Page 391 - Enders_Game_Full_Book

"It doesn't matter," she said. "I'm useless today, anyway."
"I know you don't care that Olhado is spending his time with that satanic bastard, but I thought you should know that Quara went straight there after school. To his house."
"Oh?"
"Or don't you care about that either, Mother? What, are you planning to turn down the sheets and let him take Father's place completely?"
Novinha leapt to her feet and advanced on the boy with cold fury. He wilted before her.
"I'm sorry, Mother, I was so angry--"
"In all my years of marriage to your father, I never once permitted him to raise a hand against my children. But if he were alive today I'd ask him to give you a thrashing."
"You could ask," said Quim defiantly, "but I'd kill him before I let him lay a hand on me. You might like getting slapped around, but nobody'll ever do it to me."
She didn't decide to do it; her hand swung out and slapped his face before she noticed it was happening.
It couldn't have hurt him very much. But he immediately burst into tears, slumped down, and sat on the floor, his back to Novinha. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he kept murmuring as he cried.
She knelt behind him and awkwardly rubbed his shoulders.
It occurred to her that she hadn't so much as embraced the boy since he was Grego's age. When did I decide to be so cold? And why, when I touched him again, was it a slap instead of a kiss?
"I'm worried about what's happening, too," said Novinha.
"He's wrecking everything," said Quim. "He's come here and everything's changing."
"Well, for that matter, Estevao, things weren't so very wonderful that a change wasn't welcome." "Not his way. Confession and penance and absolution, that's the change we need."
Not for the first time, Novinha envied Quim's faith in the power of the priests to wash away sin. That's because you've never sinned, my son, that's because you know nothing of the impossibility of penance.
"I think I'll have a talk with the Speaker," said Novinha. "And take Quara home?"