Part 9 (1/2)
”I have a paper for you on that matter,” he said. ”Whalesong, on Earth.”
”Whalesong,” she said. The whim of a nostalgic preservationist: the oceans of Eversnow. ”They sing.”
”I think you'll find it interesting.”
A bite of fish.
”You give me my city, Yanni, and I'll give you your planet.”
”Precocious child.”
”On a completely different topicI've almost made up my mind this week. I'm pretty sure we're going to clone Denys.”
”Are we? Now? Or some time in the next seven years?”
She frowned. That was a question. A big one: how close will we try to stick to program? ”Giraud is the one we're going to trusta little. Without his brother Denys to protecthow do we make a Giraud? So we clone Denys, for him, so Giraud keeps on track. That's my total reasoning in deciding. I was all set to tell you that this evening, when you dropped this Eversnow business in my lap. You said you were leaving the decision up to me. And I was thinking about it a lot while you were gone.”
”Denys has no essential value,” Yanni paraphrased her, ”except to keep Giraud on track.”
”No. That's what I changed my mind on. Denys helped create me. And if you have to create me again, you'd probably want a Denys to keep the new me in line, because Giraud is too soft.”
”You don't think I could fill that position?”
”Uncle Yanni,” she said fondly, ”you're much too easy on me. You let me get away with everything.”
”h.e.l.l. Sounds as if you're already making a lot of minor decisions, especially when I'm out of the house.”
”Except the Eversnow thing. I wouldn't call that minor.”
”It'll be your problem, young lady.”
”It'll be your problem until it's pretty well underway. You're staying in office at least two more years. Maybe more.”
”Two more years in purgatory. G.o.d G.o.d, I hate politics.”
”But please please don't fall down the stairs, Uncle Yanni. You have to be Director. My alternative right now is Justin or Jordan.” don't fall down the stairs, Uncle Yanni. You have to be Director. My alternative right now is Justin or Jordan.”
It was a joke. Yanni didn't laugh. ”Better to install Grant,” Yanni muttered.
Probably true. Justin Warrick would hate the job more than Yanni did.
Sacrifice was the situation Yanni was enduring. Never mind he was creating a planethe wanted wanted to be working with azi, which was what he really loved. to be working with azi, which was what he really loved.
”Yanni. Could you do one one thing more for me?” thing more for me?”
”What?” Yanni asked, and an eyebrow lifted. ”When you take that tone, I'm on my guard.”
She thought: Ari wanted you to bring me up. She'd agree with me. But she wasn't supposed to know that, so she said, ”Giraud's going to need a father in a few months. Would you?”
”Good G.o.d!”
”You'd be good at it.”
”Like h.e.l.l. Giraud? Good loving G.o.d. He'd turn out a serial killer. I'm not good with kids. Especially that one.”
”You're good at politics. People promise you things.”
”I'm not sure that compliments my intelligence.”
”So will you do it?”
A sigh. ”I'm already loaded down with Council work and Admin. Where do I find the hours?”
”Who else am I going to get? Dr. Edwards? Giraud's too devious for him.”
”You're serious.”
”I'm completely serious.”
”Well, it's my my appointment to make,” Yanni said. ”Unless you want to take over this week.” appointment to make,” Yanni said. ”Unless you want to take over this week.”
”No.”
”So I'll think about it.”
”Seriously?”
”Seriously.”
”So tell me about the rest of the session,” she said. ”I'm sure you were brilliant.”
”The rest.” he said, ”was absolutely, deadly dull. Well, except the bomb scare. Paxers up to their old tricks. n.o.body believed they could have gotten anything into the building, but I went back to the hotel and actually got my correspondence done.”
Dinner wended happily on to dessert, a chocolate mousse, just a little of it, with a lot less tension. She found herself happyso happy from relief that her hands shook a little; and she was fluxed. She'd just lost a planet, for G.o.d's sake, and she found herself being grateful it wasn't anything that personally threatened her. As for Yanni, he didn't look at all guilty of double-dealing: he looked very tired by then, trying to be sharp, but considering the trip home, the wine, and the rich dessert, he was probably thinking of bed and really hoping she wouldn't try any Working at the moment.
She didn't. She had all of her dessert and said she was tired herself, and yawned. That was no pretense and no Working. ”You're the one who's had the long trip,” she said, ”and look. I'm the one yawning.”
”I'm done,” he said. ”I've got a detailed report for you. I wrote down all the details. Session vids. Dull stuff.” He fished in his pocket and laid a capsule down. ”All there.”
”You're so good,” she said warmly. And meant it, this time in grat.i.tude. Even if she was relatively sure the secret meetings wouldn't be in there. She pushed back from the table and Yanni got up and moved her chair for her, gentlemanlike. ”Uncle Yanni.”
”Don't call me uncle.”
”Grump.” She'd found that word in a book recently. It fit Yanni. She put her hands on his shoulders and kissed him on the cheek. ”Good night. Go get some rest.”
He returned the kiss, casual, but it made a warm feeling. There was no other CIT who had done that, not since Maman had gone away. Uncle Denys certainly hadn't.