Susan's anger melted a little, and begrudgingly she hugged her best friend before she left. She didn't want to let go, afraid that she might never see her again. Tish's birthday party, if that's what you could call it, was this weekend and Susan wasn't event invited. It was total bullshit. Susan insisted on throwing her own party for Tish, but Tish said she would rather have a quiet celebration with just the two of them. They were going to spend the whole day together on Sunday, reminiscing over the last two years. But their friends at school would be upset that there wouldn't be a party.
Susan tossed around on her bed for a few minutes before leaving for downstairs. She was still upset, but utterly unsure of what to do about it. Things just kept getting worse. Susan's mother told her recently that most high school friends lose touch quickly after graduation. If she wanted to stay close with her best friend she would need to be with her regularly, either at school or work. Otherwise, the friendship would fade as they would have less and less in common.
For the first time in her life Susan had a taste for a beer. Perhaps two. Maybe there were still some in the fridge. Her dad got in late last night. He couldn't possibly have finished the twelve pack that she saw under his arm that fast. The house was quiet today, she hadn't seen her dad all day, and her mother took Jenny shopping after her gym classes. They wouldn't get back for a couple hours. Her worries wanted to disappear into the background as she focused on getting a drink.
Susan tiptoed to the kitchen, not sure why she was sneaking around. Her dad had let her drink a beer just last week. It was her mother that might go through the roof if she caught her drinking, but she was definitely not home. And dad would not likely tell her if he found out. Sure enough, there were eight bottles of beer in the fridge. She grabbed one slowly, trying to keep it from touching the other glass bottles, closed the fridge door and turned to leave, shoulder first into her father's chest.
Susan screamed and had to use both hands to keep the bottle from dropping to the floor, but Nick just smiled. "Whatcha you doing?" he asked, with no sign of anger or disappointment in his expression.
"Uh, I was just going to bring you a beer. I figured you were down in your office, right?"
Nick accepted the beer, twisted the cap and took a long drink, all while maintaining eye contact with his daughter. He stifled a burp inside, just barely too much of a gentleman to let it out in front of his daughter. "Thanks. But I meant what are you up to this evening? Hanging out with Tish?"
"No, actually," Susan replied, staring at the beer bottle in her father's hand. Getting so close to drinking it only made her taste for it that much stronger. "Tish already left," she sighed.
Nick handed the beer bottle to his daughter and grabbed a second one from the fridge. "Come on," he said and walked to the living room sofa, the same spot that they shared a beer last week. Susan sat down beside him and was slightly startled when he tapped his full beer bottle against the one in her hand. "Cheers," he said. Looks like she gets to drink a beer after all. They hadn't eaten supper yet, so her head started spinning before she was even close to finishing the beer. But Nick grabbed two more from the fridge and sat hers on the coffee table along with a cookie. He must have known she needed something on her stomach.
The two of them sat and talked for a while about what was going on in her life, about him being home more often, and how the weather was going to be nice soon. They talked about the outdoor chores he had planned for the next week and was delighted when she agreed to help him after school and on the weekends. He put his arm around her neck and pulled her to his chest, kissing her on the top of the head. He remembered how he used to do that when she was little. He had taken up kissing his younger daughter Jenny on the head every day, practically every time he saw her. He was so happy that Susan was allowing him to do it, too.
Nick found his daughter stunningly beautiful, and was growing to love her personality as well. Her good looks made him feel more protective now than uncomfortable around her. That felt like good progress to him and he celebrated it with a few beers. Susan didn't appear to be able to handle more than two, if that. After she was quiet for a few minutes he lifted her chin to look in her eyes. She was sad and he had to know why.
"What's wrong?"
Susan wanted to say "nothing," but the truth was she felt like she needed her dad for the first time in years. Without a boyfriend to pull her close she felt incredibly comfortable in his protective arms. The bond they were building may be the rock that will keep her from drowning this summer.
"Tish isn't going to college," she said. With her father out of the loop she fully expected this to mean very little to him.
"Oh no," he said, with surprising sincerity. "You two were going to go the same school together right?" She nodded. "I guess you feel like she let you down, huh?" She nodded again, and leaned against his chest to cry. "Oh, don't do that. There, there sweetheart. It will be okay. Why isn't she going to college?"
"She has to go work for her parents. Or she chose to, I'm not sure which. But we won't be going to college together."
"I know you were really looking forward to that, weren't you." He finished off his beer and hers. He probably shouldn't have given her the second beer. Maybe she was going to be one of those girls that gets all whiny and sad when she drinks. He hoped not. "Are you still going to go?"
Susan pulled her head back and looked at him. "Do I have a choice?"
"Sure," he said. "You always have choices. Life gets to be no fun when there are no choices. Remember that. Always put yourself in a position to have choices."
"What would I do if I don't go to college?"
"Well," he answered. The bonding moment touching his heart. "You could come to work for me?"
"As a police officer?" she laughed. "How will that work?"
"Well, maybe not working for the police. Not right away, anyway. You could work for me personally, as my secret assistant. I could pay you from your college fund. You should get that money anyway, if not in the form of education. If you like the work we could get you the training needed to join my division. By then you will be a seasoned veteran."
Susan smiled at her father, not sure whether or not he was joking. He had a tendency to be serious when the things he said didn't sound that way. He told her years ago, when they were still close, that he was a dreamer. Things that sounded silly to other people were exciting to him. "Why would you want me as your assistant?"
"Because you're my daughter, and I love you." He pulled her to his chest again. He wasn't sure he could handle her laughing in his face as he spilled his guts. Not that she would, but if she did. "And you are so smart, and beautiful, and I love having you around. And it would be convenient to have my assistant so close by when I needed her. Plus I think you could really enjoy the work."
"Really?" she asked, still in his embrace. It did sound silly, but part of her wanted it. She had not had a strong male in her life for a while. The loss she felt from Hunter's death seemed a little smaller when she was with her dad. She was beginning to trust him again. She wanted to, anyway. But she knew that he was probably just talking, not serious. Pay her the money from the college fund? Would mom really go for that?
Then Nick said, "And then I can finally tell you all the things that Tish is hiding from you." That's when it got painfully serious. A few months ago she would have defended her best friend if anybody even hinted something negative about her. But now, knowing certain things, Susan was desperate to find out what was going on.
29 - The Way It Is
Tish had prepared her speech, and practiced it a few times. It was brief. "Thank you, blah, blah, it's an honor to have all you here, blah, blah, I look forward to the rest of my human life, blah, blah, by the way, I'm just going to go to work at Silver Silhouette." Her parents were not permitted to influence her life decision, from what she understood, but it was obvious that they had high hopes for her. Very high hopes. But after learning as much as she has about Kamilian life here on earth she
just couldn't bring herself to choose the path of fame. Human life on earth is all she could really remember. How could she take a chance on being deported as a failure to some world that she never knew?
"It's time," Pam announced, opening Tish's bedroom door wide. "Most of the guests are here already. Did you see all those cars parked down the street?"
"No," Tish replied. "I wasn't paying attention to outside. How many people?"
"Oh, at least fifty," Pam said. Tish was shocked. Who were these people? Well, all aliens, she knew that much. But where did they come from? There was no way she had met all these people. Why were they here? "Maybe as many as eighty. And there should still be more arriving soon. We might have as many as a hundred people in our home tonight."
Pam had hired catering help, serving staff, even a band. Tish wasn't sure what kind of music they would be playing. Their instruments looked like a mixture of Mexican mariachi and ancient Greek. When she descended the stairs she could tell that the guests were scattered throughout the whole house. It was drizzling rain outside so the speech would need to take place in the game room, the only room large enough to accommodate that many people at once. Tish spotted her father greeting new arrivals at the door. He was shaking hands vigorously and laughing so loud. She had never seen him like that in her whole life.
Pam noticed her expression and said, "Your father is very proud of you."
"For what?" Tish asked. "And why is he still considered my father? It was not his seed that sprouted my human life."
"Tish!" Pam was outraged. Some of the attendees heard her outburst and turned toward them. Pam smiled like nothing happened then pulled her daughter close at the bottom of the steps. "Control yourself, please," Pam whispered forcibly into her ear. "He has been your father your whole human life. Nothing you have learned can change that."
"Has he really?" Tish asked, surprising her own self at her surliness. Pam give her a sharp look, then smiled big as guests approached them. Tish was introduced and reintroduced to dozens of people before Charlie called everybody's attention to gather in the game room for the announcement before dinner. She heard a few mutterings from some hungry people but mostly everyone was excited for her speech. She instantly got nervous. In her room it seemed like not so a big a deal to say a few words in front of what she thought would be a few strangers. The fact that nearly a hundred of people were anticipating her words made it much different. She was scared nearly to death.
As she glanced through the crowded home Tish thought she saw Will Brobson. "What would he be doing here?" She tried to follow after the guy to see if it was him, but Pam caught her by the arm and guided her along with the mass of people through doorways never meant for groups this large. Sometime since her last visit to the game room a small stage had been built. Charlie was standing in the center of the 2 foot rise with his arm stretched out in her direction. He was smiling like a proud father. She could not understand what had gotten into him. Both her parents were portraying roles that she had never witnessed before.
Pam pointed to the lone chair to the left on the stage and Tish sat in it. Turning to face the crowd she was startled to see everyone smiling at her. What a room full of freaks, she thought to herself. She imagined them in their alien forms and had a non-Kamilian flashback to the Cantina scene in a science fiction movie. It almost made her feel more comfortable until she saw some of the attendees pushing to get a better view of her. What was wrong with these people?
Charlie quieted everyone and began his own rehearsed speech. He talked about Tish like he had been a loving and proud father all her life. Then a screen descended behind him and home movies began to play. Only these movies were of high quality. Apparently Silver Silhouette staff had been filming her for many years without her realizing it. Eventually the screen faded to black and she mentally prepared to get her speech over with. Only the show was not over.
A strange world then appeared. At first Tish thought someone had accidentally filmed over a copy of planet of the apes and was about to laugh out loud. But all the viewers were glued to the screen. At second glance she knew the scene to be a treed city on Bior, the Moneake world. The world she had lived on before earth. So much of it looked familiar. The plant life, the way the Moneake moved and talked. They were such a slow moving and relaxed species. Then one of the apes walked forward to take up most of the screen. It was her, as a Moneake. She recognized the face instantly, but even more so the look in its eyes. Somehow, despite the near grotesque sad facial expression, the eyes looked identical to the ones she saw in the mirror every day. It was her.
The crowd cheered. Apparently, everybody else recognized her as well. The Moneake on the screen then began a speech that lasted several minutes. She could not understand all the words but somehow got the gist of things. She was enacting some treaty to bring together three separate nations into one. There had never been one government on that world before, she thought. As she gazed across the room every person in the house was focused on the screen. When she looked back there were three apes that stepped forward to grab each other’s arms. It was an expression of acceptance, she knew. The treaty was accepted.
Everybody cheered again, until Charlie was able to get them quiet. It occurred to Tish that all these strange people saw her as a hero. She had saved some planet elsewhere, or at least united the whole species for the first time in their history. It was a huge accomplishment. No wonder her mother had said she had accomplished great things in the past. This is what they knew her for. And this is what they were expecting of her again, here on earth.
"Shit!" Tish thought. All these people are expecting to her to choose fame, to end up being some great leader of humans. They were not here to welcome her into the ranks of lowly Kamilian work at Silver Silhouette. They demanded greatness from her. What was she going to do now? She had prepared her speech based on one decision. If she tried to change it now she would look like an idiot. Without a prepared speech they would be as disappointed as if she went through with her decision. She gave it as much thought as she could while Charlie wrapped up her introduction. She was still sitting there when he was done.
"Tish," he said softer than she had ever heard him speak to her. "It's time for your speech." This was horrific, she thought. A few guests chuckled at her expense when she struggled to rise and take center stage. She turned and looked at the locked image on the screen, her Moneake self with arms raised in victory. She tried desperately to remember what it was like to give that speech long ago on that far away world. She needed that kind of strength now. As she delayed the room got nervous, a few people clearing their throats, obviously embarrassed for her.
As she turned to face the crowd she mustered what confidence she had. It did not come from her Kamilian experience, but from her human life. From the speeches she gave at school, from her cheer leading in front of hundreds of onlookers, from her leading large groups of children at the sportsplex. She did not know these people before her, just like the people she dealt with on a regular basis. There was no reason to be scared of them.
"Thank you," she began her speech. Everyone smiled at her in return, and her confidence increased. "As you may know, this is the first time I have seen this film." She pointed at the screen and could sense the crowd's acceptance of her. "I thank you all for your appreciation of what I had done in another life. Though I don't remember it clearly, as you might have guessed, I remember the sense of accomplishment. We are all here to accomplish one thing or another, are we not?" This was not her speech. Where were these words coming from?
"Many of you have accomplished great things here on earth, or will soon." Tish nodded at random people to make them feel like she was talking about them. The emotional feedback she was receiving was encouraging. "All of you have done great things elsewhere. It is a great privilege to be with you here today."
Charlie clapped and the rest of the room joined in. It gave her a few seconds to think of her next words. Pam's face was absolutely beaming with pride.
As the applause died down, she said, "Every assignment we have, whether given to us by others or by ourselves, is how we determine our greatness. Knowing what we need to do, then giving it our all is how we succeed. Though I don't know you all very well, I know that you all take your assignment very seriously." She scanned the room and was completely shocked to see the US President standing in the back of the room with two secret service agents. He nodded at her when she spotted him.
"From running an entire human nation," she said, gesturing to the back of the room, "to handling the entertainment of our home world, every task is important, and deserves the attention we give it. I am very proud to be standing here before you today..." The emotional feedback from the room was exploding. She felt like a god. How was she able to feel it so well? "to announce that I have chosen to join my parents at Silver Silhouette."
The expected applause did not come right away. Tish scanned the room to find many still smiling, others confused, and a few a little disappointed. The wave of warm feelings dipped dramatically. Then she spotted her mother, and sensed the fear as well as recognizing it in her eyes. A strong gust of anger slapped against her from her left. She knew that to be her father, Charlie. Turning toward him she expected his expression to match the negative pulse she was receiving, but he was still smiling instead. Then he started the wave of applause. It was short lived and weak in comparison to the earlier rounds.
Silver Silhouette Page 19