“Oh, it’s a bit of a story,” Mirth said, sweeping in and enveloping her in a welcomed hug. “We heard you hit a snag.”
Forty-Four
Holly’s mother held her for a long time.
This one went beyond the brief, but warm hugs Mirth typically gave. Holly was used to those, which were full of affection without the drama. Mirth’s arms wrapped around her and stayed there, and Holly felt the strength in them, and the slight tremor beneath the strength. She pressed her face into her mother’s shoulder and breathed. This one had all the drama.
She smelled like home. Like the house in Canada. Like the orange-scented soap and freshly fired pottery that clung to everything within a mile of their wooded home. How was that possible? Holly didn’t care. She inhaled and held on.
Her father waited exactly as long as his patience allowed, which was about four seconds, before wrapping his arms around both of them. “All right,” he said, his voice thick. “My turn.”
Bean, who had already been gearing up for a walk, launched himself at the new people with enthusiasm. He circled their legs in a frenzy of wagging and vigorous sniffing. Andrew reached down with one hand and scratched the beagle’s ears without releasing Holly or Mirth. “This must be Bean.”
“That’s Bean,” Holly managed, her voice muffled against her mother’s shoulder.
“Friendly little guy,” Andrew said with a smile. “About time you got a dog.”
Bean was at that moment attempting to climb Andrew’s leg, but Andrew didn’t seem to mind.
“He came with the place,” Holly said, swiping away an errant tear. “Then he grew on me.”Just like the place, but she didn’t add that part.
They eventually separated and settled on the couch, Holly in the middle with Mirth and Andrew on either side. Bean, having completed his assessment of the newcomers and found them acceptable, returned to Holly’s side and pressed himself against her thigh. Luv had positioned herself near the doorway with her optical sensors at a discreet blue, giving the family space while remaining within earshot, because Luv was constitutionally incapable of not eavesdropping.
Holly looked at her mother. “Mom. Are you okay? Being here?”
Mirth’s gaze had been moving around the living unit since she’d walked in. She took in the plants on the windowsills with undisguised curiosity. “This room felt much bigger when I was little,” Mirth said quietly. “My mother had it flooded with color.”
“It used to be dark and drab,” Holly said. “I uncovered the windows my first day here.”
Her mother nodded slowly. Her face was a complex mix of emotions, but she didn’t appear to be struggling. “I was afraid this place would feel like a prison,” she said. “The way it did for my mother. But it doesn’t.” She reached over and squeezed Holly’s hand. “It feels like yours.”
Not for much longer.Holly’s throat tightened.
“As for me,” Mirth continued, straightening with the practiced composure of a woman who had spent decades managing her own emotions professionally, “I find that I’m surprisingly all right. There’s something to be said for facing aplace you’ve avoided for most of your life and discovering it can’t hurt you anymore.” She glanced toward the bedroom doorway. “Is my old room still there?”
“It is. I didn’t touch it. Everything is exactly as you left it.”
Mirth was quiet for a moment. “Perhaps I’ll look in on it later. When I’m ready.”
“No rush,” Holly said, and meant it.
Andrew leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “Holly, we need to talk about what’s happening here.”
“I know.” Holly rubbed her face with both hands. “I’ve been…avoiding the world for almost a week. I know I’ve handled this badly.”
“You’ve handled this like someone who’s been pushed past her breaking point,” her mother corrected. “There’s no shame in that.”
“How much do you know?” she asked. “I haven’t been great at calling lately.”
“Understandable, considering how overwhelmed you’ve been.” Her parents exchanged a glance that contained an entire conversation and arrived at a consensus in the space of a heartbeat. “We received some communications,” Mirth said carefully. “From people here. Several people, actually. They reached out through Mr. Binn at first, to let us know that things were going badly at the station, and that you were taking it hard.”
“Who?” Holly asked. Alyce was the only one she could think of who would do something like that, but there were “several.”
“We’ll get to that. The point is, when Mr. Binn contacted me about your request to sell and told us of the circumstances…” Mirth paused and chose her next words with her characteristic precision. “I knew we needed to come.”
“We hired a private transport with subsonic capability from the Gamga-B space ring,” her father added. “Cut the travel time down to five days.”
“Five days.” Holly stared at them. “That must have cost a fortune.”
