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  MJ clutched her to him. His heart raced with the agony of hope for her. Reminding himself that this wasn’t helping her, he shifted away and kissed her forehead.

  “Looks like you’re doing a great job,” MJ said evenly.

  “That’s nice of you,” Honey said. “It’s so hard. Very, very hard.”

  “How much longer do you need to use it?” MJ asked.

  “Today?” Honey asked. MJ nodded. “There’s no set time. The longer I use it, the stronger the nerves get, and the pathways in my brain get better. If there’s ever a time when my spine is back together, I want to be able to use the nerves.”

  “I’d still like to see it,” MJ said. “That way, we can do it later in the week when we’re at the beach.”

  He slipped Honey off his lap and stood up. Remembering how John always upped the ante on his wife’s exercises, he stood up and held out his hands.

  “I can’t do that,” Honey said.

  “Have you tried?” MJ asked.

  Honey shook her head.

  “Then how do you know?” MJ asked. “Come on, Honey — put your headset on and see.”

  Honey didn’t move.

  “Chicken?” MJ asked.

  Honey scowled at him. She put her headset on and turned it on. To her surprise, she could see her strong, real legs below her with her feet touching the floor. MJ grabbed her hands. Honey tried to get up.

  Nothing happened.

  “Try again,” MJ said.

  Honey tried to get up off the couch again. The only thing that happened was that she could see her feet on the floor. She tried again.

  Nothing.

  “One more try, and we’ll stop,” MJ said.

  Honey gave it all she had. While MJ cheered and held her hands, she managed a wobbly try off the couch. He picked her up and twirled her around.

  “Want to try again?” MJ asked.

  “Damn straight,” Honey said.

  He put her down, and she tried again.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Monday morning — 6:10 a.m.

  “What’s wrong?” Jill asked Jacob.

  He was sitting with his back to the bed and staring out into space. When he didn’t respond, she sat up.

  “What’s going on?” Jill asked.

  He looked at her and then back at the blank space on the wall.

  “Jacob?” Jill put her hand on his arm.

  He looked at her and smiled. He saw the concern on her face. He knew that she’d been through hell when he was sick with the Sea of Amber. He didn’t want to worry her any more. He touched the side of her face.

  “Oh, nothing,” Jacob said.

  “It doesn’t look like ‘nothing,’” Jill said. “What’s going on?”

  He squinted but didn’t speak.

  “You’re scaring me,” Jill said. “What’s going on?”

  “It’s not really anything,” Jacob said. “It’s just that. . . well. . .”

  “Well, what?” Jill asked.

  “I have everything I always wanted,” Jacob said. “I got the girl. The children. I got out of running Lipson.”

  “Except that you’re going back on Wednesday,” Jill said.

  “But mostly, the company runs on its own,” Jacob said. “It’s well on its way to being owned by her employees.”

  Jill gave him an acquiescing nod.

  “We just had our big Catholic wedding,” Jacob said. “Plus all of that putting Queen Fand back together and . . .”

  “Sea of Amber,” Jill nodded. “We also have more work than we can possibly do at the construction company.”

  “Everything I dreamed of has already happened,” Jacob said with a shrug. “There’s nothing else to do.”

  “Yes, I can see your problem,” Jill said in a light voice.

  “Hey! Don’t make fun of me!” Jacob said.

  “I am not making fun of you,” Jill said. “This is serious stuff.”

  Sighing, Jacob nodded. He got up to use the restroom.

  “Hey, we should get ready for breakfast,” Jacob said.

  “We have more time,” Jill said. “They are coming to us. We showered last night, remember?”

  Jacob flushed with the memory, and she chuckled.

  “We just have to get dressed,” Jill said.

  Nodding, Jacob sat on the bed next to her. She put her hand on his leg.

  “What would you like to do next?” Jill asked.

  He raised his eyebrows with interest.

  “I’m trying to be serious!” Jill said.

  He sighed.

  “I don’t know,” Jacob said. “I was in college the last time I had this issue and then my goal was to graduate. Dad came right after graduation, and. . .”

  He shrugged. Jill knew that he’d worked to first save Lipson Construction and then get it sold to the employees. He’d given all of his attention and most of his money to make it happen.

  “It’s funny,” Jacob said. “I remember feeling like this was never, ever going to end. I remember being at my step-sister’s engagement party and wondering if I’d ever be free.”

  He looked at her and smiled.

  “You, wicked woman, made all this happen,” Jacob said.

  Jill laughed. He leaned forward to kiss her.

  “If what you’re saying is even remotely true, then we should figure out what’s next,” Jill said. “Do you want to go to law school? Join the military? Run for office? Become a doctor? Or. . .?”

  “I really only ever wanted to be a carpenter like my father,” Jacob said.

  “You are that,” Jill said.

  “Yeah, but. . .” Jacob said.

  “I think we’ll reach this place many times in our life,” Jill said. “Whatever you decide to accomplish today, will be done by tomorrow.”

  Jacob nodded.

  “I’ll finish school, the kids will grow up and move out,” Jill said. “And there we’ll be. I think it’s good that we get a chance to figure out how to do this while we’re young.”

  “I feel. . .” Jacob said. “Sad.”

  “Sure,” Jill nodded. “Even when you get everything you want, you have to give up the wanting. There’s a loss there.”

  Jacob nodded.

  “You know what I think?” Jill asked.

  He looked at her.

  “I think you’re exhausted,” Jill said. “You’re so tired that you need time to sleep and reflect.”

  “I’m not a very reflect-ish person,” Jacob said. “I don’t even know how to meditate.”

  Jill gave him a soft smile.

  “What?” he asked.

  “How did you survive your time in the golden cabin?” Jill asked.

  “Oh, well. . .” Jacob said. “I just wanted to get home, to you. To our children. I had a goal!”

  Jill smiled.

  “I don’t have a goal now,” Jacob said.

  “You just need time,” Jill said. “You remember when Mike came home?”

  Jacob nodded at the memory of Mike returning from war and a breakdown of his marriage to Valerie.

  “Mike said the same thing,” Jill said. “It took him a month or so before he started painting.”

  “Less than that,” Jacob said with a nod.

  “Why don’t you give yourself some time?” Jill asked.

  “Because I feel like a jerk,” Jacob said. “You’re out there working in our business, going to school, taking care of the kids. . . and I’m just scratching my belly.”

  “You do realize that we’re days away from the twins learning to walk,” Jill said.

  “Yeah, so?” Jacob asked.

  “You’ll see,” Jill laughed.

  Jacob smiled at her laugh.

  “You don’t think I need to go to therapy or whatever,” Jacob said.

  “You might need therapy,” Jill said with a shrug. “Mostly, I think you need some rest and space.”

  Jacob shook his head. He got up and went to his side of the bed. He lay down next to her. Turning on h
is side, he put his arm over her stomach.

  “I just. . .” he said.

  Jill waited. After a moment, she looked up at him. He was sound asleep. Smiling to herself, she got out her phone to check in with everyone.

  Chapter Four Hundred and Forty-one

  Coming soon

  Monday night — 9:15 p.m.

  Delphie slipped into Sam’s room, the birch room off the hallway where MJ and Honey’s apartment was located. Seeing that he was asleep, she stopped at the door and slipped off her shoes. This room was beautiful but loud. Any noise echoed off the wood interior. She sighed and went to the bed.

  “How did it go?” Sam asked as he rolled over to look at her.

  “I finally got her settled down,” Delphie said. “She’s with Noelle now.”

  Sam nodded.

  “What happened?” Sam asked. “One minute, Ivy was playing video games with the other kids, and the next minute, she was weeping uncontrollably.”

  “She has the sense that dark times are coming,” Delphie said with a nod. “Her capacities are too immature to determine what is on her horizon. She just has a sense that something is near. She’s terrified.”

  Sam put his hand on Delphie’s knee to encourage her to talk.

  “For all of the hard things that Ivy’s been through, she’s never had to deal with feeling unsafe in the world at large,” Delphie said with a nod.

  “I don’t think any of us has,” Sam said.

  Delphie nodded.

  “Do you think there’s any way to keep this from happening?” Sam asked.

  Delphie shook her head.

  “It’s already coming,” Delphie said. “You can’t stop this kind of thing once the spark lives inside the breasts of so many people.”

  Sam raised his eyebrows, and Delphie nodded.

  “Why?” Sam asked. “Why do you think it’s happening here, now?”

  “There are so many answers to that question that it’s like there is no answer,” Delphie said.

  Sam looked at her for a moment, and she sighed.

  “Let’s see,” Delphie said after a moment. “Probably the best answer is that the world has fundamentally changed.”

  “Changed?” Sam asked.

  “A lot of people don’t want the world to change,” Delphie nodded. “They will do anything in their power to keep things the same.”

  “I never thought this kind of thing would happen here,” Sam said.

  “It’s just another lesson,” Delphie said. “This kind of thing can happen anywhere, at any time.”

  “I just wonder what we need to do to get through,” Sam said. “I guess . . .”

  Delphie turned her head to look at his face.

  “I’d hate for our happy family here at the Castle to be torn apart,” Sam said.

  “I don’t think it will,” Delphie said.

  “But you don’t know,” Sam said.

  Delphie shook her head.

  “Then we have to work to get everyone on the same page,” Sam said.

  “I think we already are,” Delphie said. “All of the kids work in jobs that didn’t exist when you and I were coming of age.”

  They stared off in opposite directions. After a while, Sam scanned Delphie’s face.

  “The wedding was so beautiful,” Sam said, shifting to a topic that gave Delphie great joy.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen or facilitated a wedding as deep and beautiful as Jill and Jacob’s,” Delphie said with a nod. “I was a little offended that they wanted to have a wedding in the church. Despite what Jacob and Jill said, I felt like my best work was not simply good enough.”

  Sam waited for her to collect her thoughts. She nodded.

  “Yesterday’s wedding was . . . gorgeous,” Delphie said. “The entire wedding was seeped in ancient symbols and meaning. I was overwhelmed with the specter of it. It’s like Jill, Jacob, MJ, Honey, Sandy, and Aden stood proudly in the place of all of their forefathers. The gravity of the event was clear and stunningly beautiful.”

  Sniffing back her tears of wonder, Delphie nodded. Sam smiled.

  “Even with all of the chaos from the Gods of War and Perses and everything,” Delphie said.

  “Oh?” Sam scowled. “Was there some kind of chaos?”

  Delphie nodded.

  “I must have missed it,” Sam said.

  “That’s okay,” Delphie said. “It all ended up well.”

  “That’s good,” Sam said with a nod. “Coming to bed?”

  “In a minute,” Delphie said.

  Sam rolled over and went to sleep. Delphie said a silent prayer that love and peace would overcome prejudice. She slipped out of her clothes and into her nightgown. Long after Sam had fallen asleep, Delphie stared at the ceiling, praying that they would make it through.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Monday night — 10:05 p.m.

  “Are you sure you’re okay with me staying here?” Tanesha whispered to Jeraine. “Working on the mobile medical unit?”

  They were lying naked, wrapped around each other, in her bed in the basement of their small yellow house.

  “I think it’s great that you have the opportunity,” Jeraine said with a smile. “You’re really making your dream happen.”

  “So are you,” Tanesha said.

  “You’re still planning on coming when you can, right?” Jeraine asked.

  “And you’ll come here,” Tanesha nodded.

  “When I can,” Jeraine said. “Probably just when we’re in the States.”

  “Which is the next two months, right?” Tanesha asked.

  Jeraine nodded. She kissed him.

  “I already have the tickets for the rest of the summer and the fall,” Jeraine said.

  “I’m glad,” Tanesha smiled. He grinned at her.

  “I wanted to ask you something,” Jeraine said.

  Tanesha nodded.

  “Jabari loves his school,” Jeraine said in a matter of fact tone.

  “He does,” Tanesha said, with a smile.

  “I wonder if it might make sense for him to stay here,” Jeraine said.

  Tanesha gave him a concerned look.

  “I don’t want to burden you with him,” Jeraine said. “I know you’re not in school right now, but you’re working on the mobile medical unit and everything.”

  “Jabari is not a burden,” Tanesha said. “He’s our son. Plus, he has school and. . .”

  “And?” Jeraine asked.

  “He loves my mom and dad,” Tanesha said. “Your parents and the crew at the Castle. I think he has a crush on Maggie.”

  “Maggie?” Jeraine asked.

  “Honey and MJ’s little girl,” Tanesha said.

  “I think I have a crush on Maggie!” Jeraine said with a grin.

  “She is pretty awesome,” Tanesha said. “Anyway, my point was that I can get help from lots of people, including Heather and Blane, who are upstairs.”

  Jeraine nodded.

  “Won’t you miss him?” Tanesha asked. “Didn’t he and mom help you stay sober?”

  “They were helpful,” Jeraine said. “What helped the most was me doing my own work — going to meetings, talking to my sponsor.”

  “Imagine that,” Tanesha said.

  “I think it will be a good challenge for me to see if I can do it on my own,” Jeraine said.

  “And if you can’t?” Tanesha asked. “Is it worth risking?”

  “If I can’t, I’ll call, and we’ll figure something else out,” Jeraine said.

  “Are you already planning some whoring and drugging time?” Tanesha asked.

  Jeraine laughed.

  “Why is that funny?” Tanesha asked.

  “I’ll get kicked off the tour if I’m using,” Jeraine said. “They test me and everyone on the tour every day. If you don’t believe me, you can ask your mom.”

  Tanesha touched his face.

  “I believe that you want to be clean,” Tanesha said. “I guess, I’m just scared it won’t be
enough.”

  “I’m scared, too,” Jeraine said. “But I have to try it at some point.”

  Tanesha nodded.

  “Are you willing to try?” Jeraine asked.

  “I am,” Tanesha said. “You?”

  “I am ready to get it done,” Jeraine said.

  Tanesha smiled.

  Chuckling at her, Jeraine slipped on top of her.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Tuesday morning — 8:00 a.m.

  “Seth?” Mrs. Helen Siegle, the head of the Marlowe School, asked from the doorway of her office. “Oscar?”

  Seth and the heavy-set man sitting near him looked up.

  “Please come in,” Helen said.

  Seth waited for the man to get up before following him into Helen’s office. The man heaved himself into a seat in front of the principal’s desk. Seth pulled a chair next to him and sat down.

  “Have you met?” Helen asked.

  The man turned to look at Seth. He nodded.

  “You’re O’Malley,” the man said. “Everybody knows that.”

  “I am,” Seth said. “And you are?”

  “Oscar Grandy.” The man held out his hand and Seth shook it.

  “Nice to meet you,” Seth said.

  “Do you know why your here?” Helen asked Oscar.

  “Just that you wanted to talk to me about my kid,” Oscar nodded.

  “It’s come to my attention that you’re son has been calling Rachel Ann Norsen derogatory names,” Helen said.

  “Oh, yeah?” Oscar asked.

  “He’s been calling her a ‘kike,’” Seth said.

  “Isn’t that what she is?” Oscar asked with a shrug. “Anyway, what’s she to you?”

  “She’s my granddaughter,” Seth said. “She is my daughter Sandy’s child.”

  “Aren’t you a kike? You look like one,” Oscar asked with a snort of laughter. “Doesn’t that make her one, too?”

  Seth looked at Oscar and blinked. Helen cleared her throat.

  “Do you know what the word means?” Helen asked.

  “It means ‘filthy Jew bitch,’” Oscar said.

  Seth blinked at him. He was stunned by this man’s openly admitting his racism. He looked at the principal. She looked as shocked as he was.