Earth 2788 Read Online Free Page B

private portal. So few people find it necessary to have
such a luxury.”
    Grandmother had
said variations of this on every single one of her last ten visits. I had to
admire the way Mother kept her face and voice perfectly calm as she gave her
usual reply. “House portals are becoming far more common these days. Ventrak
has to do a huge amount of travelling to create his history vid series, and it
makes his life a little easier if he can portal straight into the house.”
    “My poor son
works so hard to pay for your extravagances.” Grandmother moved towards me and
nodded her approval. “Dharma is always flawlessly dressed.”
    “My eldest
daughter’s name is Dalmora, Mother Rostha.” There was the faintest edge of
acidity in Mother’s voice.
    “Well, it
shouldn’t be,” said Grandmother. “Dalmora is not a traditional name. I named
all three of my sons after the first colonists on Danae.”
    The acid note in
Mother’s voice grew stronger. “It was Ventrak who suggested Dalmora should be
named after my mother.”
    “My poor son has
always been such an indulgent husband,” said Grandmother.
    Mother closed
her eyes for a second, a sure sign she was losing patience. Sitara, Diya and I
couldn’t say a word, or we’d get a lecture from our grandmother for speaking
before we were spoken to. I glanced at Asha.
    “Forgive me for
interrupting, Grandmother,” said Asha, “but the embroidery on your sari is stunning.
Can I ask if the fabric is one of your own designs?”
    Grandmother
turned towards her, and her forbidding expression abruptly melted into a smile.
Asha was her favourite granddaughter, named after her, and always treated with
special leniency. “Yes, this is my latest design. You have excellent taste,
Asha. I look forward to the day you will come to me to be trained as a fabric
designer yourself.”
    “Thank you, Grandmother.”
Asha gave a dutifully grateful smile, though I knew she had absolutely no
interest in becoming a fabric designer. Father’s history vid series, History
of Humanity , was famous on worlds in every sector of humanity’s space.
Asha, Sitara, and I all wanted to make info vids ourselves one day. Diya talked
about becoming a scientist, but it was impossible to tell if she was serious
about that, or just saying it to be awkward.
    There was
another series of musical notes, this time from the portal. We all hurried to
line up facing it, my mother on one end of the line and my grandmother on the
other. The portal established, and my father stepped through. He looked tired,
but he smiled at us, and greeted each of us in turn, before taking out his
lookup to check the time. On Danae, birthdays were celebrated on the
anniversary of the person’s birth, using the interstellar standard Green Time
of Earth Europe. Here on Danae it was early afternoon, but it was almost
midnight by Green Time.
    Father watched
his lookup for a moment, then nodded and turned to me. “Happy birthday, Dalmora.”
He held out a small box. “For you to wear at your birthday party this evening.”
    I took the box,
found it held a set of tiny rainbow lights for wearing in my hair, and gasped
in pleasure. Rainbow lights were the height of fashion on Adonis, and girls
were starting to wear them on Danae too, but I knew my grandmother strongly
disapproved of them as being far too theatrical. I gave her a wary look, but
found my father was already offering her an identical package.
    “I couldn’t
resist getting a set for you too, Mother. Your hair has always been so beautiful,
it deserves no less.”
    Grandmother
graciously accepted her package of rainbow lights. “You are always so
thoughtful, Ventrak. I look forward to wearing these at the party.”
    Grandmother
would naturally approve of any gift from her adored eldest son. It seemed
rainbow lights had suddenly become perfectly respectable.
    Mother stepped towards
me now, lifting her hands to undo the golden necklace she was wearing. She
studied it for a