Square. While he was still unprepared to face her since their argument, he knew he couldn't avoid her for much longer, and he certainly didn't want to stay away from the Square.
It was empty when they arrived except for a blanket laid out with some yarn and tools. "Where's everybody else?"
"They're not coming today. Sit down and hold this skein out for me."
Charlinder held a skein of yarn open while Miriam wound it into a ball around the end of a polished stick of wood.
"Listen, I'm sorry about screaming at you the other night," she said.
"Does that mean you've changed your mind?"
She didn't answer his question. "It isn't that I don't believe in you, I'm just worried about you."
"Well, I...understand your worry, but I'm still going."
"When are you leaving?"
"January."
"Good, you should take your time."
"So you're okay with me doing this?"
"I'm glad you're not rushing into it."
"Why? Are you planning to talk me out of it?"
He should have known better than to be combative with Miriam. "I might not need to. You're giving yourself time to think it over."
"I have thought it over. It's too late to change my mind."
"No, it isn't, Char! Why is this trip so important to you? Why do you need to find out how the Plague started?"
"You've seen how the Faithful have been getting this year, so surely you don't need to ask me that. It all hinges on what caused the Plague. That's their ammunition."
"Darling, I want to shut them up just as much as you do, but your life is more important than that, and if you go on with this--"
"I don't think you do," Charlinder interrupted.
"What?"
"I don't think you want to shut them up as much as I do. They're just obnoxious now, but if they keep on like this, they'll be dangerous in the future. Maybe not this year, maybe not even this century, but they will become much more powerful than anyone who disagrees with them, and that power will do damage."
"I see you've been reading up on history, but even if the Faithful are really that dangerous, let me ask you this: what good will your travels do if you don't make it back here alive?"
"So I'll just have to make sure I do make it back alive."
"That's what I thought you'd say. And if that's what you're saying, then you need some new socks, because you won't make it to Italy if your feet freeze off in the middle of Canada."
Charlinder didn't quite understand why she was saying this. "Yeah, I'll need a lot of things..."
"So I'll measure your ankle and start up a new pair for you just as soon as we finish balling this up."
"Oh. Thanks."
"I don't want to hold you back," she continued. "I just want you to know..."
"You're worried about me."
"It's not too late to change your mind," she finished. "You don't need to be ashamed if you do."
That was not exactly the acceptance he'd been hoping to find, but for the time being it would suffice. As the months went on, he found that preparing for traveling the world was nothing like he expected, or rather, that preparing his neighbors for his traveling the world was nothing like he'd imagined. He had envisioned himself having to explain his reasoning to at least one person at least once a day, every day, for the next seven months. What actually happened was that no one tried to stop him. When he wasn't either teaching or sleeping, he gardened, prepared food and wove cloth much more than he had ever done before, and no one raised any objection to him keeping more of the product for himself than usual. Even more unexpected was who showed their support for him. He had predicted a hostile reaction from the Faithful and warm encouragement from his friends. In fact his friends were unimpressed. After a few weeks of this, Charlinder was not surprised. They were just as nonchalant in their response to the Faithful's proselytizing. They were no less friendly to him than before, in fact Phoebe and Meredith soon began making
It was empty when they arrived except for a blanket laid out with some yarn and tools. "Where's everybody else?"
"They're not coming today. Sit down and hold this skein out for me."
Charlinder held a skein of yarn open while Miriam wound it into a ball around the end of a polished stick of wood.
"Listen, I'm sorry about screaming at you the other night," she said.
"Does that mean you've changed your mind?"
She didn't answer his question. "It isn't that I don't believe in you, I'm just worried about you."
"Well, I...understand your worry, but I'm still going."
"When are you leaving?"
"January."
"Good, you should take your time."
"So you're okay with me doing this?"
"I'm glad you're not rushing into it."
"Why? Are you planning to talk me out of it?"
He should have known better than to be combative with Miriam. "I might not need to. You're giving yourself time to think it over."
"I have thought it over. It's too late to change my mind."
"No, it isn't, Char! Why is this trip so important to you? Why do you need to find out how the Plague started?"
"You've seen how the Faithful have been getting this year, so surely you don't need to ask me that. It all hinges on what caused the Plague. That's their ammunition."
"Darling, I want to shut them up just as much as you do, but your life is more important than that, and if you go on with this--"
"I don't think you do," Charlinder interrupted.
"What?"
"I don't think you want to shut them up as much as I do. They're just obnoxious now, but if they keep on like this, they'll be dangerous in the future. Maybe not this year, maybe not even this century, but they will become much more powerful than anyone who disagrees with them, and that power will do damage."
"I see you've been reading up on history, but even if the Faithful are really that dangerous, let me ask you this: what good will your travels do if you don't make it back here alive?"
"So I'll just have to make sure I do make it back alive."
"That's what I thought you'd say. And if that's what you're saying, then you need some new socks, because you won't make it to Italy if your feet freeze off in the middle of Canada."
Charlinder didn't quite understand why she was saying this. "Yeah, I'll need a lot of things..."
"So I'll measure your ankle and start up a new pair for you just as soon as we finish balling this up."
"Oh. Thanks."
"I don't want to hold you back," she continued. "I just want you to know..."
"You're worried about me."
"It's not too late to change your mind," she finished. "You don't need to be ashamed if you do."
That was not exactly the acceptance he'd been hoping to find, but for the time being it would suffice. As the months went on, he found that preparing for traveling the world was nothing like he expected, or rather, that preparing his neighbors for his traveling the world was nothing like he'd imagined. He had envisioned himself having to explain his reasoning to at least one person at least once a day, every day, for the next seven months. What actually happened was that no one tried to stop him. When he wasn't either teaching or sleeping, he gardened, prepared food and wove cloth much more than he had ever done before, and no one raised any objection to him keeping more of the product for himself than usual. Even more unexpected was who showed their support for him. He had predicted a hostile reaction from the Faithful and warm encouragement from his friends. In fact his friends were unimpressed. After a few weeks of this, Charlinder was not surprised. They were just as nonchalant in their response to the Faithful's proselytizing. They were no less friendly to him than before, in fact Phoebe and Meredith soon began making
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