Jessie exclaimed as they got within easy speaking distance. “I was afraid you’d gotten into trouble when you didn’t get back to Captain Tinker’s last night.” Her eyes took in Ki’s dust-smeared vest and trousers. “From the way you look, I was right.” “There was a little trouble,” he said. “It’s over now.” “Have you had breakfast?” Ki smiled. “I’ve been too busy to think about food.” “And you missed supper last night, I suppose?” “I was busy last night, too.” “We’d better go back to Captain Tinker‘s, then,” she suggested. “We can talk privately while we’re walking, if you’d like to bring me up to date on what happened to you.” By a long-standing but unspoken agreement, there were few secrets between Jessie and Ki, though each of them realized there were areas of their personal lives that it would be better not to share. While both he and Jessie were usually aware of the events that took place in the other’s private life, they did not discuss them in detail.
