Undivided

“I wanted to show you this,” Risa tells him as Una and her entourage of grooms lead the way to the main house for a small reception. Risa holds out her right arm to show that there’s a name tattooed on her wrist.

“You too, huh?” It doesn’t surprise him. It’s become the thing to do. Everyone is getting the name of an Unwind inked on their right arms. The idea is that it’s in a place where they will see it every single day. The ru

“Is Bryce Barlow someone you knew?” Lev asks.

Risa looks dolefully at the name on her wrist. “Just like the names on you, he’s a boy I’ll never meet.”

“Did you hear the latest?” Co

Lev shifts Mahpee on his shoulder and smiles at both Co

77 • Cam

The groom who got the ring moves through the reception, listening to other people’s conversations.

“If Parental Override passes the Senate, I hear the entire Tribal Congress is threatening to secede from the union—not just the Arápache,” says a woman Cam thinks has Wil Tashi’ne’s liver. “That’s dozens of Chancefolk tribes. We could have a second Heartland War on our hands.”

“It’ll never happen,” says the taller of CyFi’s fathers. “The president has vowed to veto if it passes.”

Several of the wedding participants—ones who share parts of Wil’s cerebral cortex—bond over co

He tries to join the meeting of the minds, but as always, the instant he enters the conversation, the whole focus shifts to him.

“I think it’s great what you did, Camus. Can I call you Camus?”

“Those bastards at Proactive Citizenry really had it coming.”

“That awful woman should be locked up for life.”

He politely excuses himself and slips away, listening in on conversations, hoping they don’t see him and shift their conversation to him. Once upon a time, all the attention might have swelled his head, but his head has been swollen and deflated so many times, he’s become immune.

Co

Cam has no idea what “it” he gets, until Co

Co

And to Cam’s own amazement, he has an answer. “Bit by bit,” he says, “and not alone.”

Co

Cam had no idea that The Girl was here. How could he? Even if he saw her from a distance, he’d forget the moment he looked away. She comes to him as he’s picking over the remains of the buffet, which was attacked as if by vultures the moment the ceremony was over.

“I wanted to thank you, Cam, for what you did for us that night in Akron.”

He remembers the night. He remembers Grace and Co

As soon as Cam turns to her, seeing her point-blank, his brain begins to resonate itself into convulsions. It’s so painful he has to look away. The agony of longing blends with the pain of the nanites doing their accursed job, and he has to hold on to the wall to keep his balance. This is how he knows who she must be.

“Cam, are you all right?”

“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” he says, making sure to focus on a point on the wall above her shoulder, seeing her only faintly in his peripheral vision. Even then the pain is too great. In the end he has to turn away from her entirely.

“Cam, don’t be this way. . . .”

“No,” he says. “No, you don’t understand. They made me . . . they made me . . .” But even as he tries to explain, his thoughts are scrambled to the point that he’s not sure what he was going to say. He doesn’t even know her name. How can he talk to her if he doesn’t even know her name? So he closes his eyes, sorts the pieces, and tells her what he can, as best as he can.

“You are the reason for everything I did,” he tells her, keeping his eyes closed. “But now I need a new reason.”

Silence for a moment. And then she says, “I understand.” Her voice is so sweet. And so painful.

“But . . . but . . .” He has to get this out, because he knows it’s the only chance he’ll ever get. “But I can still remember what it felt like . . . to love you.”

He feels her give him a kiss on the cheek. And when he opens his eyes, she’s gone, and he wonders why on earth he’s standing by the buffet with his eyes closed.

•  •  •

The reception barely lasts an hour. The eyes are the first to leave, apparently having seen enough, and the other bits and pieces of Wil Tashi’ne are quick to follow. Through the whole reception, Una has been noticeably absent. Cam finds her sitting on the back steps of the main house alone, her ribboned hair pulled forward in an attempt to hide tears.

He sits beside her. His presence doesn’t chase her away. That’s a good sign.

“Was it everything you expected?” he asks her.

“What do you think?” she says bitterly.

“I think you’re a very loyal, and a very stubborn, human being, Mrs. Una Tashi’ne.”

Then he pulls something out of his pocket. “Which reminds me, I have something to show you.” He hands her his Hawaiian driver’s license. She looks at it, unimpressed.

“So you can drive. Big deal.”

“It is a big deal. This is an official ID. After what happened on Molokai, the state legislature passed a special referendum declaring that I am officially a human being. So now I actually exist. At least in Hawaii. The rest of the world isn’t so sure.”

She hands it back to him. “You don’t need a license to prove you exist. I know you exist.”

“Thank you, Una,” he says. “That means a lot to me.” Although he’s not sure if she believes him.

“So what will you do now?” she asks.

He shrugs. “Lots of things. I’ve been asked to play Carnegie Hall, and to be the grand marshal of the Rose Parade.”

“So you’re still the shining star.”

“I guess, but now it’s because of what I’ve done, not because of who I am. There’s a big difference.”

Una considers it. “You’re right, there is.”

“Of course, I don’t have Roberta to organize things for me anymore. Now I have an agent—and she’s almost as scary.”

Una laughs, which makes Cam happy. If he can make her laugh on this strange mournful wedding day, that’s half the battle. He takes a moment to look at the identical rings on their fingers. She sees him looking, and the moment becomes awkward.

“Anyway,” says Cam. “I’m going back to Molokai for a while. It seems no one knows what to do with all those rewinds now that the whole property has been confiscated by the state. They need someone to be their advocate, and to help them integrate themselves, mind and body.”