One (One Universe)

second,” Elias says. “That biotech stuff bores me to death.”
    My stomach twists. He has no idea how lucky he is, but I’m not going to hold it against him.
    My eye sweeps along the living room walls and catches on a photo on canvas, a huge one. It’s a portrait of the three VanDyne kids hugging each other and smiling. The setting sun kisses Nora and Elias’s blond and Lia’s brunette hair with gold.
    “My brothers are too young to be that close to,” I say, nodding toward the picture. “I’m still training them to do simple things, like take showers and pick up their damn dirty socks. And be nice to girls instead of picking on them.”
    Elias laughs while chewing, puffing air out of his nose. He swallows and says, “Their wives will appreciate it one day.”
    “Guess so,” I say, reaching for a third piece of pizza.
    Elias raises his eyebrows at me. “A little thing like you can put away that much pizza?”
    I don’t like being referred to as a “little thing,” but he looks at me with admiration, so I let it slide.
    We eat in silence for another minute. Then he says, “It’s mostly the quiet, you know? They used to freak me out by teleporting into my room, and I always threw something at them. Scared the hell out of me and reminded me that I couldn’t do the same thing.”
    I grin. That’s what I do with the boys when they cruise across the water — use them as targets for pool darts. I never hit them, but sometimes I get close enough for them to catch one and bring it back, dripping water all over me. Punks.
    “It’s weird, but I’m still kind of…I don’t know…expecting them to show up one night, you know?” Elias continues. “But they never do. One reason I’m glad you’re here.” He looks at me, puts his napkin on his plate. I swear I see his cheeks flush, and he stares at the napkin. “I mean, Len and Daniel, too.”
    I look at his face, and I understand him. He’s jealous of his sisters, but the love is stronger than the jealousy. We’re the same.
    Suddenly, I’m afraid to look at him, afraid he’ll see something in my face that I’m not ready for him to see. Fondness. Sadness instead of anger.
    I don’t want him to see that we’re the same even though I think he already knows.
    I stare out the glass kitchen wall. The sun’s setting earlier and earlier as Nebraska moves from summer to autumn. Thinking of it, the warm familiarity of it, makes me feel comfortable in my own skin for the first time in a long time.
    I feel a rush of bravery, enough to make me look over at Elias again. “Why didn’t you show me yours? Your One?”
    Elias lowers his voice and says, “Mom doesn’t know I still practice.” I can’t keep myself from smiling for a second. His shoulders lift once, then drop again. “And I didn’t want you to feel alone.”
    Affection for Elias creeps into the corner of my mind. He’s not a showoff. He didn’t use his One to impress me, and because of that, he really doesn’t have to. I’m impressed with him. Just him.
    Elias slides our plates down the counter and on top of a large square section built into it. He taps the counter twice and says, “Thanks, Rosie.” The panel flips, lowering the dishes to below counter-level and sliding a perfectly clean surface in their place.
    “My pleasure, Elias.” Rosie’s voice comes from two round speakers in the kitchen ceiling.
    “Maybe a little less garlic next time, huh?” Elias smiles and winks at me.
    “My apologies, Elias. I’ll put that in the log.”
    “Oh, Rosie, I’m just kidding. It was perfect.” He looks at me. “She’s still learning to pick up on humor.”
    I shake my head at him, look up at the speakers and clear my throat. “It, uh…it was great. Rosie.”
    “Thank you, Merrin.”
    He smiles at me, and I feel warm all over. “It’s good for her. Recognition of stuff like sarcasm in the human voice helps refine the AI tech. Right, Rosie?”
    “Yes, that is my understanding.”
    “Wanna see the rest of the house? I’ve got to…uh…I’m not allowed to have people over too late, so if you want to…” he says.
    “Uh…”
    Elias’s eyes crinkle into a smile — since when does “uh” mean “yes”? — and he stands up and calls, “Mom? I’m giving Merrin the tour.”
    “Okay,” his mom shouts back from her illuminated corner.

SEVEN
    T he sun has almost completely set now, and the last of the daylight flares the deep blue sky with purple at the top layer. It