I sit up straighter in the rocker. I hadn't thought of that, but it's probably true. Kara's words still haunt me. I can't just be a memory housed in a look-alike body. Technology gave me my life back, and each aching muscle, cut, and scratch seems like proof that I'm still human. "I suppose that's part of it," I answer.
She hops up on the railing across from me. "And the other part?"
The other part is easy for me to figure out. With Gatsbro no longer after me, and with Kara no longer dipping into my thoughts, I've breathed in freedom--the most I've ever felt--but almost in the next breath, as I work alongside Bone, I see how limited my freedom really is. "Anger is the other part, Jenna. I figure it's better to swing a pick into the ground than throw another chair through a wall."
"Well, thank you for that, I guess." She lifts her shoulders in a shrug, waiting for more of an explanation. "And the anger?"
"When I think about what Kara and I went through, even Dot, Bone, and the others, I suppose I thought the future would be different. I thought that--"
"That everyone would be treated fairly?"
"Something like that."
"The world's changed, Locke. It's always changing. Lots of things have gotten better, but just when we have one problem solved, a new one is created. Remember, I was illegal for ninety years, and then even after ten percent became legal, I still wasn't accepted. I was shunned and stared at, but change still came. It took years of work and persistence. Change doesn't happen overnight--it's molded by people who don't give up."
Unless they're cut short while they're trying to make change happen.
"Did you know Karden Sanders?"
Her eyes dart up. "What? How do you know about him?"
"Miesha told me. He was her husband."
She can't hide the surprise on her face. "Her husband?" She hops off the rail and sits in the rocker next to me, looking down at her lap. "Miesha and Karden?" Her brows are pulled together still in a shocked expression. "Yes, I knew him," she finally says. "He actually stayed here with me for a few weeks--under the greenhouse. He was on the move a lot. A couple of years later, I heard he had married, but I never knew what her name was. I was shocked when I heard of his death. It was tragic how he and his daughter died. I can't imagine what it was like for Miesha." She shakes her head in disbelief. "Karden's wife. I can't believe it. Why didn't you tell me before this?"
"I didn't know that you knew him, and it's not something she exactly likes to advertise. It's still painful for her even after all these years. She doesn't talk much about herself. Before we started running I didn't even know her last name. Miesha--"
Derring.
Miesha Derring.
Cory eventually married, had a daughter, and his daughter married a fellow named Derring.... I was able to keep track of his descendants up until the Civil Division.
The name slipped right past me the first time.
I did some searching, looking for leads to family--anyone I might be connected to ... especially one ancestor.
Me. She searched for me. And then on the train she asked me about my brother. No, I didn't like him. I didn't want anything to do with him.
After that she clammed up. But in the garden she tried again. There's something else about myself I need to tell you.
"Locke?"
I jump to my feet. "I'm going to shower. Then I'll help you with dinner." Before Jenna can say anything else, I leave, but I don't shower right away. First I go to Miesha's room. Her eyes are closed, and the stuffed elephant I tucked under her arm this morning has fallen to the floor. I pick it up and pull a stool close to her bed. "You dropped this," I say. I lift her hand and place the elephant beneath it.
She searched for me. She hunted for a connection. Somehow she tracked me down. She didn't give up and risked everything for me. Her hand slides off the elephant. "You're tough as three of these, Miesha." I look at her face, the gentle lines fanning out from her eyes. My very distant, distant, distant niece. She wanted to tell me. I lean over and kiss her forehead. Maybe tomorrow she'll wake up. "Don't give up," I whisper, and I close her door behind me.
After dinner I help Jenna with the dishes and tell her about Miesha. I know she probably hears as much frustration in my voice as she does happiness. If I had been legal, Miesha could have just walked off with me from G
atsbro's estate. I would have been free to leave. I would have been as full a citizen as anyone else. As it was, she had to sneak and plan and run. I don't want to wait ninety years for change to come. I want it now.
"Your niece?" Jenna shakes her head, soaking in this new information. "Miesha's full of surprises. Now I know why I liked her the minute I met her. I guess this makes you the oldest uncle in history."
It looks like I hold a lot of dubious records.
She washes the last dish and hands it to me. "Father Andre came by today. He was looking for you."
I swirl the towel in the bottom of the pot. "Me? What does he want--to knock me off?"