“That’s very sweet of you, Jon,” Val said. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“Well, you want to keep your hand in,” Jon said, “so when they’re looking for philosophy professors again, you’ll be ready.”
“Any day now,” Val said. “Thank you, Jon. I’ll start reading them Monday night. But now I’ve got to run if I want to catch the bus to White Birch.”
It was funny, Jon thought. Monday night he’d be in White Birch.
He didn’t think that all the philosophy in the world would make the evening any easier.
Chapter 5
Jon had never taken a grubber bus before, and he hoped he never would have to again. It was an old school bus, and it was crammed with fifty or more grubs, their stench so strong he could hardly breathe.
His claver ID badge indicated he had the right to sit wherever he wanted. He grabbed a seat, then offered it to Miranda, who took it gratefully. Jon stood, shoved between Alex and a burly grub who looked like he’d beat all the clavers to death if he ever had the chance.
There was one guard on the bus, standing next to the driver. One guard with a semiautomatic to protect him against fifty grubs. Of course if he started shooting, Jon was as likely to be killed as any of them.
Never again, he promised himself. One grubber bus trip in to appease Mom. After this he’d take a claver bus or not come in at all.
The grubs stampeded out of the bus when it reached the White Birch terminal. Miranda waited until it had emptied before getting out. Alex helped her down the steps and embraced her.
“How do you feel?” he asked. “Up to the walk?”
Miranda grinned. “What if I say no?” she replied. “You going to carry me home?”
Alex laughed. “Jon’ll do the carrying,” he said. “I’ll navigate.”
“How far is it?” Jon asked. He had never thought about how the grubs got from the terminal to their homes.
“It’s not bad,” Alex said. “About three miles.”
“Three miles?” Jon said. “You walk that every day?”
“Twice a day,” Alex replied.
“You get used to it,” Miranda said. “It would be okay if the air was cleaner. Us pregnant women are supposed to get our exercise.”
“You’re on your feet all day long,” Alex said. “When Carlos and I get our truck, you’ll stay home, Miranda. You and Laura. You’ll be ladies of leisure.”
“What about that place Matt talked about?” Jon said.
Alex shook his head. “Not here,” he said softly. “Not with so many people around.”
“We haven’t decided anything,” Miranda said. “No decisions until the baby’s born.”
“Do you have a boy’s name yet?” Jon asked.
Miranda laughed. “Tell him your latest one, Alex,” she said.
“Francis Patrick Xavier Mulrooney Morales,” Alex said.
“What?” Jon said.
“See,” Miranda said. “I told you, darling. It’s a ridiculous name. Worse than Harold.”
“Father Mulrooney saved my life,” Alex said. “My sanity and my life. I owe him everything.”
“You don’t owe him your firstborn’s name,” Miranda said. “It better be a girl.”
“You really thinking about Harold?” Jon asked. That had been Dad’s name, but everyone called him Hal.
“As much as we’re thinking about Francis Patrick Xavier Mulrooney,” Miranda said. “I like Daniel. I think it sounds good with Morales. But Alex doesn’t want me to name the baby for an old boyfriend.”
“You don’t see me suggesting an old girlfriend’s name,” Alex said.
“You don’t have any old girlfriends,” Miranda said. “Except me.”
“She’s right,” Alex said to Jon. “I was saving myself for her. I just didn’t know it.”
“Speaking of girlfriends,” Miranda said, “Sarah seems very nice. Are you serious about her, Jon?”
“There’s no point being serious about anyone,” Jon said. “If Lisa doesn’t pass her evaluation, I’ll leave Sexton with her.”
“Mom would hate it if you did,” Miranda said.
“He won’t have to,” Alex said. “One of his friends would take him in. Gabe, too. They’d find a home for him in Sexton.”
“That would be awful for Lisa,” Miranda said. “Gabe’s her life. If she had to leave him behind, it would kill her.”
“Well, we won’t have that problem,” Alex said. “No one’s kicking us out of White Birch. Little Mulrooney is stuck with us.”
Miranda ignored him. “Is Lisa worried?” she asked. “When will she hear?”
“Pretty soon,” Jon said. “And yeah, she’s worried. She hasn’t decided what she’ll do about Gabe if she has to leave.”
“There’s no choice,” Alex said. “Take Gabe away from Sexton? If she really loves him, she’ll let him be adopted. There’s no life for kids here.”
“Our kid is going to live here,” Miranda said.
“Our kid doesn’t have a choice,” Alex said. “Jon, tell Miranda what Gabe’s life is like. The food. The toys. The clean clothes.”
“Gabe’s lonely,” Jon said. “He has Carrie, but that’s it. There are so few kids in Sexton, little ones, I mean.”
“But the women must be having babies now,” Miranda said.
“I don’t see pregnant women on the claver buses,” Alex said. “Do you, Jon?”
“I don’t know,” Jon said. “I never really thought about it.”
“I thought claver women could have as many babies as they wanted,” Miranda said. “They eat so much better. And didn’t you say once, their houses have air purification systems? I thought I remembered you saying that, Jon.”
Jon nodded.
“It’s still a hard world,” Alex said. He gave Miranda a squeeze. “We’re the lucky ones.”
“We’ll all be lucky,” Miranda said. “Lisa will pass her evaluation. And you’ll get your truck, Alex. Carlos is coming for a visit, Jon. You’ll have to come and meet him.”
“When’s he coming?” Jon asked.
“In a few weeks,” Alex replied. “I keep telling Miranda he’ll love her, but she’s nervous about meeting him.”
Julie had loved Carlos, her oldest brother. She’d been his favorite. Spending time with Alex was hard enough. Jon wasn’t eager to face Carlos, even though there was no way Carlos could know what Jon had done.
“How much longer before you can get your truck?” Jon asked.
“Months,” Alex replied. “Years.”
“First we have to save the money,” Miranda said. “And after I have the baby, I won’t be able to go back to work right away.”
“There’s talk they won’t reopen the high school next fall,” Alex said. “In which case, Laura will be out of work, also.”
“Mom said they’d moved the high school to the elementary school,” Jon said. “Why can’t they keep it there?”
“Maybe they will,” Miranda replied. “It’s all rumors.”
Jon had resented how deeply Mom cared about her students. But he’d never intended the school to be closed permanently, for her to lose her teaching job. Would she have to get a grub job? Miranda worked ten hours a day in the greenhouses, with an hour commute each way and a three-mile walk to and from the bus terminal. How could Mom survive that?
“If I had the money, I’d give it to you,” he mumbled.
“Thanks, Jon,” Alex said. “But we’ll need more than money. There’s paperwork to be filled out, and we have to be approved.”
“You will be,” Miranda said. “Your record is perfect, darling. Carlos was a Marine, and now he’s a guard. You’re just the kind of people who should own a truck. They’ll have to give you the permit.”