Julia Karr - Truth

“I sure hope so.”

I said, “Me, too.” Even though I knew she wouldn’t be contacting anyone, at least not for a while.

I’d expected Dee to be the one bounding out of bed at five a.m., not me. Although I didn’t exactly bound. Even my usual burrowing under the covers couldn’t coax more sleep, so I got up, went to the kitchen, and started our usual Holiday morning routine—fresh cinnamon rolls, coffee, and orange juice.

Dee padded into the kitchen as I was taking the rolls out of the cook center. “It smells just like Holiday.” She sighed. “I wish Mom was here.”

“Me, too.” I filled a cup with coffee and stirred in two spoonfuls of sugar. Making the cinnamon rolls might not have been my best idea. Ginnie had always done it, though. I didn’t want the day to be sad, but maybe that was just wishful thinking. How could it not be without her. Without Gran and Pops.

“What are you doing?” Dee asked. “You hate coffee.”

“I’m learning to like it.” I took a sip of the murky brew and promptly spat it into the sink.

Dee laughed. That was a better start to the morning.

“Let’s go see if any presents miraculously appeared,” Dee said.

I knew there would be one for Dee, from me.

“Lookie here.” She sounded just like Pops. “A present for Little Bit.” She handed me a thin rectangular box, wrapped in silver paper with a gold bow on top.

“Lookie there.” I’d hidden her present behind Gran’s poinsettia. “Something for Deedles.”

She retrieved a loose roll of paper with a ribbon tied around it. “I hope Pops is okay. Did you call?”

“Yeah. They won’t let him have visitors.” I didn’t want Dee to start crying, or me either, for that matter. “I wonder what this could possibly be?” I held up the present she’d given me. “It’s definitely not alive.” Shaking it, I said, “No small parts. Hmmm…” I studied it. “I wonder what it—”

“Open it already!”

“You think?” I teased the ribbon loose and unsealed the paper. Inside was an animated digi of Ginnie and me. “Oh, Dee! It’s ultra! How on earth did you do this?”

“Chris helped. He’s so great.”

Yeah, I thought, he is pretty great. First my tattoo, well, first helping us move and everything else he’d done since then… and how sweet he was.

“So what is this? A telescope?” She held the roll to her eye. “Nuh-uh. A straw?” She tried to get her mouth around it. “No way.”

“Dee!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Untying the ribbon, she unrolled the paper to reveal a drawing of her at five years old, sitting in Mom’s lap. They were reading a real book. She sucked in her breath. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Her cheeks glistened. “This is the best present ever.”

We finished off breakfast and had just settled in front of the FAV to watch Home for Holiday , since Dee’d slept through it last night and I could watch it a million times, when Dee’s PAV beeped.

After a brief conversation, she clicked off and said, “That was Miss Maldovar. She’s going to bring by some presents at ten.”

“She is?”

Dee got up. “Yep. You think she’d like it if I made her cookies?”

“I’m sure she’ll like anything you do.” I did not understand this woman’s big interest in Dee. Was it just a tender heart toward a girl who’d lost her mother? I was not likely to figure it out in the next few hours, so I turned on the FAV and zoned out on my favorite vid.

I kept an eye out for Miss Maldovar, not wanting her arrival to bother the Jenkinses. When a hire trannie pulled up, Dee was in the kitchen, so I ran to the front door. She came in, followed by the driver, who was loaded down with bags and boxes. He deposited the packages inside, and I couldn’t help but notice his face when she tipped him. His Holiday was made.

“It smells wonderful in here,” she said. “Who’s the baker?”

“Dee. She’s making some of our grandmother’s Holiday recipes.”

“I’m not surprised. She’s so smart.” She shrugged off her coat and threw it over the back of Pops’s chair. “I hope you don’t mind that I got a few presents for Dee. I know how difficult it must be for you with all the family issues you’ve had. I’m sure finding credits for presents was not high on your list of priorities.”

“That’s very nice of you.” Something about the way she talked to me raised my hackles. The woman was a definite trigger for my danger radar—especially with the obscene number of presents she’d brought. One or two would’ve been normal; this was excess to the outer limits. “You really didn’t need to do anything.”

“I know. However, I wanted to. Dee’s been such a big help to me so far. And as the semester progresses, I’m sure she’ll continue to shine as my assistant.” She glanced at the mountain of gifts. “I might have gone a little overboard, but it was so much fun buying for a Pre.”

Dee came in from the kitchen. “Miss Maldovar!” She wiped her floury hands on the apron she was wearing, then she noticed the presents. “Those are for me?”

“Nearly all of them,” Miss Maldovar said. “I did buy a few things for your sister.” She flashed me an all-teeth, no-eye-crinkles smile. “I didn’t want you to feel left out.”

“Thanks.” I should have been curious, and maybe I was a little, but mostly I wanted to know what was behind her generosity. “Would you like some coffee? Maybe some cookies?”

“Cookies for sure!”

Dee brought in a plate of cookies and set it on the table. Miss Maldovar watched as Dee unwrapped what ended up being an entire wardrobe of clothes and accessories from Mars 9. It must have cost Miss Maldovar a fortune.

She had gotten me a beautiful ultrachic sweater, TT brand all-weathers, and a gift certificate for two hundred credits at Mars 9. More than I could possibly have imagined.

Dee was modeling her new clothes for us when Wei came downstairs. It was her first introduction to Miss Maldovar, who was as smooth with Wei as she was with me.

“Mom sent me down to tell you that dinner’s in an hour,” Wei said. “And Chris was wondering if Dee would mind helping him with your grandmother’s pie recipe.”

“Let me change.” Dee snatched up her new outfits. “I’ll be right back.”

“Are you spending Holiday with your family?” Wei asked Miss Maldovar.

“No,” she said. “My parents are no longer with us, and my brother is out of the country.”

“Oh, that’s too bad.” She frowned. “Tell Dee to come on up.” As she opened the door, she motioned me over and whispered, “Do you mind if I ask Mom if she can stay for dinner? There’s more than enough food, and it’s kind of sad that she’s alone.”

“I guess not.” I glanced over at Miss Maldovar, who was engrossed in her PAV receiver. “I don’t trust her, but she’s been more than nice to Dee and me. It can’t hurt, right?”

“I’ll call you right back.” Wei rushed up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Practically before I sat back down, my PAV beeped. “Mom says ask her.”

“Would you like to join us at the Jenkinses’ for Holiday dinner?” I asked. “Mrs. Jenkins would love it if you could.”

“What?” Dee came into the room. “Are you going to have dinner with us? That would be beyond ultra!”

“I guess it’s settled, then,” Miss Maldovar said. “Please, tell Mrs. Jenkins I’d love to join all of you.”

“We’ll come up in a few,” I said to Dee. “I don’t want to be in the way.” And, as uncomfortable as I was around Maldovar, I thought maybe a bit of time alone with her might give me a clue as to why.