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thinking that maybe one of the neighborhood kids had gotten stuck somewhere in
the narrow crawl space that ran beneath the floorboards, maybe, or on the
slope that ran down into the dump.
This had gone on for days running into weeks before Jake had decided maybe it
was time for him to go down to the Senior Citizens Center in Riverside and see
a doctor. The doctor had given him some pills and some advice, neither of
which had done any good.
It was only later, after the wailing became crude words, that Jake learned he
was hearing his grandniece Amanda Rae. That first desperate, wailing call had
come to him from her parent s house in Port Lavaca, Texas, more than sixteen
years ago. He d talked about it with Amanda lots of times. It took a while for
them both to figure out that he d been hearing her call out from inside her
mother, because that first wail had reached him two months before she d been
born.
VI
So as Jake snuggled back into the pillows and waited for his grandniece to
call it made no difference that there was no telephone in the bedroom. He and
Amanda Rae didn t need one. They had something better, much better. Jake
didn t pretend to understand it, but Amanda thought she did. He was so proud
of his grandniece. She was smart, downright brilliant her teachers had called
her. It was all those books she read.
Jake knew that Amanda Rae was a lot smarter than he was, but it didn t
intimidate him. You couldn t be intimidated by someone you were so close to.
In their strange, secret fashion Jake and Amanda were much closer to each
other than uncle and grandniece. They were more like brother and sister.
It was strange, but Amanda couldn t call anyone else. Only her Uncle Jake.
They often speculated about that, to no avail. If it was true telep Jake
stumbled over the word true telepathy, it was awfully limited. She couldn t
talk that way to her mother or father or anyone else. Only Uncle Jake.
It became their special secret. Her parents didn t know about it, nor did her
doctors, of which she had many. There was no reason for anyone to suspect it,
because there was no evidence of it.
Jake smiled to himself as he lay there against the pillows. It sure saved on
long-distance bills. This way he could keep up with Amanda s family; with his
niece Wendy, with her hardworking husband Arri and with Amanda herself. And he
could do more than just take, he could give. Maybe he wasn t book-smart, but
he was sure world-smart. His commonsense advice had been of good use to Amanda
on many occasions. It s important for a youngster to have an older person to
talk to who s not immediate family. Jake made a sympathetic and safe,
long-range father confessor.
Then he was there. In Port Lavaca. It was much more than just a silent
two-way exchange of thoughts. Ideas could be exchanged as well, and sounds,
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and sometimes even smells. It was as though part of Jake s mind was suddenly
shunted halfway across the country to sit behind strange eyes.
There was a dim, misty picture of Lavaca Bay. From the angle Jake knew Amanda
Rae was staring out her bedroom window in the direction of the Aransas
National Wildlife Refuge. For an instant they were one person, the tired old
man and the immobile young girl.
It was a fair trade-off. Through her Uncle Jake, Amanda was still able to
experience the sensation of walking, a lovely motile daydream. It kept the
memory of what walking was like alive within her, and made her a little less
bitter.
Hi, Uncle Jake, a whispery voice said inside his own head.
Hello, Mandy. He smiled with his mind. The Bay looks awful pretty
tonight.
It is. Hot and sticky, though.
That s no surprise. I wish I could feel it.
I wish you could, too, Uncle Jake. I wish there was more moon, though. The
moon is always so pretty on the water. You can see the fish jump.
Haven t done any fishing in a while. I wish I could come and see them jump
myself.
Youare seeing them jump, only through myself. She laughed inside his
mind,vox telepathies .
You know what I mean, he said, chiding her gently. I haven t seen you in
years. It d be awfully nice to go out there for a real visit. In person. But I
don t have the money.-
Amanda was too polite, too understanding to suggest that her Uncle Jake might
consider giving up his color television and spend the money he d put away on a
trip to Texas instead. She did go so far as to say, You know mom and dad
would love to see you.
Not anymore than I d love to see them, Mandy. Maybe I can manage it in a few
months.
Sure, Uncle Jake. It was a persistent fiction they both worked at
maintaining. Maybe in a few months. How s your heart? Any troubles?
Not lately, he assured her. In fact, I feel better than I did this time
last year. I haven t had a really bad spell since January, and then only
briefly. Been taking pretty good care of myself. He chuckled at her. Maybe
I m getting better, huh?
You never know, Uncle Jake. Amanda knew from her studies that several heart
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