I went home. There wasn't much else I could do. Mom joined me a few minutes later, sitting at the table with me over a cup of coffee. For a brief moment I wondered where Shenka was, knew I should fill her in on everything, but I was too heartsick and tired to do much more than talk with my mother.

"What are we going to do about Quaid?" I really didn't want to have this discussion but it was important.

Mom shrugged, a bit of her ...