Page 28 (1/2)
"How’s your father?" Parsona eventually asked
"He’s good," Molly lied, unsure of why she would Maybe to not spoil the world her ather infor herself that she sat beside a copy of her o Her real mother lived within the ship that bore her name
ButMolly could reach out and touch this one, could s in her hair The other one was just a voice and soreen phosphorous font on a nav screen
Doubt crept up, followed by fondness and familiarity Filial duty joined theed themselves in a phalanx of worry, all armed to force Molly to waver
She su them to attention She realized she hadn’t come adequately prepared for this Especially not to handle it all by herself
"Well, tell your father I’d love it if he stopped by," her hts
"I will," Molly promised, but from what Stanley had told her, the fact that her father didn’t already exist in herthis ti visits," Parsona continued, "and catching up with news from the outside"
Molly froze
Visits?
"Who’s been by to visit, Mom?" She tried to ask the question calmly, but wasn’t sure that she succeeded
"Well, nobody lately But an old friend used to drop by all the tio--noas his name? Coood friends"
"Are you talking about Lucin?"
"Wade Lucin? Of course not How could I forget Wade’s name? No, this was a new friend We met him on Lok On the very day you were born, in fact It happened right out there"
Parsona pointed beyond the playing children Molly looked across the coht fade, as if a cloud passed overhead But then a rainbow popped up in the distance And out of nowhere, a flock of doves appeared, fluttering above the children who ran after theht
"Now isn’t that lovely," Parsona said
Molly turned back to her h she kneas Part of her knew this old house, the very porch But it had been so long ago, and she’d been so young
Parsona’s eyes didn’t leave the rainbow and the dancing children Couldn’t, perhaps
"Yes," she said, s here, weren’t you? What was it? Anything important?"
"Noeetheart, ould you want to know about that?"
"It’s important, Mom To me"
"It’s dreary stuff, that’s what it is And it’s all my visitors ever want to talk about for some reason"
Molly looked at her aroose bumps "I’m sorry, Mom Honest I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t really important" She rubbed her arms
"I suppose it can’t hurt I don’t see how any of that can be considered top secret now, right?"
"Of course not I just want to hear your side of it--to get to know you better"
The pace of the swing picked up; Molly couldn’t tell if theelse
Herbeyond the horizon, "Our investigation ended up leading us to this very house" She glanced at Molly before gazing back over the commons, toward the past "Isn’t that funny? Anyway, it was a routine assignment, et the job You just wouldn’t believe what I put up with on nments"
Her voice trailed off--another cloud passed over
"Anyway, your father and I posed as a couple--blending with the frontier life on Lok while we looked for an unauthorized source of fusion fuel--"
"Fusion fuel?" Molly asked, diverting the streaht" Parsona studied her intently "You sound surprised Anye tracked the source all the way back to this very village It took us alroup" Parsona frowned "A bunch of anti-GN radicals and Drenard sy close to their source, the initial supply point, when--"
The porch shi as if they were fluid Parsona planted her feet, jarring the swing to a halt
Two Mollies dashed up, their feet slapping solid wood They had trays of goodies with them
"Tea and cake, Mom? We made them ourselves!" They said it in unison In harirls Go ahead, Mollie, take some" What Molly took in was the scene around her All four of the so real and yet so surreal When she’d first arrived, the girls had looked nothing like her, but now they bore an eerie reseed a meek "thanks" and accepted a cup of tea She blew the steam into wisps, but didn’t take a sip She wasn’t even sure what it wouldi trouble for the galaxy--or anything like that Do ‘two doors’to you?"
Parsona seemed to chew on this She cupped her tea in both hands and nodded to the two Mollies They ran back to the co," she said "My other visitor alanted to talk about it, I’m not sure why While ere here, a bunch of settlers started goingback to the Navy, but--"
"Mrs Fyde?" Molly and her reet them He nodded at Molly, "I’m so sorry to interrupt your visit" Then he turned to Parsona "You have another visitor, Mrs Fyde Normally I wouldn’t intrude, but it’s your account benefactor He would love to see you at your earliest convenience"
Parsona shs with both hands, her cup of tea soone "Well, isn’t this lovely," she said "Two visitors on the same day! Is it my tall friend?"
"I believe so, Mrs Fyde It’s the only other visitor you have ever had"
"Well, this is sihtful! Molly, would you like to meet him?" She turned to Stanley before Molly could respond, "Can we do that?"
Stanley smiled Molly noticed his flesh looked flawless in this place--perfectly natural