Gram poked her head in the door of Ron’s den. “Tony, are you hungry? We’ve eaten, but I can easily fix you something.”
“Thanks, love, but I ate on the plane.”
“You call that food.”
Tony laughed. “It wasn’t that bad.” Gram made a face. “Okay, yes it was, but I was hungry so I ate it anyway.”
“If you’re sure…? I’m off to my dance class. See you two later. Don’t stay up too late.”
“Gotta love her,” Tony said as Ron closed the door behind her. “Okay, pal, give. I want every damn detail.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault you were incommunicado. I called every number I knew that morning. Didn’t want you to miss the lunch of a lifetime. Where the hell were you? Off somewhere with your latest fling? Hope she was worth it.”
Tony waggled his hand in a so-so gesture. “Talk!”
“We met at Jamie’s for lunch. The kids glommed onto Em like little magnets.” Ron shook his head. “You would have been amazed. You know how sullen Tia can be sometimes?”
“Oh yeah. The joys of having a teenager in the house. Don’t envy you, man.”
“Well, you should have seen her, and the other kids—animated philosophers, I tell you. Comfortable with Em, no question. As if she was one of them. She knew a lot about them, and they liked that. Just as she knew a lot about us.”
“Didn't that feel like an invasion?”
Ron considered the question carefully. “I hadn’t thought about it that way, but no.”
“Part of her magic?”
“I guess.” Why, he asked himself, why did she have that effect?
“So what did she and the kids talk about? Sex? Drugs?”
Ron laughed. “What didn’t they discuss would be a better question.”
*
What happened to your hand?” Cole was the first to speak after the introductions. Typical kid, direct and honest. Em chuckled. The first two fingers of her left hand were bandaged together.
“I’m pretty much a klutz. I mashed my fingers between hand weights working out this morning.”
“You can’t be a klutz,” Tia said. “Not from what we see on TV anyway.”
“Oh, but I am.”
Cole snuggled up beside Em on the settee. She put an arm around his shoulder and asked, “Who is the person who has most influenced you?”
“My dad.” Judging by the look on Ron’s face, Tia’s answer had surprised him. “Why?”
“No matter what happens he stays calm. Even if it’s something really upsetting, he doesn’t panic. He gets all quiet and you know he’s thinking it through. I admire the way he looks at all sides before he decides what to do. I think it drives Gram crazy though because her style is to take charge and attack the problem right away.” Em looked over at Gram to see her nodding in agreement and glaring at Ron who grinned widely at her.
“What do you look for in a friend?” Em was always curious about teens’ thinking. So often the reality didn’t match the stereotype that many adults had of them.
“There’s a term that I think comes from Asian gangs, but don’t quote me on that—solid,” Adam said. “To me it means being a friend one hundred percent. Someone who is not going to cheat me or back-stab me. Someone completely reliable. My best friend would be the first person to bail me out and not do it because he expected something in return.”
“Loyalty, honor, and respect are important too,” Amy said. “Respect has to be earned, not bought by material giveaways.”
“How do others earn your respect?”
“By not being judgmental or condemning about my political views, or how I dress, or how I go about things.” Tia had obviously given this a lot of thought.
“And adults?”
“By allowing us to find our own path.” Amy shot a meaningful glance in the direction of her parents.
“Amy!” her mother hissed.
“What?” Amy's tone turned belligerent. “You don't want me blabbing family stuff?”
“There's such a thing as discretion,” Ian said.
“Right, Dad. Only Mom doesn't know what that is. Ask her what she discusses on bridge night or her book club or her golf dates.”
Her mom's face reddened. “Amy, please!” Em put a hand on the girl's arm. Amy ducked her head. Her body trembled a little. An age old battle, Em thought. She'd talk to the two later, for now she needed a diversion. “What would you be willing to do for a friend?” she asked.
“Anything,” Adam said.
“Even something illegal? And, would you expect him to do something illegal for you?”
“It would depend on what kind of illegal,” Brad said. “Moral illegal would be different than law illegal. I wouldn’t do it just because a friend asked me to, like run drugs or something, but I would drive without a license if I thought it was necessary.”
Em glanced at Ron. His expression told her that his children were surprising him. They were great and obviously had a lot of respect for him. Didn’t he know them, listen to them? She was disappointed in him.
Amy had a question. “I’m finishing high school this year and my parents are insisting I have to go to college, but I don’t know if I want to.” Amy’s resentment simmered dangerously close to the surface.
“We'll talk later,” Em said.
But Amy wasn't ready to let it go. “What do you tell your kids? You do have kids?”
Em reached over and squeezed Amy’s hand. God, I love kids. That thought and the feelings coursing through her heart unhinged her. That must have come from my real life, the life I had—or have—apart from this one. Please, someone tell me. She glanced up at the sky. Why? Why look up? She felt like such a beggar just then, but she didn’t care. She wanted answers.
“We watch you all the time,” Jennifer said. “You do so many dangerous things. Aren’t you scared?”
Em sighed inwardly. No answers for her, but maybe she had some for the kids. “I’m always petrified I’m not doing the right things.”
“Why do you do it then?” Cole asked. “It’s my job.”
“Do you really think you can stop war?” Adam asked.
Em froze. Her heart hardened. A mere touch and she would crack and splinter and sink away. Adam reached out as if to comfort her, and then let his hand drop with a helpless look to his parents.
“Are you okay,” Cole asked. His voice, so full of concern, warmed her. He was still beside her on the settee, but had pulled away and was looking anxiously up at her. “Madame?” Cole put his hand on her cheek. “Mom! Do something,” he called to Jamie. “Do something.” Her icy heart began to melt. She hugged him tightly and smiled wanly at Adam.
“To answer your question, Adam, I must or I wouldn’t keep trying.” Her tone was light, but she couldn’t stop the trembling, the aftershock of the feelings the question had roused in her. War. God damn fucking war.
“Most adults are uncomfortable with teens. How come you’re not?” Jennifer asked.
“I spend a lot of time with kids. They have been my best teachers.” So that’s what I do in my real life? Work with teens. Why is it these answers come when I’m not thinking about it, but if I consciously try to catch my real life it always eludes me?
“Do you like babies and little kids too?” Cole asked.
“Yes, of course.” She ruffled his hair and he grinned up at her adoringly.
“Did you learn stuff from us today?” Brad asked.
“You taught me to be careful with what I do or say because I don’t always know who I may influence and how.”
“But adults are supposed to influence us, teach us,” Tia argued.
“Of course. But the most important part of the process of growing is to learn to think and decide for yourselves. Dig for information, get informed, ask questions, demand answers, and make your own decisions. Never believe it just because someone said so.”
“Even you?” Amy grinned
“Oh, yes. I’m a product of media hype too. Don’t agree just because it’s me.”
*
Mentor gestured with her finger for me to approach. The scowl on her face scared me.
“What is she doing with all those little human kidlets?”
“Just spending some time with them. As a favor to their parents.”
“You mean it’s not part of her job?”
“No-o.” So, I let Em do it her way and I was in trouble again. Ah well, what else was new?
“So, she’s just talking with them?”
“Yes.”
“Why is that little one sitting so close to her?”
“I guess because he likes her.”
“Hum.” A sad, wistful look flitted across Mentor’s face.
I wanted to tell her I thought the kids were pretty cool. Not like up here. We’re all so … conservative, I guess is the word, or maybe reserved is a better way to describe us. A conversation like the one Em had with the children wouldn’t happen up here. We keep things bottled up. Formal and staid, we are, especially the young around adults. I thought about that a lot after watching this scene. I spied on groups of human children to see how they behaved without adults. Pretty scandalous some of the time, the things they discussed, the things they did. Our ways were definitely better, I thought. Definitely.
“Solid … interesting word,” Mentor said. Another great kid word. I rolled it on my tongue. Solid. Em was solid. Exelrud was solid. So was my sister. I think I was too.
*
“Wowza! What a day you guys had.” Tony grinned.
“Yes, but—”
“No buts about it, you lucky bastard. Did she spend all of the time with the kids?”
“Pretty much. Not that she neglected the adults, understand. It just seemed she was more comfortable with the kids or maybe understood that their needs were more urgent than ours.” Or maybe the need was hers, Ron realized with sudden insight as a vision of the kids hugging her goodbye filled his mind’s eye. Maybe she needed their energy, their enthusiasm, needed their need of her. “It was a magical afternoon for all of us.”
“Everyone says she’s beautiful. They even call her a golden goddess. She looks pretty damn good in all the pictures we see. What’s she like in real life?”
“Tony, she’s amazing. Her green eyes sparkle with fun and mischief and love of life. She has a great figure, curvy and—you’ll love this— very fit, and a beautiful golden-toned skin that is flawless. Her hair gleams blond, gold, red. She has a wonderful genuine laugh, sees the humor in all but the gravest situations. That is where her beauty comes from. Yes, she is beautiful, inside and out. The most beautiful person I’ve ever met.”
“Hey buddy, sounds like you’re in love with her.”
“Of course I am. Aren’t you? Isn’t everybody?” Ron laughed. “Let’s be honest, we all want to park our shoes under her bed.”
“Oh, yeah. You got that right.” Tony laughed along with Ron. “How did the women react to her? Were they jealous? What did Jamie say?”
Ron sighed. How to explain? “How could anyone be jealous of her after all she’s done?”
“Yeah. Gotta respect her, that’s for sure. So, if you had to sum her up in one word, what would it be?”
“Thanks Tony. Ask the easy questions, why don’t you?” Dozens of words came to mind.
Motherly. Sexy as hell. Confident, bordering on arrogant. Scared, sometimes for her personal safety, but also for the consequences of her actions.
Tony wanted one word. A whole dictionary wouldn’t suffice.