Wheels of Steel Book 4 by Pepper Pace Read Free Book Online

single black knotted slip of leather. Jeans and black suede slippers rounded out his look.
    Robin’s attention moved from him and Amberly to Belinda when the bigger girl nearly squeezed the life out of her with a big bear hug.
    “Are you staying here? Please do-“ She whispered into Robin’s ear.
    Robin returned the hug and chuckled. “Yes we are. I’m not worried about her living here,” she replied knowing that Belinda was concerned about Amberly’s place of residency.
    Belinda yipped happily and then moved to hug Jason. Peter had already greeted his friend with a fist bump and he fist bumped Robin as well. Amberly called out a brief hello.
    “You two have to be tired. Come inside. Your bags are here and Y has already taken them to your room.”
    Y and Jason shook hands enthusiastically leaving Robin and Amberly to look upon each other awkwardly.
    “How was the trip?” Amberly asked politely.
    “Long.” Robin glanced at Jason who was not paying them any attention. “So this is where you live.”
    “Well Y and I were planning to get our own place but that won’t be until after … ” her voice trailed off.
    “The funeral.” Robin supplied.
    Amberly nodded her head. She looked at Robin as if waiting for something, but when it didn’t come she turned and joined the rest of the group. Robin did the same. She probably should have apologized but that would have meant that she had forgiven and forgotten—and she had done neither.
     

     
    Robin knew that before she entered the house she would have to take off her shoes, but she didn’t realize how big of a production it would be.
    “Watch how Y does it,” Jason had whispered. As his whispers was actually his normal talking voice, everyone looked at her and Y explained.
    “Robin, turn your shoes to face out, so that when you leave they will be facing the correct direction.”
    And what if those aren’t the shoes I want to wear when I’m leaving? Robin thought to herself but chose to keep the question to herself.
    “This entryway is called the genkan. When you are wearing your ie no kutsu they should not touch this portion of the house to prevent dirt from outside being transferred into the house.”
    “There are a lot of things to get used to in Japan.” Belinda said. “Like, you have to wear toilet shoes when you go to the toilet. The toilet shoes are considered the dirtiest thing on the face of the universe.”
    Robin made a face. “Do I want to put them on my feet?”
    Y chuckled. “They are clean but they breach a portion of the house which is most unsanitary so you must never wear your bathroom slippers when out of the toilet area.”
    “Wait until she gets a load of a traditional Japanese toilet.” Belinda smirked. Robin gave her a quick look. She’d used the bathroom at the Ramen noodle restaurant and it had just been a regular toilet.
    Oh shit, I hope I don’t have to squat over a hole or use an outhouse …
    Once barefoot they went inside the house. Peter just smirked as he was in a wheelchair and got a pass. They entered into an area that felt like a wet room. There were cubby’s that held the indoor shoes and everyone grabbed a set, including Jason.
    “You can choose your own cubby Robin and keep the same pair of slippers,” he said.
    “Or if you are a guest you can just use one of the disposable pair that are wrapped in plastic.” Peter added.
    Robin examined one of the disposable set of slippers and saw that they were too fine to throw out after each use. They looked like cotton and although white the stitching was yellow and red and they seemed more comfortable than the uwabaki that she had been given which where were white canvas with a strap across the top. She returned her personal uwabaki and opted for the softer slipper.
    Robin saw Y smile slightly although no one else seemed to notice.
    “Jason your Baclofen stuff is here too,” Amberly said. “You should get your levels checked as soon as possible.”
    “My doctor