Beyond the Stars (44 page)

***

Noah came to the house later that afternoon. I was grateful to see him. It was as though he heard me calling out to him with my mind. Miria showed him to Gaelan’s suite, where I sat obsessing about the events of the day over and over again in my head.

“Sami, I can’t believe you. You haven’t even been here a day and you are already on the news.” Noah shook his head in disapproval. “You know, I was on Earth for over
twenty-five years
and never once caused a scandal,” he teased. He approached the sofa I was sitting on.

“Noah, what have you heard?” I asked.

“Oh, that one of our commanding officers from the Space fleet has become
romantically
involved with a woman from Earth, and he has brought her here to meet his family.” He plopped himself down on the sofa beside me, bouncing me up from the cushion.

“Is that all?” I asked fearfully.

“Well, they have pictures of you and Gaelan starting from the time you both stepped off the ship. Someone on board must have tipped the reporters off early. You’re a celebrity.”

“Oh,
great.
” I sighed.

“Hey, I was only kidding. It’s not
that
big of a deal.” He nudged my shoulder, trying to cheer me up. “Uh-oh, you must really be upset. You’ve completely lost your upper lip! What’s wrong?”

“Noah, we were in court this morning. The council grounded Gaelan,” I retorted.

“
What?
Are you serious? That’s awful! What right do they have?” Noah’s playful tone quickly became angry when he realized the gravity of the situation.

“Gaelan and his family are trying to get him reinstated,” I said, making a wish.

“Now you understand why I left Kataria. I wanted to start a new life for myself away from those power-hungry morons. Our council makes some pretty bad decisions if you ask me. They butt their noses into places they shouldn’t, trying to justify their purpose,” he said, looking downward with resentment. Understanding his tragic past, who could blame him for holding a grudge? I put my hand on his and squeezed it firmly, conveying my support.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do. Gaelan wants me to go home without him,” I said solemnly.

“Hey, you aren’t seriously considering staying here—
are you?
” he said, looking at me with widened eyes.

“Maybe. I’m not sure,” I muttered.

“Sami,
No!
I know how you feel, but you have to think about Leah and Jackson. You can’t stay here. They can’t lose you, too,” he said adamantly.

“I realize that. But if Gaelan has to stay, how long do you think it will be before I can see him again?”

“Well,” he pursed his lips, “it might be a while. However, I am sure that you’ll be able to pick things right up again when you are reunited,” Noah said casually.

“Define a while,” I groaned.

“Sami, I have to be honest. I’m
not
sure, but it might be a couple of years. But Gaelan is used to being separated from the people he loves. He wouldn’t forget about you.” He scrunched his face up, knowing that it wasn’t the answer I was looking for.

“
Ahh
, I hate this. I feel like someone is tearing my heart in two. I can’t handle it.” I sunk my body down into Noah’s side.

“Sami, please don’t make it any harder than it is. Gaelan will understand,” he urged. My eyes filled with tears.

“You think I can just leave him? Tell him good-bye and that I will see him again in a few years? It’s just not that easy,” I moaned.

“Yes, you can. It’s the best choice. You will regret staying here as soon as the ship departs. Besides, I could stand in for him if you think it would help. I volunteer my services. I can assure you—you’ll be satisfied. I know a thing or two about how to please a woman. You can use me for sex whenever you want. I can pretend to be Gaelan and look at you all ga-ga,” he teased, trying to lighten my mood. He put his arm around my shoulder and gave me a shake.

“
Noah
…” I tried not to laugh. “What?
Now
you offer? After I find someone new to love?” Even though the thought of being with Noah made me uncomfortable, I couldn’t say for sure if I would have turned him down in the last two lonesome years. Still, talk about awkwardever-after.

“
Look
, what’s not to love?” He held out his arms to show off his body.

“Could you
please
be serious for once? Besides, I’m not so sure Karis would approve.”

“That’s no longer a concern,” he said flatly.

“Really? What happened? I thought you liked her.”

“Yeah, I mean she’s all right, a little clingy maybe, but I
can’t
stand her family,” he muttered. “Karis just informed me of her plans to stay here, and that is
totally
out of the question for me. Those people would smother the life right out of me. There’s no way I could pal around with that group for an extended period of time. They see the bad side of everything and are always trying to top each other’s misery. Two words sum them up: buzz kill! Just a few hours with them is completely
draining,
” he moaned dramatically.

“You know you deserve better. You have so much to offer. Any girl would be lucky to have you.”

“You think so,
huh?
”

“Oh, Noah, what am I going to do with you?” I put my hand under his chin and turned his face towards mine like he was a puppy.

“Sami, I’m not leaving here without you. I know you. You will become seriously depressed if you can’t see your kids. Please, I don’t want to think about you selfdestructing. I demand that you come home. There, I made your decision for you. Now, pack up—let’s go home,” he instructed.

“When you say home, you mean Earth?”

“Yes, it’s
my
home now, too, remember?” he said defensively.

“I can’t do it. It hurts too much,” I cried. Noah pulled my limp body in closer.

“You survived before; you can do it again. It’s not forever, and it’s the best decision.” His voice was firm. I nodded in agreement before I leaned my head on his shoulder and fought to control my tears.

Gaelan, Zaric, and Colin returned home later that evening. They all were laughing and had full smiles plastered across their faces when they entered. I thought they were just exhilarated after outmaneuvering more reporters. I was right, but that wasn’t the only reason for their happiness. Colin pleasantly reported his success in convincing another council member, Dilki, to change her vote. Dilki was an old classmate of Colin’s. I became hopeful because now we only needed one more verdict to be changed. Liam returned home shortly after them. He told us he had set his scheme in motion and felt confident of its outcome. I was surprised that no one bothered to question what his plan consisted of.

“Gaelan, what is Liam up to?” I asked when we got to back to his suite.

“I have no idea. He won’t tell us until he’s ready, so it’s no use to ask.”

“Won’t he at least give you a clue?” I asked curiously.

“Oh, you
highly
underestimate Liam’s willpower. If we pressure him, he will stop talking to all of us and probably barricade the entrance to his suite and arm it with booby traps,” he said like he was speaking from experience.

“Why is he so secretive?”

“He’s afraid it will harm his plan. Liam thinks if he talks about something too early, it will not come true.”

“You mean he’s superstitious!” I laughed.

“Yes, that’s what you call it. He likes to let everything
germinate
in peace, just like his plants.”

“He really is different. They say real genius borders closely with insanity.”

“He’s bizarre,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “Now you understand what I had to grow up with.”

CHAPTER 27

ACCEPTANCE

The entire family seemed to put all of their efforts in helping Gaelan regain his flight privileges. Gaelan, Zaric, Azil, and Colin left the house early each day to rally as much support as they could gather. I stayed at the house and met many of Miria and Gallina’s friends. They thought by introducing me to other Katarians, my presence would become more easily accepted. I couldn’t help but feel like I was being scrutinized by the guests. I felt the weight of their penetrating stares every time I looked away. I thoughtfully answered their questions about Earth and how Gaelan and I met. Taking away some of the mystery seemed to appease their fears. Overall, it seemed as though I had won the group’s acceptance. The women all claimed to be supportive of Gaelan and me before they left the house. My work was done. We waited for the rest of the family to come back.

“Any luck?” Miria asked hopefully when the group returned.

“No,” Gaelan said flatly.

Colin walked over and took Miria’s hand in his. “The council’s ballot was swayed. Enos’s father, Darion, managed to convince his closest buddies on the council that Gaelan has suffered poor judgment since meeting Sami. Apparently, his son has been having nightmares ever since landing on Decca. Darion wants Gaelan sit out on the next trip in order to regain his reason,” he explained. Azil paced across the room.

“Darion thinks we endangered Enos’s life and that Sami nearly cost us our treaty,” Azil retorted.

“It’s absurd,” Zaric said defensively.

Gaelan looked at me in defeat. “Enos is accusing me of keeping us on Decca longer than necessary,” he said. “He blames the delay on the Dreons not finding your Katarian registry. He believes the encounter could have been avoided if you stayed on the ship. He’s convinced we would have left the planet before the large tremor awoke the Paramante. Like we can control the weather or when the planet’s tectonic plates are going to shift.”

“He has
no
place on a starship,” Zaric scoffed. “What did he expect? A ride of leisure? A written guarantee?”

“They have no idea what you do,” Colin added.

“Why
don’t
they?” Gaelan huffed. “We go blindly into uncharted territory. No one could
ever
predict what we might encounter. Not to mention our lives are completely dependent on the integrity and operation of the ship. You don’t have to be a genius to understand the risk!” Gaelan shook his head in disbelief. My suppressed fears resurfaced—validated by his accidental admission. For the first time, I really appreciated the fact that I wasn’t the only one anxious about traveling in Outer Space. They were just as apprehensive about the unknown dangers of the universe as I was. Gaelan never revealed his vulnerability to me. He displayed an extreme confidence to overshadow his hidden reservations.

“Did he think he was sending his son to camp?” Zaric said sarcastically. “Maybe we should have had Darion sign a waiver releasing us from liability in case Enos got killed?”

“Oh, could you picture that? There would be
no
forgiveness if we didn’t bring him home alive,” Azil added callously.

“Sure seems like it,” Colin added.

I looked up to see Gaelan’s eyes glued on me. He looked at me nervously as though they had said too much in front of me. I acted unbothered by their eye-opening conversation. “So, they are punishing you because of me,” I muttered.

“It’s the perfect retaliation. They think by taking me away from what I love most, I will learn to act more cautiously in the future. It’s an oppressive attempt to keep me in line,” Gaelan said bitterly.

***

Gaelan and I left the house to visit Urit. He had called earlier to tell us he had something exciting to report on the Dreon tracer. Gaelan said he sounded like he made a breakthrough in deciphering the device. To my relief, he lived within walking distance … if you consider five miles walking distance. His home’s lot touched the far north side of Gaelan’s family’s property that bordered the lake. I could see glimpses of the water through the trees the closer we got. We walked on a trail through tall wheat fields to get there. I’d longed to be outside. Just the sensation of my feet hitting the natural ground with each step was satisfying. A light breeze brushed gently against our faces, carrying the smell of clean, fresh air. It felt amazing to be on the open land. We strolled across the sunlit field, forgetting about the troubles of the day. The soft wheat strands reflected the glistening rays of sunlight in the most spectacular golden color. My stress seemed to melt away. I wanted to remember this peaceful moment forever. I made a mental picture of its glory, trying to freeze its beauty in my mind so I would never forget how wonderful it made me feel.