Regulated Planet, page 10
part #2 of Worlds Apart Series
Marlee softened up too. “I’m glad to get the chance to know you too,” she said. “Really. It’s just, things are... complicated…”
“Aren’t they always?” her father replied with a chuckle. “Why, I remember when your mother and I first met. I was always too busy staring at the sky to notice the way she looked at me. Married to the telescope all my friends used to say. Until Nerris demanded that I had to go on a double date with him, Janey and her friend. He said he was too nervous to go on his own. We were half way through the night before I realised that he and Janey knew each other rather too well for that story to fly. But by then, I didn’t care.”
His voice had gone soft, reminiscing, and Marlee couldn’t help but smile. “And by then Mum had caught your attention, and you had two first loves,” she said with a smile. “I think I might have heard that story before.”
Her father cleared his throat. “Yes, well. It’s a good story. Worth telling. So don’t let me get in the way of you coming up with your own stories to tell your children one day.”
Marlee sighed. “I hope I get a chance.”
“What do you mean by that?” her father demanded.
“Tyris isn’t allowed to have children, because of the new population control measures,” she said.
Her father said nothing for a few moments hands resting on the wheel as they sat at the lights. Finally, he said, “I’m sorry Marlee. I don’t agree with the new rules, as so many people don’t. But they’re no reason to give up on someone you love.”
“I won’t,” Marlee said. “But it’s more complicated than that. I’m pregnant.”
Her father glanced over then, then whistled through his teeth. “You’re right. That does complicate things. What are you going to do?”
“Right now? Try to hide the fact that the baby is his. Tyris says that the ban should be removed as a reward for finding the anysogen on Zerris, and then it won’t be an issue.”
“It had better not be,” her father said seriously. “Because having just found my wife and daughter alive, I’m feeling kind of greedy, and I want my grandchild too.”
And that was enough to fill Marlee’s eyes with tears. “You will, Dad, you will,” she promised him.
Her father pulled up in front of a dilapidated building. The orange brick was worn and dirty, and the paint on the front door peeling. Inside, the hallway was dingy, with several doors coming off it. A light flicked on and off fitfully above them. Her father put the keys into a door with the number five on it.
Inside wasn’t much better. The couch sagged, and the patterns were worn off the kitchen counter.
“Sorry about the mess,” her father said apologetically. “I know it’s not what you’re used to...” he trailed off, and suddenly looked like he wished he hadn’t invited her to stay with him.
Marlee turned to him and smiled. “You should see my house on Zerris. It’s half the size of this, and the floor is dirt. You have running water and electricity, don’t you?”
Her father laughed, and nodded. “Oh yes, all the mod con’s,” he said, his voice tinged by sarcasm.
“Then I’m sure I’m going to love it,” Marlee promised him.
“I don’t know about that,” her father said, but he showed her around anyway. There were two bedrooms, though each bedroom was half the size of the ones in Tyris’s apartment. The bathroom only had a shower, no bath, and the kitchen was at one end of the living room.
There were smears through the grime on the kitchen bench, and though the shower had been scrubbed down, water flecks still remained on the glass. The bed in the second bedroom had been made up with clean sheets, and the floor vacuumed.
“We’ll do just fine,” she promised him with a smile. She always did love a good challenge. She set to work, ignoring his feeble protests that he would cook dinner. As she searched through the fridge to see what ingredients she had, she realised that not only was he an infrequent cleaner, he hadn’t shopped in a while either. She thought longingly of all the food she and Tyris had bought that morning.
Still, experience had taught her a lot about making do, and so she pulled out all the old and wilted vegetables and began cutting them up for a soup. Her father stood around looking useless for a few minutes, until she found a job for him. “Here, peel these.”
He found a vegetable peeler and began peeling. As they worked in companionable silence, Marlee thought sadly that the shock of losing her mother must have affected him severely for him to be living like this. From the stories her mother had always told, they’d been well off. He’d spent many hours at work, it was true, her mother had never denied that, ascribing it to his passion for astronomy with a smile . But that had usually resulted in quick promotions and a healthy pay packet.
She looked sideways at him as he peeled carrots, not quite sure how to bring up the topic without upsetting him. It was obvious he was a little embarrassed by his situation, so any questions were likely to result in more embarrassment. In the end, she said nothing, just kept cooking.
With the soup bubbling away on the stove, she began to clear away the vegetable peelings, and in the process, wiped the benches and table more thoroughly. Then she opened the fridge, and removed all the food that was beyond salvation. Her father took out the full rubbish bin without being asked.
When he came back in, Marlee said, “The soup will be about an hour or so. Do you want to watch some television?”
They sat in front of the TV, on an old brown lounge with saggy cushions. Her father turned on the news, and Marlee watched with a deepening frown. Every news story was about a tragedy. A child drowning. An old lady being mugged in the park for the coins she had in her handbag. She was saddened to think of all the misery there seemed to be on this planet. Where was all the happy news? Was there any?
She’d walked back into the kitchen to check on the soup, which was nearly ready, when she heard shouting. She couldn’t quite make out the words, but it seemed to be coming from behind the kitchen wall.
“What’s that?” she asked her father, who had come into the kitchen to see how she was going.
He shrugged. “Mrs Baley next door shouting at her husband I guess. She does this every week, give or take, complaining that he’s spent their grocery money on beer yet again.” Her father seemed just as immune to the misery as everyone else.
Marlee frowned. “So they have nothing to eat?”
“I don’t know,” her father admitted. “They always seem to get by, somehow. But I do admit that her kids always seem rather thin.” He looked guilty now, as if he’d never considered the matter before.
Marlee was galvanized into action, searching through her father’s cupboards until she found a large enough bowl, and ladling a generous amount of soup into it. “Here,” she handed it to her father, and cut several slices of bread off the half loaf she’d found in the freezer. Then she ushered him out the door, despite his weak protests of, “We shouldn’t interfere, it’s not our business.”
Across the hallway, she knocked on the door, where the shouting had died down by now. A harried looking woman came to the door, and Marlee noted that her father was right, the two children at her skirts looked skinny.
“Hello,” Marlee said with a smile. “I’ve just moved in here with my Dad, and I realised that I’d cooked far too much soup for the two of us. I don’t know if you had dinner cooked already or not, but I thought you might like some anyway.” She held out the bread, and nudged at her father, who held out the bowl of soup.
The woman looked at them suspiciously. “We don’t need no handouts.”
Then the child tugged at her skirt. “I’m hungry, Mama.”
Marlee took a chance. “I know what it’s like to be hungry. I’ve been there. Please, we’re not offering handouts, just sharing what we have. I know you would do the same if the situation were reversed.”
The woman looked at her for a few moments longer, then a smile broke out across her face. “Thank you. It would be wonderful. It’s payday tomorrow, but you know how it is, the money never seems to stretch that far.”
Marlee smiled. “No, it can be a challenge. I hope this helps.”
The woman, smiling now, took the bowl of soup and bread, and the children were almost jumping up in their eagerness to eat it. “We won’t keep you,” Marlee said. “I’m sure we’ll meet again soon though.” She nodded, and then returned to their apartment.
Her father shook his head as he closed the door behind them. “I’ve lived here for three years and heard them arguing nearly every night for that time, yet it never occurred to me to offer to help.”
Marlee shrugged. “Where I come from, everyone helps everyone else. We wouldn’t survive otherwise,” she said. To her, it was just a fact of life, but her father shook his head in disbelief anyway.
“I’m glad you’re here, Marlee,” he said.
“I’m glad I’m here too,” Marlee said, giving him an impulsive hug.
Chapter 7
After the flurry of Marlee and her father leaving, Tyris felt flat. He wandered into the kitchen, the cold porridge abandoned on the side of the stove intensifying the feeling.
What had he done, sending Marlee off with her father? The cool, rational side of him argued that it made sense, and would help keep Marlee and their baby safe. The other half just plain missed her already.
He hadn’t been apart from Marlee for more than an hour or two since he’d crash landed on Zerris, he realised with surprise. And every time he had been, he’d known that he would see her that night at home.
Tonight, he wouldn’t.
“So is she gone then?” Milandra walked into the room, stared at the porridge, and wrinkled up her nose. “About time, if she’s bringing that kind of food into the house.”
Tyris held his breath for a few seconds, before letting it out in a sigh, and letting Milandra’s insult slide. “Yes, she’s gone.”
“You sound upset?” Milandra raised an eyebrow. She leant back on the kitchen bench and regarded him for a few minutes.
“Marlee and I have... been through a lot together.” Tyris shrugged, and tried to sound offhand. “It’s strange not to have her around, that’s all.”
Milandra walked across the room and lent up against him, her body pressing against his, and her arms going around his neck. “I can help distract you from it…”
Tyris couldn’t stop himself from pushing her away and taking a few steps back. “Don’t,” he said roughly. “Just don’t.”
Milandra pouted. “What is it? Don’t tell me you have feelings for Marlee? Did you sleep with her after all?”
“Why does it always have to be about sex for you?” Tyris demanded, finding solace in letting out some of his frustrations. “Or keeping up appearances.”
“It’s not like that,” Milandra protested. But her voice sounded weak.
“Then why? Why did you want a divorce the day you found out I had a criminal record? You only want to get back together now that there’s a possibility that it will be removed. Did you ever really care for me, Milandra, or did you just like how we looked together, or how good we were in bed?” He shouldn’t be saying this. Not now, when he needed to protect Marlee and their baby. But no matter how serious the situation was, he couldn’t bring himself to sleep with Milandra to keep up appearances. It just wouldn’t be right.
Milandra stared at him in shock. When she finally found her voice, she said, “Of course I care about you, Tyris, how could you ask such a thing?”
Tyris shook his head. “It doesn’t sound like it.”
“What do you mean? You never wanted anything more either. Admit it. So why now? Why are you looking for something more now?”
She had a point. He’d been the same. Why had things changed?
Because of Marlee. She saw things differently, and he preferred her point of view to the jaded one he’d grown up with. But he couldn’t say that to Milandra. “Because I nearly died. Don’t you get that? And if I had, would you have cared? Did you care when you thought I was dead? Or were you just thinking how good you looked in black?”
From the expression on Milandra’s face, he wasn’t far off the mark. But she wasn’t going down without a fight. “You won’t get your record changed if you walk out on me,” she threatened. “You know that no matter how great a find you’ve made, if Daddy doesn’t suggest it, it won’t happen. And he’s not going to champion you if you make me unhappy.”
“Why?” Tyris asked, bewildered. “Why do you care Milandra? Can’t we just accept that things are over, and go our separate ways? Why do want me to stay if we don’t love each other?”
Her saw her waver, then she shrugged, and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I won’t be dumped and have everyone around me pitying me. I won’t let you ruin my reputation.”
Of course. When he’d been labelled a criminal, it was obvious she was the one doing the dumping. But with his discovery, he had fame and fortune again, and people might think that she was the one who’d been discarded.
Her livelihood was based on her reputation. A marriage breakup under these circumstances wouldn’t help her business any.
“Fine,” he shrugged. “I have no objections to keeping up appearances, but that’s as far as it goes. When we’re alone, don’t expect me to pretend I’m in love with you. And I sleep in the spare room. Acceptable?”
He could see the uncertainty in Milandra’s eyes, then she shrugged back. “Sure, whatever you want.” She stalked out of the room.
Once the door slammed behind her, Tyris let out his breath in a sigh. It was the best outcome he could have hoped for. Hopefully she’d leave him be, while still keeping up appearances of a relationship for the rest of the world. As much as he would like to be rid of her for good, he needed the appearance of being involved as much as she did right now.
But a feeling of uncertainty lingered. Milandra had instantly assumed that his reluctance to continue their relationship was because of Marlee. She might have accepted what he’d said for now, but he couldn’t rely on that alone to keep Marlee safe.
He picked up his phone, and walked into the spare bedroom, closing the door behind him. The number was on speed dial.
“Hey, bro,” Kerit answered. “How’s it going?”
“That’s a long story,” Tyris said with a sigh. “And none of it’s good. I’m thinking it might be time for me to take you up on your offer to help me keep things under wraps with Marlee.”
“You want me to take her out a couple of times?” Did he detect a note of interest in Kerit’s voice?
“Not if you don’t think you can keep it friendly,” Tyris said bluntly. “I really care about her, Ker, this isn’t a joke.”
“Of course,” his brother answered. “Hands off, I promise.”
“She’s staying with her father,” Tyris told him, and gave him the address and phone number. “Perhaps we can organise a double date with the two of you and Milandra. I need to convince her I’m cool with it.”
“Troubles there?” Kerit asked sympathetically.
“You could say. We’ve agreed to keep up appearances, but I’m not sure she’d stick to it if she knew about Marlee,” Tyris admitted.
“Like that huh?” Kerit asked.
“Don’t ask,” Tyris said, running a hand through his hair. “Give it a couple of days, let Marlee settle in at her dad’s first. Then maybe take her to the movies or something. We can organise a double date next week.”
“Sure, bro. You can count on me,” Kerit said.
“Thanks, Ker. It means a lot,” Tyris smiled for the first time in the conversation. He hadn’t realised how much he’d missed his little brother. “Let me know how it goes, okay?”
“Sure thing.”
Tyris hung up, and stared around the room. None of this was going the way he’d imagined. He lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, wishing he was with Marlee, wherever she was.
*****
Despite missing her dreadfully, he made himself leave it for a full two days, and wait until Milandra went out with a friend, before he went to visit Marlee. As he drove over to the address her father had given, he wondered how things were going for her. Despite the fact that he suspected she’d missed him as much as he missed her, he hoped that she wasn’t too unhappy.
As he came closer to the little red dot on his satnav, he began to feel uneasy. The neat green lawns and well maintained apartment complexes gave way to run down buildings, with boarded up windows. When he pulled up in front of the address, he was holding his breath and hoping Marlee was okay. This building looked slightly better than the ones in the previous street—at least, there were no bullet holes in the signs and all the windows still had their glass, even if it was behind heavy steel grills.
He walked up the stairs and peered at the numbers beside the doorbells. He squinted, trying to make out which label said number five through the weather damaged plastic cover. He shrugged, and rang the fifth one down on the left side, then waited.
“Tyris?” a voice called out from behind him.
Turning around, he saw Marlee coming across the road, holding several shopping bags and the hands of two urchin children. Relief swamped him.
He walked back down the stairs to meet her. “I see you’ve found some friends?” he said, and was rewarded with smiles from both children. Although they were skinny, their hair and clothes were clean.
Marlee beamed at him. “This is Kena and Majie. They live across the hall from us. They’re staying with me for a few hours while their mother’s at a job interview.”
Tyris would have liked to ask more, but suspected that it might not be the best plan to inquire in front of the two grinning children. So he just said, “Where have you been?”
“To the store,” Marlee waved back down the road, and Tyris hoped that the atmosphere down that way wasn’t more violent than it was here. He resolved to drive by on his way home, just to be sure.
