I Bid Farewell
Morgan blinked as she watched the boy walk away. She knew—just as confidently as she knew Uncle Happy hated tailgaters and Uncle Rhodey hated pigeons and her Dad hated talking about her mom—that he was the boy she kept dreaming about. Sure, his eyes seemed a little glassier than the bright ones in her dream, and his face a little thinner and his voice a little duller, but he had the same hair and was the same height and everything about him screamed familiar.
She was aching to run after him and make him listen to her. She was practically a grownup now (she could do long division in her head and recite the periodic table, for gosh’s sake) and surely he’d understand once she explained what she’s been seeing. She started to follow him, but Uncle Happy frowned (ugh, she knew that frown) and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
“Stay close, Morg. Let’s go see your dad, yeah?”
Morgan huffed (quietly, she’s 8 not 7 after all) and followed him into the classroom. Her dad waved to her as Uncle Rhodey was talking about something about his job and the implications of using the arc reactor technology as a sustainable energy source for homeless communities. Morgan knew they were really in California so her dad and uncle could talk about a new theory and research their old professor had, but they offered to lecture in a couple of classes while there.
She slid into an empty desk in the back row, and took out her journal. What did she know?
- There is a boy who looked like the one mom showed her in her dream.
- He was a student in the same building her dad was visiting.
And that was it. Morgan was frustrated. She wasn’t very good at patience—her mom was apparently the only Stark with that trait—but she was very good at figuring things out. What did she need to know?
- What is the boy’s name?
- Is he her brother?
- If so, Why does he not remember her?
- If so, why does she not remember him?
- Why does she keep having dreams?
- How did her mom die?
- Why couldn’t her dad talk about it?
Ok, so the last two weren’t really important to this particular investigation, but still relevant. Kind of.
Morgan woke up sweaty, breathing hard with tears on her cheeks. Her dad had a cool washcloth and was singing to her softly. It was a familiar lullaby—one that was now the go-to any time she had a bad dream.
‘Sweet piccolina. Do you want to talk about it?’
‘N-n-no.’
‘Okay,’ he hummed.
‘Daddy. Do you miss mommy?’
‘Oh, sweetie.’ He pulled her closer. ‘More than anything. But she wouldn’t want us to be sad.” He smiled and quickly changed the subject. ‘Besides, tomorrow we get to go to the beach after your Uncle Rhodey is done boring everyone to sleep at that awful school.’
She giggled. ‘I think you underestimate how boring you can be.’
‘Betrayal!! From my only offspring! Whatever will I do??’ He tickled her and she burrowed under the covers. Keeping her head covered she said quietly, ‘I dreamed I was swinging on a spider’s web with mommy. It broke and we fell.’
She could her her dad suck in a breath. He uncovered her and said in a shaky voice, ‘Go to sleep, Morgan. I love you.’ He kissed her on the head and went back to his bed.
She closed her eyes just as the sun started to shine through the hotel curtains.
She was still looking down when she felt a hand on her back. She startled, dropping her pencil, and quickly closed her notebook. Her dad was looking down at her puzzled and a bit concerned.
“Hey Momo. We’re done for now, and the class has left. What are you working on? I haven’t seen anyone that focused since your Uncle Clint tried again to lift Thor’s shiny hammer last summer.”
“Nothing. Doodling. You’re kind of boring.” She deadpanned.
Her dad barked out a laugh and she could here an indignant but amused “rude” from her Uncle Rhodey.
“Fair enough. Ok, little lady. Let’s get lunch.”
Morgan got her stuff together and went to pick up her pencil. Under the desk, she found an id tag with a key card. Her eyes widened and she grabbed it quickly, putting it between the pages of her notebook.
Benjamin A. Fitzpatrick
Sophomore
Bechtel Residence Hall
Engineering Bldg
Lab Access #6-10
She smiled at her dad, grabbing his hand as they walked towards the cafeteria.