Read Tether for Free Online Page A

into a lump of ice. I was on my knees at the edge of the platform, digging my fingernails into the concrete, and a young boy was bent over me, peering at my face.
    “Are you okay?” he repeated.
    “I—I think so,” I said. He helped me to my feet. “What happened?”
    “We were getting off the train and you shouted and fell,” he explained, guiding me to the exit. “Do you need to go to the hospital or something?”
    “No, I’ll be fine.” I managed a smile. “Sorry if I scared you.”
    “You were the one who looked scared,” he said.
    A bell tinkled as I opened the door to Helena’s. The restaurant was dim and practically empty. I recognized Dr. March immediately. He was sitting in the back, hunched over a book, a pair of reading glasses perched on the end of his nose. A shiver rolled down my spine at the sight of him: coming faceto face with your own analog is hard, but meeting other people’s doubles is no picnic, either. It really makes you question your sanity.
    “Can I help you?” A short, dark-haired older woman came out from behind the deli counter and stopped me at the hostess podium, wiping flour off her hands with the corner of her apron. She had a thick Eastern European accent and some sort of religious medal hanging around her neck. I wondered if this was Helena.
    “Yes,” I said, feigning courage I didn’t quite feel. Now that I was there, I wasn’t a hundred percent sure I wanted the answers I’d come for. I pointed at Dr. March. “I’m looking for that man.”
    “Looks like you found him,” she said. I must’ve seemed nervous, because she smiled and put a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I just know the professor likes his privacy.”
    “I need to speak to him,” I said. “It’s important.”
    Helena shrugged. “Suit yourself. Want me to bring you something?”
    I shook my head.
    “You can’t sit in my restaurant and not order anything,” Helena said with a frown. “I tell you what, I’ll bring you some pierogi, fresh from the pan. You like pierogi?”
    “Uh, sure,” I said. I wasn’t hungry, but it felt rude to refuse.
    “Coming right up.” She nodded at Dr. March. “You go ahead and sit down. If he kicks you out, just move to another table, okay?”
    “Okay.” I walked over to Dr. March. Even when I was standing right in front of him, he didn’t bother to glance up from the book he was reading. I kept reminding myself that he wasn’t Dr. Moss, that they were different people, but itdidn’t cushion the blow of looking at someone I recognized and realizing he didn’t know me at all. It was amazing he was even there, in my city, sitting in a restaurant a mere five miles from my house. Two months ago, I thought destiny was a crock; now I saw the hand of fate everywhere I looked. “Dr. March? I’m—”
    “I know who you are,” he said with a weary sigh, closing his book. “Carla forwarded me your email. I should’ve known she’d tell you where to find me. I thought a virtual assistant would be able to resist getting involved in my affairs, but apparently not.”
    I didn’t know what to say.
    “Well, are you just going to stand there like some kind of specter, or are you going to sit down and explain yourself?” Dr. March asked. I took my seat, afraid he’d tell me to go away if I hesitated.
    “I was hoping you’d be able to tell me about my parents,” I began. “George and Mary Lawson?”
    “Yes, they worked for me for a time.” His voice was emotionless, and I wondered if I’d made a mistake in coming. Maybe he didn’t care about my parents at all. “What did you want to know?”
    “I guess I’ll start with … what were they like?”
    Dr. March drummed his fingers on the table. “Your mother was a postdoc in my lab. Your father came in as a research fellow.”
    “And?”
    “And what?”
    “That’s it?”
    “It’s been a long time,” Dr. March said. “What makes you think I even remember them?”
    I stared at him.