I Bought The Sun For A Dollar

by Gary Starta

  “You don’t have to apologize for that. But how do you know who they are?”

  The professor explained their promotion efforts at astronomy night.

  “The more the merrier,” Timothy answered. Lou Ann popped into the room and back out of it raising more suspicion from Lori.

  The larger group, estimated at about 75 attendees, did have a harder time finding viewing spots in the tree-filled woods. Some climbed onto branches for a better view. Timothy made sure he steered people clear of standing directly on his beloved circle.

  At the meeting’s close, Timothy found a cruiser parked in front of his dwelling.

  “Oh. Just great, we’ve caused a ruckus.”

  Lou Ann squeezed his arm. “Maybe they have news about your break in.”

  The officer explained his visit and that he was obligated to notify Timothy of a ‘neighbour’s’ concern.

  “I might be able to alleviate the neighbour’s concerns if I knew who they were.”

  “Not necessary,” the officer explained. “You have nothing to worry about. Your meeting takes place on public property and doesn’t require a permit. But I have to ask, are you selling anything or collecting fees?”

  “No, Sir. This is strictly non-profit and pro enlightenment. You’re welcome to attend if you like.”

  “Have a good day, Mr. Ray.” The officer squeezed into his patrol car, said something into a mike and left.

  “I wonder who called.” Timothy scratched at his chin.

  “I don’t know. But it was deplorable.” Lou Ann shook her head from side to side.

  Behind the couple, Lori observed Lou Ann’s body language. The woman didn’t seem all that upset and she was quick to change the conversation as to where she and Timothy might catch breakfast.

  Lori watched until they entered the home wondering if she wasn’t the only one hiding a secret from Timothy Ray.

  Chapter Twelve

  Kate found she wasn’t making love as Lou Ann. I guess not everything can be an act. Kate continued working her lips and tongue downward from Timothy’s chest to his manly pleasure zone. Giving oral pleasure always excited her, the way the man would respond to her subtle and not so subtle touches. Moans were acknowledgement of her skills and Kate always felt gratified by giving before receiving. She really didn’t know what Lou Ann’s sexual preferences would be. In a way, she felt she was off the clock from portraying the ditzy southerner. And with that revelation, came concern.

  They changed positions and Timothy’s tongue fell onto her mound. Now she was reaping the rewards of reciprocation. Her fingers tousled his hair as he worked. She began to gasp and moan softly. She closed her mouth and made a humming sound instead of her usual wailing outcries. Kate remained cautious with her responses, especially in this situation where one might not be able to contain natural instincts. Anything she might vocalize or say in this situation might be a giveaway, especially if it wasn’t laced in a southern accent.

  Kate’s phone rang and she startled. The rise in her body nearly resulted in a collision between Timothy’s mouth and her vagina. Timothy quipped. “I never was able to float a woman off a bed before.”

  “I’m sorry.” Kate scurried for her cell buried somewhere in her purse. When she retrieved it, she let the call go to voicemail. It was Hayes. She could only wonder in frustration what he wanted. She was not scheduled to work today, that was, if one didn’t count spying as work. She would deal with it later. It was the weekend for Pete’s sake. Kate took some comfort in Timothy’s reaction. He didn’t act suspicious in the least as to who was calling and his body language didn’t indicate he would have made an attempt to answer the phone.

  Kate walked back to the bed and stroked Timothy’s head. She cradled his head against her waist. In her best southern drawl, she said, “I guess all good things must come to an end, sugar pie.”

  *

  Timothy ran a hand though his hair, his eyes stared pensively into a vacuum.

  “I feel there was a bigger meaning to the statement. But I don’t mean to burden you, buddy.” Timothy mulled over the meaning of Lou Ann’s words. She was called off to work on a moment’s notice. Was she simply alluding to how time was fleeting or was there trouble in paradise?

  Kevin nodded and flagged a waitress for another beer.

  “Hey, this is what friends and Happy Hour at Alisha’s are for.”

  Timothy harrumphed. “Maybe I’m over thinking things. She simply could have been referring to how the phone call interrupted our love fest.” Timothy raised an eyebrow and Kevin laughed.

  “Is that what you’re calling it these days? I can remember in a time in the not so distant past when you called it something a lot less savoury.”

  “Well, that was with my ex. It was sort of a chore with her, especially in the end.”

  Kevin nibbled at a wing and paused. “I know what it may have sounded like but I don’t think you’re coming to an end with Lou Ann especially with the way you guys eye each other.”

  “What do you mean?” Timothy tapped a finger against his mug.

  “It’s like two wildcats.” Kevin dabbed at his mouth with a napkin.

  “Oh. I suppose that’s a good thing. You’ve got to have that fire.”

  “Hey, are you making a comment about me and Chao-Zing, now?”

  “No. I haven’t really gazed into either of your eyes to know. But I can imagine, on your end at least, you have some fire down below for the good old professor.” Timothy chuckled.

  “I just wonder if she’ll feel that same ‘wildcat’ way for me.”

  “Time will tell. You have made another date with her.”

  “Not really. It’s all part of a system I call unconventional dating. I think things should be more spontaneous.”

  “So how are you going to communicate with her, by telepathy?”

  “That would be really far out there, Tim. Kind of like your feelings about your sun.”

  “It isn’t my sun. I mean, I did put up a dollar. But so could anyone else if they chose to.”

  Timothy stuck a fork in his potato skin. “Level with me, Kevin. Do you think my feelings for the sun are going to push Lou Ann away from me?”

  Kevin shook his head from side to side. “I can’t speak for the woman. But I think her statement may have been about an ending with you and your sun worshipping rather than an end between you and her.”

  “So, you think she doesn’t want to see me get hurt.”

  “I do think that.”

  “But that’s not very supportive.”

  “In a roundabout kind of way, I guess it is. All I know is I will be very supportive about Chao-Zing. She is going through a rough period and I’ll be there for her.”

  “Care to share?”

  “She’s dealing with some bureaucracy with her school and is very concerned about a new transfer student. You know she can’t very well include Eastern mysticism in the curriculum. I think it’s about science strong arming astrology, that’s all.”

  Timothy smiled. “I never knew she wanted to include this in her teachings. I guess she does believe in my experience.”

  “So do a lot of people. Did you see the numbers on Lifestream? Thousands have joined the Organized Dissonance virtual group. And don’t forget about those Saturday Sunrise groups popping up all over the country.”

  “I know. I just have to wonder if it’s just a fad that will fade away. With me, it’s different. I don’t want to be part of a trend or passing belief. In fact, instead of going to work at another corporation, I was toying with the idea of starting a non-profit organization to help guide the disempowered into the light so to speak.”

  “That’s a great idea. I’ll help you in any way I can.”

  “I just have to wonder about the detractors. Someone in my neighbourhood obviously isn’t thrilled with our Saturday get-togethers. I’m going to have to be prepared to deal with a backlash from sceptics and the like.”

  “What if they’re not but ju
st people who don’t like to see other people be happy?”

  “How crazy is that? Why wouldn’t people choose light and happiness over darkness and despair?” Timothy sipped at his drink and shook his head.

  “All I know, Tim, is that I’m not afraid to be happy. I don’t need a safety net to fall into because I’m the only one who’s going to let me down.”

  “Maybe I should tell Lou Ann I don’t need her safety net either. In other words, I believe in my beliefs.”

  A chime sounded and Kevin checked his text. “Well, spontaneity calls. Chao-Zing wants to see me at her apartment.”

  *

  Kevin knocked on the professor’s door feeling antsy. He wanted to believe Chao-Zing desired his company but maybe she just needed a shoulder. If so, he would be there just as he professed with Timothy.

  Chao-Zing opened the door wearing a robe.

  “Is something wrong? Are you feeling well?”

  “I know I haven’t been the greatest date. I wanted to make that up to you.”

  ‘But you have been the greatest date. You were comfortable enough with me to share your concerns.”

  Chao-Zing cupped her hands around Kevin’s. “That is sweet. And I think our unconventional dating is going quite well.” She smiled. “I just think we all need to be like Timothy and get out of our heads once in a while.”

  Kevin laughed. “A few weeks ago I never would have imagined someone pining to be like Timothy. He was difficult to be in the same room with. I guess change is possible.”

  Chao-Zing tugged Kevin’s arms. “Come in. I know change is possible because a few weeks ago I never would have done this.”

  Chao-Zing dropped her robe and Kevin’s mouth fell open.

  “It’s only been one date.”

  “Not if you count the meetings. Besides, I believe this is all part of unconventional dating,” she quipped.

  “Truth be told, I don’t know what rule number this classifies under.”

  “Relax with the rules. You can if I can. Besides, I don’t think we need to be looking up at the stars all the time. Sometimes the light is within us.”

  A few hours passed as the two lovers explored each other.

  When Kevin rolled off her panting, Chao-Zing folded her hands together. “I just want to thank the universe for sending this wonderful man to me.”

  Kevin thanked the universe in silence as well. He never imagined Chao-Zing would have opened her heart and soul to him so quickly.

  He reached for her hand and kissed it. “I hope we didn’t go too fast. I want you to know I feel a strong connection to you. I guess it’s a force.”

  Chao-Zing kissed Kevin’s cheek. “I know exactly what you mean. One day we will all know what that force is. And on that day, I will proudly teach it to my students.”

  “I know you will. It’s simply a calling of energy. Why does science have such a resistance to substantiate what everyone in the universe already feels?”

  “I don’t know.” Chao-Zing said the words absently.

  “Is something the matter?”

  “No. It’s not matter. It’s energy. I think you just hit the nail on the head. I was going about my study all wrong. Instead of studying the effect I should be studying the cause.”

  “Meaning…?”

  “I have ignored the circle in the woods. Timothy claims he was called to that spot. Maybe there is some special energy signature there or electromagnetic pulse. Perhaps I can measure it. Then science could substantiate a feeling.”

  *

  Lori Rogers scrolled through the Eddy and Currents section of Lifestream. It was where people posted what in the world was happening to them. She wondered if someday she would have the courage to bare the truth. But should she? Most of these people were virtual acquaintances at best. Sarah always scolded her about using social media. She might tip her hand to what she was really up to.

  Yet Lori opted to steer clear from Sarah’s life of crime. She wanted redemption because of her choice but didn’t think an army of strangers could give solace to her. What she needed was Timothy Ray’s forgiveness.

  Lori harrumphed at some of the announcements. “Who the hell cares what you had for breakfast? So what if your cat looks like he’s waving ‘hi’? Lori did pause a moment at that post and found she couldn’t resist smiling at the feline. So maybe I can make an exception for an animal. They are pretty innocent compared to the human species.

  Her smile faded quickly when she read the next post. It was a woman railing at the Sunrise Saturday groups popping up all around the country. The woman wrote: These people should have more respect for neighbours who don’t want to participate or be bothered by their gatherings. If this is some kind of religious cult, it should be practiced in the confines of a building rather than in the public’s eye. I am appalled that the police don’t seem to see things my way.

  Lori felt a surge of adrenaline course through her. The defiance jolted her, especially when she realized it was directed at her group. She clicked the link to find about more about who composed the message. The woman’s name was Kate Sizemore and her profile said she was from the DC area. The avatar did not reveal a profile picture but instead a picture of the Capitol building.

  “She obviously thinks she’s right,” Lori mumbled in response to the picture. “I suppose she thinks her opinions should be written into law.”

  Growing more curious, Lori clicked a tab which contained Kate Sizemore’s interests. There was nothing unusual about most of them. Dining, dancing, tailgating, swimming and bowling seemed standard fare. But the last interest was unique in the way it was phrased: drunken karaoke.

  Lori scratched at her cheek. She couldn’t help but wonder if this woman was simply a local woman disturbed by Timothy’s sunrise gatherings or perhaps there was something more personal. As her pulse quickened, so did her thoughts. Maybe it was paranoia talking but Lori believed Kate Sizemore was more than just a neighbour of Timothy’s and if so, that meant there was a conspiratorial angle to this Lifestream rant. What if the composer of the message was really Lou Ann? Then there simply wouldn’t be a ripple to deal with but a tsunami.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Harris and Rosenberg mined data for a government contractor and were one of many across the country to do so. It wasn’t a big deal or big news to software tech Jim Parsons who believed security was the paramount concern of the biggest brother, the U.S. government. What this boiled down to was that anyone’s email, phone calls or online shouts were no longer private.

  To impress the government, the contractor not only displayed how its systems could hold megabytes of data, but Harris and Rosenberg also boasted high tech spy toys, among them, a means to listen on anyone, anywhere in the country at any time. The granddaddy of them all of course was thermo-elastic expansion, a means to pry right into the very minds of targeted subjects and send them messages, not through their eardrums, but right through their very skulls. Although still in prototype stage, the firm was hopeful it would be up and running soon; to will even the most subversives into submission.

  Jim Parsons first became suspicious of his superior Ron Hayes when he asked him to run facial recognition on two women who appeared to him as examples of a bad economy coupled with a bad upbringing. It wasn’t such an inner struggle with Parsons as he imagined it to be. It was likely the pair actually committed a punishable crime. But where was this all leading with Hayes?

  Repeated closed door meetings with Kate Sizemore only fired Parson’s imagination because he couldn’t fathom why Hayes would spend so much time with a simple subordinate. He had had a few conversations with Kate over coffee. She divulged some of her past which included training at the police academy. Maybe that was the fact which led Hayes to take so much interest in her. She was an average employee who organized data. She didn’t hold a candle to him as far ingenuity and intelligence went. So was Kate on the fast track with Hayes because of her distant connection to law enforcement? If so, she was even being c
onsulted on the weekend for God knows what; until Parsons began listening in to get a clue.

  Parsons was more concerned with prestige and pay than what Hayes and Sizemore were up to. But if Kate would rise from anonymity from this, it hardly seemed fair to Parsons who was passed over time and time again for promotion. He didn’t give a crap about how nice Hayes treated him. Words of kindness weren’t power nor did they promise improved financial security. He had been duped into believing he would rise in the firm.

  It was this anger which fuelled Parsons to spy on his superior. A few clicks and connections allowed the tech to find out just what Hayes was doing on company time. The partners, Hayes and Rosenberg never mentioned in the company’s mission statement that actual spying on anyone – inside or outside of the establishment – was required or appreciated. Yet they had supplied Hayes with the tools and means to do so. It was more than a gentle suggestion.

  Parsons learned about Hayes’s concern with a man named Timothy Ray, some nut who was inspiring people to worship the sun, just as they had millennia earlier. He had reservations about a citizen inspiring others to act nutty but Parsons couldn’t comprehend what was so dangerous about it. People banded together to do much more threatening activities like protest groups. Nevertheless, Parsons didn’t appreciate Hayes’s doggedness to dismantle a group born from social media. He told Kate in so many words that she needed to step up her game. Bad publicity wasn’t working and they needed to discredit Ray with some damning information from his past. Not an original plan but dangerous nonetheless. Wasn’t there a bigger enemy to chase? And besides that, Hayes didn’t have a big enough pay grade to be playing J. Edgar Hoover or whoever the bastard fashioned himself to become. Anger continued to swell in Parsons’s stomach when he realized these actions might also promote an ordinary employee like Kate Sizemore to a supervisory position.

  Parsons’s disgust with Hayes festered when he caught him spending countless hours monitoring his ex-wife and new lover. What kind of power trip was Hayes on and when would it end?

  The tech balled his fist under his desk as he listened to Hayes intruding in a very private moment between his ex and new fuck interest. It was wrong on many levels but Parsons didn’t want to bring matters to the attention of the partners because he was aware of what fate beheld a whistle-blower. He really didn’t know what course of action he might take but he also knew he couldn’t ignore the disturbing drama at Harris and Rosenberg much longer.