Page 42 of A Better World

Daniella looked down to the couch as if to join them on it, but seemed to have too much storming inside her to do so. “Has anyone told you what happened?”

Linda felt an unraveling in her queasy stomach. “No. What happened?”

Finally sensing something was off, Hip straightened and moved closer. Like his dad, he was protective.

“Cathy?” Daniella called.

As if she’d been listening around the corner, the girl appeared.

“I want you to entertain Hip for a little while. Is that all right with you, Hip?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Hip said. Linda wouldn’t have guessed he knew the wordma’am. But there you go.

“Show him your room.”

Cathy scuttled up the stairs, fast and without looking back. Her little petals rustled. Linda nodded to let Hip know that whatever was happening, the grown-ups were in charge and she didn’t need his help. He could go. He got up and followed, his movements jerking and self-conscious, as if his whole body were eyes, trained inward.

Daniella and Linda waited for their children to be out of earshot. Soft, Linda said, “He’s a gentle person. She’ll be totally safe.”

Daniella cracked a smile. “I hope not. Cathy could use an adventure.”

“But I’m the mother of a son. So, I want to make it very clear. I’ve raised him to have respect.”

“Mine’s lovely, too,” Daniella said. “It’s unfair that the lovely ones have the hardest time.”

“Yeah,” Linda said. As a little kid, friends and school had come easily for Hip. It was around the time he turned eight years old that the trouble started and his self-esteem nose-dived.Why do you talk like a grown-up?the kids had teased when Josie wasn’t around to defend him.Why do you dress like an old man? What’s wrong with you?

It got worse when he hit puberty. No friends except for the ones Josie shared. His depression had been deep. She’d been so scared for him. Even now that the cloud had lifted, she was still scared for him.

“Cathy has anxiety,” Daniella said, her voice low so the kids wouldn’t hear. “An attack can wreck her for days. She panics during tests. She panics if she doesn’t like her lunch because she doesn’t want to eat it but she’s afraid to hurt the cafeteria people’s feelings. She panics at the idea of not getting a golden ticket. It keeps her up nights… Linda, my husband’s the CEO. Does she really think we’re not going to pull a few strings? We’ve put her on every kind of drug but none of them help. Everyone knows that she’s frail. Her whole class treats her like she’s made of glass. I’m a mutt of a woman and I gave birth to a pug.”

It was funny, but also mean, like spreading your kid out on an operating table and dissecting their flaws for an audience. “They’ll turn out. The gentle ones always cook a little longer, but they’re worth the wait.”

“Will they, though?” Daniella asked. “Turn out?”

Linda shrugged. “I mean, what’s the point in thinking otherwise?”

Daniella chuckled, then squeezed her temple. “What a headache. So, what happened last night? I heard from Cyrus Galani that you didn’t go straight home. You must be exhausted.”

“Cyrus Galani?”

“The on-duty patrol last night. I don’t know what we were thinking, Linda! Can you ever forgive us? I didn’t remember you were still at the restaurant until I got into bed. I had it in my head that you’d already gone home. My car’s the newest class—you don’t even have to be conscious to kick in the autopilot. We should have been the ones to give you a lift!”

Linda waved her hand. “I was fine. I’m just hoping it’s not a mark against us, that I indulged so much I needed a ride.”

“It’s a heavy drinking town. They’re planning to make all the cars autopilot soon. But how are you feeling today?”

“Fine?” There was something Linda didn’t know, hadn’t been told. A lot of things, in fact. That was obvious. But since this morning at the bakery, a suspicion had been growing in the back of her mind. She’d kept it there in the dark, like a mushroom. She was thinking about that fire, and about Gal Parker. She was thinking about those sick kids.

Daniella let out a long breath. “I want you to brace yourself.”

Linda’s heart pounded. “Okay.”

“Gal and her kids were hospitalized.”

Linda felt light-headed. “Why?”

“A fire very early in the morning. The solar panel’s converter tripped.”

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