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"I could die right here—a terrorist sniper, food poisoning, meningitis, a traffic accident, a bolt of lightning. Think you can prevent any of those?"
"Food poisoning for sure. Traffic accident probably."
"You know you can't," said Mark. "It's like the lady on TV said, the one from CGA. Which is better, to save my life by not helping and just letting the government kill the sick people who try to get away, or to risk my life doing what Jesus did?"
"He didn't risk his life healing the sick, he could just heal them."
"Excuse me?" said Mark. "Jesus didn't risk his life?"
"Who's being sarcastic now?" asked Cecily triumphantly.
"I don't get sarcastic when I'm wrong," said Mark. "I get sarcastic when you're just being silly."
Cecily laughed. "Oh, my, you're way too good at this. I'm not sure you should get married without letting the girl take serious fighting lessons."
"And once again you're dodging the point."
"Mark, you can't go. This CGA—if they actually get permission to enter Africa, it's going to be hard enough for them to get anything done without having to worry about a thirteen-year-old. You'd have to have a guardian with you."
"I know," said Mark. "That's why I asked Aunt Margaret."
"You actually talked to her before you talked to me?"
"I talked to you weeks ago," said Mark. "Just because you ignored me doesn't mean I didn't try."
"I never ignore you," said Cecily. "I just hoped that you'd get past this phase."
"And I'm hoping you'll get past yours," said Mark, rising to his feet angrily.
"My decision is not a phase, young man."
"Neither is mine," said Mark. "Adults talk about 'phases' whenever they don't want to take kids seriously. But I'm thirteen. If I were a Jew, I'd be a man."
"I'm sorry I said 'phase.'"
"Aunt Margaret won't take me," said Mark.
"I'm not surprised."
"She says she's too old, she'd just catch it and die before she emptied a single bedpan."
"She's probably right," said Cecily.
"But she said she'd live in our house and take care of Nick and Lettie and Annie and John Paul if you decided to take me."
"I can't take you!" said Cecily. "My children have only one parent left. I'm not putting the other one at risk!"
"How odd. You drive in District traffic all the time."
"The odds of catching the nictovirus in Africa and dying of it are way higher than the odds of dying in a traffic accident."
"You risk dying to go talk to the President and make money and help him block Christians from going to care for the sick in Africa," said Mark. "People risk death all the time to do whatever they want to do. You like being somebody who the President talks to all the time, so it's worth the risk."
"You are so far over the line, young man, that you can't even see it anymore," said Cecily.
"I'm speaking truth to power," said Mark. "That's what you raised me to do."
"I'm not 'power,' I'm your mother."
