Silas thornbush's Arc

Chapter 13 of 14

Silas arrived at Lovelock's memorial garden market three weeks after declining the foreman's offer. He'd expected to find fifteen vendors and a layout that needed minor adjustments. Instead, he counted thirty stalls arranged in five rows, with wagons still arriving and vendors arguing over booth assignments. Lovelock met him at the entrance, holding a clipboard thick with papers. "Thirty-two now, actually. Two more confirmed this morning." He gestured toward the chaos. "They all want in because of your network. Half of them are using your soil methods. The other half heard about the roses and want to sell near them." He handed Silas the clipboard. "I need someone here full-time to manage this. Layout, vendor disputes, supply coordination. It's too much for me to run alone while keeping my own operation going." Silas looked at the clipboard, then at the market. Vendors were unpacking without clear assignments. Three people occupied the same corner plot. A pottery seller was setting up in what should have been a walkway. The whole thing would collapse without someone present to organize it. But managing it meant staying put, just like the foreman's offer. "I can't be here permanently," Silas said. "I've got settlements depending on my route." Lovelock shook his head. "Your route brought this here. Thirty vendors selling flowers, pottery, dye, food—all because you connected them. But if nobody manages it, they'll leave and it'll die like the last market did." Silas walked through the rows, watching vendors struggle with setup. A woman with crates of roses had nowhere to unload. Two men were shouting about who had rights to a stall near the entrance. Lovelock was right—without coordination, the whole thing would fall apart. He stopped at an empty plot near the back, where a small storage shed sat surrounded by volunteers planting flowers around its foundation. The shed had good visibility of the entire market. It could work as an office, a place to store records and meet with vendors. He turned to Lovelock. "I'll take it, but not full-time. I'll manage layout and vendor coordination, but I'm keeping my route. I'll be here two weeks every month, and you handle the rest." Lovelock considered it, then nodded. "Two weeks is enough if you set up the systems right. Deal." Silas took the clipboard and started marking corrections on the layout map. He'd built his network by traveling, but now the network needed him to stay still long enough to make it work. He'd found a way to do both.