Her mama had never had any expectations for her.

Nor had her Daddy.

They weren’t that sort of folk.

There was rules a’course.

But they ain’t the same thing at all.

She hears Simon talk about his folk’s expectations and she feels sorry for him.

Sorry that he didn’t have a Mama and a Daddy that loved him like hers loved her.

Her folk’s had hopes and dreams for her.

But they didn’t expect her to meet them.

Seemed to her that when you had an expectation of someone that you somehow felt that they owed it to you to meet’em.

Like you was better than them.

Smarter.

It was like you owned them, like they had to do what you wanted them to do.

Wasn’t no way to love someone.

Her Mama hoped that she’d be good, hoped that she’d be happy.

Her Daddy hoped the same.

They hadn’t been happy when she’d loved machines and their workin’s so much.

Hadn’t liked it when she stopped going to school in favor of hanging around the docks.

They’d tried to get her to see their point a’view.

And tried to see hers.

But when they couldn’t agree they’d let her chose her own path in life.

T’was her life to lead and they was smart enough to know better than try to lead it for her.

Simon’d tried to explain to her how everybody had expectations of everybody else, how even she had expectations of people.

But he was wrong.

She didn’t expect people to be good, she weren’t no fool. She knew there were bad folk out there.

She just hoped that everybody she met was a good sort.

And in her experience most folk were good.

There were exceptions, there always would be.

But her Mama always said that you always found what you looked for.

And Kaylee figured that if that were so she may as well look for the good.

She always found it.

And no matter what Simon said that weren’t no expectation.

T’was just plain good sense.