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MY FATHER’S eyes narrowed as I entered the room. He pouted his lips as he looked me up and down, presumably checking to make sure I was still intact. Then, as if satisfied with what he saw, he turned back to the group. “I’m in favor of everyone returning to their families, but I don’t like sitting idle while two of the strongest influences in the worlds are on the cusp of war.” His arm thrashed about wildly as he spoke. So much passion.
I sat next to him, an arm’s length away.
“You’ll have plenty of work to keep you busy, Healer,” said Ivory. “Remnants to transport, broth to boil...” She sniffed. “Sounds like your schedule will be much fuller than mine.”
My father raised an eyebrow at her. True, Ivory had lost her job, but she had the option of staying with Nick or returning to Aboreal. And if Valcas was ready, he could go back to the White Tower. I wasn’t sure what he’d need to do to live with his mother’s family in Aboreal, but that wasn’t a horrible backup plan.
And then there was me. “If Mom’s at TSTA Headquarters, where do I go?”
My father pulled his gaze from Ivory and looked at me. His expression softened. “While you spent the night and the greater part of this morning brooding under the sky, we contacted Doreen to let her know you’re safe. She’s agreed to take some time off to go back to the lake...that is, if you want to go.” He looked at me intently. “All I have to offer is a life of wandering, but you are welcome to come with me. It would be a difficult life, one of hard work, traveling and healing. But all that should be safer now that our Uproar has been destroyed. You’ve already proven to be an excellent healer.”
Tears misted my eyes; but not just because of my father’s compliment and genuine willingness to take me in. Mom had agreed to take off time from work. Her career had been her life. Tensions at the TSTA had to be higher than ever. But she still chose me.
I’d never had to choose between my father and mother before, knowing both wanted me. My lower lip trembled as I sat there staring at my father. My heart flooded with emotions. I didn’t want to choose. I had to refuse.
“I want both of you in my life,” I said. “You and Mom got along well at the Gala. I saw you dancing—how you looked at her. Imagine that being a daily thing.” I left out the part about Mom running off and leaving him on the dance floor, hoping that had been a simple misunderstanding.
The look of shock that crossed my father’s face almost made me laugh.
“I’m serious,” I added before he had a chance to recover. “Why don’t you come with me to Lake Winston? We’ll spend time together there with Mom—for as long as she can stay away from work. It might only be a week or two. And then we can travel together and heal. If Mom sticks around longer, then we can work something out. Think about it, please. Give this a chance.”
He rubbed his eyes. Then, to my surprise, his head bobbed up and down. “I will think about it. You’ve made a sound argument, and I like your plan.”
“Good. We’ll need to let Mom know as soon as you decide.”
Valcas looked at me and smiled. What I wouldn’t have given to know what he was thinking in that moment—where he planned to go. He didn’t seem worried about it. I considered inviting him to join me and my parents; but, honestly, I wanted to spend time with just them. Like a family. Time and space to gather my thoughts couldn’t hurt.
***
MY FATHER AND I SAID our good-byes after Ivory confirmed her plans to stay with Nick until she thought of a better solution. That was probably a good idea given that he’d been able to avoid the TSTA—despite his infraction and the fact he’d tied up President Bree in Ray’s office. Ivory feared the TSTA would be after Ray, Lily and me, but what could the agency do? We hadn’t tied her up, and we didn’t owe her anything.
Ivory pulled me into a hug. “No more frowning. The circumstances could be worse,” she said, squeezing me tightly. “We could still be stuck behind the Fire Falls.”
Beds of leaves and seaweed flashed in my mind. “I can’t argue with that. Thanks again, Ivory.” She smiled and looked away, as if embarrassed, and then stepped aside for Valcas, who was next in line.
He leaned in until his lips pressed against my forehead. I breathed him in, savoring the moment. “Enjoy spending time with your family,” he said. “If you need anything, even just to talk, contact me with the travel glasses. We’ll only be a search apart.”
“I will.” I clasped my arms around him and whispered, “Where will you go?”
“I’ll stay here a while with Ivory and Nick. Then I’ll go back to the White Tower.”
I pulled away and looked up at him. “You will?”
He smiled. “I’m ready now. All because of what you helped me to see. My father’s death was no more my fault than an Uproar’s or the TSTA’s. I will miss him, but I’m free from the guilt and the pain.”
I couldn’t be more relieved. He was finally at peace with himself and with me.
After Valcas and I squeezed hands once more in a final good-bye, Nick led my father and me to the same portal where he’d transported Lily and Ray: to the globe that represented time and life on Earth.
***
MOM WAS AT THE DOCK waiting for us when my father and I arrived, after having grounded on the other side of the lake. She waved as we approached, reminding me of the summers we used to spend together at Lake Winston. Inundated with happy memories, as if all of the bad had been filtered out, I picked up my pace. A sense of belonging overwhelmed me. I’d been away from home for a very long time.
Her smile pulled back in horror as we neared. “You two are a mess. Were you in danger?”
I laughed. “No, Mom. We’re fine.”
“Okay, well, that’s good,” she said. Hesitation clouded her voice, but I didn’t care. I could explain.
“The portal between the Clock Tower and Earth dumped us out across from a bus station in Dallas, Texas. I transported us the rest of the way here using my travel glasses.”
Mom’s hands reached her hips when she looked at my father. She curled her lips as if he was to blame for our ruffled appearance.
“It was easier,” I said, defending him. “It’s going to take me a long time to get used to busses, regular airplanes and other traditional, slow forms of transportation. A flight from Dallas would have taken hours, and that’s not counting check-in, layovers and security screening.”
Lips trembling, Mom burst into a laugh. “We are anything but traditional, aren’t we? Welcome back, both of you.”
“Thank you for allowing me to stay, Doreen.”
Mom replied with a flirtatious grin that made my heart flutter, assuring me that whatever differences they’d had on the dance floor during the TSTA Gala could be set aside. I couldn’t imagine what her smile did to my father. I couldn’t stop grinning. This was going to work.
I joined arms with each of my parents, practically dragging them from the dock back to the cottage. Speaking of... “Is Uncle Al living at the cottage again?”
“Yes. Business has been slow, so he only stays here during the summertime. He’s glad to be here to welcome you.”
“Wait a minute. It’s summer?” I looked around the lake, at the grass and the flowers. My eyes popped open as we passed a jungle gym and picnic tables that weren’t there last fall. How long ago was last fall? Or was it last, last fall?
“All season long. You missed both your spring and fall semesters. If you’re still interested in the plant biology program, you’ll need to re-enroll.”
I crinkled my nose, more because of the gap in time than missing classes for a field that no longer held my interest. Now that my father had introduced me to healing, there was nothing else I wanted more than to serve alongside him. Plus, Edgar had given me an education in time travel theory. If Mom was right about the timing, then my hands-on training must have lasted for more than a year. “So that would mean...”
Mom smiled down at me. “You missed your birthday. You’re eighteen, an adult. Uncle Al bought a cake to celebrate. He’s bustling around the house, trying to make it more presentable, just for you.”
When we entered the cottage the first thing I noticed was that it smelled like furniture polish and freshly baked cake. An oven fan hummed in the background.
“Uncle Al,” I said, barely giving him time to seat us at the kitchen table.
He looked at me with his dark, piercing eyes. “I have an apology to make to you, Cally.” Shrugging, he added, “I certainly had long enough to think about choosin’ the right words.”
I raised my eyebrows, wondering where he was going with this.
“I’m sorry ‘bout how hard I was on you. I never should have let you meet up with that young man at the dock. I should have been out there, waiting with my shotgun and a baseball bat just for kicks.”
My father grunted. “That’s all in the past, Al. Please. You have done nothing wrong. Valcas would have found her eventually.”
Uncle Al didn’t have a comeback right away. Or several long moments later.
A giggle bubbled up inside me, threatening to burst as I watched Uncle Al size up my father. He shook his head at my father’s cloak and tool belt, as if he was an outsider. Which, in a sense, he was—from a place way outside the galaxy where Earth belonged. Their eyes locked in a staring contest; my father’s sea blue eyes were just as piercing. I had no doubt Uncle Al still had issues with my father getting Mom pregnant. It was time for him to let it go, in my opinion. Mom had.
While waiting, I stared longingly at a cake frosted with chocolate. Eighteen candles stuck out from it like a pincushion.
“We’ll have plenty of time to discuss all that’s happened,” said Mom, striking a match. She dotted each of the candles with a flame. “Right now, I could use a vacation.”
My father and Uncle Al broke their gaze, seemingly willing to set aside their differences for the moment, and sat down.
I sunk into a chair and smiled as three very different people, all related to me, sang “Happy Birthday.”