Aliena Too by Piers Anthony Page B

life in a few more years if he didn’t receive appropriate treatment. The treatment was fabulously expensive, and the family had no insurance. Death seemed likely.
    â€œWe need to help that boy,” Lida said.
    â€œIt is policy not to interfere in such matters,” Martha said. “Local government can get huffy.”
    â€œEven if someone dies because they won’t act?”
    â€œThis is politics. If we try to intervene, there could be hell to pay, messing up the reputation of the starfish. It’s ugly, but there it is.”
    â€œLida wants it fixed,” Gloaming said. “It must be fixed.”
    Sam and Martha exchanged a glance. Gloaming had power now, as Star did, and it wasn’t wise to balk at him. Lida realized that she had done it again. Gloaming listened to her and supported her, in anything. That was flattering, but not always wise. “Maybe we can think of something,” Sam said.
    â€œI can think of something,” Lida said, plowing ahead since she had started it. “Suppose the two envoys met and interacted, such as in a brief duet, unannounced? And that duet was for the benefit of the boy?”
    Sam refrained from rolling his eyes. “What duet?”
    â€œOr any song they can do together.” Lida opened her songbook and spied an old one she liked. “Kiss Me Quick And Go.”
    â€œLovely,” Aliena said. “I will see to it.”
    â€œAliena says she’ll handle it,” Lida said.
    So it came to pass. Gloaming diverted briefly from his tour, and Star diverted from hers, where they happened to come close to each other. They converged on an inconspicuous house at dusk, two cloaked figures and two partners. “What is the song?” the female figure asked as they came together. Lida handed her a page with the music and words. She glanced at it for perhaps two seconds and handed it back. Was she rejecting it?
    The door opened as they approached; they were expected. Aliena had indeed seen to it. The woman retreated, disappearing upstairs. Only the little boy remained standing on the stairway.
    The cloaked figures went into the small living room. Lida and Star’s companion Brom remained near the stair, which led down to the living room.
    â€œHello, Jeb,” Lida said. “I am Lida. We are going to do a little song, and you have a part. When you hear the words ‘We heard a footstep on the stair,’ you tap your foot. Okay?”
    He nodded shyly.
    Lida went to the living room doorway. “Ready?”
    The two figures had doffed their cloaks and now stood as Gloaming, handsome in jeans and shirt, and Star, almost breathtakingly pretty in sweater and skirt. They sat together on the couch, his arm around her shoulders, like a loving couple.
    Without preamble, Gloaming sang. “As I was out one evening sparking/ Sweet Terlina Spray/ The more we whispered our love talking/ The more we had to say./ The old folk and the little folk we thought were fast in bed/ We heard a footstep on the stair—/” He paused.
    Lida signaled Jeb. Jeb lifted his foot high and delivered a resounding STOMP! that shook the walls, smiling naughtily.
    Both singers were visibly startled, but Gloaming continued without hesitation. “And what d’ya think she said?”
    Then Star sang. “O kiss me quick and go my honey/ Kiss me quick and go./ To cheat surprise and prying eyes/ Why kiss me quick and go.”
    She hadn’t rejected it; she had memorized it in two seconds, and sang it absolutely perfectly. The way she looked and moved was marvelously evocative. Lida realized that if there was a musical match on Earth for Gloaming, it was Star. What beauty! What a voice! What acting!
    Then they kissed, briefly, and Gloaming got up and left, pausing only to glance at the boy. “Don’t tell!”
    Jeb nodded gravely. Then Gloaming was out the door, and in a moment, so was Star. Their little act was done and they had to be