"I can have the ritual ready by... let's say Monday evening, if I get my family to help set it up. So you'll miss one day of school, if you don't want to trust the Capris to back off merely because I told them to, and I think you would be very reasonable not to trust them on that."

"Yay, three day weekend."

She cracks a smile. "Your very own snow day."

"I guess I could tell them I have crippling morning sickness if I'm going to be pregnant long enough for that to be unavoidably public anyway but it sounds like I won't be because. Egg. Is the egg going to need like, heat lamps, do I have to sit on it -"

"I will learn everything you need to know about egg care before it becomes a problem," Ishtar promises.

"Thank you. I will say I think I have a stomach bug and then this can be retroactively explained if I'm ever showing, at school, or if the Capris tell everyone, or whatever."

"Good plan," she says approvingly.

She writes "tell school I have a stomach bug" in her planner for Monday morning. Sighs. "And I guess I should call my parents, like, kind of now?"

"Go right ahead. Would you rather I step out to give you some privacy, or stay in case you need to ask or tell me something?"

"They'll probably wanna talk to you if we're going with the 'you gave me a job' story."

"Reasonable of them. I think it'll be fine to tell them that we don't have all the details worked out yet, since in fact we don't, but that I plan to pay you reasonable amounts for whatever household chores or other miscellaneous tasks I can come up with because I'm sympathetic to your situation, which as it happens is also true."

Nod nod. "Uh, do you have a phone, my parents cancelled my plan when they found out I was pregnant."

"...you can use the landline for now and I'll see if I can get you on my family's plan by Monday." She indicates a wireless phone sitting in its cradle on a side table. "Do you still have the phone itself with you or do you need a new one?"

"It's in my bag. It'll still play most of the games and take photos without cell access."

"Well, that simplifies things a little. Anyway, for now the house phone will do."

So Rebecca goes and dials her house. It rings a few times and then someone picks up.

"Hey John, it's -"

"No, I'm - okay - ish -"

"Yeah. Or Dad, whichever."

"Hi Mom."

"I'm at a classmate's house? Rosy Blake? No she's not a stranger we had science together the other year. Um, Mrs. Blake heard about stuff, and like, I want to be working on being more independent, because of -"

"No, Dad."

"No! It's my baby and I don't want Nicky or his creepy parents to have it!"

"Anyway I think they might be lying and want to make me have an abortion! They could slip a pill in my food or something if I lived with them."

"I know that's not what they said, would you have gone along with the idea if they said?"

"Anyway -"

"ANYWAY, Dad, Mrs. Blake gave me, like, a job, and I'm going to stay with her and work and do school and try to get ready to be a mom and get some space to figure out what that is going to look like since it is not going to look like playing house with Nicky damn Capri!"

"Yes you can she's right here."

She hands the phone to Mrs. Blake.

"Hello," says Mrs. Blake.

"Mrs. Blake, I presume?" says Rebecca's dad. "William Arden. I don't think we've met."

"That's me," she agrees. "Ishtar Blake. I don't believe we have. Did you have questions for me?"

"You gave Rebecca a... job?"

"Well, of course. She knocked on my door saying she was pregnant and didn't know where to go to keep her baby safe. I have a lot of sympathy for that situation; wouldn't anyone? So I'll come up with household chores I can pay her for while she gets her feet under her, because I like to live in a world where people do that sort of thing, when someone in need of help turns up on their doorstep."

"She isn't unsafe at home."

"I've heard there are some questions about what exactly the Capris might want with her. I haven't spoken to them yet myself, but I admit it wouldn't surprise me very much to learn Rebecca was right to be concerned about them."

"They came over to discuss things with us, and -" There is a weird gap, which he doesn't seem to notice when he proceeds. "- the plan, which Rebecca agreed to, was that she'd go stay with them for a while."

Yeah, that's what she thought.

"If I'd been in a similar situation with my firstborn when I was halfway through college, I could easily imagine myself agreeing in the moment to whatever it seemed like the father's family wanted, if they were being aggressive about it, and only taking the time to think for myself after they'd gone home. If Rebecca doesn't feel safe with the Capris now, then my home is open to her now and for as long as she feels like she needs it. And we'll see what the Capris have to say when I go talk to them."