The Variables

“Ethan! Wait!” they heard Blair call, and the line stopped to watch the spectacle. Lucy watched her brother as he turned, his eyes narrowed and suspicious.

Blair was crying. She wiped big tears from her cheeks. When she reached Ethan’s place in line, she stopped to catch her breath, and then she held her head up high and cleared her throat. Even with splotchy cheeks and red eyes, Blair tried to maintain her air of superiority.

“My father...well...he has,” she stammered and shook her head. “He ordered me to stay behind and work. I’m not to embark to Kymberlin until after the Copia residents have been dispatched.”

Ethan raised his eyebrows.

“I’m not happy about it either. There’s only so much yelling I can do before I’ve realized I’ve lost an argument. Look,” she said. “This is Allison.” She pointed behind her and the woman with the bags waved. “The boy’s na

Teddy clamored forward and launched himself into Ethan’s arms. Ethan stumbled backward a bit and everyone watching the conversation held his or her breath. He balanced himself, and the people in the hallway sighed collectively with relief.

“What?” Ethan asked to Blair, placing his hands over Teddy’s ears; his tone sharp with disapproval. “You want me to be some glorified babysitter?”

“Absolutely not,” Blair said quickly. “Allison is the na

“What?” Ethan said again, leaning closer to Blair to make her feel uncomfortable. He lowered his voice. “Is this some kind of token offering? Watch your new kid on a plane ride. Get him settled into his new home. And then you’ll swoop back in and be the hero with your piles of toys.”

Blair cleared her throat. Lucy took a step toward the conversation, but she felt Cass’s hand tug her back.

“No, no, no, mon chéri. He’s fine,” Cass whispered to Lucy. “Come on. Let’s keep going.”

Blair turned to Allison. “The plane ride only. Then no more contact until I’m back. You understand?” Allison nodded and pulled a bag up on her shoulder. Blair looked back at Ethan. “I’ve been working hard to settle my little Theo...”

“His mom called him Teddy,” Ethan said loudly. “Teddy.”

“This was a mistake,” Blair said. She reached for Teddy, but he clung to Ethan and dug his heels into his back. “Fine. Just. Help him feel...calm.” She walked around so she could see Teddy’s face. “Th—Teddy? I’ll be back soon, okay? I just need to work for a little bit. Papa Huck will come see you and Allison will be there. Okay?”

Teddy nodded against Ethan’s shoulder.

“This is stupid,” she said to no one in particular. “I didn’t want to leave him. I told my dad—” Blair looked up at Ethan. “I don’t want him to think I’m not coming back for him.” She blinked and bit back another wave of emotion. “I’m coming back.”

She looked like she wanted to say something else, but instead, she lowered her head and worked her way against the current, back through the throngs of the Kymberlin residents, her sniffles carrying down the hallway in short, meaningful bursts.

Cass clicked her tongue. “That girl,” she sighed.

“You feel sorry for her,” Lucy said.

It took a long time for Cass to reply. She gave Lucy’s hand a long squeeze and shook her head. “No, friend. Not really. I feel sorry for the child.”

Lucy heard her mother and father whispering, and Harper and Teddy jabbering in hushed tones; she could hear the steady clunk of Ethan’s prosthetic foot propelling him forward unevenly. He had yet to perfect his own movements and he jerked and bobbed, putting his metal leg, dressed in a te

Lucy watched Cass steal a look behind her to watch Ethan move along behind them. He had his hand flat against the wall for support, and sweat beads accumulated at his brow. Cass hesitated for a moment. She let her hand drop from Lucy’s, and made a move like she was going to go to him, but then she turned forward again and kept moving.

“We should help him,” Lucy said, pulling her bag up over her shoulder.

“It would embarrass him,” Cass replied. She smiled sadly. “We’ll be at the elevator soon.”

“You don’t know my brother,” Lucy said. “He’s stubborn, but he’s not prideful. I should go—”

Cass put out her hand and gave Lucy’s shoulder a supportive pat. “I don’t know, of course. But I think you might just want to give him space. He’ll come to you when he needs you and when he’s ready. Sometimes people need to process their loss before they’re ready to address it.”

Coldness swept over Lucy and she bristled at Cass’s interpretation of her brother’s feelings. Cass didn’t know Ethan the way she knew Ethan. Her new friend didn’t know what he needed. Or did she? More than anything, she didn’t want to admit that maybe Cass was right—maybe her brother needed space from her, and that realization hurt more than anything. “He lost us, too,” Lucy said, but even as the words left her mouth, she realized how selfish it made her sound.

“But he didn’t,” Cass said, and then she turned her attention away from Lucy and dropped her hand, closing the conversation.

Teddy walked hand-in-hand with Ethan and they trudged along together; the boy talked in short bursts and asked questions as they meandered forward. Lucy strained to listen.

“Mama Maxine says that Mama Blair made me a Star Wars room. A real Star Wars room,” Teddy told Ethan. “Is that true?”

“I don’t know, Teddy. It could be,” Ethan answered in a soft voice. He looked to Allison for confirmation, but the na

“I don’t want to fall into the ocean.” Teddy looked up at Ethan with wide eyes.

“Why would you fall into the ocean?” Ethan asked.

“Because Mama Blair says that our new house floats on the ocean,” Teddy stated, as if Ethan should already know this fact.

“I’m sure you won’t fall. I’m sure it’s very safe.”

Lucy looked at Cass and realized that she had been eavesdropping, too. She looked away before Cass made the co

“Ethan?” Teddy asked. “Is my mommy waiting on the Islands?”

The question took Ethan by surprise. He stopped walking. He took his hand and put it squarely on Teddy’s head and brought the boy into him; his head hit Ethan’s hip. Lucy and Cass couldn’t help but stop and turn, too. The whole King family watched as Ethan grabbed Teddy and swung him upward. The child wrapped his legs around Ethan’s waist and in return, Ethan grabbed hold tightly across Teddy’s back. With great purpose, he began to stalk forward: big, heavy strides, wearing the boy against his chest.

“I’m praying that she will be, little man,” Ethan said to him. This time he said it loudly, punctuating each word. Ethan marched between Lucy and Cass, and he shot a glare in Lucy’s direction. Without looking away, he added, “No one had any right to take you away from her. She’s coming for you, Teddy. You hear me? She’s never go