Home Fires by Gene Wolfe Read Free Book Online Page A

“Yes. Easily.”
    “You brought her up to Canam because you thought I’d want to see her.” It was an accusation.
    “You’re right. I did.”
    “I didn’t! I hate the sight of her, hate the sound of her voice.”
    “You didn’t recognize me, Chelle, but you struggled through that crowd to get to her.”
    “Yeah. I suppose I did.” So softly that he could barely hear it, she asked, “Do you understand yourself?”
    “Mostly, yes.”
    “I don’t. I mean, I don’t understand me. When I met her here, just a few minutes ago. I was glad to see her, but I didn’t want to be.”
    He waited.
    “Why did you bring her here? It was supposed to be just you and me.”
    “I didn’t.”
    “Really?” Chelle stared.
    “Yes. I’m going to tell you some things she wouldn’t like you to hear. In a way, I shouldn’t. But I haven’t promised not to, and they’re things I think you ought to know.”
    “I won’t tell her you told me.”
    “Thanks. You know she doesn’t have much money now. You commented on her feather earrings once.”
    “I remember.”
    “She has one other pair. They’re attractive and look like gold, but they’re plastic. She needed a place to stay, and I found an apartment for her in my building. It was on the seventh floor, and everything below the twenty-fifth is—well, you know.”
    “Cheap. Did she pay her own rent?”
    “No.” Skip shrugged. “It wasn’t big and it didn’t rent for much, but she was happy to have it. She furnished it with used things. Used furniture—still serviceable, but used—is very reasonable.”
    “She must have hated that.”
    “I don’t know. I—”
    A knock at the door of their stateroom announced the arrival of their lunches. When they were settled at the table, Skip sipped his gin-and-tonic and wondered how best to restart the conversation.
    “We should have asked Mother,” Chelle said.
    “Asked her what?”
    “Asked her to lunch. Can she afford to eat?”
    “If she could afford passage on this ship, even in tourist class, she certainly can. Food’s included in the ticket. Tourist-class passengers eat in the tourist-class dining salon. It’s not fancy, but if you don’t mind a lot of canned and dried stuff, there’s nothing wrong with the food.”
    “Have you ever been there?”
    He shook his head.
    “Then how do you know?”
    “I checked things out before I booked, that’s all. The information on their site covered all three classes. What the rooms looked like, where they were on the ship, what the food was like, and so on. What deck were you on when you met your mother?”
    “This one. The spa’s on this deck, too. Why are you looking like that?”
    “Because tourist-class passengers—and second-class passengers—aren’t permitted on this deck. Now eat your sandwich.”
    Obediently, Chelle did. “Maybe they’re not, but if they have guards to keep them out, I never saw any. We could call her up and ask her. How could we get hold of her?”
    “Wait. We need to talk, so let’s finish lunch.”
    “I didn’t hate her. I met her and I was surprised to see her. Flubbergassed. And I hugged her, and she hugged me. I’m bigger and stronger than she is now.…”
    Skip nodded.
    “That didn’t seem right, but she didn’t seem to mind. You paid the rent on her apartment? Isn’t that what you said?”
    “I took care of it, yes.”
    “But you didn’t buy her a ticket on this boat?”
    “Ship. No, I didn’t.”
    “Have you gone up to watch them work the sails?”
    “No.” Skip turned on the fan. “If you’ll stop asking me questions, I’ll tell you what I’ve been trying to tell you for the last five minutes.”
    “What is it?”
    He sighed. “Someone’s after her. Let me back up and explain. Mick Tooley’s a bright young guy in our firm. I told him about your mother and gave him her number. I told her about Mick, too, and gave her his number. She was to contact him if she needed anything.”
    “But if someone is