SiSU: - Homeland - Cory Doctorow

Homeland
“Argh. Okay, well, for whatever it's worth, I really like Kylie. I don't know her very well,
but from what I've seen, she seems like really good people. And it sounds like she makes
you happy. But Jolu --” I fussed with my pie and the spreading ice-cream slick beside the
cooling slice. “Well, buddy, I mean, I think most people today like to spend a while making
sure they know each other really well before they commit to forever. It sounds like Kylie
thinks you can't afford to do that because if you decide you're not going to keep it up, you'll
have to walk away from your job or she will. But what if you promised each other that no
matter what, neither one of you will expect the other to quit? I mean, that may be a hard
promise to keep, but is it any harder to keep than `I promise to marry you and be with you
forever until I die'?”
He chewed this over while I felt just a little bit smug. He was right: it was easier to give
advice than to get it.
“Huh,” he said. “You're not bad. Okay, that's worth a try. Now, what are you going to
do?”
My mood fell. “I have no idea,” I said. “Everything you've told me makes sense, but I don't
know where to start.”
“Start at the beginning,” he said. “Move one step in the direction of your goal. Remember
that you can change direction to maneuver around obstacles. You don't need a plan, you
need a vector.”
I finished my ice cream and left the pie. The sun was starting to come up, and Ange
would be waking up soon. We'd hardly seen each other that week, and all Jolu's talk about
breaking up made me really want to see her. I figured I could go by the Korean walnutcake
place she loved and bring over a box and grab a shower and have breakfast with her
family before work.
As it turned out, Ange's mom had an early appointment, and her sister was staying at a
friend's place, so we had a rather indulgent time in her bed, replenishing our strength with
walnut cakes as required. I had this gnawing feeling that I was going to be late for work, but
every time I looked at the clock, it was still ungodly early, and we returned to our business.
In the end, I rolled up to work ten minutes early, grinning like a dirty fool and feeling better
than I had in weeks.
Jolu was right: I just needed to take a step in the direction I wanted to head and stay flexible
enough to keep moving that way no matter what happened. And of all the problems I had,
the biggest one was Carrie Johnstone. For so long as she was gunning for me, I couldn't
be safe enough to do anything else. I would have to do something about her, and I was
going to need Joe Noss's help to do it.
-..-
“Where's Joe?” I said. Early as I was, Flor was always earlier.
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