Part 25 (2/2)
Cube pondered briefly, not finding this as straightforward as she had hoped. This was not a man to put in his place, but a friend to enlist, and he might not appreciate what she meant to ask of him.
”Your son was smarter than I, and decent, like you.”
”And homely, like me.”
”Does he have a current relations.h.i.+p?”
”A girlfriend? No, he has never been interested.”
Cube felt alarm. ”He is not interested in women?”
Filip smiled. ”It is not that, Sil. His heart is already taken.”
d.a.m.n! ”Who?”
”I think you know. But of course he knows it is futile.”
Ah. ”Not necessarily.”
”I do not follow.”
”Would he be amenable to a relations.h.i.+p with me other than as an employee?”
The man frowned. ”Please, Sil, do not toy with my son. He has a life to make.”
Cube wrestled with phrasing. ”I think I am asking your permission to date your son.”
”But you are engaged to marry Yorick!”
”Not anymore, I think.”
”What happened?”
”I broke his nose.”
He looked amazed. ”How--?”
”With this.” She brought out the plastic L.
He whistled. ”That would do it! But why?”
”He would have broken more than my nose, in time, and my heart. The man's a cad.”
”No argument! But I never thought you would take such action.”
”Things have changed. I also put Aunt Susan in her place, and will fire Accountant James.”
Filip shook his head with amazement. ”I am not saying they do not deserve it, Sil. But I have a problem, no offense intended, in understanding how you could have done it.”
”This is why I need a friend. I have a secret, and I need help.”
”Anything, Sil.”
”I hope this will not change your mind. You must keep the secret even if you do not approve.”
”I will.”
Cube told him of the exchange, and what she hoped to accomplish.
”That explains an enormous amount,” Filip said. ”I do not think Silhouette ever could have done the things you did. She was never emotionally strong.”
”Yes. She lacks gumption, which happens to be a quality I have too much of. It was a struggle for her to get up the nerve to overdose on pills, and she didn't take quite enough.”
”But you say you will exchange back at midnight. Then she will have the same problem.”
”Yes. So she will need support. Someone who can be by her side without question, and who will not allow her to be bullied by others. Who will always love and respect her. As I remember--as Silhouette remembers--Phil is a strong man, and not given to timidity when his values are threatened.”
”That is true. Except in the case of the woman. He would never have the nerve to approach Silhouette. She is not merely beautiful, she is rich. And his father's employer.”
”That is why you must make him do it. Have him dress well, and come to the mansion. I will tell her to welcome him. I cannot speak for her follow-through, as she has had deplorable taste in men, but I know she always liked and respected him, and will be glad to have his strong support. Maybe it won't be a romance, but it can look like one, so that others will not question his presence. And if she does the sensible thing, and marries him, you will be her father-in-law, and she will listen to you. I know you will guide her well.”
”This is almost more than I can imagine. It is so great a chance, so fast. But I will try. She is a nice girl, if she could just achieve stability.”
”She can achieve it if she has by her side a man who will bristle if anyone, especially her aunt, tries to belittle or take advantage of her. If she knows he will always be there.”
Filip nodded. ”I think you are correct.”
”I have a twenty-four-hour time limit,” Cube said. ”That's why I have to be brutally fast. I hope that this will not only save Silhouette from suicide, it will also straighten out the thread I follow and enable me to continue my Quest.”
”You have been most forthright in that effort.”
”It's gumption,” she agreed. ”Sometimes I annoy people. But I think what I am doing here is right. I hope it is.”
”You are beautiful.”
”Oh, no, I am worse than plain. It was been wonderful visiting this beautiful body.” She stood, ready to return to the house.
Filip stood too, and approached her. ”You are beautiful,” he repeated, and kissed her. This time she understood what he meant, and appreciated it.
Cube returned to the mansion. She checked the living room and saw that the messed-up couch had been straightened, and the bloodstains were gone. Aunt Susan must have wondered about that! But perhaps she would also get the message: things had changed.
She spent the rest of the day absorbing Mundania. It was true that there was very little magic, but there were some interesting things, like a Mall stocked with all manner of wonders, any of which she could have by flas.h.i.+ng her magic Credit Card. There were monstrous metal birds called airplanes that would take a person far beyond the boundaries of Xanth. And there was a box whose front flashed pictures ranging from things to buy, to couples endlessly summoning the stork. Overall, Mundania was fascinating to visit, but she wouldn't want to live here.
When evening came she retired for the night to her elaborate bedroom. But she didn't sleep. She donned conservative clothing, including a pair of the useful jeans, and left the house. She drove her car back to the hospital annex, and discovered that the room was now occupied by another patient. She hadn't thought of that; how was she to intersect Silhouette and change back?
She decided that boldness was best. She breezed by the desk clerk and went directly to the room. She entered, and found an old woman there. ”h.e.l.lo, Grandma,” she said. ”How are you doing?”
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