THE QUEST

(Disclaimer: I have no business connection with JOAN. My only purpose in writing this story is to have fun and maybe share it)

(Author's Note: This story is part of a series speculating what might have happened to Joan after the end of the series. In prior stories Joan has let Adam, Luke, Helen, and Lily into the secret, and is now married to Adam)

Chapter 1 The Summons

Joan had survived the first term in college. No, that was putting it too negatively. She had actually done well. She had made good grades in all of her courses, and impressed her law professor, which was fortunate because that may end up as her career. She had also made some friends while acting in a college play, and had won some respect by taking a position, unpopular but ultimately vindicated, in a local political dispute.

She wondered: was the success pre-determined? Three years ago she had been a rather aimless girl, apathetic about how she did in school. Then a series of mysterious strangers, each claiming to be an attribute of God, had given her missions to go on. The missions had had good ripples, but Joan didn't think that was the only point. She thought that "God" was training her for some destiny in the future, and that encouraging her to take more interest in her education was the first step.

But now, it was time for Christmas vacation, and she was going home. Although her father-in-law had sold his residence, including the studio where Adam had done his artworks, her own parents had decided to retain their home, even with two of the kids off to college. She and Adam would be able to sleep in her own room, assuming that Adam didn't mind somewhat girly surroundings. Luke would get his room back. Kevin had already moved back into his room, with his pregnant wife Lily. It would be crowded, but it would be all family.

The day before she was to start home, she decided to take a walk through the Baconia campus. She and Adam lived in an apartment off campus because the University didn't take married undergraduates into account. She didn't much mind, but it cut her off from dorm life. Maybe that was good: could she keep her secret in a crowded dormitory? But she could at least take a walk through the student-housing area.

She saw a girl emerge from one of the dormitories, pulling a suitcase on a leash. Joan didn't know her, but the girl spotted her and said "Hello."

"Hi," replied Joan, and in order to make conversation, she added "Heading home?"

"Eventually," said the girl. "First, though, I'm going to visit a friend in Princeton." She gave Joan a searching look. "I think you ought to visit there, too."

Joan was used to mysterious strangers suddenly giving her hints about how to run her life. "Oh. You're HER."

"Yes, I AM Me," said the student, somehow managing to speak in capital letters.

"So what's in Princeton?"

"A university."

"I know THAT. I mean, what do you want me to do in Princeton?"

"It'll become clear soon after you get there."

That was another thing Joan was used to: not getting much advance information. It was irritating, but she thought she knew the reason: the deity wanted her to be alert to problems that needed her help to fix. "All right. Should Adam come along too?"

"Definitely. Oh, and by the way – I appreciate the sacrifice of free will, but you shouldn't have to handle the expenses. If you rent a car or check into a hotel, you will find that the bill is pre-paid."

"Where is the money coming from? Do you have a human source, or are you conjuring it up?"

But as usually happened, when Joan started asking for details, Student God was already wandering off, dragging Her suitcase and giving a backhand wave. Joan sighed and headed back to her apartment. It occurred to her that Student God hadn't specified which car agencies and hotels had the account with the money. Apparently She foreknew which ones Joan and Adam would use.

At home she explained the new mission to Adam, who took it in stride, as if mysterious missions came up every day. He didn't mind the detour: he tended to live in his own world, and didn't much care where he was in the real world as long as he had Joan and the opportunity to create art. "But your family is expecting us tomorrow, aren't they?"

"Yeah. Mom and Sister Lily will understand. We'll have to invent some cover story for Dad and Kevin,"

But Helen, when Joan dialed her, was not as understanding as Joan had hoped.

"But you can't just change things at the last minute! I was hoping that the five of us – you, Adam, Luke, Lily, and me – could get together and figure out how to break the news to Will and Kevin. I'm tired of having to lie to my loved ones. Just what's going on in Princeton that's so important?"

"I'm not sure. Call it a leap of faith."

"You can call it a leap of faith if you want. I call it being forced to jump through hoops, like a show horse. But you're nineteen now and I can't dictate to you. Go on the trip if you must."

"I'll try to wind it up as quick as I can and rush back home, Mom." She uttered a few more conciliatory phrases and hung up, highly dissatisfied. She explained the call to her husband. "Mom does have a point. I wish we had more of an idea why we're needed in Princeton."

Adam pondered. "Wasn't that movie about the crazy mathematician set in Princeton?"

"A BEAUTIFUL MIND, yeah. Luke loved it. But for that very reason, if it was something like a crazy mathematician, God would be sending Luke there, not us." Joan stared at their luggage. "OK, let's take it one step at a time. Either way we go, we'll need luggage for several days. God hinted that we'd need to rent a car, so we'll do that tomorrow morning. I'll check routes on the Internet, and get a map of the town."

But her mother's questioning still bothered her. That night she had a dream, probably because her Mom's remark about show-horses reminded her about a visit she had made to her friend Morgiana Begh. Maggie's family raised horses, and she was training one to perform what Maggie called dressage. "Part of the problem," Maggie had said at the time, "is that you can't explain to the horse what you want. It doesn't understand Turkish, or English. I suppose to its mind we're asking it to go through a meaningless ritual."

It was a genuine memory, but it had a new meaning to Joan now. Was Joan in the position of the horse, not being told things because they were beyond her understanding?

Or – something she was afraid to verbalize, even to Adam – was it possible that she was about to embark on a meaningless ritual?