Regulated Planet, page 6
part #2 of Worlds Apart Series
He should be relieved she seemed so sure it wasn’t Marlee, but he couldn’t help asking, “Why do you say you knew it wasn’t her?”
Milandra’s nose wrinkled in distaste. “She’s so... dull. You have better taste than that. She looks a bit better with some normal clothes and her hair done, but still, she’s not your type at all.”
Tyris bit his tongue to stop himself from jumping in to defend Marlee, forgetting that he’d thought exactly the same thing when he first saw her. Right now, her low opinion of Marlee worked to his advantage. “It’s been nine months, Milandra, and I thought I wasn’t coming back. What do you expect? And I hardly think you were mourning me that long, were you?”
Milandra shrugged one elegant shoulder, as though it was of no consequence. “We’re both adults, Ty. I think we can accept it was a unique situation, and what we did under the circumstances can be excused, don’t you?”
Tyris shrugged. “Maybe. But I have to admit, your abrupt change of tune since I came back has me baffled. Last I knew, you were walking out and threatening divorce. Excuse me if I’m not quite convinced my alleged death caused a change of heart.”
“Of course not.” Milandra didn’t even bother to hide the truth. “But I left because we could never have a child together. And given your brilliant discovery, that will be fixed, and thus my reason for leaving becomes moot.”
Tyris shook his head. How could she be so shallow? “Do you actually want a baby?”
Milandra wrinkled her nose. “No, of course not. They’re messy. And smelly. But that should be my choice. I don’t like to be limited.”
Tyris shook his head. Nothing had changed. “There’s no guarantee things will be any different yet, so perhaps we’d better wait until it’s certain before we resume anything.”
“Oh, it’s a done deal,” Milandra said. “Daddy will take care of it.”
Tyris had been hoping for that confirmation. But not so he could be with Milandra. “Well, excuse me if I don’t want to go through that again. I’ll wait until it’s signed, sealed and delivered.”
Milandra stared at him in disbelief. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I think I’ll sleep on the couch tonight.”
He waited for her to push the issue, working up several more arguments just in case, but she just stared at him for a few minutes, then shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She stretched out her long legs and got up, walking into the room they used to share without looking back.
Tyris sighed. The fact she’d given up so easily confirmed his decision. He remembered Marlee’s speech at the village hall, how she’d been ready to turn away from her entire village for him.
The warm thought sustained him as he found some spare blankets in the hallway cupboard and settled in on the couch. It was comfortable enough, and after the long day, even his many worries weren’t enough to keep him awake for long.
Chapter 4
Marlee sat up and stared around the room. Where was she? The waistband of the skirt pulled, and the elastic in the arms of the blouse had left red marks on her skin. Dim light filtered through the curtains, and the blinking red display on a little gadget next to the bed displayed gibberish.
No sounds came from the other room. The party must be over. Apparently, she’d slept longer than she’d intended.
Nothing felt right as she walked into the bathroom. The air around her was thick and strange, and a low hum she could feel rather than hear vibrated through her.
She’d become used to the hum of the engines on the Hylista, and had even begun to find it comforting. Then again, in such close quarters on the ship, Tyris’s breathing had drowned out all the other sounds.
Where Tyris had spent the night? The answer that jumped into her head wasn’t a pleasant one. Her stomach twisted at the thought of Tyris and his wife alone somewhere.
She washed her hands and ventured out into the main room, almost crying with relief at the sight of Tyris stretched out on the too short couch. His feet dangled over the end, and half the blanket slipped onto the floor, revealing a bare chest. Marlee stepped across and covered him up. He stirred, but didn’t wake, so she allowed herself the luxury of staring at him for a few minutes, listening to his rhythmic breathing.
Did his position on the couch indicate problems with his wife? Was it right for her to hope for that outcome? She couldn’t help but feel bad for wishing for it, especially after Milandra had been so kind to her. But when she tried to imagine them together the picture just didn’t seem right.
What would she do if Tyris chose his wife anyway? Six months ago, she would have explored this amazing new world with excitement, throwing herself into all the new experiences with abandon. But the baby growing in her belly left her far more cautious. She needed to create some sort of security for herself and her child, but she had no idea where to even start.
Before the panic rising in her chest could take hold, Tyris moved and rubbed his eyes. He looked over at her and smiled. “Marlee,” was all he said, but she couldn’t help her answering smile. He rose up on one elbow and reached out his hand to her. After a moment’s hesitation, she got up and came around to sit on the edge of the coffee table in front of him. He took her hand and kissed it, disarming her. “I went looking for you last night, but you were already asleep. I’m sorry I’m such a bad host.”
She shook her head. “No, you weren’t. It had just been a long day, and you had all your friends to see, and I didn’t know anybody.” Her voice wavered on the last sentence, much as she tried to control it.
“I know. I had no idea Milandra planned to invite so many people. She must have rung them while we were coming up the stairs. I’m sorry.”
Marlee shook her head, fighting back the tears, afraid if she tried to say anything she’d give in to them. Tyris seemed to know, because he sat up and put his arms around her. That was her undoing, and she began sobbing uncontrollably.
“Shhh, sweetheart,” Tyris said, stroking her hair. “It’s all going to be okay, I promise.”
The word of endearment only made the sobs stronger, bringing all the conflicted feelings she struggled to suppress to the surface. Tyris waited until her tears slowed, then pulled back, holding her by the shoulders, and asking, “Are you okay?”
She took a couple of deep breaths, then nodded, still not daring to speak
Tyris had plenty to say for the both of them. “I had no idea Milandra would come to the base to meet me, I swear. When I left Urslat, she’d been threatening to divorce me because I wasn’t allowed to have children. I thought she would have finalised it and be cosying up to someone else by now, otherwise I would have said something about her to you. I thought things were over between us.”
“Apparently she doesn’t think so.” Marlee said.
Tyris sighed. “No. You see, my discovering the anysogen on your planet means there’s a chance the decision will be reversed, and the ban revoked. Milandra seems to think it’s certain, and since her father is on the board, she probably knows what she’s talking about. With the ban removed, she wants me back. I guess she didn’t find anyone better while I was away.”
So that’s what he’d been talking about last night. “And that’s why you were looking for Zerris. To find the anysogen and win her back?”
Tyris winced. “Yes. I figured if I could just reverse the ban, then she’d have me again, and we could continue on the way things were.”
“It looks like it worked.” Marlee tried to keep the bitterness in her heart from showing in her voice.
Tyris reached out his hand to her, and she let him take hers, unwilling to look up into his face. “Yes, it did. Only now it no longer meant anything. Marlee, I don’t want to be with Milandra anymore. I’m not sure I ever really loved her. Liked, maybe, lust, probably, but not love. Our relationship was based on nothing but indulgence, and somehow, that holds little appeal now, because I’ve found something I want far more.”
Marlee did look up then, to see him gazing down at her, a tender expression on his face. “I love you, Marlee,” he said. “You’re the one I want to be with for the rest of my life, not Milandra.”
Marlee stared at him for a few moments, his words dissolving the agony of the last day, and not knowing how he felt. She threw her arms around his neck. “I love you, too,” she said into his shoulder, and his arms tightened around her making it hard to breathe. She didn’t care. She cried happy tears that brought no pain.
Somehow, she was sitting on Tyris’s lap on the couch with his arms around her waist. He smiled up at her, reaching out a finger to brush away the tears on her cheek. She bent and kissed him.
Tyris’s hand in the small of her back pulled her closer as his tongue flicking into her mouth. His other hand cradled her cheek, sliding over the skin, tickling ever so slightly. He slid down onto the couch again, pulling her with him, lips not leaving hers, and Marlee sighed in contentment.
He pulled back to look into her eyes, smiling at what he saw there, then resumed kissing her, his hand sliding down to her hip. Marlee’s breathing deepened, and she snuggled close to him, only partially to ensure she didn’t fall off the couch. Tyris groaned, his kissing growing more passionate.
Then, abruptly, he pulled back. “Crap,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “We can’t do this.”
A chill spread through Marlee. “Why not?” she asked.
Tyris sighed and ran a hand down her cheek. “Because we can’t risk anyone knowing about us. Not right now. I talked to Dr Benton during my medical exam, and she told me there have been several other instances of chips malfunctioning for various reasons.”
“What happened?” Marlee asked with foreboding.
She could see the reluctance in Tyris’s eyes, but eventually he admitted, “At least two pregnancies were terminated. The officials are saying the couples involved chose that option, but I’m not sure everyone believes that.”
“Terminated? You mean…?” Marlee sucked in her breath, her hand going to her stomach. “So if they find out the baby is yours...” She couldn’t finish the sentence.
He put his hand over hers. “I wouldn’t let them, Marlee. If anyone touched you or our baby...” His voice choked up, and he kissed her fiercely.
She clung to him, tasting the salt of silent tears. Were they hers or his? His eyes did look a little misty when he pulled back.
“I would fight to the death rather than let anyone touch you, Marlee, but it’s better if we can avoid the need. Which means we can’t let anyone know about our relationship.” Tyris said reluctantly.
“Which means we can’t be together,” Marlee said with a sigh.
“Not yet, no,” Tyris said. “Milandra seems to think things will be sorted out and I’ll be allowed to have children again. If I can just hold her off until then, let her think there’s a chance we’ll get back together, then her father, General Harrington, will no doubt arrange it all.”
“But what then?” Marlee asked.
“Then, I think, the fact that you were already pregnant will be overlooked. I’ll have some bargaining room anyway. We’ll make it work somehow.”
“So we just have to wait until it’s official?” Marlee confirmed. “How long do you think that will take?”
“I have no idea,” Tyris admitted. “But I’ll try to find out as soon as I have the chance.”
As though on cue, his phone sitting on the coffee table rang. Both he and Marlee jumped as if stung, and Marlee moved from the couch as he sat up to answer it.
“Hello?”
Tyris paused. “Right now, sir?”
Another, longer pause. “Of course, sir. I’ll be right there.” Tyris hung up the phone.
“That was General Harrington. He wants to talk to me at the base now. Will you be okay?”
Marlee took a deep breath and nodded, even though she felt far from okay. Then something occurred to her. “What can I eat?”
As if glad to have something practical to do, Tyris pulled on his shirt and took her into the kitchen. He opened a big white shiny cupboard, and a wave of cold air rolled out. Marlee jumped back.
Tyris looked over, and smiled. “It’s a fridge,” he explained. “It uses electricity to keep the food cold.”
Marlee nodded. “Of course, I’ve heard of them.”
Tyris bent back to the fridge and frowned. “Blasted Kerit cleaned us out. He raids the fridge every time he visits.” He pulled out some eggs, and after a little more searching, some pink looking meat. Then he went searching in another cupboard, not a cold one this time, and found a frying pan.
“Don’t you have to go?” Marlee asked.
Tyris shrugged. “A few minutes isn’t going to matter. The general can wait.”
Marlee watched as he cracked the eggs into the frying pan, and put the meat in next to it. In a few minutes, he served it up on two plates, and sat down opposite her at the kitchen table. Marlee tried the food cautiously, but though it tasted salty, it was perfectly edible. She ate hungrily.
Tyris cleared his plate quickly, and then put both of them, still dirty, into what looked like a drawer under the sink.
“Shouldn’t you wash them?”
Tyris laughed and kissed her forehead. “This is a dishwasher. It washes them for us.”
Marlee stared at him in disbelief, sure he was joking, but he just grinned at her. Then his face grew more serious. He bent over the kitchen bench, hunting through the detritus there for something. He turned back a few moments later with a piece of paper and wrote some numbers down on it. “This is my phone number. You can reach me on it at any time.” He handed the piece of paper to her.
“What do I do with it?” Marlee asked. The phone used numbers somehow, but she had no idea how. She hung her head. Tyris would get tired of having to explain everything to her soon. She didn’t know how to do any of the things people here took for granted.
He didn’t seem tired, though. He took the phone off the holder on the wall and showed her. “You press this button to initiate the call, then dial the number. Hold it up to your ear until I answer, then just talk to me. Once you’re done, you press this button here to hang up.”
Marlee nodded. It seemed simple enough.
“I wish I had time to show you how to use the television.” He brightened. “There are lots of books, though.” He took her hand and drew her back into the living room, showing her a bookshelf full of more books than she’d ever seen in her life. She stared in amazement, and Tyris smiled at her. “I shouldn’t be more than an hour or two. Milandra won’t even be out of bed,” he promised.
Marlee nodded. “I’ll be fine,” she assured him.
After snatching one last kiss, Tyris grabbed his phone and car keys, and disappeared out of the apartment. Marlee took her time selecting a book from the shelves, running her hand over the spines.
It had been a long time since she’d had a new book to read. Ever since she’d first learned, sitting on her mother’s lap and following the words as she read to her, she’d been an enthusiastic reader. By the time she reached late teens, she’d read every book the settlers had brought with them. It would have been earlier, but her stepfather had deemed some books unsuitable until she turned sixteen. The thought of all these new books, with new stories to discover, filled her with joy. She picked one, then curled up on the couch, letting herself get lost in her imagination.
Many pages later, the click of a doorknob pulled her out of the fantasy world and back into reality. Milandra walked into the living room, rumpling her hair, and asked sleepily, “Where’s Tyris?”
“He had a call from the general, and had to go...” Her words trailed off. She wasn’t sure where he had to go.
Milandra seemed to know what she meant. “Yes, they probably have lots to discuss and organise to help the other people back on your planet and then mine the anysogen. Never mind, I’m sure they’ll sort it out. How long have you been up?” She sat on the chair next to Marlee.
Marlee shrugged. “I don’t know. A couple of hours, maybe? I’ve been too busy reading to notice.”
Milandra looked at the book she held in her hand and nodded. “Tyris loved that book. He’s read it about ten times, I think. I tried once, but couldn’t get into it. I have no idea why he still has all these books anyway, ebooks are much easier to store, and they don’t collect dust.” She shrugged, as if it was of no consequence, but Marlee failed to understand how anyone could not enjoy reading.
“Have you eaten?” Milandra asked.
“Yes, Tyris cooked something before he left.”
Milandra frowned. “I thought I’d go out to breakfast, then maybe shopping. You want to come?”
Marlee hesitated. She didn’t want to be rude, but she wasn’t sure going out was such a good idea. “What if Tyris comes back while we’re gone?”
She blushed at Milandra’s high pitched laugh. “Trust me, dear, I don’t hang around home waiting for Tyris. Perhaps that’s how it works on your world, but here, a woman lives her own life, we don’t sit at home waiting for a man. Besides, I thought we could buy you some new clothes, ones that fit you properly.”
The polite words of refusal died on Marlee’s tongue. She did need new clothes, no one here dressed like she did. There was just one problem. “I don’t have any money.” They may not have used money on Zerris, but she knew how things worked here.
Milandra laughed. “That’s okay. I have Tyris’s credit card.”
“Credit card?”
“It’s a card that draws money from his bank. Never mind. Basically, it’s endless money. Tyris won’t mind, I promise. Come on, it’ll be fun.”
She seemed so certain, but Marlee hesitated. “Shouldn’t we at least call Tyris and let him know first?” Then she blushed again. Milandra must think she was very silly, unable to make any decisions on her own.
“We don’t want to interrupt him if he’s talking to the general, he wouldn’t be impressed, especially not for something so minor. Don’t worry, we’ll probably be back long before he is, and you can show off your new clothes.”
