Free The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord Page A

his nodes or reverse his polarity or whatever it is he needs done to him. Fergus will
     fly you in today and pick you up Sunday afternoon.”
    Serendipity and guilt knocked jointly on my conscience. “Um … it’s a silent monastery.
     Do you need me to stay there with him or just take him there?”
    Qeturah frowned slightly. “I thought he was your friend. I want to have someone nearby
     to check on him, and you’re a familiar face. We can’t spare Joral; he’s got all the
     reports of their meetings.”
    I felt even guiltier. “No, I didn’t mean … What I meant was, d’ you mind if I take
     a couple of days to visit my sister? I’ll make sure Dllenahkh can reach me at any
     time, and I’ll get her to drive me back to the monastery the day before Fergus returns
     for us.”
    I bit my tongue. I hoped she wouldn’t think I was just taking advantage, though in
     a way I was, but it was for a good cause, an appropriate cause, even.
    Her face cleared. “Of course. All my family’s in Tlaxce, and I keep forgetting what
     it’s like when your kin are farther afield. Take a couple of days. Just don’t miss
     that shuttle.”
    “No, ma’am,” I said in relief.
    She glanced down at my stash of cake with a smile. “And yes, I do want you to leave
     immediately.”
    The half-hour trip was fairly quiet. I spent the first ten minutes of it psyching
     myself up, then excused myself to go to a monitor at the back of the shuttle and call
     my sister. Just to be sure, I called her personal communicator first, not her house
     comm. She answered in seconds, audio only.
    “Identify,” she said, her tone offhand and slightly rushed.
    Of course. I was calling from a general government comm, so my ID wouldn’t show up.
     “Maria, it’s Grace. How are you? How’re the children?”
    There was a slight, shocked pause, and the video flipped on. She hadn’t changed too
     much. A little fuller around the face, maybe, but I wasn’t going to tell her that.
     “Grace? How are you!
Where
are you! My goodness, it’s not a birthday or a special occasion—what’s happening?”
    I smiled. At least she seemed happy to see me. “Work’s happening. I’ll be in Montserrat
     for a few days. Think I could pop by for a quick visit?”
    “Yes!” Her response was breathless and wholeheartedly sincere. “The children will
     be so happy to see you, especially Rafi, and Ioan is always complaining that you never
     come by.”
    My heart lightened. It was going to be just fine. “Well, then, don’t tell them; let
     me surprise them! Is it all right if I land in the backyard in … oh … about three
     hours’ time?”
    She began to giggle. “Sure! Oh, this is amazing! I can’t believe it. Oh!”
    There was a voice in the background. She turned suddenly, one hand reaching out to
     swiftly kill the vid. “Nothing, dear! Coming in a moment!” She whispered hastily,
     audio-only. “Must go! See you soon! Bye!” Then the link died.
    I sighed, smiling slightly. Blood is blood, you know? There’s too much shared history
     and too many cross-connecting bonds to ever totally extract yourself from that half-smothering,
     half-supporting, muddled net called family.
    Speaking of which …
    “Dllenahkh,” I said, coming back to my seat at the front of the shuttle. “I’m going
     to abandon you for a couple of days, butyou have my comm ID and you can call me any time. You know that, right?”
    He gave me a vaguely bemused look. “I have the comm IDs of all the members of the
     mission team. However, given that I am going to a monastery, the chances of anything
     happening over the next two days that I should need to report are—”
    “I know, I know,” I interrupted with a grin. “However vanishingly small a chance it
     might be, you can call me, okay?”
    He paused and seemed to recollect something, then graciously said, “Thank you. And
     you may call me as well, should you wish to do so.”
    I was warmed by his awkward