“Hey, Fraya.” He watched her from the door like a predator who needed to feed. The hunger was so big that he surprised himself by containing it. “Need some help?”
She resumed throwing empty paper cups into the bag. “No. I’m used to this. Go have fun with Gene. I’m not a huge fan of big parties.”
“Leave the cleaning. Come and have a drink. I’ll help later.”
She straightened. “I’d rather you go with him.”
“With Gene? To Zone 41?”
“Yes.”
“Why? Because you can’t trust Gene, or you’re scared of having me around when he’s gone?”
“A bit of both, I guess.”
Her honesty surprised him. He studied her intently.
“You’re tired. Working hard?” he asked, even if he knew the answer to that too.
She hadn’t been accepted to the SWO for nothing. She was a hard worker and an exceptionally bright woman. An exceptionally beautiful one. And an exceptionally responsive one. Already he felt his body tighten at that thought. And then his jealousy mounted as he imagined her in Gene’s embrace. A woman like her deserved more than having to get off on a vibrator, and being left to her own devices a week before her mating ceremony.
“I’m fine,” she said.
At that moment, Gene popped his head around the door. “There you are, Fray. Come on guys. Shuttle will be here soon. Speech time.”
Fraya smiled at Gene, dropped the bag and took the hand he offered, following him back to the lounge. Once more in the overcrowded room, Emilio watched as Gene pulled Fraya into the crook of his arm. Gene faced his group of friends and cleared his throat.
“Attention everyone! That’s right.” He waved his arm. “This way. May I have your attention?” When the talking and laughter quieted, he said, “Alright, everyone. I’m out of here, off to Zone 41 for the very last bachelor holiday of my life. I think that deserves a drink.”
Gene grabbed a glass from a nearby coffee table and raised it to everyone’s cheer. “To India! And see you all in a week for the ceremony. I know how slack you bunch of assholes are, so don’t be late. No one comes in after the bride.” He winked at Fraya. “See you Saturday, honey, when you walk down the aisle.”
“Don’t miss your flight,” she said quietly, but not so soft that Emilio didn’t hear.
When the clapping and whistling calmed and Gene made as if to move, Emilio stepped forward. “Gene asked me to make a toast on Fraya, on her great achievement of this week.” He raised his glass. “Congratulations, Doctor.”
Emilio cursed Gene silently for being an inconsiderate ass. It was typical of Gene to forget something so important in the midst of his selfish excitement.
Gene had just enough time to press his lips quickly to Fraya’s before his mobile phone rang.
“My ride,” Gene said as he checked the screen. He smiled at Emilio. “Take care, buddy. I’ll see my best man on Saturday morning. Be ready.”
“You better be ready. I still think you should come back at least one day before the ceremony. Arriving only on the morning of your mating ceremony is looking for trouble.”
“You know my motto. Live on the edge, mate,” Gene called over his shoulder as he made his way to the entrance. He grabbed his travel bag and threw it over his shoulder. “Cheers!” he said at no one in particular before walking through the door and letting it shut with a bang.
Emilio waited until the last guests had left. Maybe he even helped to speed the intoxicated bitter-enders on their way with a few dark looks and not-so-subtle hints. Fraya needed to get to bed, at least that was what he told himself.
When Fraya had seen the last couple off, she stood by the door, keeping it open as his cue to leave. She regarded him cautiously, and she had reason to. It was going to take all of his willpower not to touch her.
“I guess you want to go too,” she said. “It’s been a long night.”
“In a minute. We need to talk.”
“We have nothing to talk about.”
“I disagree. Since Domfront you haven’t stopped running from me, never stopped avoiding me. And in a week you’re mating my best friend. There are things that need to be said.”
Fraya picked up the garbage bag she had left in the entrance. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to carry this down and when I get back I need to get on with the cleaning. Please see yourself out.”
She tried to push past him, but he held her back.
“One drink, and then I promise to go.”
He could see that she wanted to object, but before she could open her mouth, he pulled her back into her flat and closed the door.
“Wine?” he said over his shoulder, making his way back down the hallway. She shook her head, but he got two glasses from the kitchen anyway, poured some artificial alcohol-induced wine from an open bottle, and handed her one where she stood awkwardly in her own lounge. Fraya took the drink wordlessly, walked out onto her small balcony, and sat down on the wall.
“I’ll get straight to the point,” Emilio said, “seeing it’s been a long day for you and you probably want to go to bed.”
She sipped her wine. “That’s very considerate.”
He ignored her sarcasm. “I know you’ve been avoiding me during this last year.”
She straightened her back. “I haven’t avoided you. You live in Zone 30. That’s on the other side of the world.”
“Fraya, I’ve been to Toronto at least five times in the last year and every time I saw Gene, you’ve concocted an excuse for not joining us for dinner, and when you didn’t have a choice but to show your face, you dragged Gene away early.”
She looked into her glass. “Forgive me for deducing after our last conversation that I’m not one of your favorite people.”
“You’re not.” His statement made her head jerk up. Yes, forgiveness wouldn’t come easy. “But for Gene’s sake we have to get along.”
“Put the past behind us?”
“No. I never put the past behind me. I never forget. Or forgive.”
She shifted. “Then what do you want from me?”
“Gene is my best friend. We’ve known each other since school. Our parents are close. I won’t sacrifice him because of you.”
It was true that he didn’t want to risk Gene’s friendship, but the real reason behind his request was that he wanted to see more of her, even if he couldn’t act on it. Maybe it was stupid punishing himself with something he couldn’t have, but he’d rather feel a punch in his gut every time he looked at her than not see her at all. He noticed the anger creeping into her eyes now, as well as the effect of the adrenalin from the spurt of fury. It had to be like oil on the fire of her need. He knew, because anger did the same thing to him. He saw her grit her teeth and pull in her stomach. God, he knew she was hurting, as much as he was aching. And there was nothing to do about it.
“What are you getting at?” she finally managed.
“Don’t keep him away from me, once you’re mated, for the mistake you’ve made.”
“I said I was sorry. What more do you want from me?”
“To hear that you’re happy, I guess.”
“I am.”
“I truly hope you’ll be happy together, you and Gene.” They had to be. If he had to suffer like this, it had to be for a damn good reason. “Just remember what I said, Fraya. I won’t lose Gene because of you.”
She got up abruptly. “I don’t dictate to Gene. He can see whoever he wants, whenever he wants.”
He smiled. “Good. I’m glad we understand each other.” He got up and left his untouched wine on the table. “I’ll be around for the week. I’m staying at this hotel.” He pulled a card from his pocket and left it next to the wine. “If you need anything while Gene is away, you know where to get hold of me. I promised him I’d watch out for you.”
He saw her body tense at his words. “You’re not going back home, Emilio? Gene said you were too busy to stay, to take a holiday. I thought you were le
aving and only coming back for the ceremony.”
“I managed to combine business with pleasure. I’m meeting some building suppliers. You can count on me if you need assistance. Purely platonic, of course.”
“Thank you, but I’ll manage.”
For some reason that statement infuriated him, the fact that she didn’t need him, would never need him, as long as she was pumping that serum into her body and trying to fool herself into believing Gene was her chosen mate.
“I’m sure you’re the kind of woman who always manages,” he said coldly.
She turned her head away and offered no greeting as he made his way to the door and let himself out. The minute he stepped onto the landing, away from her, his body turned stone cold.
Chapter Eight
The mobile phone ringtone on his wrist pad woke him. Emilio switched on the lamp, wiped a hand over his face and checked the time that was reflected in a blue light on the wall. It was barely five. Saturday morning. Fraya and Gene’s mating day. A chill descended on Emilio at the thought even as he reached for his wrist pad and pondered the early call. Gene’s flight wasn’t due until eight. He checked the caller’s name. Suddenly, he was wide awake.
He sat up. “Fraya?” Was that a sob? His heart went cold. “Fraya, talk to me, baby. What’s wrong?”
In the week that Gene had been gone she had never asked for anything when he knew she needed help with the ceremony arrangements and her upcoming move.
He heard her take a breath. Her voice was calm when she said, “I’m sorry to have to call you, but there’s no one else.”
“What’s going on?”
“Can you come over, please?”
Fraya asking him to come over?
“Now?” His question was more an expression of concern than defining time.
“Please.”
He didn’t ask more. “I’ll be over in fifteen minutes.”
“Thank you.” The two words were a mere whisper.
He dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, grabbing a jacket as he made for the door. Was it the mating ceremony? Had something gone so terribly wrong that Fraya’s usual stoicism had flown through the window? Thankfully the streets were quiet so early on a Saturday morning. Emilio had scarcely taken the first turn when his phone rang again. He activated the speaker function and checked the screen, but it was from an unknown caller.
“Larraín.”
“Emilio?”
Warning bells went off in his head. “Gene?”
“Emilio...” His friend sounded distraught.
He had a terrible feeling. “Gene? Where are you? How come you’re calling me if you’re supposed to be in a plane over the Pacific Ocean?”
“I’m not in the plane, Emilio.”
“What the fuck is going on? Did you miss your flight?”
“I’m not coming back.”
“What do you mean you’re not coming back?”
“I can’t do this, man. I can’t go through with it.”
“Damn you, Gene. Your mating ceremony is supposed to take place in ten hours. I won’t let you do this to Fraya. Get your ass on the next jet plane back here, or I swear to God, I’ll kill you myself.”
“Just take care of Fraya, alright? I just got off the phone with her and she’s pretty upset.”
“Pretty upset? What the hell did you expect? What’s going on with you? Have you lost your mind?”
“I can’t explain it. I just had this breakdown. I can’t do it.”
“You’re a dick, Gene. When are you coming back?”
“I’m not coming back. I’m going to carry on traveling for a while, clear my mind, and try to see things in perspective. I managed to get on a team of travel writers. I’m just going to do some zone hopping for a while and see where it takes me. I should have done this a long time ago, then I would have realized...”
“Gene, please, don’t do this to Fraya. Come home, face the mess, deal with it and then you can bugger off, but don’t leave her to clean up your shit.” Concern for Fraya overrode Emilio’s selfish need to rejoice in Gene’s abrupt decision. “Don’t be more of an ass than what you’ve already been.”
“Just make sure she’s alright, buddy. I can’t cope with the wedding. I just can’t see myself mated.”
“Gene–”
The line went dead.
“Fuck!” He slammed his hand on the steering wheel and pushed the override button on the computer so he could put his foot down on the accelerator. This wasn’t the kind of humiliation he wished for Fraya. Gene should have listened to him, should have called it off before it went this far.
He parked his car in the street in front of Fraya’s drab, concrete building. Like pigeonholes, one flat was stacked on top of the other, hence the name, stack dorms. Not bothering with the elevator, he took the stairs two by two to the fourth floor. When he arrived at her door, he only had to knock once before she opened it.
His heart stood still when he saw her. It was obvious from her red eyes that she had been crying, but it was what she wore that took him aback. She was dressed in his Foreigner T-shirt and a pair of boy shorts. It wasn’t on her tantalizing legs he focused though, it was on her forlorn face. Emilio wanted to grab her and wrap her up in his arms. Instead, he calmed himself, for her sake, and stood watching her, at a loss for words.
“Thanks for coming. I’m sorry I called so early.”
She appeared perfectly calm. Fraya turned and didn’t look back to see if he was following. He closed the door and walked close on her heel to her small lounge. The shelves, walls and surfaces were bare. Boxes and crates were crammed into the space. Customary of stack buildings like these, the walls were unpainted, an ugly gunmetal color. The floors were concrete too. When he first entered her flat a week ago, he didn’t pay attention to the décor because it was filled with people, obscuring his observation, and his head was too filled with her to notice much else. He always hated the idea of her living in this shoebox, but now that it was bare the coldness jumped at him and strangled his heart. He couldn’t wait for her to move into her new condo, a place more worthy of her.
A pot of coffee and two mugs waited on the table in front of the sofa. Fraya loved real coffee. She was a coffee-bean addict. He knew it was the only luxury she allowed herself. When she sat and lifted the pot at him he nodded and took a seat next to her.
She poured the coffee, handed him a mug and cupped hers between her hands. “Gene called.”
He wanted to say he knew, but he couldn’t find his tongue.
“He’s backed out. I have to cancel the ceremony.” The only evidence of her emotions was the way in which her hands shook lightly. “I’ve already thought it through. There are eighty guests, some who came from as far as your zone.” She pushed a list that lay on the coffee table toward him. “I’m going to need help to call them. I won’t manage to speak to everyone in time to call off the ceremony and the reception.”
Emilio looked at her face and couldn’t help to admire the way she had already taken control of the situation.
“I’ll start with the mating official,” she said, “the venue, and the caterers, and go down the list. It’ll be quicker if there are two of us working on it.”
He could only stare at her in disbelief. “You called me to help you inform everyone of the turn of events?”
He had thought after his conversation with Gene that she called because she needed a shoulder to cry on. But here she was, in circumstances he couldn’t imagine himself maintaining his calm, making decisions and taking charge. His admiration for her climbed a notch.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t call Gene’s parents. They’ll be upset. I’m not sure they’ll be much help. I’ll deal with them after I’ve informed the service providers.”
She shouldn’t be the one facing Rebecca and Patrick. Gene could have at least come back to tell them, everyone, in person that he had gotten cold feet.
“What a grand fucking mess,” he said, fuming inside at Gene’s inco
nsiderate behavior.
An emotion flickered in Fraya’s eyes. When she hid her face behind her hand, he thought she was going to cry, but after a second she lifted her head, took a shaky breath, and said, “You have no idea. My future has just been turned upside down. My job at the observatory depended on this ceremony.”
He frowned. How could Gene do this to her?
She misinterpreted his expression for confusion, because she continued to explain what he already knew. “The SWO was authorized to appoint someone with citizenship for Zone 30. The international affirmative action law won’t allow a Canadian to take the position in Chile. No mating, no citizenship, no job. No moving zones.” She left her mug on the table and pulled her hands through her hair. “I’m going to have to change my plans.” She looked around the room. “I’ve given up my flat, sold my furniture.” A hollow laugh escaped her throat. “It looks like I packed for nothing.” She seemed to check herself. “But one thing at a time. I first have to deal with today.”
He was going to kill Gene with his bare hands. That job meant everything to her. It was the biggest honor ever granted a fellow. Not only would she be the youngest female in the world to claim such a prestigious position, but also the only one to enter straight from acquiring her PhD into operations. Others had to work in related institutions for years before being considered for such a placement at any observatory. It was her dream, all she ever wanted to do. All he wanted to do was to fix it for her. Besides, the land had been bought, the new site developed and the condo constructed. He stared at his coffee, deep in thought. He did have the power to fix it, and the solution that came to mind would not only be her fix, but his, too.
Again, Fraya misinterpreted his silence, because she said, “If you don’t want to do this, I’ll understand. I can ask the minister to help with the calls.”
“Don’t you have a girlfriend, someone you’re close to–” ‘To support you’, he wanted to say, but she interjected.
“No. I haven’t had much time for friends in my life, Emilio.” She gave him a wry smile. “Thanks for coming, anyway. I understand.”
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