

“I can’t see why you’d kiss either of them.” She headed back to the kitchen.

Paul shook his head and took a bite of the muffin. ‘My life would be a lot easier if I hadn’t.’ He savored it as he wandered around admiring the pastries.

The bell over the door jingled, announcing Jeb’s arrival. “Ready?”

“Let me tell Aundrea we’re leaving.”

“Ask her if she needs anything from Zbrowski’s.” Jeb checked a jar of wooden utensils on a shelf.

Paul nodded as he dropped the crumpled muffin liner in the trash can. “Hey, Aundrea, he’s here now.”

“Okay, see you back home.” She was measuring out flour for her next project.

“He wants to know if you need anything from Zbrowski’s.”

“No, but I think he’s running low on his fine grit sandpaper. If you stop at Wentzel’s, we need more ginger at home, too.”

“Okay. I’ll tell him.”

“Paul?”

He waited.

“I think you’d better sit it out this week.”

“I haven’t been able to reach Carol, so I guess there’s no reason to come back until somebody calls me in.” He shrugged.

“You haven’t been sleeping.” She grabbed some eggs from the refrigerator.

Paul nodded. “I only sleep when I have to. It’s not especially restful.”

“And that’s why you’re here.” She shook some chocolate chips into a measuring cup. “You can’t expect to relax if you’re getting caught up in Sarah’s drama.”

“I guess not, but I was just trying to help Carol. It’s my fault she’s not here to do it herself.”

“Always the hero.” She shook her head. “Catch.”

He held his mouth open to catch a chocolate chip. “It’s what I do. See you at home.”

Jeb was studying the holiday decor when Paul returned from the kitchen. “All good?”

“Not even close.” Paul put his gloves on and pulled his scarf out.

Jeb nodded and led him to the truck.

“Boy, it’s bitterly cold today.”

Jeb shrugged as he clicked the locks. “Never know when there’s going to be a change in the weather.”

Paul climbed in and buckled up. “She said you might be low on fine grit sandpaper.”

“Need some maple stain, too.” Jeb said as he backed out of the parking spot. “I need to make a few more honey wands for the store.”

“How are you so calm all the time?”

“I like what I do and I do what I like. I’ve got a beautiful wife who loves me. My home is comfortable and I don’t have a mortgage. The church family is great. I knew what I wanted, so I made it happen.”

“You make it sound easy.”

“If you know what you want and you know how to get it, it is.” Jeb pulled up at the red light. “Do you know what you want?”

“I thought I did.”

“Guess it’s hard to maintain perspective on a hamster wheel.”

“Are we going to stop at Wentzel’s? She wants some ginger.”

“Sure, it’s just up the street a bit.”

“How did you figure out what you wanted?”

Jeb pulled up in front of the hardware store. “It was easy for me. As soon as Dad gave me a knife and a stick, I just knew.”

“I never gave it much thought.” Paul unbuckled and got out.

“Maybe that’s the problem.” Jeb grabbed a basket from the stack by the door. “Hard to call it a decision if you don’t think about it.”

Paul scanned the aisles as he followed Jeb to the wood stains. “Seems like the decision made itself for me. I was a comics geek as a kid. I remember seeing something on the news that the original team did, but when they put up their video channel, everything changed.”

“That made you want to join the Sentinels?”

“Kind of, but I didn’t expect to get powers. If I hadn’t, I might have become one of The Watchers.”

“Who?”

“Superfans and cyber-stalkers. The free publicity is great when it’s good, but some of them like to embarrass us.”

Jeb placed a quart of maple stain in his basket. “Sounds a treat. Glad I live out here in the middle of nowhere with nobody watching.”

“It can be a real hassle, but it doesn’t make me want to stop.”

“Do you want to?” Jeb looked over his shoulder. “Even a little?”

“Not really.” Paul pulled a package of sandpaper from a peg hook. “Is this the right stuff?”

Jeb checked it out and dropped it in the basket. “Yeah, thanks. So, you like being in the Sentinels?”

“I love it.”

“Then, why can’t you sleep?”

“Maybe I care too much.”

Jeb eyed him suspiciously. “Maybe so, but there’s probably more to it than that.”

“I can’t imagine what.”

“So, what happened Saturday?” Jeb turned the corner and headed for the tools.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Paul, do you really think that Trilby and Marta spared any detail after you jumped in the shower?”

“They weren’t there for the whole thing.” He looked around at the wall of tools.

“Yeah, so tell me what happened.”

“I don’t know. I was cruising around doing autographs and selfies…”

“And?” Jeb was scouring the shelves for something.

“There was this couple and their two boys, reminded me of Eric and Jack.”

“That bugged you?”

“What? No, of course not. They were just people. Y’know?”

“Is there some kind of friction?”

“With Eric? No.”

“Jack?”

“Haven’t seen him in ages.” He looked at the tool displays without seeing them. “He went to work at the Institute after…”

“Hey, if I get this for you, are you going to hurt yourself?”

“What?” Paul jerked out of his reverie.

Jeb held up a folding knife. “I’d like to teach you how I stay calm. Is that something you’d like to try?”

“I’d be willing to try anything at this point.”