Cap shrugged. “He’s not wrong.”
“Men,” she grumbled. “So, any idea what you’re going to do now that you’re out here?”
“Um…I hadn’t really thought about it. I’ll probably check out what’s available in the area for work.”
Cap cleared his throat, eyeing me in that way that made it perfectly obvious to anyone around that he didn’t agree.
“What? Is there a problem?” Krista asked.
“No,” Cap said quickly. “It’s just…we don’t normally let anyone leave whenever they want. That’s all.”
Krista frowned at him, then shot me a withering look. “You don’tletanyone leave? I wasn’t aware that when I was moving out here, I was entering captivity.”
“Oh, it’s not captivity,” Cap cut in. “It’s a safety protocol.”
“A safety protocol.”
Man, repeating it only made it sound worse.
“Yes. If everyone just left whenever they wanted, how would we know if something happened to someone?”
“Call me crazy,” Krista chuckled, still not completely aware that Cap was serious about this, “but people go about their lives every day, and still return to live their lives another day.”
“And those are the people who are completely unaware of the dangers around them,” he retorted.
“The—” Her eyes shifted to mine. “Is he serious?”
I winced, not sure what to tell her. I mean, it was different in Montana. It wasn’t like I could just dump a bunch of security protocols on her. Plus, in Montana, it was perfectly normal for everyone to walk around with a gun. Here…
“Look,” I started, clearing my throat to buy myself a little more time, “you get used to it. I mean, it’s really not that bad. When you want to leave, I would go with you.”
“What if I need to leave in the middle of the day, but you’re at work?”
“We can reschedule anything,” I tried.
“What about if I need groceries?”
“We have them delivered.”
“What if they have a bomb in them?” she countered.
I pinched the bridge of my nose as the words hung on the tip of my tongue. “We have every package scanned as it arrives.”
Her eyes widened incredulously. “Even groceries?”
“As you just said, what if a bomb is in there?”
She tossed her napkin down on the table and shoved her chair back. “I was joking!”
Getting to my feet, I chuckled as I waved at the other patrons, hoping she didn’t cause too much of a scene. “Can you just sit down?”
Slamming her hands down on the table, she leaned forward and hissed, “Are you insane?”
“Me? No, I’m perfectly normal.”
“Normal people don’t scan their groceries for a bomb!” she shouted.
Again, I chuckled as I looked at the rest of the patrons. “It’s a play we’re rehearsing for.”