Volunteer (Selected Book 3)

by Robin Roseau

  "The restaurant pays me very little. If you are pleased with the service, then you should leave extra money for me. Typical amounts are fifteen or twenty percent of the bill."

  She glanced at the bill. "Thank you for explaining," she said. "We liked the food here and would like to return. Do you work every night?"

  "It changes each week," I said. "Are you recording this conversation?"

  "Yes, but local storage only."

  "Thank you." I told them my schedule for the rest of the week, paused a moment, then told them my new email address. "But you must not use my name if you email me, and you must write in English."

  "You are hiding from someone."

  "Are you going to betray me?"

  "No. We understand what you need."

  "You can email me. I know my schedule for one to two weeks at a time." I pulled out paper and wrote down, "A private table in Skye's section." I gave it to her. "If you give this to the hostess, she will seat you at one of my tables."

  "Thank you, Skye."

  I checked later. They tipped me twenty dollars on a thirty-dollar meal. I took it.

  * * * *

  After that, Blossom and Ladyslipper came in once every week or two. They tipped heavily. I told them they didn't have to tip so much, but they ignored me.

  This went on for a while, and then in mid-June, they asked me to sit. "Will you come to our home for dinner this Saturday? You are not working."

  "I'm sorry, no. I can't. I might like to, but I can't."

  "Will you explain?"

  "I might be seen. And... you want to ask questions, don't you?"

  They stilled, then Ladyslipper said, "Why are you hiding?"

  "Do you know whom I am hiding from?"

  "No."

  "I like you both, but I would prefer to maintain a professional relationship."

  "We understand," Blossom said. "And don't worry. We have done nothing to expose you."

  "Thank you."

  Video

  "I'm off," I said to the hostess. "Derek is seeing to my last two tables."

  "Good night, Skye?"

  "Yeah. That big table was generous."

  "Their kids were brats."

  "They weren't bad. They just needed a little something to do."

  "Yeah. Throw food on the floor."

  I laughed. "Good night, Megs."

  I turned for the front door, got two steps, and froze.

  Amaryllis, flanked by two of the Ardents, was just stepping through the door.

  "Fuck!" I said. I turned tail and ran, heading for the kitchen. But standing at the back door were two more Ardents. I grabbed a knife, ran back into the main dining room, and headed for the side exit. The alarm would sound, but I didn't care.

  I was sure Blossom and Ladyslipper had given me away.

  I nearly made it to the door, but one of the Ardents cut me off. Everyone in the restaurant was staring, their mouths open, as I came to a skidding stop. I looked up and recognized the squad leader. I held the knife up between us. His eyes dropped to it for a moment.

  "Skye," he said gently. "Give that to me."

  "I think I'm going to need it," I said.

  "Skye." I glanced at Amaryllis. She continued in Catseye. "Is that knife for me? Or perhaps for the Ardents who once rescued you?"

  I backed away, but there was another Ardent waiting at the end of the row I was in, and there wasn't anywhere to go. I waved the knife back and forth. "Leave me alone. I didn't do anything wrong. Just leave me alone."

  "Why didn't you come to me, Skye?"

  I glanced back at Amaryllis.

  "I'm not going back, Ambassador. Please just leave." I sighed. "I think you got me fired."

  "This is all very dramatic, but I'm only here to talk to you."

  "They betrayed me," I said.

  "I know it looks that way, but I have something to show you."

  "I don't mean Violet and Posey, I meant..." I trailed off. "How did you find me?"

  "Skye, I once told you. You are one of ours. We've been hoping you would come home, but you seem quite settled here. But we've always known where you were. Now please, put down the knife. Is there a quiet table?"

  "I don't have anything to say to you."

  "I have things to say to you. Now, we can do this one of two ways. You can set your knife down and listen to what I have to say. Or we can shoot you. It is unpleasant but there are no lasting effects. Either way, we are going to talk."

  "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

  "Because you are one of us, and we do not let go that easily. We are going to talk. Then, if you do not wish to come home, someone will come talk to you next month, and the next, and the next. You will talk to us until we talk sense into you. Now, are you going to give your knife to Mr. Oak, or is Ms. Elm going to shoot you in the back, and we'll talk with you in a chair at the Testing Center?"

  "Mr. Oak?" I asked. "You picked tree names?"

  "We did," he said. "Thank you for your assistance."

  I sighed and reversed the knife. He held out his hand, and I gave him the handle.

  "Thank you, Skye," said the ambassador. She switched to English and raised her voice. "Is the manager of this restaurant available?"

  "I'm the floor manager. You're. Um."

  "Alice Watkins," I said. "This is Ambassador Amaryllis. You may have seen her on the news."

  Alice looked at me. "You said it was an African language. You lied."

  "I'm sorry about that. Am I fired?"

  "Ms. Watkins," said Amaryllis. "I am anxious for a conversation with Ms. Andrews. We apologize for the manner of our arrival. We would like to pay for the meals of your patrons we have so rudely disturbed. This should suffice." And she produced an envelope and held it towards Alice. She stepped forward and took the envelope gingerly. "Please divide the remainder amongst the staff," Amaryllis said. "Now, may we sit, or would you rather we took our conversation elsewhere."

  "I'm not going with you, Ambassador. It's here or nowhere."

  She switched back to Catseye. "You do not make the terms, Ms. Andrews. Ms. Elm will shoot you if you give me any trouble at all. You have had your temper tantrum, and now I am here to put an end to it."

  "Fine," I said in English. "May we use 17, Alice?"

  "Um. Yes. Should I send someone over?"

  "A pitcher of water and two glasses of lemonade," I said. "The Ambassador isn't staying for more than that. This way, Ambassador."

  We got settled across from each other. We stared at each other until the water and lemonade arrived. I sipped from mine then looked up into her eyes.

  "Temper tantrum? That's what you're calling it? That's some amazing diplomacy, Ambassador. I'm sure you would have been far more mature after what they've done." I shook my head. "I don't know what you hope to achieve."

  "I have something to show you. You will allow me to do so. Then, if you ask me to leave, I will leave. But I will be back, or someone else will."

  "Why are you doing this?"

  "You'll understand once you have seen what I have to show you."

  "Fine."

  She reached into an inner pocket and produced a visor, setting it on the table between us.

  "I am not putting that on."

  "I have a video to show you," she said.

  "Then use a tablet."

  She nudged the visor at me.

  "I told you, I am not putting that on!"

  "Are you forgetting Ms. Elm and her unpleasant little gun?"

  I leaned back in my chair, my heart pounding. "I've had enough of these games, Ambassador."

  "I imagine you have, and I don't blame you. Really, could you have burned your bridges any more completely?"

  "I had a lot of help," I said. "From everyone I thought I could trust."

  "I did not help you burn those bridges. Are you telling me you didn't think you could trust me?"

  "If you knew where I was, you could have stepped in at any time. Why did you wait six months?" />
  "So that this would be ready." She nudged the visor towards me. "Six months is not so long."

  "You know I don't trust those things. You can do anything to me once I put that on."

  "I can do anything to you right now, Ms. Andrews. I don't need the visor for that. But I have no intention of doing anything you fear. The video is lengthy, just over an hour. You will watch it. We will talk. I will leave. Perhaps you will come with me. Perhaps you won't."

  I picked up the visor. "What's on it?"

  "A story," she said. "It is narrated by Jasmine Brighteyes."

  "You came here to make me watch a story."

  "And talk. Skye, I am here as a diplomat. Please let me do my job."

  I sighed and put the visor on.

  * * * *

  This is Skye Andrews.

  Images of me came on the screen, a number of images. Me at Sunset. Me in high school. Me when I was a teenager.

  Ms. Andrews is human, of course. She first came to my notice when her mother came to work at the center.

  There were images of Mom at work, and then Jasmine explained about Audra and her cure. Then she talked about both of us growing up, and the kinds of students we were.

  But I didn't really pay attention to her until Dr. Moirai suggested I invite her for a conversation. During this conversation, she volunteered to become a mating candidate. Her reasons were immature, but passionate.

  She played most of the conversation. Watching it I remembered how young and stupid I had been.

  I did not think she was a good fit at this time, but I was impressed by everything I knew about her, so I elected to have her Tested, but I kept the results to myself. The results were overwhelmingly in favor of Collecting her.

  "That bitch," I muttered. "She told me I was borderline."

  If Amaryllis responded, I didn't hear her.

  I decided she required maturity, and so I arranged for her to attend college. There, she surprised me again. I did not know Bluebell Beamer was teaching a class in Catseye. The two met and formed a remarkable bond in short time.

  The video showed an image of Bluebell. And then she let much of my story tell itself. It showed me working to learn Catseye. It showed my first arrival at the Beamer home, and how I had accepted hugs. Then Bluebell spoke.

  Skye surprised all of us. She was remarkable. By the end of the evening, she had fully charmed my entire family. In our hearts, we adopted her.

  Then there was more video of my time with them, with all of them. I started to cry.

  "Pause it," I said. "Please, Amaryllis, pause it!"

  The visor went dark, and I pulled it from my eyes. Then I grabbed napkins and covered my face, crying quietly. Amaryllis let me cry, saying nothing. Finally I dried my tears.

  "Please go."

  "You will watch the entire video, Ms. Andrews. I insist."

  "Fine." I put the visor back on. The video backed up a few seconds then continued. I watched my life with them unfold. I watched the things we did together, brief images. And then Bluebell spoke again.

  Skye charmed all of us, especially our daughters, Violet and Posey. They both wanted her, but Posey yielded to her older sister with the only criteria that she be kept as close as Violet could allow.

  Then the video showed my time with Violet, and occasionally with both of them. It showed our dates and our vacations. It showed scenes from our slumber parties. It showed tickles and hugs and kisses. It showed me tenderly taking Violet's tentacle and slipping it into my mouth, and later, Posey's or Bluebell's or Azalea's. It showed the times I told her I loved her, and the times she told me.

  It showed us when we were happy. I sobbed at a few of the moments, but I held it together. Barely.

  We gave her everything we could, just like we would a natural daughter. We gave her a life most humans could only dream about. But she never took us for granted, and she was always exceedingly thankful.

  The video showed some of the luxuries they'd given me, the trips, the presents. And it showed me thanking them, over and over and over.

  She didn't ask for these things. She didn't ask for anything. Instead, she offered herself. She offered herself completely.

  But then things changed. We betrayed her.

  Video of me in the jail cell.

  We manipulated her and her sister, and then we did to her something she asked us to never do again. We did it, and we didn't apologize, and we didn't explain.

  "Pause it," I said, my tone firm. The video paused, and I could see Amaryllis watching me. I drank from my glass and looked at her. I wasn't on the edge of tears anymore. Instead, I was angrier than ever. "Was everything before part of a big game?" I asked.

  "No, Skye. None of it was, until last winter. Not one bit."

  "That was a game."

  "Yes, that was a game, one Jasmine Brighteyes didn't warn me about. I would have told her to find another way. I think she made a grave mistake, but she had a good reason. I don't think you're mature enough to accept what has happened."

  "Mature enough?" I said, my voice rising. "Seriously? I'm not the one who decided to play these games."

  "Finish watching," she said. "And then we'll see if I am wrong."

  "You won't manipulate me that easily."

  "Watch the rest."

  The screen darkened, and then the video continued.

  Then it was Jasmine speaking again.

  She grew angry. I knew she would. I expected her to. I also knew how angry. I don't believe Violet and Posey expected it.

  The video went back to me in the cell, to me screaming about betrayal, to me trying to break the visor to get it from my face. It showed me refusing to talk, to participate in the remaining challenges. It showed me screaming at Violet to get her hands off me.

  Dr. Beamer thought Skye would calm down. Dr. Beamer thought she could smooth things over. I convinced her to block Ms. Andrews' attempts to finish college. The only choice I gave her was to come meekly home. This was her response.

  It showed me walking out the door. Then it shifted to a map, showing my path across the country.

  We took her trust, and then we took everything else from her. But she could have had all that back. If she stayed with us for the things we could give her, she could have had everything back.

  Video of the trip to Figi. Video of Posey, Violet, and me going shopping.

  But we broke her faith in us. We betrayed her. And she would rather live here.

  And there was video of me, homeless, huddled in a bus stop. I thought it was Chicago, but I wasn't sure. I wondered how they got it.

  But she is clever, and she landed on her feet, if somewhat less affluently than she has ever lived.

  There was video of me when I lived with Dee, then me as a waitress, and me in my apartment.

  Then the video switched to Jasmine as if she were standing to give a lecture.

  This is how a human reacts when you steal their trust. This is how a human reacts when you abuse them.

  Then there was video of Posey, Violet, and I laughing, their arms and tentacles around me.

  This is how a human reacts when you treat them the same way any of us wish to be treated.

  Then the video faded, and I could see Amaryllis again.

  * * * *

  "I have more to show you, but I want to explain."

  "I was some sort of experiment."

  "You were a demonstration," Amaryllis said. "Jasmine produced what you have seen. Then she arrived at a meeting of..." She broke off. "Hmm. Call it the ruling council for the ETs living in or near human space. Jasmine and I are members."

  I nodded understanding.

  "With it she carried her resignation and that of virtually every Catseye operating in human space. If the council did not watch the video, they would all resign."

  "Why would they do that?"

  "Because they do not like how the federation makes some choices regarding humanity, and they demand we at least discuss changes."

  "Wh
y would this video matter?"

  "She paused it and asked people to predict your actions. They all thought you'd crawl back, as you said, with your tail between your legs. They all thought you could be bought."

  "Some humans can."

  "Yes, but not all," she replied.

  "Did it work? Are things changing?"

  "No, but conversations have begun. Change will happen. It may be slow at times. But it will happen."

  "I see. Fine. I've watched your video. I appreciate understanding why the people who said they loved me decided to betray me."

  "They didn't betray you."

  "Yes, they did. They put me in the position of crawling back just to hold my life together. What do you think I would have felt about myself after that? What kind of person would I have become? I would have been someone who could be abused and bought back to take more abuse. For what? Trips? Fuck that."

  "Skye. You once asked me what you could do to help."

  "Do not throw that back at me."

  "I need you."

  "Poppycock." I had to say that in English, but otherwise it had amused me to watch her struggle to speak Catseye.

  "I need you."

  "You said if I watched your video, you would leave. Please leave so I can see if I still have a job."

  She looked around. "You couldn't have done better?"

  "Waitressing is honest work, far more honest than running a Testing Center or being a politician."

  "It is easy to make statements like that when you refuse to recognize the world does not only come in black and white."

  "Please leave. You said you would leave. Take this thing with you." I tried to disable the visor, but it didn't respond.

  "There is another minute or two. You will watch it." She didn't pause, but the screen dimmed, and when it came live, I was looking at Violet

  She was kneeling on the floor, bent over, her tentacles splayed, and she was making the most horrendous sound. A word appeared. Grief. The video made me watch that for a while, and then it shifted to Posey. But then I saw Bluebell and Azalea. They were holding each other, making the same sounds.

  The screen dimmed for a moment, and then it was Violet. She spoke English.

  I don't even know how to apologize, Skye. Please come back to me.