Chapter 16

“Where are we going?” Eitan asked. He was laying in the back of a BMW sedan, wrapped in a blanket. He was listless and weak. His past week had been a plague of low-grade fevers and bouts of diarrhea. Just getting himself to the bathroom was enough to exhaust him for hours.

“We’re going to my parents’ estate,” an unfamiliar voice said.

“Oh,” Eitan said, as if that answered the entirety of his question. He took a minute to realize he had no clue who this person was. “Who are you?”

“Danielle Hawthorne,” she said.

“ ... of the New Hampshire Hawthorne’s,” Eitan added before she could continue. “Leslie’s younger sister?”

The question launched a recitation of the Hawthorne family. While Eitan had met Leslie on several occasions, he had never had the chance to really learn much about her. Akemi’s love life was private, and she kept it that way from Eitan; however, she forgot to inform Danielle, who could not stop herself.

Eitan was intrigued, forcing himself to stay awake. Did he know that Danielle’s and Leslie’s oldest sister, Beatrice, was Akemi’s partner in her consultant agency? He did in an off-hand manner. Did he know that Bea was a graduate of Harvard Law just like her parents, and was pulling in partner-level fees already? No, he did not, none of it. Nor did he know that the Hawthorne family owned significant land rights across swathes of Manhattan. Their ancestors had fought in the Revolutionary War and settled in New York City afterwards, but they were not related in any manner to the author Hawthorne.

By the time Danielle took a breath, Eitan was glimpsing signs for Springfield, MA. He was not sitting up as Danielle had advised him to stay below the windows. He did bunch up the blanket and stuff it under his head to use as a pillow. He asked another question and Danielle was off again, telling him all about her first year at Brown. Did he know that Hawthorne’s had attended Brown University for over 150 years and that one of the residence halls was named after them?

They were deep inside New Hampshire when Danielle finally ran out of words. Eitan was not sure he had heard everything she had said, drifting in and out of a light sleep. She was pleasant, friendly, and possibly flirty. Eitan was lacking energy to work up that much interest.

Danielle took a turn off and the car slowed down. The paved road ended abruptly, as the car dipped onto a gravel one. Sitting up with curiosity, Eitan watched the road bend and ease into a forest of trees. A hundred yards inside the forest, a large metal gate crossed the road. With the trees so close, a vehicle could not turn around. Danielle tapped her cell phone and the gate crept open slowly.

They drove through. The road made a sharp turn again and the forest stopped, replaced by hills of manicured lawns and outcroppings of stone. On the highest hill was a large house with several outbuildings. Danielle pulled up to the side of the house, turning off the engine.

“We’re here,” she said, looking in the rearview mirror with a smile.

“Great,” Eitan said. “I never asked, what are we doing here?”

Danielle stopped smiling. “Manhattan is not safe right now for anyone suspected to have used nano. My sisters and Akemi asked me to get you out because you cannot go to a doctor or a hospital there.”

“I need a doctor, I think,” Eitan said, as she opened his door. He dragged himself out, still wrapped in the blanket. The breezeway overhead kept the sun out of his eyes. He let her escort him to the side door, stepping into the large, eat-in kitchen. She led him through the room to a family room, where a long, thick-cushioned couch sat empty. He collapsed and promptly fell asleep.

Someone was shaking his shoulder. Eitan opened his eyes, which slowly came into focus. He jerked back in surprise and sat up. “Dr. H?”

“Good evening, Eitan,” Dr. H said. “You’ve been busy and got yourself in a bit of a medical muddle.”

“Eh?”

“You don’t remember the visiting nurse who took your blood yesterday?” he asked.

Eitan shrugged. “I vaguely remember someone poking me, but I slept through most of it.”

“I can imagine,” Dr. Hobart said. “We are going to load you up on iron pills and some fairly curious metals like manganese, nickel, copper, and zinc. I think we are going to treat you as if you are pregnant with triplets. The intake may be a little hard on the stomach, but the pills are probably more agreeable than swallowing large quantities of beef liver.”

“Thanks, but how...”

“We’ll talk later, Eitan. I had a long conversation with your brother this week, who caught me up on you and your journeys. Take your pills, eat something, and I’m sure you will feel much better by morning.”

The pills sucked. The food was good, and the bed was divine, especially after a week on Akemi’s couch. Eitan awoke midmorning to a partly cloudy day. Walking downstairs, he found Danielle in the kitchen reading a paper copy of the New York Times with a copy of the Wall Street Journal resting on the corner of the table.

“Wow, your parents must be rich to have a paper copy of the Times and the Journal,” he said.

“Sarcasm so early in the day,” Danielle said with a remove he had not witnessed yesterday. “Someone must be feeling a bit better.”

Eitan ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, I do. What do you have for breakfast?”

“You have a tray of pills, followed by a feast of eggs, bacon, bangers, and anchovies.”

Eitan chuckled. “You forgot the cream sauce to pour over it.”

“Keep it up Yalie-boy, and I’ll shove this banana up your ass instead of down your throat,” Danielle said, handing him the unpeeled fruit. “You need potassium too.”

She pulled a large plate from the oven with a mitt and placed it before him. By the sink, she grabbed a glass of water and, as she promised, a small tray of pills.