Becoming Calder(40)

"Hector—" Hailey said.

"Father—" I said at the same time.

We looked at each other and smiled.

We walked into Hector's embrace and he kissed the tops of our heads.

"My girls," he said. "Now I finally feel at home. Eden, please, play something for me. It will do my heart good."

I nodded and hurried to the piano. As I played, I pictured myself at the spring, lying on the grass with Calder, our hands grasped together, the noontime sun above us, warming our bodies. I let the melody surround the vision of us in my mind, the notes dancing over our skin.

When the last note was played and I came back to myself, the room was quiet. I looked up to see Hector and Hailey staring at me.

"Eden, your playing is even more beautiful than it was before I left. You must have been practicing very diligently."

"Yes, Father," I said.

Hector stood and came to sit down next to me on the piano bench. I scooted all the way to the edge to make room for him.

"Eden, you must call me Hector now," he said. He ran one finger down the side of my cheek. I kept staring ahead. "We'll be married very soon. I'll be your father no longer."

I didn't speak, couldn't speak. Hector continued to stare at my profile. Finally after what seemed like hours, he let out a shaky breath and said softly, "So sweet. Just what I needed." And then he stood.

I looked up to see Hailey still seated with her eyes downcast.

"Where are the boys?" Hector asked.

"They're with Monica," she said. Monica was one of the council member's wives who helped Hailey with the boys once in a while.

"Good," Hector said. "Come with me to my room. I'd like some time with you. Mother Miriam will be home later today and she can help me unpack."

"Yes, Hector," Hailey said.

They both turned and left me standing there. I wasn't sorry for the solitude. I returned to my room and brought my notebook out from under my bed and filled my head with the algebra I'd been learning with Calder.





CHAPTER TEN




Calder



"Better?" I asked Maya, taking the glass of water from her lips and placing it on the table next to her. She nodded, her eyes sleepy. "Good."

I smoothed her hair back from her face and she smiled at me. "Are there any more butterscotch candies?"

I smiled at her. "No, you ate them all."

She frowned slightly. "Maybe Eden will leave more for me today."

"Maybe. You remember that's our secret, right? Eden would get in trouble if anyone knew she was giving you candy."

She nodded. "I know. I can keep a secret."

"I know you can."

Maya closed her eyes for a minute and then opened them. "When I get to Elysium, Calder—"

"Maya, you're not going to Elysium anytime soon."

"I know, but when I do get there . . . well, will I be beautiful like Eden?" She looked up at me with her simple, trusting gaze.

My heart squeezed as I looked down at that beloved face. "You're already beautiful, Maya."

She shook her head and pursed her lips as if I was purposefully being difficult. "Will I be beautiful like Eden?"

I knew what she was asking me and it broke my damn heart.

I was quiet for a moment. "I think in Elysium, we'll get to be whatever we want to be, anything our hearts desire."

Maya smiled softly at that. "Then I'm going to look just like Eden, and I'm going to be able to run as fast as a cheetah."

I couldn't help but smile. Maya's heart was one of the sweetest and most wonderful things in my life. Who else would want those things? I could go with that. "Okay, then, I'm going to be as strong as a hundred oxen and I'm going to be able to fly."

Maya laughed softly, but then it turned into a cough. Sometimes it sounded like she couldn't catch her breath. I gave her another sip of water and she leaned back on her pillow, smiling. "I think Elysium is going to be wonderful."

I nodded. "As long as we're there together, it will be."

Maya smiled again and then closed her eyes. "You get some sleep," I said quietly. "I'll be back in a couple hours."

She nodded, but didn't open her eyes. I could hear her quiet snores as I ducked out of the healing tent, a large tented "room" close to the Temple. Maya's cough was markedly improved this time after the holy water and I said a silent prayer of thanks to the gods, most specifically the God of Mercy. I smiled to myself.

My parents and I had been taking turns sitting with her night after night so she wouldn't be alone, but they were older than me and staying up all night took its toll on them, so most nights I volunteered. As a result, during the day I felt like the walking dead. I hated missing my time with Eden, but if I was going to be any good to Maya, I needed to sleep during my midday break. Maya didn't like the dark and I'd never let her stay alone in that small, unlit space in the evenings and through the night. She slept well with me there. But she was sleeping quite a bit during the day now, too, so she must have needed extra rest.