“I don’t know any of those answers,” Scott answered.
“That was faster than I anticipated,” Maxine added. “No need to be nervous. It’s out of your hands now.” Scott nodded and pulled his plate back toward him; he took a tentative bite. Her mother reveled in her victory by smiling widely at the faces before her. “Eat up, kiddos. I’m reinstituting date days. So, let’s do our drawing...” she reached behind her and grabbed a small mug, “Who shall it be today?” She shook the mug and it made a small fluttering noise.
“It used to just alternate,” Galen said. “I am pretty sure it was my turn and then you had the twins.”
“I’ve had dates with you since then,” Maxine replied and rolled her eyes.
Galen shook his head adamantly.
“I have.” Maxine lowered her chin and stared at Galen while she reached into the mug and drew a name. “Lucy,” she read and opened up the paper for everyone to see.
“What if it had been Ethan?” Monroe asked.
“Then I’d go find Ethan and drag him on a date with me.”
“Galen can go if he wants to,” Lucy said, pointing at her younger brother with her fork.
“I picked you,” Maxine said as if that solved everything. “We’ll go in an hour or so?”
“She said I could go instead...”
“It’s Lucy’s date.” Maxine put her cup down loudly on the table and bits of coffee splashed down the sides. “That’s the name I picked and that’s the way it works. And that’s final.”
Lucy froze and watched her mother wipe at the spilled drink. Dates were intended to be fun and spontaneous, and spending an afternoon with her mother on Kymberlin didn’t sound like something she wanted or needed. It sounded forced and atrocious.
Galen pouted and grumbled, taking spiteful bites of his breakfast and rolling his eyes. After taking a final bite, Scott got up and went to the sink; as he walked by, Maxine put her hand out and touched his arm. He stood facing away from them, staring at the wall, and when he turned, he had tears in his eyes.
“Scott—” Maxine said, concerned, and she started to get up, but he motioned for her to stay seated.
He walked over to Lucy and kissed the top of her head.
“Have a good date day with your mom, okay?” He nodded to encourage her. Lucy knew that tone: the subtle warding off of future meltdowns. “Promise me. Have fun.”
“Jeez, Dad. It’s a date. And it’s not like you’re going off to war,” Lucy said, laughing.
Scott didn’t answer. He just smiled wanly and took off toward his room without another word. Maxine watched him with a confused expression, but then she turned back to her kids and clapped her hands. “Okay, clean those plates and clear the table. Chop-chop.” Standing up in a flurry of busyness, she grabbed glasses and orchestrated a queue to the sink, patting bottoms and facilitating her cleanup crew with military precision. Once all the plates were deposited into the sink, Maxine shooed the children off to play, but Lucy hung back. She watched her mom wipe a flyaway piece of hair out of her face. When her mother’s back was turned, Lucy walked over to the mug where their names had been written on neatly folded pieces of paper and she dumped the paper into her hands.
She opened up a strip. Lucy. And another. Lucy. And the last three: Lucy, Lucy, Lucy.
Her hand went to put the paper back into the mug and she jumped when she heard her mother talk to her from the sink without turning around.
“So, now you know the secret,” Maxine said.
“It’s cheating.” Lucy crumpled up the paper and walked it over to the garbage instead.
“Nope,” her mother replied. “It’s called parenting.”
“Galen wanted to go,” she said to her mother.
Maxine turned. She looked so exasperated and yet so mischievous, it was hard for Lucy to look away.
“And Galen will get to go when Galen gets to go. But today...my lovely favorite oldest daughter...”
Lucy smiled and rolled her eyes playfully. “Always such a cop-out...”
“...go get ready.”
“I blame Harper for losing favorite daughter status. It was mine for the taking.”
“Shoo,” Maxine tried again and this time Lucy acquiesced. She slipped upstairs and stood in her room for a requisite amount of time before just slipping into the pair of jeans and white t-shirt that Gordy had sent over to their apartment. It was her size, but she hated that she had to wear them.
When she reappeared downstairs, her mother was waiting. She was wearing a black skirt, knee-high boots and a tight sweater. Her mother wasn’t thin—she hadn’t ever been tiny—but Lucy always thought her mother was the perfect size. It hadn’t ever occurred to her that her mother was anything but gorgeous. Her dad thought she was beautiful and she carried more confidence in her pinky than Lucy would have in her lifetime. She never shied away from a body hugging sweater despite her paunchy belly. It was like her mother owned her extra pounds with pride. Sometimes, she was downright inspiring.
Lucy had carried so much anger since arriving at the System that she forgot what it was like to see her mom all dolled up for a date, waiting just for her. To see that loving wink, the melting away of pretenses, the beauty of knowing that everything was going to be okay for a few hours.
“You ready?”
“What’s the plan?”
“I have a map,” Maxine announced and she unfurled a small pamphlet.
“He thought of everything,” Lucy said with a droll laugh. “Sometimes...this place...”
Maxine poked her finger into Lucy’s shoulder. “Save it, kiddo. You have my undivided attention today. Let’s get going and then put it to good use.”
They started with manicures. And then they ended up at a small place called the Tea Room. The Tea Room was nestled between a music shop and a job recruitment center. Maxine stopped in at the small recruitment office just to ask questions while Lucy stood there hoping her mother would stop talking, but the young man working there had recommended the tea house as a good place to visit and they took his advice.
It was ornate and sophisticated and dimly lit. The couches and chairs were reproductions of Victorian-era furniture: opulently carved walnut sofas with tufted backs and parlor chairs upholstered in patterned fabrics. The tables boasted lace tablecloths and all the utensils were pure silver.
Lucy stood in awe of the entire setup and couldn’t help but look confused when the big black man with the calloused hands introduced himself as the owner. She didn’t think of herself as someone who would be so quick to judge, but she would have bet anything that a little old lady had been the one to craft each egg-salad sandwich without the crusts and hook tiny cookies onto each teacup.
“I’m Jeremiah,” the man said, and he greeted Maxine with a sturdy handshake. He turned to Lucy and took her hand next.
“Maxine and Lucy King,” her mother introduced for the both of them. “Which EUS did you come from?”
Jeremiah motioned for them to sit in a fancy velvet sofa and chair. “I’m not from an EUS,” he said, and he cleared his throat. “I’m one of Huck’s builders. We’ve been employed for a long time, and when the Islands were finished, we were offered second chances. I suppose that’s how you’d put it.”
Lucy raised an eyebrow. “Wait,” she said. “I don’t mean to be rude, but—”
“Yes,” he answered before she could finish her sentence. “I was in construction. And now I own the Tea Room. Many of the shops here in the main tower are run by people who were employed by Huck and were no longer needed. Electricians. Engineers. Construction workers. Huck worked hard to make sure we could follow our dreams. That man is in the wish fulfillment game and I’m indebted to him.”
“That’s wonderful,” Maxine answered. Lucy thought she seemed teary. She sent up a silent prayer that her mother wouldn’t start crying.