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“What’s going on with the Socialface posts?”
“I’m not sure I want to know.”
“It’ll be good things, I’m sure.”
“It wasn’t all good things last time.”
“Nothing’s ever only good. If you never do anything that might hurt you a little, you never live at all. Lemme see.”
I handed her the phone.
She pressed her finger to the screen, scrolled, and smiled. “It turns out the Tin Man does have a heart. Gabriel Stryker strikes a human note with his acceptance speech while receiving his award for scientific discovery.”
Tin Man. Human note.
“You look upset.” She frowned and touched my shoulder. “These are good things. They might be saying it in jerky ways, but it’s progress. You’re winning.”
I didn’t say anything.
Layana closed the site and handed me my phone back. “All of this is in the name of greatness, right? Securing the merger means you get to do more good. Everything else is just noise.”
Her words and her touch calmed my nerves. “You’re right.”
“Of course I am. It’s my special skill. Looks like you still have another text.”
“It’s Esme,” I said, clicking it. “Video chat me as soon as you can.”
I sucked in a sharp breath, my lungs burning.
“Is that a bad thing?” Layana asked.
“I don’t know.”
“You can call her. I’ll be fine by myself until you’re done.”
Before I could think about it, a video call came in, from Esme.
I answered.
Layana moved to walk away, I grabbed her hand. I wanted her here, especially if something was wrong. And as my sister’s face popped up on the screen, I realized I wanted Layana here even if everything was right.
She’d met Oma and Jasper. I wanted her to meet Esme, too.
A smattering of freckles crossed Esme’s cheeks, which I’d only seen happen during the summer when we were kids. She must have been spending more time in the sun than usual. There was something else about her that seemed different, too, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
“Gabe, you socially competent fox!” Esme beamed at me.
In the background was a wooden wall, and the sound of the ocean. Was she living at the beach? I knew so little of what she was up to recently, which concerned me.
“Hi?” I said.
“I saw all the videos of you,” she said. “Congrats on the award. Tell me about the woman.”
I sucked in a sharp breath and turned the camera. “Esme, this is Layana. Layana, my sister.”
“Layana, hi,” Esme said. “It was you, wasn’t it. You dragged that turtle out of his shell.”
Layana smiled back with as much enthusiasm as Esme exuded.
