"No. No. It can't be true. No…"
As his sister repeated the word "no" over and over again like a broken record, Dan just shook his head. "You know that isn't going to help, right, Amy?"
A tear streaked down Amy's cheek as she looked over at him. "Th-then what is? What can honestly help us when we've just found out our father was a Vesper?"
She expected this question to leave Dan stumped. All she wanted was for him to be quiet, to leave her to grieve and hope that, at any moment, she would wake up to find that this had all been some sort of horrible, twisted nightmare.
But Dan was not stumped. Instead, he said in a quieter voice, "Well, actually, I thought that maybe talking with some people who're going through the same thing could be helpful."
She froze where she sat, one hand suspended in the air, prepared to wipe away a teardrop from her face. After a few seconds, she let it fall into her lap.
"What?" she said softly.
"I called the Kabras this morning," he said. "I told them what we heard, they seemed to feel bad, then Natalie started being annoying, I called her a couple of not very nice names, she threw the phone down, and Ian picked it up and said that they'd charter a jet to Boston ASAP."
"What?" Amy repeated, this time in a very shrill voice. "They're coming here, and you're just now telling me this? But… your room is a mess. Your hair is a mess…. I'm a mess!"
"Relax, Amy," Dan said. "I know you want to look perfect for your boyfriend and all…."
She crossed her arms over her baggy T-shirt and frowned at him. "No, it's just that I would have liked a little warning."
At least she isn't crying anymore, he thought with a satisfied grin.
She continued. "As it is, if you called them this morning, that means they could be here any…"
Knock, knock.
"…Minute." Amy groaned. "Great. They're here. We might as well get the door."
Dan shot up from his chair and darted past his sister to open the door. There stood Ian and Natalie, both dressed in nice designer outfits (causing Amy to blush; if she fell into a puddle of mud at that moment, she couldn't possibly look any worse than she did now).
"Hello, Daniel," said Ian.
"Dan," Dan corrected.
"Sorry. Dan."
The Kabras stepped inside, their amber eyes surveying the room, Amy could have sworn, critically. She tried to comb through her hair with her fingers but soon stopped when she saw Natalie glance curiously in her direction.
"Here. You can sit down," she said quickly, pointing to the navy couch in one corner of the room.
Ian and Natalie obliged, and Dan did likewise as if the suggestion had been for him.
"I'm really sorry about the mess," Amy said, picking up a discarded candy wrapper from the floor and dropping it unceremoniously into a nearby trash can. "Dan just now told me you two were coming."
Dan shrugged his shoulders and grinned. "Surprise!"
"Was your flight nice?" Amy continued distractedly as she continued scanning the room for more things that needed straightening. When she was satisfied that there was nothing, she took a seat next to her brother and Ian.
"It was lovely," said Ian.
"Aside from the bird that got caught in the turbine," Natalie cringed.
"Was it wearing a cape?" asked Dan.
This question earned him some strange looks, which he ignored.
"Well, you know, if you're a superhero and you wear a cape, you're going to get sucked into a jet turbine," he said. "What? It was in a movie."
Natalie raised an eyebrow. Ian frowned. Amy just sighed and thought that maybe her brother hadn't matured as much as she had thought he had in the gauntlet.
"Er, Boston is… nice," Ian tried.
No, it really wasn't. It was gray and rainy and dreary. But Dan had said that Amy was "freaking out" and "super sad" (and he had also sounded pretty unhappy, although he would never have admitted it), and pointing out that Boston was not exactly on his Top 10 Places to Visit list- more like the opposite- was not likely to cheer them up.
Natalie gave her brother a disbelieving look but soon caught on to his intentions and nodded her head. "Yes. It's very nice. I especially love the, um… Help?"
She had intended it to be a plea for her brother to assist her. He didn't quite take it that way.
"Yes. The people are very helpful. Why, our driver took a wrong turn, and this nice young couple gave us directions."
"Nice- but their clothes were disgusting," Natalie murmured.
"I suppose his shoes looked all right," Ian started.
Dan had had enough. "Are we just going to sit around talking about nothing all day like everything's okay?" he blurted out. "Or are we going to talk about depressing stuff, find out we 'have a lot in common,' hug like a bunch of sappy girls, and then go get something to eat?"
The three stared at him in surprised silence.
"Well, that Chinese restaurant several blocks back did look rather inviting…" Natalie put in.
Ian cleared his throat. "Yes, Daniel- er, Dan- did tell us everything- about your father…."
And suddenly, to Dan's dismay, his sister looked as if her eyes were again going to start spouting out water like a fountain.
"We're sorry," offered Natalie tentatively.
Amy just nodded, biting down painfully on her lips in an attempt to keep in the tears.
"It stinks," Dan said. "Like the time Nellie ran over a skunk in the Madrigalator."
Ian and Natalie eyed each other in bewilderment. Both wealthy siblings opened their mouths to ask the inevitable question.
"He named our car," Amy explained, then went back to looking like she wanted to cry.
"It must feel terrible," said Natalie.
"As Dan said over the telephone, we would know," added Ian. "To be honest, there isn't much I can think of that I believe would be of help." He paused. "However, a friend of ours did tell us something once that helped us." He smiled slightly, thinking back at the letter. "We are here for you, and we care."
Natalie nodded her head. "We are."
Amy blinked once, twice, in surprise. Those were her words, from her letter. Again, her green eyes flooded- only, this time, there was a bit of happiness mixed in with the hurt.
It was kind. It was kinder than expected. It was a whole new level of kind where the Kabras were concerned. And Amy found herself flinging her arms around their necks. Natalie, taken aback, was at least relieved that she smelled as if she had taken a bath recently (now, her ninja-obsessed brother, she wasn't so sure about), while Ian reddened a bit and wondered why a few simple words could make someone so happy.
Dan thought about pretending to gag, then decided that it would pass more quickly if he just didn't say anything.
Amy pulled away, now a bit embarrassed at her spontaneous action. "Um, thanks," she said. "That was really nice of you."
"It was the least we could do," Natalie shrugged. "We're really just plagiarizing."
"And anyway," said Ian, "Dan said the two of you only overheard part of the conversation. Perhaps you missed something important. I didn't know Arthur Trent well, but I know he couldn't have been evil enough to be a Vesper."
Amy blinked away the last remaining tears from her eyes and asked, "Do you think we should ask Uncle Fiske about it?"
"He'd know we've been eavesdropping," said Dan.
"But I want to know," Amy said, "Don't you?"
"Well, yeah," he admitted.
"We will even come with you," said Ian, and Natalie nodded.
So it was that minutes later, the four children were in Fiske Cahill's study, listening to his explanation.
"So you see," Fiske concluded, "Arthur was working for the Vespers, but when he met Hope, he changed. He turned his back on the Vespers forever and instead devoted the rest of his life to helping the Madrigals."
Dan bobbed his head, a wave of relief sweeping over him in a rush. He turned to look at his sister.
Amy, see? his look said. Dad wasn't evil! He was still one of the good guys!
Thank goodness, her face replied.
And his said, I know, right?
"Glad to know," said Natalie.
"I knew he couldn't be evil," Ian said.
Amy couldn't wipe the stupid smile off her face for the life of her; she was so positively giddy to have the darkest of her suspicions erased. She turned to the Kabras.
"Thanks again for coming all this way just to see us. That really means a lot."
"Think nothing of it," replied Ian.
"It isn't a big deal," Natalie said.
Ian went on, "After all, we were only responding to a very nice letter we received."
Then, Dan piped up. "Okay, everything's good again! Now, who wants pizza?"
