“Of course. She missed seeing you. She’s doing really well. Dr. Silverman was there, and he said she’ll be out by February first.” She frowned. “She asked about Pops, but I didn’t know what to tell her. You think Pops might be out by then?”
Pops. This was all for him. “I hope so, Dee. I really hope so.”
She picked out one of Ginnie’s dresses, a fancy one she never wore but used to let Dee play dress-up in. “Remember how I’d dance around the room like I was at a ball?” She held it up to herself and gazed in the mirror. “I bet Mom looked beautiful in this.”
At that moment, Dee looked a lot like Ginnie. I couldn’t help tearing up.
“What?” Dee dropped the dress on the bed. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No. I have something in my eye.” I ducked my head down quickly so she couldn’t see my face.
My PAV rang—Wei. “Can you come up? We need a quick run-through with everyone.”
“Be right there.” I clicked off. “I’m going upstairs for a few.” I left Dee with the box of memories.
Up in Wei’s room, the Sisterhood was present via PAV projection.
“Paulette, you and Mag will provide distraction in the main lobby, if needed,” Wei said.
They both nodded.
“Brie and I will land at three minutes to four. That gives Nina and Joan exactly enough time to get to the helipad. Nina, be sure to unlock the door, so if anything happens, we can get inside and leave some other way. The veljet is untraceable. It’s expensive, but better it should get impounded than any of us get caught.”
“Everything will go perfectly,” I said. “And you and Joan will end up in Japan. And Brie leaves with me as my visitor.”
“That is the plan.” She smiled at me. “See everyone tomorrow.”
“You didn’t tell them what’s really happening?” I said after she shut down the projection.
“Dorrie’s the only one besides you who knows. She’ll tell Brie right before they leave to go to the Institute.”
“This is going to work, right?” I tried to keep my voice steady, but it shook slightly.
“Mom says Dad has everything in place at B.O.S.S. to get your grandfather out. We’ll all be watching the sun rise from the mouth of the Hoke no Domon on Hokkaido. Mom says Aunt Hiroko will be able to help Pops and Joan, too. She’s a healer.”
“I can’t believe your family is doing this for me.”
“You’re part of our family, too.” She put her arm around my shoulder. “I wish we could take Dee and Gran, too. But Mom says they’ll be safe, and we’ll get them out eventually.”
I was trying not to think about leaving Dee behind—even for a little while. How would she cope without me? I thought back to Dee twirling around holding Ginnie’s dress to her. How strong she was—even now, at eleven, she was stronger than I’d ever felt. More aptly, how would I deal without her?
“Maybe the GC will get taken down,” I said, knowing as the words came out of my mouth that it was just an idealistic hope. “The truth about FeLS and the lies that Lessig is spreading have to be exposed at some point.”
“I sure hope so.” Wei ran her hand across her bedspread. “Then we could come home. You know, this is the only home I’ve ever known.”
I couldn’t help the twinge of jealousy I felt. I’d lived in four different places in sixteen years. And none of them was home anymore. Even the people who made them home weren’t there.
“Have you heard from Sal?” she asked. “I know you can’t tell him what’s happening, but I had hoped he’d call you.”
“Nope. Nothing.” I shrugged. Sal. That was the worst of all. I hadn’t heard from him in days. And the way I’d left things… “Maybe we were just fooling ourselves about how we felt.”
“Not Sal,” she said. “He might be mad at you, but he would never stop loving you.”
But what about me? I thought. Would I stop loving him? Had I already? Sal still meant so much to me. Surely I couldn’t feel so connected to Chris if I was still in love with Sal. And how could I have let anything happen with Chris if I’d loved Sal the way I thought I did? Or maybe Sal was just the first guy to make me feel that way—to make me realize that I could fall in love. That I even wanted to fall in love. “What about Chris?” I asked. “Has he decided what he’s doing?”
“He didn’t tell Mom,” Wei said. “And he hasn’t talked to me at all. Most likely we won’t know where he’s landed until it’s all said and done.”
It suddenly hit me how monumental were the sacrifices the Jenkinses were making to save me. Sure, Mrs. Jenkins had pointed out that if Lessig was suspicious of Mr. Jenkins’s loyalty to Media, then it was only a matter of time before they’d need to disappear. But to see them uproot themselves entirely, leaving this ultra home and everything they had, everything they’d worked for. Possibly never seeing their daughter, Angie, again. And possibly not even Chris.
Chris. My breath caught. I knew there was a chance I’d never see Sal again. But I hadn’t realized Chris, too. How would I deal with that possibility of never seeing either of them again?
During dinner, Dee had to reassure me at least twice that no one had harassed her in school over the Alert about Ginnie. “No one under sixteen even thinks about Alerts,” she said. “How about you?”
“Some kids looked at me funny,” I said. “Mostly, they couldn’t care less. I’m just a tier-two nobody.”
“You’re not a nobody.” Dee pursed her lips. “Miss Maldovar says we should cultivate our sense of self-worth.”
“I’ll get right on that.”
“You know what I mean,” Dee said. “By the way, Chris is picking me up after school. We’re going to a place that sells all kinds of culinary supplies.”
“Culinary? You are serious about this, aren’t you?” I was so proud of her.
“Yes, I am. Chris and I were talking, and I’m going to get my Creative in Culinary Arts.”
“I’m sure you will.” I smiled to cover the rush of sadness that I would probably not be around to see that. “And you’ll probably end up a chef in a top-tier restaurant, making a fortune in credits. Will you take care of me?”
“Of course, silly. We’re family.”
My heart nearly broke to hear that, and I had to excuse myself from the table before I burst into tears in front of her.
Later that night, I started laying out what I’d need. I had already decided what I’d take with me. The animated digi Dee’d given me for Holiday; Pops’s ginger tin; and a digi of Ginnie, Dee, and me. I placed them in my bag, along with my rapidos, my sketch pad, the originals of my bought-out FeLS contract and my Creative designation, and a copy of the court decision about Dee. I laid out my clothes for the morning. The clothes Miss Maldovar had given me were of better quality than anything else I had, so I’d chosen them. Closing my eyes, I smoothed the sweater’s ultra softness against my cheek. Maybe someday I’d have more nice things. But for now, these would have to do.
I went out to the kitchen to sneak a few energy bars and some food pills—just in case. I stopped by Dee’s room to say good night. She was in bed, reading a real book.
“Whatcha got there?”
She handed it to me. Keena, the First Fem.
“A history of the founder of the Fems? Since when are you so interested in history? First the Greater United Isles on FAV, and now this?”
“Mom used to tell me stories about Keena when I was little. After that show, I was wondering about Fems. I asked Mrs. Jenkins, and she said I might want to read this.”