“It’s not Yves’s birthday. Say the word, and we’ll turn this car around.”
Imogen would, too. Clarke’s mom has never been impressed by the power wielded by men like Yves, or blinded by the glamour of celebrity. She meets everything in life with the same level-headed approach and crafts an informed opinion.
It makes Clarke wonder, sometimes, what Imogen saw in Anders twenty-three years ago. The two of them weren’t together for long, but theyweretogether. There must’ve been something more to Anders back then. More substance, more empathy, more character. Did F0 strip that away from him over the years? Or was Imogen just young then, and not as discerning as she is today?
“I’m okay,” Clarke says, scooching across the seat a bit so she can lay her head on her mother’s shoulder. “It won’t be that bad. Probably. I’ve got you guys.”
“Always,” Imogen says, and lets the topic drop. Clarkespends the rest of the ride basking in the presence of her family, soaking it in like she’s one of Julian’s beloved lizards, sunning herself on a rock. Kuari, who’s only been to Earth twice before this, has his face pressed against the window, watching buildings pass and getting glimpses of distant mountains. Ihaka, next to Kuari, is spouting random facts about the region of Italy they’re in, sounding like he churned through a couple guidebooks on their flight over from Mars.
Clarke loves them so, so much.
They arrive at the restaurant all too soon. Clarke climbs out first, readying herself to play Perfect Pilot Clarke for the Elemental bigwigs all night, and is therefore completely unprepared to face the two women who are actually waiting on the sidewalk. “Elise? Ndira? What are—how did—”
“Oh, sweetheart,” says Ndira Bennett, one of Connor’s moms, stepping forward and wrapping Clarke in a tight hug. “Don’t ask stupid questions.”
“It was time. It waspasttime,” adds Elise Bennett, Connor’s other mom, delicately moving a strand of Clarke’s hair out of her face while waiting for her turn for a hug.
Clarke hasn’t seen them since the week after Connor’s funeral. They’ve sent messages, and Clarke’s written back, but—she takes a shuddering breath, hiccuping—
“Nope!” Imogen declares, getting out of the car. “I did not bring the two of you here to make her cry. There’ll be time for that later.”
“I’m not crying!” Clarke says, actively crying. Elise starts blotting her eye makeup. “I just—I was surprised, and I don’t really understand, but—”
“They’re your birthday present!” Kuari chirps, giving Ndira a shy wave. “Mom said you’d like it.”
“Mom was right,” Clarke says, squeezing Imogen’s arm with gratitude she can’t put into words.
They head inside, updates flying fast and thick. Clarke asks about Connor’s younger sisters, about Ndira’s work, about Elise’s bees. Ndira and Elise have clearly been following Clarke’s career, but they don’t ask about that as they walk through the restaurant. They ask instead about Clarke’s happiness, and what she’s been reading, and what the best and worst thing she’s eaten in the past few months has been. They’re laughing about Clarke’s misadventures with a pastry she had not been expecting to be filled with fermented fish when the door to the private dining room opens and Clarke stumbles to a halt at the sight of the night’s third surprise guest.
Julian.
Everyone starts clapping (Raff unenthusiastically, Clarke can’t help noticing) when their group enters, so Clarke can’t immediately ask what Julian Casperi, star Chronicle pilot, is doing at an Elemental event, but he catches her eye as she’s shaking hands with Elemental’s director of operations and glances meaningfully at Sara.
Duh. There wasn’t aJulian & Clarkefilming session on the agenda for this weekend. Clarke assumed the schedule was just too busy, or that with the content from the boxing gym backlogged, they’d get a pass, but no.
It’s a mess for a few minutes. There are introductions to the Elemental folks for Ndira and Elise. Waiters scramble to add two place settings to the table. Imogen and Anders exchange cool pleasantries. Kuari befriends Sara in three seconds flat, the two of them deep in discussion about the specs of Sara’s implanted tech by the time the table’s been rearranged and everyone’s seated.
Clarke’s in the middle, between Imogen and Kuari. Ihaka’s across from her, with Ndira and Elise on one side of him and Julian on the other.
It’s not bad. It’s actually kind of wonderful. She wishes the rest of the people in the room would vanish, and it would be even better if Thierry were here, but it’s pleasant all through appetizers and entrées. No one’s going to be rude in front of Kuari, and no one’s going to talk Elemental business in front of Julian. The conversation stays shallow, and only occasionally goes stilted when they brush too close to something sensitive: someone’s awkward inquiry about if Clarke and Kuari are half- or step-siblings, a passing reference to Raff being here instead of Matthew, an innocent question about how Elise and Ndira know the group.
“Their son raced with me and Julian in Juniors,” Clarke says steadily. Connor’s come up in interviews so many times that it almost doesn’t hurt to talk about anymore, and she’s not going to make his mothers be the ones to explain what happened to a room of strangers. “Connor Bennett.”
Everyone in racing reacts the same way when they connect a name to an on-track tragedy. It’s rare enough that they don’t all personally know someone who’s died in the seat, but the community is small. Names like Connor’s carry weight.
“The three of you were quite close,” says Samantha Brooks, Elemental’s director of operations, looking between Clarke and Julian. “I remember, from the scouting reports.”
“We were best friends,” Julian says, definitive.
“My scouting report showed who I was friends with in Juniors?” Clarke asks, surprised. That’s not a level of detail she would’ve expected to be included in the performance stats provided to an F0 team upon request when they’re looking into rising talent.
“Oh, no, not yours,” Samantha says.
There’s an edge of warning in Yves’s voice. “Samantha.”
Samantha gestures dismissively. “It’s nothing to make a fuss about, Yves. It’s public record that Elemental wanted Connor.”
What?
