Ivy stepped back, and three people stood in the doorway. Carmen stood and stared as Lynn, Jessica and Shirley walked uncertainly through the door. The air in the room was stiff with suspicion as the three Seniors and the Exile eyed each other dubiously. Jessica, experienced as she was in interpereting people's feelings from her years in Ethnic Relations, saw the fear and distress in the young woman's eyes. She stepped forward, knowing that friendliness and trust had enabled her in the past to build bridges between peoples and earn their faith.

"Bright Eyes!" she said in a genial tone, extending her hand and bowing. "Donnekahshaie. You have been long away from us."

Carmen looked for insincerity and found only Jessica's open gesture of friendliness. Taking Jessica's hand, she bowed and replied, "Donnekahshaie. I missed you, tornado-chaser."

The other two extended their hands also, and Ivy noted that the air was more breathable. Jessica put her arms around Carmen and exclaimed, "Tornado-chaser! You better believe it. Say, did you know that a bunch of amateurs are trying to move in on our turf? Reckless bunch of teenagers, they buzzed through the cornfields and then blamed it all on the Professor and me! Can you believe that?"

"Huh, the way you drive, I don't think that accusation is too far from the truth!" Lynn declared. Shirley laughed, and Carmen managed a smile.

Jessica caught that smile. "Look here, I taught you to drive, Bright Eyes. You can't be much better than me!"

"Yeah?" Shirley challenged. "At least she didn't ram a Oregon squad car into a chicken barn, unlike someone else I know."

"Oh, right, like you can talk, Miss I-didn't-see-any-Do-Not-Enter-sign!" Jessica shot back.

"What's all this, now?" Lynn demanded. "I don't remember any of this stuff being in the records!"

"Records, nuthin'," said Shirley, and turned to Carmen. "We don't have to put minor accidents in the record, do we, Bright Eyes?"

"Minor accidents!" Lynn exclaimed. "How many other smashed chicken barns aren't in the records?"

Carmen laughed heartily and genuinely, for the first time in a long time. The silly everyday arguing that Carmen knew these friends loved to engage in gave her a sense of security, a feeling that at least there were some things that had not changed. "You don't know how glad I am to see you all!" she exclaimed.

"We're glad to finally see you again too, girl," Lynn told her.

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