Chapter 70

 

Jared

 

 

The Drs. Wood came off the train in a flurry of scarves and screens and carry on bags and an insulated box for their lunch and dinner, so that Dr. Ned would not arrive with indigestion. He looked very healthy, in fact, and so did Dr. Louise, who greeted Cara and Jared with hugs and squeals of delight. Leaving her to admire Cara's rings and hear All The Details, whatever Cara might have omitted during their frequent phone calls, Jared and Dr. Ned went on to the baggage room to run Dr. Ned's thumb print through the ID and corral the luggage they had checked. This turned out to be four suitcases and a large box marked "Fragile" and "This End Up" and "Contents Breakable", which Dr. Ned took possession of with a sly smile.

"And how long are you going to be able to stay?" Jared inquired, watching the roboporter load itself up with the four suitcases; Dr. Ned kept the box to himself.

"Need to be back by Tuesday," said Dr. Ned, "at the latest. Important meeting. Wouldn't miss this reception for anything, though." He slung the box under one arm and patted Jared's shoulder with his free hand. "Very pleased about it all, Louise and I. Cara's a pretty special girl; deserves nothing but the best, and we think she's found it."

"Well, I don't know about that," said Jared, "but I agree with you about Cara; she is indeed special, and I'm a lucky man."

The roboporter loaded the suitcases into the trunk of Jared's car and he piled the screens and carry on bags and assorted boxes wherever he could find a spare corner and put the Woods into the back seat, keeping Cara up front where he could hold her hand. Dr. Louise said they thought they should go on home and take time to unpack a little – Jared figured it would only take three or four hours – and they would look forward to lunch tomorrow, for a proper visit.

"We have," said Cara, with a sidelong glance at her husband, "some, well, friends coming to lunch too, people we'd like you to meet. It's – sort of important that we all get together. You don't have anything planned for the afternoon?"

"No, no, unless my hair – " Dr. Louise's fingers fluttered through layers of scarf.

"Your hair is perfect," said Cara. "Don't worry about it a bit. This isn't a big formal affair, you know." Jared, thinking of Ann, kept his mouth shut. "Just a bunch of our friends and people Jared works with."

"Did you ever get hold of Saizy?" inquired Louise.

"No, she doesn't answer her mail," said Cara, "or her phone either. I'm starting to wonder if I should ask someone to check on her."

"Oh, you know how she is; she's writing and she's not taking time for anything else. And did you find your dress, dear?" asked Louise, causing Jared to wonder if she was somehow related to Ann.

"Oh, yes, I'll tell you all about it tomorrow," said Cara.

"It's so exciting," said Louise. "Imagine, the two of you; it's like a fairy tale." And that, at least, was a sentiment Jared could share; he smiled at Cara and she smiled back. He loved the light in her eyes when she smiled.

They passed the turnoff to Cara's old house, lights on beside the drive, bushes trimmed. Cara had already talked to the real estate agency Al and Ann were using; the agent she talked to knew someone who could deal with the stained floor in the back bedroom, and with luck the place would be ready to go on the market at the end of the next week. What furniture and other goods remained after their combining of households could go into storage for the time being. Cara said it was a bad-luck house and she would be glad to be rid of it.

"So you're not planning to live there?" said Dr. Louise as they passed the drive. "I'd love to think of the two of you as neighbors."

"No, we're settled in Jared's house," said Cara. "We really like the neighborhood."

"Later on," said Jared, "we might build; there're a couple of vacant lots there. My house is small," he told Louise, and she nodded with a smile of understanding. "And there's nothing special about it," he added, and Cara laughed.

"Yes, there is; it's the first place we've shared," she said, holding his hand tightly. "I might not want to move. We could just build an addition, like Issio and Sofi are. Right next door," she explained to Louise and Ned. "They're expecting, in late autumn."

"Isn't that nice!" said Louise, casting a look toward Cara's waistline, which was as slim as ever; Jared was increasingly convinced that any plans for a family were better set aside until things were more stable – at least until they knew more about, well, everything.

Besides, it was nice to have Cara all to himself for a while.

Leaving the Drs. Wood to their unpacking, Jared punched "home" into the drive and settled back with Cara resting against him, holding his hand. "By the way," she said, "maybe you should know what Louise told me, while you and Ned were getting the luggage. She reminded me I never really dated or had any romantic interests and probably didn't have much experience, so, she said, it was good that I should have fallen in love with a man with a great deal of experience, who could make it really good for me."

"Experience," said Jared, tasting the implications of that. They would, of course, have investigated him back at the beginning, when he began work for Azuri/zai. He hadn't thought about the personal side of it.

"Because she said Ned didn't have much experience himself and she had to teach him everything, which was very difficult at first; men don't like to learn from their women, she said."

And that was an interesting point of view, he thought, and an interesting perspective on the Drs. Wood as a pair, and Dr. Louise as an individual. "Well," he said. "And they seem so conservative."

"They're not quite what they seem," said Cara. "And they both think the world and more of you; they really do. You were working with them for months, you know, before you and I met; they respect your mind and your character, just as they should. And," she added, "I think they'll be very open to what we tell them tomorrow. I'm glad we're doing this."

"We have no choice at all," said Jared. "I already knew those damned Its were a threat to us personally, but now it's clear they're a threat to everyone. It has to be known; it has to be dealt with, on the level of the Azuri/zai command. Our job is to be sure the Drs. Wood realize this."

 

The D'ubian half-a-house had lights on in the living room, and faint strains of music could be heard from that direction when Jared and Cara got out of the car. Clyde's house was dark in the front, showing a low light back in the bedroom area. There were no lights in the house Al had once occupied; Ann was welcome to move in any time, Al said, but Ann had been much too busy to move anywhere. Her car was parked at a crooked angle in front of the Hardesty house, as if abandoned in haste. The Hardesty house was lit from top to bottom. Jared was glad that he wasn't inside.

Gina wasn't either; she was sitting with Sofi and Issio on their porch, in the quiet lights from the undarkened windows of their living room. "Ann wants to see you both," she greeted Jared and Cara as they emerged from their carport.

"Why?" asked Cara, on an apprehensive note.

"It was something about the corsages," she said, "and she isn't happy with the flower arrangements. And she wants to know about the wine."

"The wine," said Jared, "is the responsibility of the bridegroom. If she asks, tell her it's all taken care of. It is," he assured Cara. "I talked to Kingsleys back last week."

"Yes," said Gina, "but did you know it comes in blue too?"

"No," said Jared. "Not at our reception it doesn't."

"I may never wear blue again," said Cara, holding on to Jared's hand with both of hers. "I don't think I even like blue anymore."

"Does this mean I don't have to wear that blue shirt?" he asked her.

"And I already told her about the flowers," said Cara, "and Jared doesn't want a blue tinted carnation, and I don't want a corsage at all."

"We are informed," said Sofi, beside Gina, "that all women must wear corsages. It is improper to be without a corsage. We must put matching flowers also into your hair tomorrow, and we other women may do likewise. Maud has stated that she will carry a blue rose in her teeth, but she will not dye her teeth to match. I trust this was a joke."

"Oh, I do hope not," said Cara, starting to laugh. "But you and Gina would look lovely with flowers. In your hair, not your teeth."

"Just think," said Jared, "by this time next week, this will all be in the past."

"But not forgotten," murmured Issio, twirling his tail. "Entirely unforgettable."

 

They waited to make sure that Ann was inside the Hardesty house, waving the noter with the seating plan in one hand and a corsage made of blue-tinted leaves and white roses in the other. Then Jared and Cara tiptoed out of their own house into the noontime sunshine, scuttled into the carport, scrambled into the nearest car, which was Cara's, punched in the address of the Drs. Wood, and ducked down out of sight as the car pulled itself out into the street and took off, slightly above the speed limit.

"You know this is ridiculous," Jared said to Cara, keeping his head down below the level of the windows.

"Absolutely," she agreed, resting her chin on his knee. "We're full-grown adults, after all."

"This is our car. This is our lunch date. These are our afternoon plans. We can spend the day as we please."

"We can tell Ann to mind her own business. We can take charge of our own party."

"Our own corsages," said Jared. "Our own blue wine. Are we past the D'ubian house yet?"

"Is she following us?" Cara lifted her head very cautiously to peer into the rear view mirror. "I don't see her."

"Keep your head down for at least another couple of blocks," said Jared, pulling her back against him. "Just in case. You didn't mention where we were going to lunch, did you?"

"Absolutely not," said Cara. "Do you think I'm crazy?" She considered. "No one mentioned it in front of Patterson, did they?"

"I don't think so. We should be safe."

The Woods were less harassed; they greeted the bridal couple and climbed into the back seat quite calmly, without looking down the road to see if Ann's car might be racing after them. Jared looked. So did Cara. The day already seemed very long.

Maud and Carter were seated at the table in the back of the restaurant. Maud did not have blue teeth or a blue rose clamped between them, although Jared wouldn't be surprised if she appeared that way tonight. She looked, he thought, rather like what she was, the stylish mother of the bride having lunch with her daughter's friends before the big event in the evening. Jared introduced her as "our friend Maud," leaving out the surname, and Carter as "Denieal Carter," as he had yesterday. Everyone shook hands, and everyone sat down, and Louise looked with curiosity at Maud's diamonds and the pendant on its silver chain resting openly on the buttoned front of her shirt; apart from the jewelry she looked as quietly conservative as her daughter.

It occurred to him to wonder if the Woods, in their investigations, had run into the name of "Maud". They didn't seem to react to it, and he thought they might, if they knew about his prior relationship with her. They would be protective of Cara. On the other hand, if they had heard of her, they had also heard of her death; they would no doubt assume this was another Maud.

They ordered.

Maud remarked on the sunny weather – a bit hot, she said, but you have to expect that at this time of year. Louise inquired if she had lived here in Bridgeton very long, and Maud said you might say that. Carter said he wasn't able to spend as much time here as he liked; he studied antiquities, he said, without a blink, and often found himself called to other places. But he enjoyed what opportunity he had to visit with his sister, he said, beaming at Maud, and then turning his sharp blue eyes toward Jared and Cara. Cara gave a small gasp and then was very quiet. Jared smiled back at Carter and gripped Cara's hand tightly. And he thought all of those years when Carter had played the housekeeper and assistant, much more than a domestic servant but still only an employee; he had played the part to perfection.

Maud regarded them across the table with amusement.

This restaurant employed live waiters to attend them; their waiter had been in Jared's survey class on Language Development, and was registered for Jared's third-year level Zamuaon Cultural Ceremonies class, he said as he delivered their orders. He served Jared first, and filled his wine glass to the brim and asked if he wanted another fork for the salad and if the dressing was all right. Maud watched with great appreciation, and inquired if Dr. Ramirez was a tough teacher. The waiter assured her that he was a very good teacher, one of the best, and he would never miss one of Dr. Ramirez' lectures.

Louise wondered if Maud and Denieal had known Dr. Ramirez and, well, Dr. Ramirez, isn't it now, very long. Maud said airily that it seemed as if they had known one another forever, and observed that the Drs. Wood must have known Cara most of her life. Louise and Ned agreed, and Ned explained that they had known her mother Margo, that he had, in fact, grown up with her. Carter, eyeing him with sympathy, said that must have been interesting. Maud poked him with an elbow.

Jared drank just enough of his wine to keep it from spilling if someone knocked against the table. He moved the glass gently in Cara's direction, but she shook her head; she was determined to keep her head clear for whatever the day brought of excitement, confusion, or trauma.

"You don't drink much, Jared," said Dr. Louise, proving that she had been more attentive than he had thought during past meetings.

"I drink a little," he said, the old stock answer.

"And we have to drink that awful blue wine tonight," said Cara, "so I think we'll just settle for ice water now."

"Did Ms. Swift go with the blue wine after all?" said Carter sympathetically.

"I ordered the wine last week. Not in blue. Ms. Swift," said Jared, with feeling, "has no doubt made more suitable arrangements. Ms. Swift has no doubt had the tableware dyed blue by now."

"And Ann says we have to toast each other with the blue wine," said Cara, and her somewhat edited account of Ann's contributions to the reception got them through the salad course and well into the entrée. Jared listened with appreciation, observing how Louise and Maud seconded her efforts to smooth the way. He and Ned ate quietly, and Carter inserted a few words here and there. Jared eyed him with renewed interest; he could indeed see the resemblance now that Carter had mentioned the relationship, and he wondered if Lalia were somewhere in the family circle too; the only one he could be sure was not was Zarei, he thought. He wondered again about the sixth one; perhaps he or she was a child, not taking part in adult activities yet.

Louise recounted some of the mishaps surrounding her wedding to Ned, an elaborate affair, involving six bridesmaids and two flower girls, and a sit-down banquet afterwards. That got them through the entrée into the dessert course.

"Has Al finished the cake?" Maud asked.

"He and Phyllis took it to Kingsleys already," said Cara, "and it's gorgeous, just what I wanted. I don't know how he managed it. Not a dancing rose on it anywhere."

"He wore ear plugs," said Jared, "and he locked the kitchen door."

"And your dress?" said Louise, and Cara laughed.

"I promised Ann I wouldn't let Jared know anything about it until tonight," she said. "So I can't tell you now, while he's sitting right here."

"After lunch," said Louise.

"Well, no," said Jared; lunch was nearly over, after all. "You don't get rid of me that quickly. We have some things to talk about, the six of us, in a more private setting: I thought my office at the Institute."

"What's it about?" asked Dr. Ned, stuffing a hefty forkful of pie into his mouth.

"It's about the project," said Jared, "and it's important. Carter, here, has helped us with a partial translation of the glyphs."

And that got their full attention.