Two days later Hotch found himself being assigned a bed located in the 'later risers' cluster in the men's dorm.
"This is the group of men who don't have to be up early in the morning," 433 explained as he showed Hotch the bed he had been assigned. "Those at the far end down there," he pointed at a screen that separated a group of beds at the far end of the room. "Are the ones who have to get up early to tend the cows and other livestock or to bake the bread. They also have to go to bed earlier in the evenings."
"The group you are in includes the boys who are still in school, as well as the men who work in the kitchen cleaning up after lunch and preparing dinner," he concluded. "I think you already know 603. He's part of this group."
"Of course I know him," Hotch replied. "Nice, hard working young man."
"Well, we have some others just like him here," 433 replied. "And, you will probably be getting better acquainted with them when they are assigned to assist you with your carpentry projects."
"Speaking of which," Hotch said. "Do you happen to know if I will be getting a new partner? Who do I need to speak to about that?"
"Your new partner would be me," the bandy-legged man told him cheerfully. "I used to work in the vegetable gardens until the hot sun got to be too much for me. Managing the men's dorm doesn't take much of my time, so I'm going to be working with you, too. What's on our schedule?"
"Good, glad to hear it," Hotch told him with an approving smile. "I'm almost done with the shelving in the sewing rooms so our next project is going to be the storage area in the nursery. I understand it is primarily used for toys."
"I can only imagine that mess," 433 chuckled. "And they just got a new shipment of toys and clothes for the kids so they will be cleaning out the old stuff to make room for the new things. Your timing is just right."
"And, after that," Hotch continued. "I suspect we will be working on the shelving in the laundry room. From what I have seen, that area has been neglected for years."
"Sounds like you have plenty of work lined up for us," 433 commented happily. "Are we getting started this afternoon?"
"Oh – I heard you were moving in here," 537 strutted over to join the two men. "I guess you'll be in here between the – Boys?" He sneered at Hotch.
"I'll be among the growing young men," Hotch corrected him. "And I hope I will be providing a good role model for them."
"I'm moving into this area myself," 433 glared at the man. "And I think that between the two of us we will be helping to raise some responsible, hard working young men."
"Well, I came back early to talk to you," 537 announced to 433 while pointedly ignoring Hotch. "The floor under my bed appears to be warped and my bed is not sitting level. It needs to be fixed immediately. Or, you could move me to a better location." He stared defiantly at 433.
"I'll put that on the list and 603 can handle it when he finishes school for the day," 433 calmly told the man. "He shouldn't have any problem with that. He's a quick learner."
"He'd better be," 537 declared. "I'll be checking the repair."
"And, just so you know, I don't intend to share my area with any animals," he added, glaring at Hotch as the tiger striped cat wandered into the sleeping area.
"This cat seems to have a mind of its own," Hotch pointed out as the men watched the animal inspect the beds and then jump up onto the one assigned to Hotch. "And I don't think anyone is going to be able to change it."
"Well, he had better stay out of my way," 537 warned before stalking off. He passed so close to Hotch that Hotch was forced to take a step backwards in order to avoid a collision.
"There is one more thing," 433 told Hotch after 537 had left the room. "I understand you are thinking of marrying 586."
"That is a possibility," Hotch admitted cautiously.
"If I were you, I wouldn't mention it too loudly," was his advice. "Several people here, including him (he nodded in the direction 537 had taken) consider her to be very desirable and you probably don't want to have to deal with the jealously that would ensue."
"Thanks for the information," Hotch replied sincerely. "I will definitely keep it in mind. Now, as for the cat."
"I'm putting him in charge of rodent control."