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"Good," she said, lying back. "Good." She smiled up at the ceiling.
"When you return tonight, we'll be closer than ever, because we'll have something new to share. I couldn't describe my experiences well to you, being you were such a virgin, but that will be different now." She reached up for my hand and pulled me a little closer. "Let's recite the Bird Oath," she said. "I need to hear it. It gives me comfort." We did, and she looked very pleased and at ease again.
"I've got to go down to prepare what my mother left for my father's and my dinner," I said. "He should be home soon, anyway."
"Fine," she said. She walked me to the attic door, where she reached for my hand again and then hugged me. "I'm so excited for you," she said.
I could see in her eyes that she really was, but I couldn't help still wishing she would worry more about herself and what would happen to her, more than she was about my having crucial life experiences.
"Stop thinking so hard," she said. "Everything will be just fine soon. Besides, let your emotions and feelings take over for a change. Give that overworked brain of yours a rest."
I forced a smile, nodded, and left her. Nothing she would say or I would do would stop the trembling inside me, however. Now that it was drawing close to the time my father would arrive, I was even more anxious. Then the phone rang.
"Hey, honey," I heard him say. "How are you doing?"
"Okay," I said. "Mom left us a roast chicken, and I'm putting up some wild rice and. . ."
"Well, I'm calling because I won't be home for dinner. Sorry. I can't get out of this meeting with a pretty important business client of ours."
"Oh?"
"Yes, it's something I have to do, or I wouldn't, especially tonight, believe me."
"It's all right, Daddy," I said.
"I'll be tied up until about nine-thirty or ten." "Don't worry about me."
"I had a chance to talk to the district attorney today, Zipporah. They're going to speak to Karen's mother about the thing you told me, and later this week, maybe as soon as tomorrow, they'll want to speak to you again. Are you up to doing it? It would really help Karen."
"I'll do my best," I said.
"Good. You're a tough kid. Your mother will probably be calling to check on you soon, too. You're sure you're okay by yourself? "
"I'm sure," I said, and hung up.
I ran up to the attic to tell Karen she could come down and have dinner with me.
"See?" she said, after she heard my father wasn't coming home until later. "It's all working out as if it was meant to. You don't have to bother taking off the skirt and stopping on the road in the darkness to put it on. You'll be home before your father gets home."
"Yes, it's just as you said it would be. He also told me the police want to speak with me again."
"When?"
"Maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after. They're going to speak with your mother first."
"They are?" She looked thoughtful for a moment and then smiled. "Good. Maybe they'll catch her in a lie. Don't worry. I'll think about what you should say and do. You'll be fine."
"If they believe us, you'll be able to come out of hiding," I said. "My father might even be your lawyer and everything He'll have you out on bail, and you can live with us without it being a secret."
"Sure," she said. "Let's just do it right. You don't tell them anything about me until I say so. Swear. Hand on your heart. Go on."
"I swear," I said, my hand over my breast.
"Good. I'm starving. Let's eat," she cried.
Why was she so much less intense about all these things than I was? I envied her for her calmness.
My mother called soon after, just as my father had predicted. Karen stood off to the side, listening to me reassure her that I was fine.
