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As they sat down Elgars sniffed the offering then carefully cut the pork into tiny bites and slowly ate each one. Wendy was done eating before the captain was done cutting.
"Your voice changed again," Wendy commented, dabbing at her lips with a cloth napkin. "Back there dealing with security."
"I' ha'?" Elgars asked. She carefully cut out a bit of fat and flipped it off her plate. "How?"
"You keep sliding in and out of a southern accent," Wendy noted. "And when you're speaking with that accent, you don't have a speech impediment. Where are you from?"
"Nuh J'sey," Elgars answered.
"So, where's the southern accent come from?"
"Ah du
Wendy's eyes went wide and a shiver went down her spine. "Did you do that on purpose?"
"Whuh?"
"Never mind."
They ate in silence for a period while Elgars looked around with interest and Wendy carefully considered her new acquaintance.
"Do you remember what a southern accent 'sounds' like?" Wendy asked carefully.
Elgars turned from her examination of their surroundings and nodded. "Yuh."
"Have you thought . . . would you want to try talking with one?" Wendy asked. "It sort of seems like . . . you want to be talking with one. It's the only time you're clear."
Elgars narrowed her eyes at the younger girl and clamped her jaw. But after a sulfurous moment she took a breath. "You mean lahk this?" she said. Her eyes widened at the smooth syllables. "Shee-it, thet's we-eird as hay-ll!"
"That's a bit thicker than you were," Wendy said with a smile. "But it's clear."
"What the hayll is happenin' to me?" Elgars said, the accent smoothing out and the voice softening. She set down her knife and grabbed her hair with both hands. "Am Ah goin' nuts?"
"I don't think so," Wendy said, quietly. "I know people who are nuts, you're just eccentric. I think the shrinks were driving you nuts, though. I don't know who is coming out of that head, but I don't think it is the person who went into the coma. For whatever reason. They kept telling you that you had to be what they reconstructed that person to be. And I don't think they were right."
"So, who am Ah?" Elgars asked, her eyes narrowing. "You're sayin' Ah'm not A
"I du
Elgars regarded her in turn then pushed away her tray. "Okay. How the hell do Ah find out?"
"Unfortunately, I think the answer is talk to the psychs," Wendy said. She shook her head at Elgars' expression. "I know, I don't like 'em either. But there are some good ones; we'll just have to get you a new one." She glanced up at the clock on the wall of the cafeteria and her face worked. "Changing the subject, one of the things we haven't discussed is work. As in what I have to go to. I think you're suppose to help with it; at least that is what I think the psychs meant. God knows we could use a few more hands."
"What is it?"
"Ah, well," Wendy said carefully. "Maybe we should go look it over, see if you like it. If you don't, I'm sure we can find something you'll enjoy."
"So," Elgars said with a throaty chuckle, "s'nc you can' be in s'curity or t' Arrrm'uh, whuh do you do?"
* * *
The door must have been heavily soundproofed because when it opened the sound of shrieking children filled the hallway.
The interior of the creche was, as far as Elgars could tell, a kaleidoscope that had experienced a hurricane. There was one small group of children—most of them seemed to be five or so to her admittedly inexpert eye—that was not involved in movement. They were grouped around a girl who was not much older, perhaps seven or eight, who was reading a story. And there was one little boy sitting in the far corner working on a jigsaw puzzle. Other than that the remaining ten or so children were ru
It was the most unpleasant sound Elgars had ever heard. She had a momentary desire to pounce on one of them and eviscerate it just to get it to Shut Up.
"There are fourteen here during the day," Wendy said loudly, looking at Elgars somewhat nervously. "Eight of them are here all the time, Shari's three and five other who are orphans."
A medium height blond woman carrying a baby made a careful path through the circle of playing children. She could have been anywhere between thirty and fifty with a pleasant face that had probably once been exceedingly pretty. The years had clearly been hard, though, and what looks were left hovered between rough and beautiful, like a tree that had been battered by a century of winds. Despite that she seemed to be almost completely imperturbable as if she had seen the world at its worst and until something to equal it came along it was a good day.
"Hi, Wendy," she said in a husky contralto that bespoke years of cigarettes. "Who's your friend?"
"Shari, this is A
"Pleased to meet you, Captain," Shari said, holding out her free hand, which happened to be the left.
"Pl'sed," Elgars croaked.
"One of the reasons Captain Elgars is on convalescent status is that she's still in speech therapy," Wendy explained. "And the psych suggested that she sort of 'follow me around' for a while to get her bearings; she lost most of her memory at the Monument."
"You were at the Monument?" Shari said neutrally.
"S' the' tell muh," Sandy responded. One of the kids maneuvered out of the swarm, trying to escape a pursuer in what Elgars had finally determined was a sort of free-form game of tag. The little girl, about six or seven, came swooping around the group by the door, shrieking like a banshee.
"You handle this very well," Shari said with a faint smile. "Most people would have flinched at Shakeela."
Wendy cocked her head to the side and nodded. "That's true. But I've never seen you flinch at all."
As the tension from the sound built up, Elgars felt herself getting more and more still as if a blanket was coming up to protect her senses. She still could hear, even faint noises, but as long as she stayed in this place, not drifting but not really feeling co
"I don' fl'nch," she finally answered. "Don' know why."
Shari nodded after a few seconds when it was apparent no more was forthcoming. "Wendy, I've got to go change the twins. Little Billy had an accident and that set Crystal off. Could you hold Amber?" She held out the infant.
"Why don't I start cooking lunch instead?" she asked. "I think that A
"Okay," Shari said with only a moment's hesitation. "Do you know how to hold a baby?" she asked.
"No," Elgars answered, eyeing the little mite doubtfully.
"Just put it up on your shoulder like this," Shari said, tucking the baby's head under her neck. "And support it from underneath like this," she continued, lifting Elgars' left arm to hold it up. "The most important thing is to not let the head flop. Okay?"
"No h'd fl'p," Elgars repeated, patting the baby lightly on the back with her free hand. She had seen Shari doing it and it somehow seemed right. Not particularly important, sort of like tapping your fingernails on a table or flipping a knife in the air. Just something to do with the hands.