“Not me.” I waved to everyone, and we went to Margie’s lab.
“Awww, is this your dad? Hi Grace’s dad!” Tish waved.
“This is Professor Nate Thorne. If you think we look alike, you should see my brother. He’s joining Narif’s project,” I told her. “This is Tish.”
We finished our tour and ended up at my little office-lab.
“When the project officially kicks off, we’ll have a bigger space, but here’s my lab for now.” I brought him inside. There were equations and papers and boxes everywhere. “Sorry, our new super computer was delivered. I’m making my interns put it together.”
Like particle accelerators and super colliders, super computers weremuchsmaller here.
Blaise, who’d started back from parental leave part-time, was going to teach them about quantum coding. We also had some simulations to run. It would be fun, even if Creed wasn’t going to be working with us.
“What is your job here?” Nate looked around.
“We’re attempting to make a virtual super collider. That’s why I was interested in the modeler at Marquess University and was seeing it that day that I ran into you at the cafe,” I explained.
Nate whistled. “That’s incredible.”
“If we can do it, it will be.” I grinned. Excited by the prospect.
We finished our tour and ended up in the cafeteria and grabbed our free lunch. The professor updated me on my siblings.
“I’m so excited to see Tru. Thank you for trusting me with her.” We sat at a table with a window to the courtyard. I’d understand if they didn’t.
“Harry is beyond nervous. They’ve never really been away from us other than a weekend with grandparents,” Nate confessed. “The other parents worry that it would be unfair for Tru to get a special trip and not Pax, but honestly, he doesn’t actually care, he just wants a new toy truck.”
“Oh, I don’t want anyone to feel left out. I just know Tru and Mercy a little better,” I agreed, making a note to get him a big truck.
“When I saw the program, I pushed for it. The fact that they have something like this for kids as young as Tru is astounding, and I know she’s going to love it,” he told me.
And if she didn’t, we’d find something else for next year.
“Spencer found it,” I said. “The camp and Compass BioTek are really excited to do the Future Intern program, too. We’re going to run it for a couple of sessions, not just hers.”
He beamed at me. “Thank you for encouraging her. While of course we nurture academics in our house, her love of math is very strong for her age–even more than Verity and her flowers, and it’s hard for everyone to understand that she is serious.”
Oh, she was. I loved her messages.
“I just want to do for her what no one did for me. What I would have given to go to a camp like that.” I took a bite of salmon and spinach salad.
“The alpha parents are still a little wary, though. I mean…”
“You don’t know me. I get it. Feel free to send Verity as chaperone.” We’d started getting a guest room ready.
Nate thought for a moment. “I can suggest it, but we need Verity for the summer to help wrangle all the kids. I’m leading research and teaching summer sessions, and well everyone else has work…”
And Adriana was in jail.
Honestly, from what Verity told me, she could use a week with us. Not to mention, I wanted to spend time with her. Maybe it was the guilt I felt at having a poor relationship with my three brothers growing up, but I just wanted to love all my new siblings.
“In fact, I think we’re going to have to make her cancel a modeling thing she’s doing. We just can’t figure out coverage for the kids without her.” He took a sip of his iced tea.
“No. Don’t do that. Let her go. Just send them all here. There are lots of camps and things,” I offered, horrified they’d make her cancel ajobto help them.
But Tru said sometimes they wanted her to miss class.
“I don’t think they make camps for kids Hope’s age,” he chuckled.
