“No forest? I don’t know if I would like a place without trees.”
Tom finished his first piece of chicken and started on the second. “Oh, there are bits of woodland, scattered about. Rayn’s Wood is where I first met...” He paused and looked at Suvi anxiously.
She gave him an encouraging smile. “Just for tonight, remember?”
He sighed and nodded his agreement. “It is where I met Katy, when she was sixteen. She was a... stranger to Schippendorff, and had no home. So Jack’s parents took her in, and became her guardians. Later she and I went to school together.”
“And Jack, was he your friend too?”
He scratched his head. “Well, I guess so. He and I played on the same baseball team before the war.” At Suvi’s baffled look, Tom explained. “Baseball is a sport they play in Schippendorff. Two tea
