Days of Darkness

Chapter 65

How is Tom?" Mom asked. Her interest was real, not some feigned cordiality.

"He's fine," I replied, looking at the two of them like they were new people. "He plays with the Smooth Gliders. Wendy is his wife."

"Saxophone?" Dad asked. I nodded. "I wish I was there. It would have been good to see him on stage."

"It's what he wanted," Mom added. She took a sip of her wine, her eyes still smiling at me. The night couldn't get any weirder.

"You flirted with him," I said to Mom, trying to gain some high ground. Dad laughed.

"She sure did," Dad said. "I think it was the first time I was jealous of another man. You were wearing that summer dress looking so darn cute." Mom smiled and kissed Dad's cheek, making me feel more like a third wheel. I didn't need the link to feel the love flowing between them. My bond earlier had ignited something anew.

"I can do it again," I said.

"Do what?" Dad asked.

"Bond like tonight," I answered. "I can control it now. I just needed to feel the walls come down to know they were there." I took a deep breath. "I might even be able to control who feels it. It was an explosion tonight, but I think I can shut it off for individual people."

"Do you think she should tell Hank?" Mom asked Dad. The question confused me. Why shouldn't Hank know? I had always told him everything before.

"He's always been on her side," Dad said looking at Mom. "He wouldn't pass on anything that would hurt her."

" 'Her' is right here," I said. Nothing makes a me feel more like a child than being talked about like I wasn't there.

"It's time we had the talk," Dad sighed, and Mom nodded. I knew it wasn't the birds and the bees. What followed was a full explanation of my birth, Uncle Hank's contribution, and all that went with Mom and Dad securing my life. I had known some of it, but the details were eye opening. The political ramifications of my creation made me feel less human. If it weren't my parents telling me, I would have folded into a little ball and shrunk away from the world. To know there were people who didn't even know me but hated me, well, it did damage to my self-worth. My only real shield was anonymity.

The participation of Douglas Corbett was surprising. It was just four months ago when his death was all over the news. He had become something of a recluse, hermitting himself in his home, accepting no visitors. Now, I knew he had been insane for a long time.

The participation of the military in my hiding was even more surprising. Dad explained that they believed I might grow into an asset or a threat. Uncle Hank was the compromise that allowed me to live in relative peace. He kept tabs on me and reported my capabilities. Somewhere in the Pentagon, there was a file that probably knew when I took my last pee. I had always known I was different, just not that others in the world recognized it. I had a million questions, and Mom and Dad patiently answered them.

"Why do you love me?" I asked when it was over. I knew they did; I could feel it. How can the rest of the world think I'm an issue and these two, for some reason, saw something different. Mom moved quickly, Dad a split second behind her. They answered with a hug.

"We told you because you need to know," Mom said, "not to hurt you." I felt my eyes begin to well up. All I could think about was the people who hated me.

"If people understood you like we do," Dad said, "they'd see you for what you are; a blessing."

"Does the bond make you love me?" I asked. This time, I couldn't hold back the tears. I was a freak who could make people swoon. Love would never be real for me. I could feel the pain my words were causing them; it was coursing through the light bond, the one that I allowed to exist all the time. I shut it off. Completely.

"No," Dad said, unhindered by the lack of the link. "I fell in love with the child who smiled at me when I called her Stinky."

"The bond doesn't make anyone love anyone else," Mom said. "It can cut through the garbage that ruins some relationships, but it never creates them." Her hand wiped the tears from my cheeks. "If you don't believe us, never turn it on again. We will always be there for you, link or not."

I knew my mom disliked me shutting it off. She liked feeling the family, knowing everyone was safe. It made her feel secure. I was hurting her by keeping it off.

"You're our daughter," Dad continued. "Nothing will ever change that. It doesn't matter where you are or what you do. I am your father." Mom squeezed me tighter. I had no one else in the world but my family. There was no one like me, anywhere. I just knew I couldn't lose them, or their love.

I opened my mind, more than I ever did before. I circled both Mom and Dad's music, isolating it from the din of the rest of the world. I gave them all of me as I swam in their love. I opened my eyes and saw the beauty of a perfect world, one where a harmony of choices only led to happiness.

"Zane," Mom whispered. I reached out with my mind and found Zane fighting his fear of whatever horror movie he was watching. I circled his music and hugged him into the rest of us. His joy doubled our own.

"My family," Dad sighed. He was so warm inside, a blanket for my soul. Mom was the compass, but Dad was safety. I was nothing without them. I was everything with them. We were all pieces of a whole that fit tightly like a jigsaw puzzle. It couldn't be any different if we wanted it to be. The bond wasn't the glue, love was. The bond just exposed it for what it was. I dropped the full link, letting the light one stay. Mom needed to feel us. It was that, or she'd be calling us all the time.

"Sorry," I said, breathing hard.

"For what, Honey?" Mom asked, her smile was back.

"For doubting you," I replied. Dad chuckled which seemed out of place. I looked at him with more than a little curiosity.

"When you were a baby," Dad explained, "we went through the same struggles. I just couldn't believe your mother could love me. I thought you caused it all."

"It took me forever to get him over that," Mom said, stroking the side of my face. I felt like a child again, wrapped in my parent's arms. For some reason, I didn't want to leave.

"Zane's going to ask you some questions," Dad said. "It's your story to tell now. As little or as much as you want."

"He deserves some answers," I said, nodding my head, then changed the subject. "I've always trusted Uncle Hank. Now, I'm not so sure. I don't want to become some tool of the military."

"I think he has your best interest at heart," Dad said. "He even told me the military was losing interest. That said, you might want to tell a white lie. Maybe you hit your head at the concert, and it triggered the event. It's probably best if you don't involve Tom. He did us a big favor many years ago and doesn't deserve the scrutiny of the military." I nodded, thinking of the names Wendy would call me if I were the cause of someone searching her house. It made me smile. She never held back on language.

The recliner creaked, and it signaled the end to our family hug. Mom stood up, wary that the chair would collapse. Dad followed, and they reluctantly took their seats on the couch again. I missed their closeness but knew I needed to be an adult.

"So," Mom said when she settled into Dad again, "you didn't tell us how it went with Caleb."

"Fine, I guess," I said. "We're going to the prom together." I could see the excitement explode in Mom's face, and Dad's eyebrows lifted high. "Just as friends," I clarified.

"Does he see it that way?" Mom asked.

"Why does everyone keep doing that?" I questioned. "We're just friends. He's going to MIT, or Stanford, or somewhere else brains go to be Einsteined. It wouldn't work out, even if he wanted it to."

"Hmmm," Dad said with a smile, "that sounds vaguely familiar to me."

"Just because we love each other," I said stiffly, "doesn't mean I have to like you." Mom laughed.

"He's a nice boy," Mom said. "He likes you, and I don't need the bond to see it."

"I'm not ready to like anyone," I said. "I have a lot to think about, everything you told me tonight piled on top of it all. Caleb isn't my top priority."

"I thought he was cute," Mom said, shrugging her shoulders.

"He needs a haircut," I said as I stood up.

"I'm with Teegan," Dad said. "There's no harm in waiting for the right time." Mom rolled her eyes.