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here’d you get the money?” I ask

“Aunt Victra”

“She gave it to you?”

He frowns “No, she lent it to me”

“Really? Wait At what interest rate?”

“Sixty percent”

I burst out laughing “Well, that’s one way to learn a lesson” He frowns again It’s startling how quickly I can affect his confidence I’m used to soldiers, not children I set a hand on his shoulder “How much did you borrow?”

“Five hundred credits”

“How much do you o?”

“Eleven hundred”

“Never get in debt That’s the lesson your aunt is teaching you” He nods sagely I rise to e I should leave, but I don’t want to Not yet

His eyes are fixed on its fuselage “Iof netic keys and pulls one off He hands it to me I hold the key in my hand and look down at him I feel like I’ve been punched in the heart

“You want to show me how it rides?” I ask

A grin splits his face

We roar along a narrow path through the trees, curving back and forth, going deeper into the forest till the path spits us out into a hidden cove Pax drives us out over the lake, the bike hovering a half meter above the water Near the center of the lake, I tap his shoulder and point to one of the oes We land the bike there and dis and we look back across the lake to the house where our friends sleep Earth hangs overhead The water laps against the log My son picks at the rows between us