“No no,” said Prodigal. “They were great to Jael. It was Autumn Rose that they didn't care for. She doesn't even really mesh well with Elevenths, so Jael's Tenth adoptive parents? Forget it. Then Jael got pregnant, freaked out, and ran away. She made contact with Autumn Rose and the rest of us in the sazer underground.”
“So I'm assuming that she ran right before she began to show,” surmised Jonah. “But why did she run?”
“She was afraid of her parents' reaction,” said Prodigal. “Jael was about to make them the youngest grandparents in their community, and she was afraid of shaming them. She didn't want to do that, because they've been so good to her.”
“So what?” snapped Terrence. “Shaming them—they brought that girl into their family. They should support her! As for that shame notion, th
