I couldn't work any slower than I already did. The summer heat wafted through the open door, wrapping around my shoulders, sucking all the precious air from my lungs. Sleepily, I continued. Above and below. Below and above. With needle and thread. Sew, sew, sew. It was infinitely banal. Vests, shirts, trousers and knee-length trousers, jackets, socks and socks. Above and below. Below and above. Needle and thread. Again and again. A musket ball to the head couldn't have improved the situation. My mother was sitting in front of me. I imitated her, just like I always did: cross-legged on the wooden chair, with the garment in my lap, sewing, over and over again. Outside, I could hear the cacophony of rumblings, mutterings, and a few cheering soldiers, loading muskets, inventorying gunpowder, clearing away whatever rot we had in store. I wasn't old enough to drink, but I knew what they call bad liquor these days. We all had to contribute and earn some from time to time: people these days didn't like buying from redcoats. Unless you were a loyalist, you probably wouldn't spit at people like King George. Except me. I'm funny like that. It's not like I'm a lobster or anything, I'm just... different. My father is a British soldier. My mother and I sew uniforms for the colonial army. He sends me letters whenever he can, but I haven't received one in a while. We stay in Maryland, dad stays everywhere. My parents never got divorced – it's not as easily given as you might think nowadays. Only about thirty a year around here, I think. The mother still wears the wedding ring; I don't think dad does. It was tough, but I can handle it. My political views are, as I said, different. I think I'm undecided. I help mom wherever I can, but I know dad is disappointed in me. Sometimes I lie to make them happy, even though I know they don't believe me. I'm sure it hurts them, and I guess I'm too selfish to care. I have to guess a lot of things in these difficult times: when we have to move, what we have to eat in the evening, who comes and goes, the safety of my family, what my life will be like in ten years. We live in a fort: me, my mother, my uncle and other families.