Part 8
Somehow speaking with Stephen has helped put a lot of things into perspective. Thoughts that have been troubling you for some time begin to be clear. Yes, the unspoken dangers of life as a Tomorrow Person worry you but you're sure now, for the first time, that you appreciate those dangers now and can deal with them. You know too that adjusting to the Trig is going to be easier than making your way on a world close to your own but trapped in the past.
John and Stephen both seem relieved when you announce to the assembled Tomorrow People that you would like to stay on the Trig for a while longer. Stephen smiles the first smile you've seen from him in days and, although John hides it well, you can see that the elder Tomorrow Person is pleased too. He raises one eyebrow thoughtfully.
"I should have guessed you wouldn't be frightened off easily, Jay." He tells you quietly. He frowns and looks around at Stephen, Mike and Carol as well as you. His eyes linger for a moment on Stephen's shadowed eyes. "Will you all be alright up here? I could stay longer but I ought to be getting back to Liz and the others."
Carol makes shoo-ing gestures with her hands but her eyes sweep you and the other young men with a sense of maternal protectiveness.
"You go on, John. We'll be fine up here." She grins. "I'll keep an eye on them."
Mike swats at her playfully and Stephen smiles but you sense that John is reassured by her half-serious promise. The eldest of the Tomorrow People smiles and nods.
"Alright. I'll leave in the morning."
"Ooh!" Mike exclaims in a playful tone. He shoots Stephen a slightly worried but teasing look. "Daddy's going away. Can we have a party, Stephen? Can we?"
Stephen grins back and puts on a childish voice.
"But Mummy's still here." He tells Mike gesturing at Carol. "I don't know if she'll let us play."
"Mmmm," Mike answers, "Perhaps we should have a word her other children or Narcissa and see if they can distract her. What do you reckon, Jay?"
"A party sounds good to me." You tell him, although you are still rather tired. "But shouldn't we be discussing it *after* Daddy goes?"
"And that's enough from you all, I think." John says with mock-indignation.
*****
As it did on your the first night on the Trig the conversation becomes chatty and comfortable. You can feel the sense of easy familiarity between these people and you're surprised to find that it seems to have expanded to include you. You can feel too that this conversation is a release that everyone here needed. It's drawing a line under what's happened, reminding you all that you are still alive and that life goes on. With your strength rapidly returning you stay up talking fairly late into the evening but even so the others are still talking long after you retire for the night.
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