Death in Winter - Michael Jan Friedman [4]
As it turned out, having the garden inspection on the agenda was a good thing. It made dinner move more quickly, so the Goldsmiths could see what they wanted before it got dark.
At least Beverly had thought it was a good thing-until her grandmother turned to her and said, “You and Bobby can take a walk if you like. I don’t think he’s as fascinated by brussels sprouts as some of us.”
The Goldsmiths laughed at that. But not Beverly. She wanted to say, “Take a walk with him? I don’t even want to be on the same planet with him!”
However, she couldn’t protest-not with everybody looking at her. So she kept her emotions in check and nodded, and said, “Sure.” Then the adults went out the back door into the low-slanting rays of the sun, and left Beverly alone with Bobby.
He shrugged his bony shoulders. “Which way?”
Without a word, Beverly led the way out the front of the house-a sturdy silver-white prefab with sleek, rounded corners. It was getting on to evening, so she didn’t bother to grab a hat or anything to drink-precautions she would have been certain to take during the heat of the day.
The Howards’ domicile was on the westernmost outskirts of the colony, closest to a distant cluster of hills. It was in that direction that Beverly decided to start walking.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Bobby keeping up with her. But she didn’t turn to look at him. She just kept her eyes on the hills up ahead, which were turning purple as the golden light began to fade.
This was by far Beverly’s favorite time of day, when the air cooled down and the breeze died, and she could hear the cries of avians if she listened carefully enough. Unfortunately, her companion didn’t give her the chance.
“So,” he asked, “do you like it here?”
“It’s all right,” Beverly said.
“Have you been on Arvada Three a long time?”
“Since I was three,” she told him. “Three and a half, to be exact.”
“You must know a lot about the place.”
“Everything,” she said. It wasn’t a brag. “Then again, there isn’t much to know.”
Beverly had often dreamed of living on Earth or one of the Sol-system colony planets, or even on an alien homeworld. They had always sounded so exciting to her, the kinds of places where someone could see something new every day.
But her grandmother had no intention of leaving Arvada III. That was where she had chosen to do her work in exobiology. That was where she had set down her roots. And as a teenager Beverly had little choice but to remain with her.
Wait until I grow up, Beverly thought, not for the first time. Then I’ll join Starfleet and see all those wonderful places for myself.
She didn’t know anybody in Starfleet, but she was pretty sure that was the place for her. The last thing she wanted to do was live on a far-flung colony world, apart from anything that was of any interest to her at all.
And yet at the same time, she didn’t like the prospect of leaving her grandmother behind. For all the woman’s devotion to things Beverly found boring and trivial, there was a bond between them as strong as that between any mother and daughter.
Abandoning her grandmother would be like cutting out a part of herself. And while Felisa Howard had never spoken of the day her granddaughter would depart to pursue a career of her own, Beverly was sure the woman wasn’t looking forward to it.
“You’re lucky,” said Bobby.
Beverly turned to him. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve been here most of your life. Arvada Three is the fourth colony we’ve been to.” The boy breathed a sigh. “I’m just hoping we’ll stay at this one for good.”
It had never occurred to Beverly that moving around could be a bad thing. It gave her something to think about.
“You walk this way a lot?” Bobby asked.
“Some,” she said.
“It’s nice out here.”
By then, the sun had gone down behind the hills, leaving a pale radiance lingering in the western sky. Everything around Beverly seemed softer, even the rocks.
“I guess,” she said.
“It was cold on Sejjel Five,” said Bobby. “That was where we lived before we came here. Winter twelve months