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Julio shuddered, headed for his room, and nearly slipped on part of a newspaper the babysitter had let
fall near the couch. He picked it up, intending to wad it and throw the thing against the wall. His eye
caught a bold headline about the rapid growth and opportunities in Magdeburg, the capitol of the CPE or
whatever.
Hadn't Magdeburg been burnt to the ground? Well, damn! Julio headed for the kitchen to read the
paper. Let the babysitter sleep. He looked around for the bottle of shine, which Angie hadn't found. He
pulled the cork and took a swig.
He looked at the paper and, for the first time since the Ring Of Fire, saw news that wasn't filtered
through people like the Coopers and Harts.
Maybe life would be better in a place like Magdeburg. It mentioned the planned navy base in the article.
Julio thought about all the new service businesses that would be springing up around the base.
Magdeburg might just be the place for him to go.
Julio laid the paper down on the cluttered table, took one more pull on the bottle, and hid it again. He
walked past the babysitter and the twins. He'd sleep on the idea about getting away from here. Maybe
things would be clearer in the morning.
* * *
It was absolutely dead in the Club. Fenton Mase and Odetta Thorpe wandered into the kitchen. Julio
was kicked back, looking at a paper. "Horse shit! Julio, you know better than to bring anything German
into the Club. Ken or one of the regulars see that, and all hell will bust loose."
"Look at this, Fenton." Julio held the paper up for him to see.
"You know I can't read that crap!" growled Fenton. "What's it say that's worth knowing about?
Julio translated as he read Fenton the article about Magdeburg's growth. "You know, the more I look at
this, the more I think I'll just pack up and go."
"You have to be crazy to even consider it!" Fenton's voice was sarcastic.
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"No. Think about it. I looked it up. Magdeburg is far enough away that I ain't goin' to have a bunch of
people remembering me as one of the Club 250 trash; but it isn't that far away. At least it will be better
than here."
Fenton snorted. "Hell! Julio, that place isn't America! It's full of foreigners and the US Navy Base there
isn't American even if that is what the paper says. They don't even got 'lectric or flush shitters there.
Magdeburg ain't civilized yet."
"Well, I'm seriously thinking of going. What do I have here? A job washing dishes and flipping burgers
for a bunch of shitheads nobody likes. They don't even like each other."
Julio stopped Fenton before he could say anything. "Don't give me any crap about the good old boys.
You know as well as I do, the Club has been going downhill since that first election. And how many
waitresses has this place gone through? Brandy quit; Marlene quit; and Angie isn't worth a hill of beans
even when she does show. All the good ol' boys do is complain about how everything would be better if
it weren't for all the Germans or Mike Stearns, or the sky isn't blue today. I don't need this no more."
Fenton started to rebut Julio but thought again. "Read that to me again. But get the paper out of here
before Ken sees it."
"Yeah, read it again, Julio," Odetta added, a look of wanderlust in her eyes.
Julio started reading the article once more. Two people seemed to think he had stumbled onto
something.
* * *
A few days later, Julio had made up his mind and headed down to Grantville Homes and Land. He saw
Huddy Colburn himself. He wanted to sell his home and fast. It wasn't a case of going for the best price.
When Juanita had been injured in ninety-two, he'd pretty much given up on life. Since the accident, his
rock and confidante couldn't give him the support he had come to rely on. It had almost been a blessing
when she had finally passed away in 1632.
He hadn't been much of a father after Juanita's accident. His cousin and his wife were more parents to
his youngest two children than he'd been. Maybe that was why they had turned out better than Angie.
She'd been sixteen at the time and had just gone wild too wild. Her life had been spiraling downhill ever
since.
Huddy made an offer of his own for the lot and house. Some major work was going to have to be done
to bring the place up to standards. Julio had allowed the house to fall apart bit by bit. Huddy had made
sure he understood that he was going below market value on the place; but it was going to cost him to
have the place repaired for later sale.
Well, it wasn't like Julio wanted to wait around for Huddy to put the place on the market and wait
around for a bite. He'd decided to leave, and that was final.
"Two weeks enough time to vacate the place?" Huddy had asked.
Two weeks was more than enough time. The next day, Huddy had the contract and the check for the
place ready. Julio had two weeks to pack up and go. Magdeburg or bust. So long, Grantville.
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* * *
Julio had just finished telling his oldest daughter that he was leaving. And that she would have to find
someplace else to live. It had taken two days to catch her and she now had less than two weeks to find a
new place.
Angie Sanabria glared at her father. "What do you mean, you've sold the house and I'll have to find
somewhere else to live? This is my home, too, you know!"
Julio looked at his daughter and smiled. "It was my home. You just live here. How much have you
contributed to maintenance and food? Now it belongs to Grantville Homes and Land. I could have sold it
for more, but I just want out of here. So I dumped it for the first offer. After the bank grabbed their share
to pay back the mortgage, there isn't all that much left. Finally, if you'd ever been around, you'd have
known what I was going to do."
"You can't do this, Papa! Where will me and the twins live now? And where are you going to live?"
"I don't know where you'll be living, to tell you the truth. You have your partying friends and can
probably live with one of them." Julio pointed to himself. "Me? I'm moving to Magdeburg. So you'll just
have to grow up and take care of your own life."
"You can't do this!"
He looked at her. "That's where you're wrong, Angie. I can do it and I'm going to. You have to learn
there's more to life than just one big party."
* * *
Odetta listened while her two co-workers talked about moving to Magdeburg. They even had a plan for
starting a business there. Both had something to put in, though most of the money and other things would
be coming from Julio Sanabria.
"I can sell the trailer, even if I don't own the lot it sits on. That will give me some money. And I should be
able to get something for the Bronco." Fenton had joined in the plan to move.
"How about letting me come along? I can wait tables." Odetta watched the sour looks invade both men's
faces. "Okay, I can do fast foods, too. I've done the short order cook routine in Norfolk, Baltimore, and
Akron. I can be of use and I want to leave, too."
Julio studied her like she was a dog with two heads. Granted, she didn't really get along with most
people, except Estil Congden. But hell. She hadn't planned on making Grantville her home. It had been
one of those stopovers before she moved on to greener pastures.
"Why the hell not?" Julio looked at Fenton. "Let's all tell Ken we're quitting at the same time. I really
want to see the look on his face."
Odetta and Fenton both laughed, but it was short lived. The first of the regulars arrived. It was time to
go to work.
* * *
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