sometimes. I guess I would be too, if I’d been through everything she has.”
“You’re too nice sometimes, Ally. You really can’t handle not liking someone, can you?” He put his arm back around my neck and pulled me close.
“No! I was perfectly happy not liking Veronica,” I objected.
“No you weren’t. You forget I’m in your head, chérie. Let’s go back to the house. It’s getting late and I’m starving. Irish food! God help us all.”
“Cheer up. We’ll be back in the U.S. soon and you can have all the cheeseburgers you want. Hey, I haven’t had a chance to ask if you’re okay with babysitting me again. What are you going to do for school? I feel selfish about insisting we go back to the U.S., but—”
“Don’t worry about me. You are the Oracle and therefore must be taken care of. It’s my job and I’m happy to do it. Besides, I finished my undergraduate degree a few weeks ago and Grand-mère is working on getting me into your University of New Mexico for an MBA program. She is rather good at pulling strings, so I should be well occupied this fall.”
“Rémy, you graduated from college? Why didn’t you tell me? That’s great! Why didn’t we go to your graduation ceremony? Why didn’t we have a party at least?”
“Don’t fuss, Ally. It is not the big deal you are making it,” he said dismissively.
“Your accomplishments are a big deal. They are to me, at least. I’m proud of you, Rémy.”
“Thank you, Ally. You are sweet.” He seemed determined to downplay his achievements.
“Hey.” I stopped and turned to face him, looking up into his handsome face. “Don’t let all this Oracle crap totally mess up your future. You are important, too, Rémy. It can’t be all about me. Please,” I begged. “You and Mina can’t put your lives on hold so I can carry on like normal. We have to figure something out! We can’t let the older Seers just push us around!” I started to get worked up.
“Okay, calm down, chérie.” He pulled me into his arms, rubbing my back with his warm hands. “We will figure this out, I promise. Don’t worry about Mina and me right now. For myself, I am happy to return to the U.S. where I have the opportunity to study in an American university. I will make sure Mina has the chance to study computers if that is what she wants. We will be fine. Besides, I liked my friends in Albuquerque. I was happy there. So, don’t worry so much.”
“Okay, I’ll try,” I promised. “It just doesn’t seem fair.”
“Life rarely is.”
“So, are you going to date Veronica when we get back? You two seemed pretty cozy at Tara’s party.”
He smiled and let me go, continuing our walk toward the house. “Always so interested in my love life, chérie. We can’t all be like you and Jack, you know, finding the love of our lives so young. Veronica and I were never serious. Besides, she is going to university in California. Hadn’t you heard?”
“What? God, I’m always the last to hear anything!”
“Yes. She wants to get a fresh start where people don’t know her history. I can’t say I blame her,” he mused.
“Yeah, me neither. I just wish I had known, I guess. Well, good for her. Okay, so you are fine with living in Albuquerque again. I just hope Mina likes it.”
***
Dinner was an enjoyable affair. Fionnuala’s husband, who had prepared the meal, devoted himself to drawing out each of his dinner guests, seeming to take Mina’s lack of involvement as a personal challenge. By the time dessert was served, she was laughing quietly and teasing back. It was nice to see there was a personality there if one cared to dig deep enough to access it.
“Jon, you’ve done it again. This was a wonderful meal. Thank you, darling,” said Fionnuala. He had prepared some sort of smoked salmon dish that the others seemed to enjoy and had thoughtfully presented me with a roasted vegetable tart. Dessert was a decadent lemon mousse that I would
“You’re too nice sometimes, Ally. You really can’t handle not liking someone, can you?” He put his arm back around my neck and pulled me close.
“No! I was perfectly happy not liking Veronica,” I objected.
“No you weren’t. You forget I’m in your head, chérie. Let’s go back to the house. It’s getting late and I’m starving. Irish food! God help us all.”
“Cheer up. We’ll be back in the U.S. soon and you can have all the cheeseburgers you want. Hey, I haven’t had a chance to ask if you’re okay with babysitting me again. What are you going to do for school? I feel selfish about insisting we go back to the U.S., but—”
“Don’t worry about me. You are the Oracle and therefore must be taken care of. It’s my job and I’m happy to do it. Besides, I finished my undergraduate degree a few weeks ago and Grand-mère is working on getting me into your University of New Mexico for an MBA program. She is rather good at pulling strings, so I should be well occupied this fall.”
“Rémy, you graduated from college? Why didn’t you tell me? That’s great! Why didn’t we go to your graduation ceremony? Why didn’t we have a party at least?”
“Don’t fuss, Ally. It is not the big deal you are making it,” he said dismissively.
“Your accomplishments are a big deal. They are to me, at least. I’m proud of you, Rémy.”
“Thank you, Ally. You are sweet.” He seemed determined to downplay his achievements.
“Hey.” I stopped and turned to face him, looking up into his handsome face. “Don’t let all this Oracle crap totally mess up your future. You are important, too, Rémy. It can’t be all about me. Please,” I begged. “You and Mina can’t put your lives on hold so I can carry on like normal. We have to figure something out! We can’t let the older Seers just push us around!” I started to get worked up.
“Okay, calm down, chérie.” He pulled me into his arms, rubbing my back with his warm hands. “We will figure this out, I promise. Don’t worry about Mina and me right now. For myself, I am happy to return to the U.S. where I have the opportunity to study in an American university. I will make sure Mina has the chance to study computers if that is what she wants. We will be fine. Besides, I liked my friends in Albuquerque. I was happy there. So, don’t worry so much.”
“Okay, I’ll try,” I promised. “It just doesn’t seem fair.”
“Life rarely is.”
“So, are you going to date Veronica when we get back? You two seemed pretty cozy at Tara’s party.”
He smiled and let me go, continuing our walk toward the house. “Always so interested in my love life, chérie. We can’t all be like you and Jack, you know, finding the love of our lives so young. Veronica and I were never serious. Besides, she is going to university in California. Hadn’t you heard?”
“What? God, I’m always the last to hear anything!”
“Yes. She wants to get a fresh start where people don’t know her history. I can’t say I blame her,” he mused.
“Yeah, me neither. I just wish I had known, I guess. Well, good for her. Okay, so you are fine with living in Albuquerque again. I just hope Mina likes it.”
***
Dinner was an enjoyable affair. Fionnuala’s husband, who had prepared the meal, devoted himself to drawing out each of his dinner guests, seeming to take Mina’s lack of involvement as a personal challenge. By the time dessert was served, she was laughing quietly and teasing back. It was nice to see there was a personality there if one cared to dig deep enough to access it.
“Jon, you’ve done it again. This was a wonderful meal. Thank you, darling,” said Fionnuala. He had prepared some sort of smoked salmon dish that the others seemed to enjoy and had thoughtfully presented me with a roasted vegetable tart. Dessert was a decadent lemon mousse that I would
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