"A pair of twins? Isn't that something? Girls?"
"Yes, Rea and Zoe. They're very nice."
"Rea? Where did I hear that name before? Rea?
Oh, yes, Yesterday's Children. Rea was Lindsey's lost
sister."
"This Rea is real, Mom. I can call her on the
phone and speak with her. I can go places with her. I
can study with her. I can touch her. She's real." Thelma stared at me as if I had lost my mind.
"That's nice, dear. Oh, I better get started on dinner.
Would you like to set the table?"
"Of course," I said, feeling frustrated. When Karl came home, he asked me many
more questions about school. In fact, we had one of the longest conversations we had had since I arrived. Every once in a while, both of us would look at
Thelma. She would simply smile.
"It's so nice to have real family conversations
around the dinner table," she finally said.
Karl beamed and then winked at me. I felt as if
he and I were co-conspirators.
Right after dinner, the phone rang and Karl
called to me. "It's for you," he said.
"Oh, good," Thelma said. "She's making friends
quickly."
I couldn't imagine who it could be. I hoped it
wasn't Helga.
"Hello," I said hesitantly.
"I got my new slides today, cross sections of
human heart tissue. I thought you might be
interested," Bernie said without saying hello. "Yes, I would be interested," I replied. "Can you come over?"
"Now?"
He didn't answer.
"I suppose so," I said. I held my hand over the