Caeli Widger - Mother of Invention

Their father lumbered to the bedroom to find Puke asleep under the bed, where Wayne had taught him to lie. He and Bethany were already crying, gripping each other like toddlers, their own conflict instantly dissolved. Together they wished desperately to retract it, to erase the past few minutes, but it was impossible.

Their father was too drunk to shoot clean the first time, and Wayne remembered Beth’s body jerking in his embrace with each of the three gunshots that ripped from the bedroom. In a minute, their father reentered the kitchen looking blasé, cracked another beer, and said Took care of it.

Wayne charged at him, screaming, swinging his fists with animal fury, and got a few solid cracks to his father’s jaw before his father pinned him in the headlock. Despite being a fat slug, his father was still stronger than him. Strong enough to hold Wayne still with one arm while he made an inch-long cut along one of Wayne’s cheeks, and then a matching one along the other.

He’d told Irene all of this. He’d had no one else to tell.

Wayne awoke to the mild jostle of the plane wheels meeting the runway.

“Good morning, folks.” The pilot’s cheerful voice cut through the cabin. “Welcome to Boston.”

Outside, dawn had just broken, turning the sky pink and red.

VivversOC: ready for another installment of CrayCray Vivian?

Stoph1: bring it on!

LindsEE!: s’up Vivvers?

VivversOC: I’m fully prepared 4U to give me shit. Just saying up front.

LindsEE!: I won’t!!!

Xavey: stoph’s the only meathead here. Me & Linds r cool

Stoph1: fuckoff, Xave. Let the woman speak.

LindsEE!: I’m noticing some strange things about myself.

Stoph1: ur just now noticing?

Xavey: like I said. MEAT. HEAD.

LindsEE!: shut up boys. Like what Viv?

VivversOC: I’m gonna send a pic, it’s easier than explaining. Just don’t be weird about it you guys, promise? I just want to know what u think and honestly if you’ve noticed anything similar

LindsEE!: cross my heart hope to die

Stoph1: the suspense is killing me.

VivversOC: one sec

[IMAGE DELIVERED]

2021

Tessa’s flight landed in San Jose just after midnight. She’d planned to sleep at home in Atherton but found herself navigating the fog-blurred curves of the route to the Seahorse Center instead. She went to her room in East Lobe, where she showered and dozed lightly in bed until eight. Then she crossed the building to Luke’s office in West Lobe. On her way, she paused to look down at the open workspaces eight stories below. Her gaze rested on the “Thought Floor,” a designated brainstorming area, where dozens of her staffers were gathered around whiteboards or hovered over screens, swigging coffee while they bandied ideas and planned their attack on the new day before them.

Tessa smiled. Thank God she was back.

Luke met her in a hug just inside his office door.

“Finally, she returns,” he said, his long arms looped around her. “Welcome back. It felt like forever.”

Tessa broke from his embrace and crossed the room to her usual spot in the Lucite chair. “You should consider getting more comfortable seating in here.”

“Consider it considered.”

“Very funny. How were the Cohort’s charts this morning?”

“Straight to business, as always,” Luke said. He seemed looser, more at ease than when she’d last seen him in the conference room, before she’d left for Boston, when they’d disagreed about the INR-Views. “The charts are beautiful. All three of them, on par with optimal fetal growth for fourteen-week pregnancies. Gupta and Milford are happy. Which means we can all be happy. We’ll know the sex of the babies by next week, but between us, the docs can already see that LaTonya is having a boy.” He propped his black Converse up on his desk, crossed his ankles, and leaned his head into his hands. “How was your trip?”

“Successful.”

“Were young Weldon minds blown?”

“There was a lot of excitement for Seahorse. Reception was very positive.”

“Crowds love you, Callahan.”

“Something happened after my talk that I thought you’d find interesting.”

“Oh?”

“A young woman caught up with me as I was on my way to a reception at the dean’s. She had an intensity about her, so I suggested we sit down for coffee.”

“A hater?” said Luke. “Campus Crusade for Christ or something?”

“No. A natural AG baby.”

Luke uncrossed his feet and lowered them to the floor. “You’re kidding.”

“I’m not. A senior named Vivian Bourne. Viv.”

A strange expression crossed Luke’s face. “Go on.”

“It was interesting to talk to her. My speech definitely triggered some issues she has with AG being overlooked.”

“Issues?”

“She’s dissatisfied by the lack of explanation. That the whole original phenomenon just sort of faded into the ether.”

“It was more than twenty years ago.”

“So? That doesn’t mean she’s stopped wondering. She’s in the formative years of her adult identity—it’s natural that she’d be ruminating on this. Why she was born the way she was. How AG plays into the person she’s becoming. Et cetera.”

“Sounds like you did some therapy with her.”

“Not really. I just listened. I have compassion for her. But I also think she could be a useful resource for us.”

“How so?” A tightness seemed to have descended over Luke, replacing his easy mood.

“I think it could be useful for the Cohort to meet her. They’d have a natural connection, since Viv directly inspired Seahorse. She’s a predecessor to their babies, in a way. The Cohort has a lot of free time on their hands right now, so I thought we could fly Viv out and set up a casual conversation. It could be really meaningful for all of them to connect.”

“No,” said Luke.

“Excuse me?”

“Sorry, Callahan, it’s not a good idea. It’s way too early to invite outside visitors here for a look. The Trial is going well, but it’s still a very delicate situation. Security has to be our top priority.”

“Well, of course,” said Tessa, annoyed with being shot down. “The Cohort would have to unanimously agree to meeting her first. I thought I could just present it as an option. If they say no, we won’t do it.”

“I’m saying no.”

“You don’t have veto power.” Tessa was incredulous; it was unlike Luke to disagree with her like this. Their INR-View disagreement was one thing—he had the backing of the doctors there, so Tessa was willing to concede—but this was a nonclinical issue, just between the two of them. He never simply said no to an idea of hers.

“It’s a bad idea. You’re not thinking clearly. It must be the late flight.”

Now Tessa was mad. “That’s patronizing, Luke. I’m thinking perfectly clearly. I’ve been thinking about it for days, in fact. Perhaps you should take a day to think it over, instead of dismissing it with a knee-jerk reaction.”

“I’m not jerking any knees. It would just be an obvious mistake to bring an agitated college student to the Trial. Irresponsible, actually.”