outside lane, fishtailed, and straightened up.
“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou …” Lennon mumbled in the backseat.
“Shut up, Lennon. We’re not Catholic.”
“I am when you’re driving. Also Baptist, Jewish, and Hindu. Anybody who’ll listen.” He turned to Yuri. “I think Hindu will do me the most good. They have thousands of gods.”
“Good thinking,” Yuri said. “Mathematical approach to religion. I like it.”
“So we have a plan,” Dovie said. “The general outline. We still have to fill in the details.”
“Plan about what?”
“While you’re saving us from the meteor …”
“Asteroid.”
“… We’re going to save you. You know, get you home.”
“Okay. Thank you.” He hooked his elbow on the back of the seat and looked back and forth between them. “How are you going to do that?”
“Those are the details,” Lennon said.
“Oh.”
“We’re going to start by taking you to the mall. You needsome new clothes,” Dovie said, taking a corner with the heel of her hand on the steering wheel. “You have any money?”
“Yeah, but what’s wrong with my clothes?”
“You’re wearing a white dress shirt,” Lennon said. “And gray dress pants. And black dress shoes.”
“Yes.”
“How old are you?”
“I’m seventeen.”
“Going on eighty. You need to blend in if we’re going to sneak you out of here.”
“That makes certain amount of sense. So we’re going with sneaking approach?”
Dovie pulled onto an access road to a mall and took the first right into the lot. The car rocked to a stop and Dovie got out, opened the trunk, and wrestled Lennon’s wheelchair out before Yuri realized what she was doing. She set it up, hooked her arms under her brother’s armpits, and heaved him up and into the chair, then clicked the wheel locks off.
“Wouldn’t van be easier?” Yuri asked.
“Duh,” Lennon said. “You know what those things cost?”
“No. No idea.”
“I work part-time at the library. So it’s a little beyond my means.”
As they went into the mall, Lennon’s tires crunched on white stones that had spilled from the landscaping around spiky desert plants. The doors hissed shut behind them, and they were blasted with air-conditioning.
The interior was nicely done, with potted plants and skylights and distinct storefronts that gave the impression of a downtown street in some Mediterranean city. People strolled by with drink cups in their hands or wandered in and out of stores. No one seemed to be in a hurry. They passed a couple of middle-aged women leaning against a wall, looking at something on a cell phone.
“You see that?” Yuri said. “If we ever have to figure out who is American spy, it will be very easy.”
“Um, what?” Lennon said.
“Look,” Yuri said, gesturing expansively. “Everybody standing near wall is touching wall. They lean, or put hand on it. It’s like you people have magnetic spines. You get within half meter of some wall and— sloooop —you touch it.” Yuri stood on one foot and then tilted toward the front of a candle store, as though caught in its pull. “You tell Russian to stand by wall, hour later he’ll still be standing by wall. Not touching it.” He shook his head. “Your spies have no chance.”
“Okay,” Lennon said. “Somebody’s in a mood today.”
“And another thing. Did you see, when we came in? We had to wait moment while people exiting used our door because it was already open. Because someone had just gone in. So they made us wait instead of just using their own door.”
Dovie shrugged. “No big deal.”
“But do you see how lazy is that? I’m not saving California so people can go out wrong door.”
“Um, we have some ideas,” Dovie said, taking Yuri’s hand andpulling him on. “We could try to get you over the Mexican border. It’s very porous, and most people don’t get shot crossing.”
“Shot?”
“You could dress like a Mexican
“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou …” Lennon mumbled in the backseat.
“Shut up, Lennon. We’re not Catholic.”
“I am when you’re driving. Also Baptist, Jewish, and Hindu. Anybody who’ll listen.” He turned to Yuri. “I think Hindu will do me the most good. They have thousands of gods.”
“Good thinking,” Yuri said. “Mathematical approach to religion. I like it.”
“So we have a plan,” Dovie said. “The general outline. We still have to fill in the details.”
“Plan about what?”
“While you’re saving us from the meteor …”
“Asteroid.”
“… We’re going to save you. You know, get you home.”
“Okay. Thank you.” He hooked his elbow on the back of the seat and looked back and forth between them. “How are you going to do that?”
“Those are the details,” Lennon said.
“Oh.”
“We’re going to start by taking you to the mall. You needsome new clothes,” Dovie said, taking a corner with the heel of her hand on the steering wheel. “You have any money?”
“Yeah, but what’s wrong with my clothes?”
“You’re wearing a white dress shirt,” Lennon said. “And gray dress pants. And black dress shoes.”
“Yes.”
“How old are you?”
“I’m seventeen.”
“Going on eighty. You need to blend in if we’re going to sneak you out of here.”
“That makes certain amount of sense. So we’re going with sneaking approach?”
Dovie pulled onto an access road to a mall and took the first right into the lot. The car rocked to a stop and Dovie got out, opened the trunk, and wrestled Lennon’s wheelchair out before Yuri realized what she was doing. She set it up, hooked her arms under her brother’s armpits, and heaved him up and into the chair, then clicked the wheel locks off.
“Wouldn’t van be easier?” Yuri asked.
“Duh,” Lennon said. “You know what those things cost?”
“No. No idea.”
“I work part-time at the library. So it’s a little beyond my means.”
As they went into the mall, Lennon’s tires crunched on white stones that had spilled from the landscaping around spiky desert plants. The doors hissed shut behind them, and they were blasted with air-conditioning.
The interior was nicely done, with potted plants and skylights and distinct storefronts that gave the impression of a downtown street in some Mediterranean city. People strolled by with drink cups in their hands or wandered in and out of stores. No one seemed to be in a hurry. They passed a couple of middle-aged women leaning against a wall, looking at something on a cell phone.
“You see that?” Yuri said. “If we ever have to figure out who is American spy, it will be very easy.”
“Um, what?” Lennon said.
“Look,” Yuri said, gesturing expansively. “Everybody standing near wall is touching wall. They lean, or put hand on it. It’s like you people have magnetic spines. You get within half meter of some wall and— sloooop —you touch it.” Yuri stood on one foot and then tilted toward the front of a candle store, as though caught in its pull. “You tell Russian to stand by wall, hour later he’ll still be standing by wall. Not touching it.” He shook his head. “Your spies have no chance.”
“Okay,” Lennon said. “Somebody’s in a mood today.”
“And another thing. Did you see, when we came in? We had to wait moment while people exiting used our door because it was already open. Because someone had just gone in. So they made us wait instead of just using their own door.”
Dovie shrugged. “No big deal.”
“But do you see how lazy is that? I’m not saving California so people can go out wrong door.”
“Um, we have some ideas,” Dovie said, taking Yuri’s hand andpulling him on. “We could try to get you over the Mexican border. It’s very porous, and most people don’t get shot crossing.”
“Shot?”
“You could dress like a Mexican
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