Page 35 of Nineteen Seventy-Six

“Do you?” Pansy snapped her gum, creating a parachute of pink against her lips.

“I do, Pansy.” Luther gripped his hands together tighter as he scanned the room, filled with cousins, his mother, uncles. Family outside of the room, and family inside the room, but more… so much more. “I’ve always known I want to serve my family, and it’s an honor to be invited.”

“Ain’t like we were brimmin’ with options,” Pansy replied under her breath.

“There were options,” Colleen replied. “I chose you. I chose you because we need the most devout for whatever might lie ahead.”

Cassius widened his eyes. Said nothing.

“I won’t disappoint you, cousin.” He let his eyes fall on the other five. “Or any of you.”

There were no further matters to discuss, so Colleen called the meeting adjourned after reminding them that she’d be traveling back to Scotland shortly and would return for quarterly meetings. They took turns embracing her and wishing her well, and then each left, all except Luther.

“Yes, Luther?” Colleen asked as she gathered her folio and pen.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Why did you choose me?” Before she could answer, he went on. “Evangeline would’ve been a clear choice, or even Elizabeth. There are others in the line of Blanche. I know…” He rapped his knuckles against his thighs. “I can’t imagine, that is, that you got no pushback, bringing a kid in.”

Colleen set her pen inside the folio and pushed it to the side. “Does it matter if I did?”

“I don’t know,” he said, thinking. He looked around the room filled with portraits of their ancestors. “I just don’t want this decision to cause trouble for you.”

Colleen scoffed. “I can handle some pushback, Luther. This role wasn’t designed to be easy.”

“You haven’t answered my question.”

He was so intense, from his eyes, to his posture. Even his hair, a shocking blond held firmly in place, startled her. Luther Fontenot would be a force one day. “Why you?”

“Yes.”

Colleen tilted her head. “You might not like my answer.”

“If it’s the truth, I’ll like it very much.”

“Well,” Colleen said. “Other than myself, these are your kin on the Council. You know as well as I do, or better, how they think and operate. Don’t get me wrong, Luther, they’re all very competent, and all care a great deal about the family. But emotional decisions won’t carry us through tough times.” She understood that saying these things to him, a Fontenot, bore the risk of him carrying the words back to his mother and the others. But Colleen didn’t think he’d do that.

“I understand,” Luther replied. He shuffled and settled his hands against his torso, looking her square in the eye. “You need an ally.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “If you want to put it that way.”

“I’m honored to be your ally, Colleen. I’ve always respected you a great deal, and there aren’t many like you… among us. I don’t know what’s ahead for the family, but if you’re looking for pragmatic leadership in challenging times, I won’t disappoint you.”

She had trouble reminding herself he was only fifteen. Was she so intense at fifteen? So serious? She might’ve been, especially through the eyes of others.

“That’s why I chose you,” she said. “Because, like you, I don’t know what’s ahead for us. But what I do know? Ophelia saw an end to our time of peace. It wasn’t like her to give us a warning, but it’s coming. I fear for us all if we aren’t ready.”

Colleen saw Luther out, and then, as she made her way up the stairs, Aria called to her.

“A call came in from Miss Evangeline.”

Colleen paused on the stairs and half-turned. “It’s way too late in Boston. I’ll call her back in the morning.”

Aria coughed. “One of her friends was killed. By that… that man hurting women up there. She wanted you to know.”

Colleen sagged against the banister. It was past one in New Orleans, an hour later in Boston. But she knew all too well that pain didn’t sleep.

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