Everything was a blur, Matt thought, including himself.
10Vincent’s Plans
It was clear that no one slept well, if at all, because they were all up at the crack of dawn, except Gaga, who was still recovering from time sickness. They all had dark circles under their eyes. Albert eyed everyone like they might attack him at any moment. Matt noticed Jia’s face was slightly puffy, like she’d been crying all night. He’d almost forgotten Pike was no longer with them, and he felt a twinge of guilt that he hadn’t been able to stop her or go back and rescue her.
“Hey,” he said to Jia when she came into the kitchen. “You doing okay?”
She nodded. “I’m okay.”
And then he remembered that she had wanted to tell him something before, when they’d first landed on the river in New York. He was about to ask her about it, but she abruptly left him and went and sat next to Ruby at the dining table. Matt tried not to feel hurt, but it was hard not to. Jia had always preferred him. He wondered if she blamed him for what happened to Pike. Probably. Everything was his fault, wasn’t it? Or maybe she was regretting her decision to side with his family. She was starting to see how hopeless it all was and wished she’d stayed loyal to Captain Vincent. It’s hard to feel good about choosing the losing side. Maybe that’s what she had almost told him yesterday.
Mrs. Hudson dug through their pantry and freezer and found enough ingredients to make a big pot of cinnamon oatmeal with brown sugar and frozen blueberries. But their pantry wouldn’t feed them all for any length of time. However much time that may be. Mr. Hudson said he would try to go out later and see if the corner grocer was still in business, but Mrs. Hudson killed that idea as fast as it was brought up. She said there was no way she was allowing him to go out on the street in broad daylight. Vincent or one of his crew could be out there. Then Mr. and Mrs. Hudson got in an argument about who was in more danger from Vincent, him or her, and the kids simply watched them fight like they were watching a tennis match. Finally, Uncle Chuck and Haha ended the fight by coming in the door with their arms full of groceries. Both of them looked a little worse for the wear. Their clothes were stained and rumpled and their hair was tangled.
“Whew! It’s a jungle out there,” Uncle Chuck said, setting the groceries down on the counter. “The whole economy is going up in smoke. Nobody’s taking cash anymore, but we managed to trade a few things to get some groceries. Figured we’d need some with our large crew.” They all watched him as he unloaded a bag of potatoes, apples, bananas, and some cans of food that didn’t look like they were from this century.
Haha set his groceries down too. “Anybody watch the news this morning? I want to see what they’re reporting now.”
Matt went and turned on the TV in the living room and everyone gathered around. Their cable was out now, but he managed to get a few local news stations. It certainly wasn’t good news. An anchorwoman who looked like she was from 1985 was reporting more bizarre sightings and incidents throughout the city—a herd of buffalo stampeding down Broadway and the disappearance of several buildings including St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Napoleon had now proclaimed himself emperor of the entire city. The mayor and most elected officials were currently in exile on Ellis Island with no apparent plans. Also, the Brooklyn Bridge had apparently been taken over by the Romans. The Vikings had retreated and taken refuge in Grimaldi’s Pizzeria, which Corey said wasn’t such a bad loss when you really thought about it.
“All right, that’s enough news for now,” Mrs. Hudson said, shutting off the television. “Everyone sit down for five minutes and eat your breakfast.”
They all sat, except Albert, who remained apart from the group like they might be carrying the plague.
“Come on, Albert,” Mrs. Hudson said. “I’m sure you’re hungry.” Albert seemed to be having another internal battle of whether he should accept food from the enemy, but eventually his appetite won out. He timidly walked toward the table. Mrs. Hudson pulled out a chair for him at the end of the table and set down a bowl of oatmeal, to which Albert mumbled a thanks.
Haha tried to make small talk with Gaga, asking her questions about the vineyard or the house, but seeing as both had been utterly destroyed by Vincent it didn’t go well.
Matt kept looking at Corey, wondering if he was going to show the handkerchief to their parents and bring up Vincent and Quine and the possibility of them being related. He didn’t, though, and Matt was relieved. He still had a hunch that his mom suspected the connection between Matt and Quine but didn’t want to bring it up for whatever reason, probably for the same reason he did not confess it. Neither of them wanted to face the truth and what it might mean for the future.
Albert emptied his bowl of oatmeal in less than a minute. Mrs. Hudson offered him seconds. Matt could tell he was trying to resist but failed in the end. He could also tell he was trying to resist liking Mrs. Hudson, but this was also difficult. Matt had never known anyone to not like his mother the instant they met her.
“You’re Captain Bonnaire, aren’t you?” Albert asked after he’d been staring at Mrs. Hudson for a full minute.
Matt noticed his dad stiffen at this question, but his mom didn’t skip a beat. “I was,” she said. “But not anymore. You can just call me Belamie.”
Albert made a face like he thought calling a grown married woman by her first name would be
