Escape Velocity

Chapter Fifteen

I wasn't sure Gramp knew. Maybe it was a piece of family history that had become jumbled, mixing reality and illusion. I could ask him, but I wasn't ready to reveal my mission to locate his sister. I didn't feel ready to do anything.

The diary was too much with everything else. Ben. Duncan. Kate. Parallax. Extraterrestrial life. And now my great-grandmother, the da Vinci smuggler. I missed my old life. Especially the days when it was Gramp in the bubble with me and everything else floated by without touching us.

I should tell him about the smuggling.

No. It was a tiny piece of the story. I should wait until I knew more.

I could tell him about walking on water.

Or about the nanobes.

I could tell him I was developing my amphibious idea for FetchBot.

Or not.

"Hi, Gram. How are you?"

"Hi, sweetie. I'm glad you called. We miss you, Gramp and I do."

"How's Gramp?"

"Oh, honey. He's had a bit of a setback. He got lost yesterday. When we found him, he'd fallen and broken his arm. He's okay but in a bit of pain. At least it was his right arm. I didn't call because I was afraid you'd worry."

Lost. A broken arm. It was hard to picture Gramp with a cast. Then again, it had been hard to see him in a hospital bed. He'd always seemed larger than life to me, my personal superhero. But superheroes don't wear casts and don't have dementia.

"Can I talk to him?"

"Yes, but give him some time to orient himself."

What on earth did that mean?

There was a pause and then Gramp's voice. "Hello?"

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"Isabella? Is that you? When are you coming to visit Nate?"

"No, Gramp. It's me, Savanna. Mom's in Antarctica. Remember?"

"Who? Speak up. I'm having trouble hearing you."

"I'm Savanna. Your granddaughter." I reached for anything to make his synapses fire. "You know, Circus Peanuts. Your favorite grandchild. Inventor of FetchBot."

It's me, Gramp. Me. Please remember.

"Oh, hey, kiddo. Guess Gram told you. I'm a little banged up. I was a bit light-headed is all. And missed a step. I'm lucky it wasn't worse. Enough about me. How's Parallax?"

"I don't know, not what I expected. I'm confused." But Parallax was the least of my worries. I was stuck in Green Bank and every day Gramp was worse. Moments devoted to Parallax were moments stolen from Gramp and the diary. I had to find his sister before he faded away and didn't come back to me. I had to focus, get myself under control. I was losing him.

"You know the solution to that, don't you? You must remember my patented Steve's Sure-Fire Semi-Secret Stratagem." His laugh sounded normal, from the before-times.

"Of course I remember it, but I haven't used it in forever."

"Well, it seems now is the right time."

"I miss you, Gramp."

"Miss you too, kiddo. Now go make that list. Call me in a few days and tell me how it went."

I always felt better all those times I'd made lists with Gramp. This time, I could make a list and imagine Gramp guiding me, helping sort things out. He wouldn't seem so far away.