Regulated Planet, page 5
part #2 of Worlds Apart Series
When Tyris’s parents saw her, the conversation stopped dead and they stared. Marlee stopped in the doorway, and for a few moments, no one seemed to know what to say. Even Tyris stared at her.
Then Tyris cleared his throat, and said, “Mum, Dad, this is Marlee.”
Politeness kicked in. “It’s nice to meet you Marlee,” Tyris’s mother said, and his father mumbled something similar.
“Nice to meet you, too,” Marlee managed.
Tyris offered the explanation they were looking for. “Marlee’s from Zerris, the planet I was stranded on. She found me when I first arrived there, and looked after me for most of the time I was there. I owe her my life.”
Marlee blushed. “Tyris is exaggerating. If I hadn’t helped him, someone else would have. I just arrived first.”
“None the less, we thank you for looking out for him,” Tyris’s mother said, more warmly now, stepping forwards and taking Marlee’s hands in hers. “My name is Imyne, and if you hadn’t already guessed, I’m Tyris’s mother, and this is Regor, Tyris’s father.”
The man nodded to her, his expression friendly. Marlee let herself relax a little, and smile back at him.
“Have you ordered the pizza yet?” Tyris asked Milandra.
She shook her head. “We might as well wait until Kerit arrives. He shouldn’t be long.”
Tyris ushered them all into the living room. His parents sat on a double couch, and Milandra sat on the double couch opposite them. Marlee made a move towards the single couch between the two, but Tyris beat her to it, leaving her sitting next to his wife. She settled herself on the edge of the seat, sinking into the plush cushions.
“So what is it like on your planet?” Imyne asked.
“It’s different from here,” Marlee said, not sure how to even begin to describe her home. She doubted they could understand, even if she could describe it, any more than she could have imagined this world without seeing it for herself.
“Tyris said your people moved there after a meteor destroyed Semala. It must have been difficult. I bet you’re all happy to have a chance to get back to the Colonies.” Imyne said.
Marlee looked over at Tyris, at a loss, and he stepped in. “The people on Zerris are used to their life, and the funny thing is, even though at first escaping back to the Colonies is all you can think of, it kind of grows on you.”
Imyne wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think I could get used to not having electricity or indoor plumbing, and having to make everything for myself.”
“Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it,” Tyris replied.
“You’re not telling me you’d go back there?” Imyne asked in disbelief.
“No, of course not.” Tyris said. Did his voice lack conviction?
She must have imagined it though, because everyone else seemed convinced. There were laughs, and a bit of playful banter.
A knock at the door interrupted the exchange. Tyris jumped up, and from the living room, Marlee saw him enclosing a young man in a bear hug. His brother. She craned her neck to get a better look at the man who had given Tyris the dolphin she now wore. The man he talked of often, and with obvious love.
“This is my brother, Kerit. Kerit, this is Marlee. She’s from Zerris.”
A shade taller than Tyris, with slightly lighter hair, the family relationship was still obvious.
“From Zerris, huh?” Kerit said and nudged Tyris. As Tyris flushed, Kerit took Marlee’s hand, and said seriously, “If my brother ever gives you a hard time, feel free to come visit me. I’ll take care of you.”
“Kerit!” Tyris said. Then when everyone stared at him in astonishment, he added, “Marlee isn’t used to that kind of teasing. Things are different where she comes from. Please just keep things normal, okay?”
Kerit regarded Tyris for a moment. Then he looked back at Marlee. He stared at her for a moment, focused on the dolphin around her neck. Then he nodded, and the tension shifted. “Sure, bro, whatever you want.”
“Now Kerit’s here, we’d better order the pizza,” Milandra said. “What does everyone want?”
As the others called out strange things like ‘pepperoni’ and ‘anchovies’, Marlee stayed quiet. Tyris glanced at her for a moment, then said to Milandra, “You’d better order one with everything, it’s Marlee’s first pizza.”
Milandra nodded and disappeared into the other room to make the order. Marlee sat and listened to the others talking about places she’d never heard of and things she’d never seen. She just listened to the chatter, not even trying to comment, even after Milandra came back into the room.
Someone else knocked at the door. “That’ll be the pizza,” Milandra said. “Can you get it, Tyris?”
Tyris went into the other room, and a few minutes later, Marlee heard him laughing and saying, “How did you guys know I was home?”
He came back into the room with about half a dozen young men and women. “Sounds like you were busy on the phone,” Tyris said to Milandra. He looked and sounded happy though. A low buzz of different conversations started around the room, and Marlee found it impossible to follow them. Someone put on some music, much more complex and rich than she was used to, and the heavy beat seemed to reverberate through her body.
When the pizza arrived, she looked at it doubtfully. She tried a small bite, but the cheese tasted fake, and the slices of sausage made her tongue burn, so she put it back on her plate.
Eventually she slipped away on the pretext of going to the bathroom. Locking the door, she sat down on the toilet with the lid closed. If only she was back on Zerris.
She pressed her fingers against her forehead. The music was beginning to give her a headache. She didn’t belong here. Everyone here knew everyone else, and she didn’t blame Tyris for being busy catching up with all of his friends, but the fact that he barely even looked at her hurt. She felt very alone.
But she couldn’t hide in the bathroom forever, so she checked her hair in the mirror, splashed some water on her face, then ventured out again. She walked down the hallway, pausing when she heard voices on the other side.
“Are you involved with her?” she heard Imyne ask.
“With Marlee? Of course not. What makes you think that?” Tyris’s quick refusal made Marlee lean on the wall for support. She didn’t want to walk in on this conversation, but neither could she convince herself to pull back.
“Kerit seems to think you are,” his mother said.
“Ker thinks whatever he wants to think. It doesn’t always have a bearing on real life,” Tyris pointed out.
“And yet, she’s here in your house. I’m sure they could have found somewhere for her to stay on base.”
“Marlee took me into her home when I had nowhere else to go. I think I owe her the same courtesy,” Tyris said sharply.
“You stayed in her house for nine months, and nothing at all happened? Really?” his mother probed.
“She was... involved with someone else. It wasn’t like that,” Tyris said.
“Then why did she follow you all the way here on her own?” His mother’s voice was gentle.
Tears pricked at the back of Marlee’s eyes. She should move now, should stop eavesdropping. But she didn’t.
“I don’t feel like that about her,” Tyris said with finality. “I’m helping her out till she finds her feet here, or until some more of her people return to Urslat. That’s all.”
Marlee didn’t wait to hear any more. She backed away from the doorway, then fled along the hallway to the room Milandra had told her she would be sleeping in. Throwing herself down on the bed, she let out the tears she couldn’t hold back any longer.
She’d been pretending to herself. Pretending that despite all evidence to the contrary, Tyris still cared about her. Why would he? How could he love her when Milandra was so pretty and successful? She knew how to fit in here. Marlee didn’t, and she never would. Tyris had only told her he loved her because he’d thought he’d never get back here. There had been nothing more to their relationship than that.
Eventually, she ran out of energy to cry anymore. No one seemed to notice she was missing, and she couldn’t bring herself to go back out and face the crowd of unfamiliar faces. She had nothing in common with any of them. She didn’t belong here. Exhaustion and defeat washed over her. If she just closed her eyes for a few moments, maybe she could work up the energy to go back out...
*****
Tyris managed to escape from his mother—though he didn’t think he’d convinced her he hadn’t slept with Marlee—and went looking for Kerit. He found his brother in the kitchen, eating yoghurt out of the tub. At least he was using a spoon.
“What did you say to Mum?” he asked without preamble.
Kerit almost choked on his yoghurt. Once his coughing fit had subsided, he asked, “What do you mean?”
“She’s been giving me the third degree about Marlee. Seems you told her you thought I was involved with her.”
“I might have said something like that,” Kerit said cautiously. “Come on, bro. Do you really expect me to believe you’re not involved? She’s wearing the dolphin. Why else would you give it to her if she didn’t mean something to you?”
Tyris sighed. He should have known Kerit would notice the charm around Marlee’s neck and understand the significance. He kicked the door closed behind him. “Can you keep this quiet?”
Eyes wide, Kerit nodded.
“She’s pregnant with my child,” Tyris said.
Kerit whistled. “But the implant?”
“It failed. Dr Benton thinks it might have been because of the crash. But I didn’t know that until I arrived back.”
“What are you going to do?” Kerit asked.
“I don’t know,” Tyris said, running his hand through his hair. “If I let anyone know the baby is mine, we risk a termination. I can’t let that happen. So I’m stuck pretending I don’t care about her, and that we’re not involved at all.”
“It won’t last,” Kerit prophesised. “It’s bloody obvious by the way you look at her, not to mention the way you bite off the head of anyone who dares say anything about her.”
“It doesn’t have to last long. The fact that I discovered the anysogen means they’re bound to remove the ban, and Marlee’s pregnancy should be overlooked. At least, I hope so.”
“How long do you think it will take?” Kerit asked.
“Blowed if I know.” Tyris heaved a sigh. “And it’s bloody awkward in the meantime. I didn’t think to tell Marlee about Milandra before we left Urslat. She’s understandably upset, but I can’t talk to her, because I can’t risk Milandra finding out about my relationship with Marlee. She’d tell her father for sure, and I’m counting on a recommendation from him to remove my ban.”
“Do you think Milandra suspects?” Kerit asked.
Tyris shrugged. “I have no idea. I don’t think so, but you never know with Milandra. I wish there was some way to throw her off the scent for sure.”
“There is, but you won’t like it,” Kerit volunteered.
Why was Tyris not surprised? “What?”
“I’ll pretend to go out with Marlee,” Kerit suggested, a twinkle in his eye.
“Not a chance,” Tyris said, grinning at his brother’s audacity.
“What, don’t you trust her? She can’t be that much in love with you if she’ll dump you for the first pretty face that comes her way.”
“Oh, I trust Marlee,” Tyris said, “It’s you I don’t trust.” The truth was though, he didn’t even know how Marlee felt about him right now. Had he messed everything up by not telling her about Milandra?
Kerit laughed. “Oh come on, I’m not that bad.”
“Yes you are,” Tyris said. Then he sighed. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Sure, bro. I’m always here, you know that.” Kerit licked the last of the yoghurt off the spoon, peered into the container with a disappointed look, then turned back to the fridge to see what else he could find to eat.
“Thanks.” Tyris slapped him on the shoulder. “I’m going to find Marlee.”
Kerit straightened up with a can of tuna. He sniffed it, then shrugged and dug in, using the same spoon as he had for the yoghurt. He waved the spoon at Tyris, mouth full.
Tyris shook his head and went looking for Marlee.
She wasn’t in the main living room. His mother chatted to Milandra, and his father had switched the television on to watch the news, though how he could hear anything over the music was beyond Tyris. Then again, he had the subtitles on. His friends stood by the sound system, and beckoned to him, but he pointed to the bathroom, and they nodded.
In the hallway, there weren’t too many options. The bathroom door stood open, she wasn’t there. But the door to the spare room was closed. Tyris knocked, but no one answered, so he opened it and peeped in.
Marlee lay on the bed on her back, hair trailing across the pillow, sound asleep. Tyris stepped into the room, closing the door behind him, not thinking about what anyone would think if they found him in here staring at her sleeping, and crossed the distance to the bed.
She looked so young in Milandra’s borrowed clothes. It had been such a shock, seeing her dressed up. He already thought she was beautiful, but he hadn’t realised until then how much the drab, shapeless clothes she’d worn on Zerris had hidden her figure. She needed something that fit a little better though, something more to her taste. It would be fun to go clothes shopping with her and help her figure out her own style.
Tyris watched her sleep for a few more minutes, then slipped out of the room again, closing the door softly behind him. It seemed no one had noticed his detour when he returned to the living room. The conversation near the stereo about some movie he hadn’t even heard of made him feel even more out of the loop, despite their attempts to include him by telling him the plot. Tyris tried to respond as he would have before he left, but somehow the storyline seemed trivial and stupid.
Milandra stuck her head in the door from the kitchen. “Tyris, Ralph’s downstairs. He went to get some beer and asked if you could help bring it up from the car.”
“Sure,” Tyris agreed and headed for the door.
Halfway there, Milandra called out, “And remember, take the elevator, not the stairs.”
Tyris muttered something impolite under his breath as he walked out the door, leaving Milandra to explain her comments to his mother.
He met Ralph in the parking lot with two cartons of beer. “What? Are you planning a week long spree?”
Ralph just looked at him. Tyris shook his head. Nine months ago, he wouldn’t have even considered the possibility that it might be too much beer. “Never mind, I apparently aged about ten years while I was stuck on Zerris.”
Ralph picked up one carton, and Tyris picked up another. Both of them headed for the elevators.
Halfway up to Tyris’s apartment, he realised Ralph hadn’t said a word. “Is everything okay?” he asked. He and Ralph had known each other since second grade, and usually they talked a mile a minute in each other’s company.
“Yeah, sure. Why wouldn’t it be?” Ralph asked.
“You’re awfully quiet?”
“Well, it’s kind of weird, you being back after all this time. We were sure you were dead.”
Tyris laughed. “You think it’s weird for you—I’ve been living in a third world for nine months. Being back here is so strange.”
“I can imagine,” Ralph said with feeling. Then he fell silent again.
They were nearing the top floor when Tyris thought of another question. “Ralph, can I ask you something?”
“Um, sure.” Ralph said.
“Did you hang around with Milandra at all? While I was gone, I mean.”
“A little,” Ralph said. “Why?”
“I wondered if you knew if she’d been seeing anyone. I can’t imagine she mourned me for long, did she?” The elevator reached its destination, and dinged as the doors opened. Both men stepped out, and the doors slid shut behind them.
“Not that I know of,” Ralph said. “We weren’t that close.”
Tyris nodded, a little disappointed. Soon all the visitors would go home. And he would be left alone with his wife. He’d hoped to find something he could use to justify keeping her at a distance. But he just nodded and fished in his pocket for his keys.
Once they were inside, Tyris helped himself to a beer, its cool bitterness soothing his fears, at least for a moment. He’d missed beer on Zerris. Oh, they’d managed to make alcohol of course, but the crude, primitive ale didn’t compare to the smoothness of a real beer. It had the same end result, but the journey there wasn’t as pleasant. And there never seemed to be much of it on Zerris.
With the beer under his belt, even the music seemed more pleasant. He opened a second one, and relaxed enough to dance when Milandra asked. His friends were laughing and chatting, and he began to feel like he’d come home.
He wasn’t sure what time his parents left. Quite a bit later, his friends followed suit. The beers were starting to wear off, and he didn’t open a third one.
Finally, he and Milandra were alone, sitting on the couch in an empty house. Landy snuggled up to him, hand on his leg. The thought of Marlee, asleep in the next room, filled his mind.
Milandra yawned. “We’d better head to bed.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Tyris agreed. But he didn’t move from where he sat.
Milandra sat up and leaned in close. She stared at his face for a moment, and he stared back, his heart thumping. Then she leant in and kissed him.
Her lips on his stirred up all kinds of memories. They’d had some good times together, he had to admit. Five years was a long time, long enough to really get to know someone. That was part of the problem.
He pulled back. “I can’t, Landy.”
He looked for any sign of hurt in her face, but saw only surprise. “What’s wrong?”
“I just can’t. Too many things have changed. This doesn’t feel right.”
Milandra moved back a little on the chair. “Was there someone on Zerris?” she asked. “When I first heard you had someone with you, I thought it might have been someone you had a fling with. When I saw her though, I knew that wasn’t the case. Was there someone else?”
