Chapter 6

Mid to Late November, 2038



The evening of Helene's dance recital was fast approaching, and she was both excited and nervous. It would be the first time that Rina and Jaime would see her perform, and Alexei was making plans to be in attendance.

Alexei had contacted Helene after fall break, and they got together that following weekend. Helene  thought he looked good, as if he couldn't look any better in her opinion.

They went out for dinner at a restaurant that Rina suggested, then saw a movie that Jaime had seen a few days prior with her sister Rachel and their mother.

The other girls were studying for finals, which would happen after Thanksgiving. Rina's semester project, the paper-thin, clear adaptable keyboard, had passed muster with her instructors. Rina then shocked them with the news that she had already secured a patent for it, and had a financial backer.

"Who? And how did you get a backer so quickly?" asked one professor, clearly in shock.

"I have, how would you say, connections in both the IT world, and in manufacturing," Rina replied. "One of my suitemates is the daughter of Ryan Summers, of Summers Tech Systems. And another suitemate has connections with the DeWitt Corporation. Both companies saw my prototype and wanted on board before anyone else stole my ideas."

"Ryan Summers died several years ago," the professor said; "Who is running his company? I was under the impression that it had been sold by his family."

"Hardly," Rina said; "His family runs it. Julia Summers is owner and CEO, and has been for many years. Maybe you ought to give her a call."

"The SpineSplitter runs her late husband's company?"

"Of course," was all Rina said; "By the way, she hates being referred to as 'The SpineSplitter'. It was never proven that she was the notorious assassin known by that name."

"You've met her?"

"Her daughter, Jameson, is my suitemate. I met her for the first time earlier this week," Rina said; "A lovely woman she is. I'm going to be spending Thanksgiving with the Summers family. I'm looking forward to spending a real American holiday with people who know what family is."

The professor dropped the subject. He could never figure out how Audrina Alexander was expected to learn anything about computer technology if she already knew more than he did about the subject.

But to have a personal connection with the owner of the industry's premier software developer was just too much.

===

"You're all I've thought about, outside of ballet, since you left to come here during the summer," Alexei told Helene after the movie. "Mikhail was not happy that I was coming to Chicago, and suspected my decision to do so had to do with being closer to you. Chicago Ballet contacted me directly about coming here. They didn't want to deal with Mikhail."

"Mikhail has a certain, um, reputation that turns people off," Helene said as they walked back towards Mathison Hall. "I mentioned his name to one of my instructors here, and he had nothing at all good to say about him."

"I'm getting that impression, Leenie," said Alexei. "Apparently, there are things about him that not even I knew. Like his affinity for getting too close to his ballerinas. I'd heard rumors almost from the moment we came to America, but when I actually caught him in the act, I knew they were true."

"So it was time to break away, huh?" Helene asked.

"Yes. The time had come for me to find my own way," Alexei said. "And, I wanted to know if you wanted to take that journey with me."

Helene couldn't believe what she just heard! Alexei wanted her to be part of his life.

"I will wait until you are ready," he continued; "I don't want to run afoul of any laws here."

"I want to take that journey with you, Alexei," Helene said; "but I'm not ready."

Alexei took Helene's hand, lifted it to his lips, and kissed the back of it. "Then I will wait. You are worth waiting for."

"Just until next April, when I turn 17," Helene half whispered.

"I would wait a lifetime if that is what you require of me, Helene."

He took her into his arms and held her as she cried softly against his chest. Yes, she thought, this is where I want to be. In Alexei's arms, I feel safe. I feel needed. I feel...loved.

===

Jaime couldn't wait for the semester to be over. She was tired, she was stressed, but most of all, she was bored. Most of the stuff being taught in the required Biology class she learned when she was nine years old. She barely had to study to get A's on her exams. She complained to her mother as such when Julia brought Rachel to Evanston to see a movie and talk to Rina about her keyboard prototype.

"Mom, this is all stuff you taught us ages ago," Jaime said. "Rachel could take this class and be just as bored. Punnet squares? Really? I can do that shit in my sleep."

"Jaime," Julia had said, "you knew before you came here that there were some things that you would already know that other students might not. Why don't you tutor those who don't have the same knowledge of the subject as you do?"

"I tried that, and I have no patience for it," said Jaime; "Other people in class look at me like I'm some freakazoid. All my majors classes are like that for me. Chemistry? We're still mixing simple formulas and doing equations. Anatomy? You taught us that when we were learning to use weapons. How many ways can you dissect a frog? Psychology? It's all stuff you, Uncle Jere, Uncle Nik and Aunt Natasha taught us. And Philosophy is like sitting in Granpa David's office listening to him talk. I can't wait for this semester to be over so I can take classes in subjects I don't already know!"

"Test out of the subjects you know well, and take only classes you think you can learn something in," Julia suggested; "It's how Miri got out of here in three years."

"I know..." Jaime said.

Jaime stared at her Biology text and her notes. Mom was right, she thought. I'm going to test out of next semester's Chemistry II and Biology II, and take the math classes I need. I'll need to test to see what level I'm on and go from there.

She then put her books and notes away in her backpack and went to work to pick up her paycheck.


===

The meeting with Julia Summers went well, and Rina was excited that Summers Tech Systems wanted to manufacture her software for the keyboard she developed. It was a close to meeting Ryan Summers himself as she would get. Julia Summers had some good, knowledgable people working for her, and Rina had confidence that the company would do right by her.

Ditto for DeWitt Corporation. Christian DeWitt himself knew of the perfect partner to manufacture the keyboard itself. He was impressed with her prototype when she demonstrated it for him and his wife. It was perfect for those who had vision, hearing or learning disabilities. But nothing convinced him more of the keyboard's potential than when his young son started playing with it.

They heard Eric giggling somewhere in the house. DeWitt went to his office, where Rina's keyboard was still set up, and saw the two and a half year old pressing keys and hearing the voice program repeat each keypress. Eric had been pressing random spots on the desk, since the keyboard was a thin sheet of film with keys embedded in it. It looked to the casual observer that the person using it was pressing on the desk or table on which it was set up, but were actually pressing the "keys". A voice program, available in both male and female voices, repeated the letter, number, or command (such as "space" when the spacebar was pressed). Eric repeated everything he heard with great glee.

Eric was having great fun with it, and that sold DeWitt. The only suggestion that he made to Rina was to make sure that the user had fun with it, regardless of age.

"I know someone who could manufacture the keyboard for you," he had said, "but you need to patent your design, software, and interface. I can help you with that. I know several patent attorneys."

"I would appreciate any help you can give me, signore," Rina said, astonished. "The idea for this came from a girl I went to boarding school with. She has Asperger's Syndrome, and the regular learning environment was a challenge for her. She often wished that more computers were designed to help those with disabilities. She left before graduating and I have lost track of her. So when I had to do a semester project for my Innovations class, I decided that I would try to at least design and develope a keyboard to make learning and communicating easier for people like her."

"That's commendable, Rina," DeWitt said; "You were raised well."

"No, signore, I wasn't. My mother was emotionally absent from the lives of my brother and me," Rina said; "My father was more hands on with us. But he ran a business and was away a lot. I learned a lot about life from the woman who was charged to take care of us. Then my father died and we were sent away to boarding schools. I hated it."

"There were only two of you?" DeWitt asked.

"Yes, just me and my older brother," Rina said. "He is in business school in Rome. He will take over our father's business upon his successful completion."

"I see," DeWitt said.


The project had been turned in to her professors for their evaluation. Rina knew that if they tried to steal her design, that they would be caught.

She now held the patent on the design, the keyboard, the software, the interface, and all the components that made up the package.

A copy of the patent paperwork was included in her project files.


===

Helene's recital finally had a date: November 23rd. The last day of classes before Thanksgiving.

As promised, she invited her suitemates, who were excited to finally see their friend in a dance performance. Helene also invited Alexei, but he wasn't sure if that date was available in his calendar. Chicago City Ballet were in rehearsals for The Nutcracker, and he was the lead.

Helene decided that if he came, great. If not, there would be other opportunities throughout her college career for him to see her dance.

She felt a mixture of emotions, mostly excitement and nervousness. She knew the routine cold, so she really had nothing to be nervous about. But she had always maintained that if she ceased to be a little nervous before a performance, she'd get out of ballet for good.

She did have other classes to study for finals for, and that took up time between rehearsals and her part time job at the florist. Helene liked staying busy. She hated being bored. Her parents found that out when she was still a small child.

Occasionally, Helene remembered the times her mother wasn't around. It was hard on her family, but her father was always positive that she would return.

That's the kind of relationship I want with Alexei, she thought one afternoon as she was bringing in flowers that had just been delivered to the florist. Like what my parents have.

And she never forgot the "dance" she witnessed between her parents nearly four years before. She often received comments on her dancing that she was able to convey emotion in her performances.  One of her earliest ballet teachers told her to take from her experiences and use them to make her performance better. Helene never forgot that.

She didn't realize it yet, but she would star in her own "dance" before her next birthday.

===


"Mom called today asking how many of us she should expect for Thanksgiving," Jaime said; "Helene, are you going to try and make it home?"

"I wasn't planning to," Helene said; "I told my folks that because the Thanksgiving holiday was so brief, that I'd just stay here."

"Okay," Jaime said, "I told Mom that all three of us would be there, but I wanted to ask you first in case you made other plans."

"What other plans could I have made, Jaime?" asked Helene, puzzled. "I don't know anyone well enough here besides you, Rina, and...oh," she said, finally getting the jist of what Jaime was asking.

"Does Alexei have plans for Thanksgiving?" Rina asked.

"I don't know," Helene said. "We didn't talk about any when he was here. He'll probably be busy with rehearsals for The Nutcracker."

"Why don't you call him and ask?" Jaime asked; she and Rina didn't get a chance to meet Alexei when he came to visit Helene after the fall break. "I'm sure that Mom can manage one more."

Helene looked at the clock on the table behind the sofa where the phone sat; it was four-fifteen. Alexei would be in rehearsals until eight or nine, she thought.

"He's probably in rehearsal, but I'll leave a message for him to call me," she said.

She picked up the phone and dialed Alexei's number at his apartment. She got the voicemail right away. "Alexei, it's Helene. Could you give me a call when you get a chance? I hope all is going well with rehearsals. Look forward to talking to you soon. Bye!"

Jaime looked over at Helene. She was blushing a little. Oh she's got it bad for this guy, Jaime thought.

"I'll call Mom back and tell her that the three of us are coming, and that there may be a fourth person," Jaime said aloud. "I'm sure it will be okay."

"That sounds good," Rina agreed; "I can't wait!"

Jaime only smiled.


===


The message icon was displyed on his phone, and Alexei thought, please dear God, not Mikhail again!

Mikhail had been leaving voicemail messages for him periodically since Alexei had been in Chicago. Most of the time, he called back. It was usually about how he was doing, was he keeping up his dance studies; all the things that a father would worry about.

Except Mikhail was not Alexei's father.

One of Mikhail's voicemails was about Alexei's parents. Over the years, Mikhail allowed him to speak to his parents in Moscow. Alexei felt so distant and guilty about them not being closer to him. But that's how Mikhail had wanted it.

Alexei had finally gotten a phone number for his parents home in a middle class section of the city. He had spoken to them about once a week since he arrived in Chicago. Their financial circumstances wouldn't allow them to travel to the United States to visit, though Alexei dearly wanted to see them. His mother hadn't been well, and Alexei worried about her. She wasn't really that old, only 45 years old. But she had worked hard her entire life, and it was taking a toll on her health.

But the message wasn't from Mikhail, it was from Helene. Alexei recognized her phone number right away. It was for the phone in her suite at the dorm.

He looked at the clock. It was nearly 10:30pm. He wondered if Helene were still awake, then worried that he would wake one of her suitemates.

He decided to take a chance. He dialed the number, and it was answered on the second ring.

"Hello?" asked Rina's voice.

"Hello, may I speak with Helene DeWitt please?"

"One moment while I get her, please?"

"Of course."

He could hear Rina asking if Helene were still awake, and she answered. "I think Alexei is on the phone."

Alexei smiled when he heard Helene say, "You can wake me up anytime for that, Rina!"

Then she was on the phone saying, "Alexei?"

"Hello, Leenie," he said; "I got your message."

"Oh, okay," Helene said; "I called to ask if you had any plans for Thanksgiving, and if not, I'd like to invite you to come with us to Jaime's family's Thanksgiving dinner."

"I have no plans for Thanksgiving, Leenie," he said; "The director is giving us Thanksgiving weekend off. I'd love to accompany you and your friends to wherever it is that Jaime's family lives."

"Great!" Helene said a little too enthusiatically for her liking; "We've already told Mrs. Summers that you would be coming, so there will be plenty of food and good times. Jaime said that her mother and her aunts each cook a turkey and bring some part of the rest of the dinner. We're going to bring a couple of desserts. Pies and stuff."

"Sounds wonderful," Alexei said; "When do require me to be there?"

"Can you meet us in the lobby of our building at 9am Thanksgiving Day?" asked Helene; then, "We'll all drive in together. Jaime's the only one of us who has a car here."

"I'll be driving," Alexei said; "My car, it will be safe parked at your dorm?"

"I'll get you a visitor's parking pass so it doesn't get towed," Helene said. "Let me find out what I need to do to get one and I'll call you with the details."

"Sounds good, Leenie. I can't wait to see you and meet your suitemates," Alexei said; "By the way, was that Rina who answered the phone?"

"Yes," Helene said; "She's working on a paper for one of her classes and was closest to the phone."  

"Ahh, I see," said Alexei; "I didn't wake you, did I? I realize it's late."

"I wasn't really sleeping," Helene replied; "Just reading in bed."

"Okay," he said; "I will let you get back to reading, and look forward to hearing from you about the parking permit."

"I'll inquire tomorrow, Alexei," Helene said; "When's a good time to call you?"

"Probably around 9am, when I'm getting ready for the day," Alexei said. "If I don't answer, leave a message and I will call you tomorrow evening."

"I look forward to it either way," Helene said.

"Goodnight, Helene. Sleep well, my dear."

"I shall, Alexei. Goodnight."

As Helene replaced the receiver in the cradle, she felt like screaming for joy.

But Jaime had gone to bed early, and Rina was studying in her room, so any celebrations would have to wait.

Helene Hope DeWitt was in love.

===

Chapter 5

Late October-Early November, 2038
Vito had meetings and contracts and a lot of business to take care of in the two weeks he had been in Boston. He hadn't had a chance to call his sister at school since his arrival.

I should call her, he thought as he went to bed on the fourteenth night in the hotel. The following day, he was going to move into the apartment he had just signed a lease on. It was in an upscale neighborhood near the Harvard campus. He was sure that he was the only college age student who would be living there.

If all was satisfactory, he would furnish it as a young man would. He certainly had the disposible income to do so.

Though he had signed all legal documents with his given name, he wanted to be known as Vito Alexander. He worked hard to erase all signs of his Italian accent, and sound more "American".

The only thing that would give him away was his Italian passport and his International Drivers License (which he knew had to be turned in before he could obtain a Commonwealth of Massachusetts driver's license).

As he got into bed, he thought, a new life. One doesn't involve his mother. He truly hated the bitch.


===

Fall break had finally arrived. All three roommates were looking forward to four days off in Helene's hometown.

They had landed in Buffalo due to a problem with the plane (which left Rina white as a sheet). Plan was that they would be bussed to the airport in Syracuse and picked up from there.

Instead, Helene was pleasantly surprised when her Grandpa Eric was waiting for them.

"Your mother called and told me that your plane had been diverted, Helene," Eric Hope said, "and since I live closer to Buffalo than your parents do, I offered to pick you up. Why don't you introduce me to your friends."

Helene made the necessary introductions, then saw Krysta, her grandfather's wife, and their son, Neil coming toward them from the gift shop.

"Leeeeeennnnnniiiiieeee!" Neil cried out when he saw her. The three and a half year old then broke into a run toward her.

"Hey, Neily!" Helene said as the  boy tackled her; "I'm glad to see you, too!"

"Neil," his mother said. That's all Krysta Banks Hope had to say. The boy turned around and said, "Yes, Mama."

"He's cute," Rina said; "He's not much older than your brother, is he Helene?"

"They're a year apart," Helene said; "Technically, Neil is my uncle, because he's my mother half  brother."

"Wow," Jaime said, speaking for the first time; she had been pretty preoccupied for the last couple of weeks; "that sounds weird, having an uncle that much younger than you are."

"New families and all that," Eric told Jaime. Then, "You're Miri's sister, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir," Jaime said, "I am."

"You look a lot a like," Krysta added; "except for the red hair, of course."

Jaime pondered on that for a brief second, then replied, "Miri is the only one of us kids who isn't a redhead in my family. She got our mom's dark hair."

"I understand she's to be married next month?" Eric Hope asked; "We got an invitation, but I'm not sure we're going to be able to attend. Krysta can't fly now."

It was then that Helene  took a good look at Krysta. She was noticeably pregnant.

"When are you due?" asked Rina.

"Mid March," Krysta said, glowing.

"It's a girl," Eric said proudly; "We just found out a couple days ago."

Soon, they were all in the car headed to the Hope's house on Misty Lake to drop Krysta and Neil off, then continue on to the DeWitt's outside of Syracuse.

Helene talked to her grandfather about what she was doing at school, how her classes were going, and what living with Jaime and Rina was like.

"We all get along famously," Helene said; "We've had our moments, but we talk them out and get to an understanding like adults."

"I could not have asked for better roommates,"Rina added; "I was a little concerned because I'm an international student and didn't really know what to expect, but Helene and Jaime are showing me how to be more like an American girl, and not stand out like a sore finger because of my accent or my mannerisms."

"Thumb," Jaime said to Rina.

"Cosa?" asked Rina. What?

"The phrase is 'stick out like a sore thumb', Rina," Jaime said. "Don't worry, you'll have all our weird idioms down in no time."

"I'm not worried, Jaime," said Rina, laughing; "I have good teachers."

Eric Hope smiled. He couldn't have been happier to be in a car chauffering his granddaughter and her friends.

After a while, and much too soon, Eric was driving up to the house where Helene's family lived. Rina looked at the house in wonder; for as wealthy as Helene said her family was, their house didn't advertise it. It looked like all the other houses on the block.

No wonder Helene is so down to earth, Rina thought; she lives like everyone else. I wish I had something like that where I grew up.

Jaime had never been to Helene's family home, but it was exactly how Miri described it the first time she went to New York with Kelly.

The girls got out and gathered their belongings from the trunk of Eric Hope's car. While they were doing that, Eric went to the front door, where Kathryn was waiting.

"I see you found them," said Kathryn, hugging her father.

"They weren't hard to find," Hope said; "Jaime has really red hair."

"See, Dad, I told you so," Kathryn said; "Can you stay for a bit?"

"I'd like to, but I need to get back to Misty Lake and have dinner with Krysta and Neily."

Just then, Christian came out to the entry way to greet Eric.

"Good to see you, Eric," Christian said as the two men shook hands.

"Same, Christian," Eric replied; "I have brought your oldest girl and her friends from school to your door. I'm afraid I must take my leave and return to Misty Lake and my little family."

"Perfectly understandable," said Christian; "How are Krysta and Neil?"

Before Eric could answer, Helene called out, "Mom! Dad! I'm home!"

She and her friends came trooping up the pathway to the front door, as Eric made his way back to the car. Christian went back to the kitchen to finish drying the dishes.

One by one, three 16 year old girls came into the house and went to the kitchen.

Christian had already met Jaime, and was glad to see the Biology major in her red headed glory. She sure does look a lot like Miri in some ways, Christian thought.

It was the girl who brought up the rear that Christian had never met, the international computer technology major Audrina Alexander.

He took one look at the girl and dropped the plate he was holding.

My God! he thought suddenly; She looks just like my mother! But that's impossible!


===


"Um, Dad," Helene said; "You dropped the plate."

Christian looked at Helene like he'd never laid eyes on her before. Then he looked at Rina and Jaime.

Helene has my mother's eyes, he thought. And Charles looked like her... but that's impossible!

"Dad? You okay?"

He recovered quickly. He absent-mindedly grabbed a broom and a dustpan and started cleaning up the fragments of the broken dish. "Hands must have still been a little wet..." he said by way of explanation.

When he was through dealing with the broken plate, Christian stood up, dried his hands and extended his right hand toward Rina. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Rina," he said; "Kathryn and I have been looking forward to you girls visiting, but I think Eric has been more excited than any of the rest of us."

Rina took Christian's hand and shook it firmly, as her father taught her. "Pleasure is all mine, Signore DeWitt."

Christian was impressed. At least her parents taught her to greet people properly, he thought. He then said, "Please, Rina, call me Christian and my wife Kathryn."

Smiling, Rina said, "As you wish...Christian."

"Where is everyone?" Helene asked her mother.

"Eric is taking a nap," Kathryn began; "Erin is tutoring this afternoon, and Lili and her friends are down in the art studio."

"Cool! Let's go downstairs and I'll show you the practise studio my dad had built for me," Helene said as the other girls followed, stopping in Helene's room on the way to drop off their stuff. Then they disappeared downstairs.

When they were out of hearing range, Kathryn asked, "Christian, you got absolutely flustered when Rina walked in the kitchen."

Christian sighed. Kathryn knew that he had been looking for Charles' kids since he heard of his son's death four years before.

"Kathryn, this might sound ridiculous, but Rina Alexander looks an awful lot like my mother," he finally said.

"You don't think she's one of your late son's children, do you?"

"I honestly don't know what to think, Kathryn," Christian said. "I could be totally wrong. I don't have any idea how many children Charles may have fathered, or any of their names. And if he were married, they'd carry his name."

"Not necessarily, Christian," Kathryn said. "Remember, Kelly has my name."

Christian nodded, saying, "This is true."

There was the sound of a car door closing in the driveway, and a moment later, their daughter Erin came in the door saying, "Are Helene and her roommates here yet?"

"Yes, Erin, they just arrived about twenty minutes ago," Kathryn said. "Helene took Jaime and Rina downstairs to see her studio."

"Is Rina the girl from Italy?" Erin asked.

"Yes," her father said. "She's a very sweet girl."

"Cool," Erin said and headed towards the stairs that led to the basement. "Hey Helene! Where are you guys?" her parents heard her call out as she went downstairs.

Christian chuckled. "Looks like me and Eric will be odd men out this weekend."

"Eric will get a big kick out of all these girls paying attention to him," Kathryn said. "I have to take him for his speech therapy in a few minutes. Could you get him up from his nap?"

"Will do," said Christian and walked down the hall to Eric's bedroom, where he discovered that Eric was already awake, and playing with blocks on the floor.

"Eric, it's time to go to speech therapy," his father said. "Go get your coat, your hat, and your gloves, please."

The boy got the items his father told him to get, then brought them to Christian.

And waited.

"Can you put your coat and your hat on, please? I'll help you with your gloves."

Eric did what he was told without saying a word, which frustrated Christian. He knew the boy could speak, but sometimes, Eric chose not to. After Christian helped Eric with his gloves, he said, "Helene is home and she brought her friends from school. You'll be able to visit after you come home from speech therapy."

"Okay." Just the one word, but for the time being, Christian was thrilled Eric said that much.

There were the times that Eric talked a blue streak, and Christian hoped that with Helene being home, Eric would talk more. Eric not talking by choice upset his father more than Christian was willing to admit, even to himself.

Christian knew what Kathryn took it hard when Eric didn't speak. She saw it as punishment for the years she alternated between herself and Chastity Edwards, and the little boy Chastity had who was also named Eric.

"Let's go, champ, so Mom can take you to speech," he said. "The sooner you're done with that, the sooner you can see Helene and her friends."

"Okay." Then Eric raced out of the room a little more quickly than his nearly 60 year old father could keep up.

===


Alexei got settled into his new apartment, which he shared with two other male dancers, then one day a couple of weeks later, he decided he would surprise Helene at school.

He didn't realize that Northwestern was on their fall break, and was mildly disappointed when he found out.

Serves me right, he thought as he drove back towards Chicago; how presumptuous of me to think that Helene didn't have a life. I wonder where she went.

He knew that Helene had a new secure phone number, but he didn't know what it was. I guess I'll just have to wait until Helene returns to campus, he thought.

Alexei knew he had it bad for Helene. He realized it after she left Ballet Syracuse to attend college. He simply could not imagine his life without Helene Hope DeWitt in it.

As he entered his apartment, one of his roommates, Pavel, asked, "So, how was the trip to see your friend?"

"Turns out that she's out of town for the fall break, and will return on Monday," Alexei said. "Had I just done a little research, I would have saved myself the trip. It was a nice drive, though."

"So the trip wasn't exactly wasted, then," Pavel observed; "You know how to get there and where she stays. Next time, it will be easier, no?"

"This is true, Pavel," Alexei said. "I would have much rather had been able to see her, but she lives her own life. I will call next time I plan to be out that way."

Alexei went to his bedroom without waiting for Pavel to reply. He slumped down on the bed and sat there for a long while.

Then it was time to go to rehearsal. Alexei packed his bag and headed to the theatre. It was time to go to work.

===

There were five young ladies in his living room, all talking at once. Christian DeWitt smiled. This is the life I wish I had the first time around, he thought.

Kathryn and Eric were due  home any time, and he was getting supper ready. It was Thursday and it was the one meatless day Kathryn held to during the week. The meal was a meatless meatloaf, made with textured vegetable protein (TVP), and baked in the oven as one would a regular meatloaf. Kathryn had made the loaf earlier in the day, and all her husband had to do is pop it in the oven to bake. It had about five minutes to go, and he asked Erin and Lili to set the table.

As if scripted, the loaf was done baking and the timer went off just as Kathryn and Eric walked in the door. The little boy saw his oldest sister and ran to her, saying "Helene! You're here!" and gave her a big hug.

That made Jaime and Rina smile. "Almost makes me wish I had a little brother," Jaime whispered to Rina.

"Me, too," agreed Rina. "We'll just have to be big sisters by proxy."

They realized that Eric was watching them. Rina said, "Oh, hello. You must be Eric. I'm Rina."

"Reena?"

"Yes," Rina said.

"Eric," Helene said, pointing to each of her roommates, "this is Rina, and this is Jaime. They're my friends from college."

"Hi," Jaime said.

"You have red hair!" Eric said.

"Yes, I do!" Jaime said, chuckling; "I've had it my whole life!"

"Eric, you've met Jaime before," Helene said; "Remember? At Kelly's graduation."

The boy gave his sister a blank look.

"I'm Miri's sister," Jaime offered.

"I like Miri. She's nice."

"Indeed," Jaime said.

Eric then turned his attention back to Rina. "You talk funny."

"Do I?" Rina asked; "I sound the same to me."

Eric wasn't sure how to take that.

"I think he means your accent," Jaime said. "I hardly notice it anymore."

"Me either," Helene said.

Before anyone else could speak, Lili announced, "It's time for supper!"

Everyone got seated at the table, and grace was said. We didn't do this at home either, Rina thought as she took the plate that was offered to her; Papa did sometimes, but not when Mamma was around.

During the meal, Rina took a good look at the man whose home she was visiting. Signore reminds me of Papa, she thought, older and wiser. But I can't figure out why.

Rina resolved then and there to figure that out. His name, after all, was Christian DeWitt. Was he the same Christian DeWitt who was her grandfather?

Could there be two? Rina asked herself.


===

Later that night, Christian was in his office tinkering on his tablet. All the kids were in bed, though he could hear giggling coming from Helene's room off and on.

The feeling that he had seen Rina Alexander before still bothered him. He still thought that she looked a lot like his mother, and his deceased son, Charles.

I wonder if she is Charles' daughter, Christian thought. It sounded absurd. Even more absurd is that if Rina was his granddaughter, why was he never told that Charles had a family?

Charles had greatly distanced himself from the rest of us, Christian thought. We had no way to contact him when Darla turned up murdered. Her killer was never caught, left no fingerprints, nothing for forensics to work on.

She probably owed some gangster money, Christian thought and left it at that.

He put his son's given name into a search engine as he had done a million times before, expecting the usual results. An arrest here, a story in the local paper dated from 2016 there; it was like from 2020 on, Charles Richardson DeWitt ceased to exist. That was also the year that Darla was murdered.

Maybe that's why he disappeared, Christian thought. The then 17 year old supposedly found the body of his mother in the living room, posed in some horrifically and blatently sexual position. Like someone was trying to send a message.

Message received and processed. Charles soon disappeared. All Christian had heard was that Charles had married some European girl.

Then nothing. Christian wasn't even sure if Charles had married. He got his information about that third hand. Who knew how true it was?

Christian had gotten the usual results, but decided to try something else. He typed "Charles Richardson DeWitt family" in the search engine.

There was something, but Christian had seen it before. It was an obituary from an Italian language newspaper.

He entered the URL that the obituary was on into a translator program, and read the following:

DeWitt, Charles R., died 23 June, 2034, from injuries incurred in a motor vehicle accident. He was born in New York, in the United States, on 3 March, 2003. He was 31 years of age at time of death. He leaves a wife and children in Rafaello, and family in the United States. No funeral is planned. Burial private.

Christian realized this was a standard obituary written by the local priest. He knew he had to keep looking. He had to know if his granddaughter was under his roof and was his daughter's friend.

===