The Clocks

Wednesday September 07 in The Year 724 AF

Things went swimmingly with the rest of the sorting. Sara was ecstatic. Miranda was surprised by the pleasure she felt from seeing Sara so happy, and in finding that she now had ample room to move around in her office again. Her free space has been encroached upon so slowly that she hadn't noticed how cramped things were getting. Pat left that afternoon with an extraordinary feeling of accomplishment and with one additional, fabulous book Manda had given her as a "thank you."

The only question left in the minds of the rest of the family was: What the heck did the First Trip sign mean, and why were there so many books below it?

Consuela and Stavros knew that their mother would eventually tell everyone why the sign and the books were there, so puzzling at it was a waste of time. They had, of course, discussed it for a few minutes the previous night, but there was another question that that was much more important to them and also more interesting. It was that which had occupied most of their time before bed.

So the next day, now mindful of the time, they hurried down to Brewster's Books immediately after they'd finished most of their homework. They didn't know exactly what had happened after they'd been grabbed the night before, but, whatever it was, they didn't want to go through it again just so they could find out.

They trotted downhill and entered the shop, only to find O'Malley directly in front of them. O'Malley dropped to a knee and gently hugged both of them. After the initial shock of being hugged by someone who wasn't family, and who was also nearly a stranger at that, they relaxed and found themselves enjoying the sensation.

A while later O'Malley stood and looked down at them lovingly. "I don't know what we'd have done had you been injured. Fortunately, your eldest sister is more formidible than perhaps even I had imagined."

Gesturing the twins to a pair of small chairs off to the side of the entry, O'Malley sat across from them and asked, "Since you told me yesterday you have no more money to spend right now, there must be something else on your minds today."

Seeing O'Malley's attention on them, the twins were momentarily taken aback. They'd been expecting to gradually work up to what they wanted to ask. Immediately jumping to what they wanted to know temporarily flustered them, and they didn't know where to start.

"You children are getting to be too much like your mother. She's a bit too fond of plotting."

They nodded encouragingly at the children. "Sometimes the best way to proceed is to do just that, proceed."

O"Malley waved a hand. "Oh, yes, it IS sometime fun to weave a web of deception as a sort of game, but that's only sometimes."

Smiling they added, "This is not one of those times. So, get on with it. You still have a bit of homework to finish. Oh, by the way, you both made the same mistake on the eighth math problem. You'd best review and correct that when you get home."

The twins stole a glance at each other. How had O'Malley known that? Before they could follow that thought they heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. Turning back to O'Malley they saw an expectant expression mixed with a bit of "get on with it," so they did.

It was Stavros' turn this time. "Yes, well, it's like this. We don't want to be insulting or anything, but all of us who were here yesterday have talked about it now, and, well, to tell the truth, we're really confused. So, ah...."

Consuela was getting frustrated herself, so she barged ahead, "We can't figure out if you're a boy or a girl. It's like everyone sees you differently. We can't even be sure of how old you are. So, uh, if you please, could you, would you explain, maybe?"

At the end she cringed, ready to be scolded or perhaps even hit. She'd seen others' parents do that, and, even though hers had never struck her in anger, she wasn't sure how O'Malley would react.

"Well child, I suppose I could say that your fears are silly, but that would be beyond foolish. Saying that someone's ideas or expectations are silly just because you already know the answer to their question is what is truly silly.

"So, that being the case...."

O'Malley stood, closed the distance between them, and began to stroke their heads. "No, I'm not angry, nor even the tiniest bit upset. If I hadn't wanted you asking questions, I wouldn't have had each of you see me differently.

"You really shouldn't be all that surprised. You two also have more than one form."

The twins nodded, feeling that O'Malley's words were true somehow but they didn't comprehend them in full.

O'Malley added, "Indeed. As I'm a bit more, let's say 'experienced' with such things, I have more forms than you do. I just let everyone see the part of me that made the most sense to them. I guess you could say that what everyone saw was what they expected to see in a person who owned a bookstore of this kind."

Bending forward, they continued in a soft, conspiratorial voice, "If you look carefully, not with your eyes, but with your feelings, I expect that you'll find that a number of people you know have another form. I'll even give you a hint. Out of all those you know, less than a third do, but you know a lot of people.

"Let me caution you though. When you find someone with another form, don't discuss it with them. If you do, at best they'll be confused, and at worst, angry. So, instead of that, come back and tell me what you have deduced. Consider it a game if you will. As for a prize when you're right, well, let me see....

"How about books? Does that suit?"

The twins jumped up with gleeful expressions. Nodding vigorously, they bowed, let themselves out, and then raced home.

O'Malley smiled after them. Things were going to become even more interesting now. As serious as the project was, they couldn't help but rub their hands together in anticipation.

---------------------------

Unexpectedly, there were no revelations about the books at dinner that evening. Miranda only said, "Sven, Mario, if you would please assist me in rearranging the bookshelves and putting the books back tomorrow, it would be a great help."

Turning to Genie, she added, "I'd like for you and Mario to join Robert and I in the library after dinner tomorrow. We have a proposal for you.

"Paulito and Sara, you won't be directly involved, at least not at first, so you may be excused if you wish. However, should you want to join us, you will be most welcome."

Sara and Paolo turned to each other, momentarily confused. Miranda, asking them what they wanted to do instead of giving orders? Something passing strange was going on. The light went on for both of them at almost the same time.

They smiled at each other then Sara began with, "Well, since you put it that way...."

Paolo drawled, "I suppose we can find time in our overly busy schedule to spare you at least a few minutes."

Then both of them flashed Miranda a mischievous grin.

Smiling back she scratched her head, as if thinking. "Then we'll probably need another chair. If Sara has to sit on your lap, or Genie on Mario's, it might be a bit hard for everyone to concentrate on the discussion and not on what the two of you would be doing."

There were chuckles all around with the exception of Robert and the twins. The latter were confused, both by their mother's unusual behavior, and by Sara and Paolo's reply. Robert, on the other hand was, at least a little, exasperated with his spouse. She'd done it again.

She had a tendency, no, to be truthful, it was more like an ongoing habit, of making plans for the both of them and then forgetting to discuss them with him. She always apologized afterwards, sincerely as best he could tell, but it was, to say the least, irritating.

She usually expressed her contrition by being unusually affectionate.

Hmmm.... He wondered if that was part of what she'd planned. Well, whether it was or not, he certainly enjoyed her "apologies," so perhaps he'd not mention his suspicions to her, at least not until tomorrow.

-----------------

By the time Genie left for school the next morning, Miranda already had Mario and Sven busy with the moving, which didn't surprise Genie at all. Once her mother decided on a plan of action, "action" is what always happened, usually immediately. Fortunately she hadn't insisted on beginning after dinner the night before.

As she was closing the door, she looked upstairs one last time. At the rate they were going, it looked like they'd probably be finished before lunch. If that were the case, she had some plans of her own to take care of before she came home.

When she arrived home that afternoon, as expected, all the books and shelves were gone from the balcony. Not as expected was finding three of the largest shelves, packed with books, in the "office" area of her bedroom, and Mario just finishing shelving what was probably the final armload.

After a quick hug and kiss, she asked him, "What the heck?"

Mario shrugged his shoulders. "No idea at all Love. All I know is that your mother had an exceptionally smug look on her face while Sven and I maneuvered everything in here. What I can definitely say is that she's up to something, which I doubt is a surprise to you even less than it is to me."

Genie nodded. "Got that in one.

"Oh well, at least we won't have to wait long. I'm sure we'll find out within the next three hours. Speaking of which, with this 'meeting' coming up, I finished all my homework at school today. And...I don't have any papers due for at least a month."

She looked behind herself to make sure that the door was locked.

"That being the case...."

Before Mario could ask her what she was up to, she leapt forward, knocking him down on the bed.