The Orion Project: A Novel

by Edward Marin

  When he finally walked into the kitchen, it was 10:05. She waited for him to take a seat and start eating, then took a deep breath and looked at him.

  “I have to write a paper about love for one of my philosophy classes,” she said. “I was wondering if you could help me, give me some ideas. I need to get as many perspectives as possible.”

  Just as she got the last sentence out, she noticed that Teresa and William had walked into the kitchen. She felt a huge embarrassment.

  “Why don’t you ask me?” William said as he and Teresa took a seat at the table. “I’m an expert on the subject.”

  “Of course,” Barbara said. “The more ideas, the better.”

  “I’m just kidding. I don’t have a clue--that’s why I’m still single. I don’t know if love is a feeling, a series of actions, or a way of thinking. Is it necessarily happy? Could it be infatuation, obsession, or just lust? Is it peaceful or does it have to be passionate?”

  “Passionate,” Teresa said. “It’s like when two people have this unbelievable connection and just want to be with each other all the time.”

  “What about you, Tony?” Barbara said, trying to keep a neutral tone of voice. “What do you think?”

  “I think true love can only exist when we’re aware that everything around us is connected.”

  “What do you mean, everything is connected?” William said. “That sounds like some crazy New Age stuff.”

  “I mean that all things around us depend on each other for their existence. Living things need other living things for food, and inanimate objects need oxygen in order not to disintegrate. We’re usually not aware of the unity of all things because of the limitation of our senses. What we perceive as space between things is the something that our senses can’t see, feel, or hear. But it’s as important as solid objects and can be observed indirectly. Think of the way different clocks in a room start to click at the same time after a while, or the way women living in the same household start to menstruate on the same days.”

  “Sounds like a stretch to me. But even assuming all things are connected, what does that have to do with love?” said William.

  “If we’re aware that we’re all part of a whole, we can love our neighbors as we love ourselves, because in a way we are our neighbors. For example, if a man bites his tongue, his tongue doesn’t hate his teeth, because it’s part of him. In the same way, if a person hurts another, the person he hurts would still love him if he knew that they’re part of the same whole. I think that’s how you have true or unconditional love.”

  As the conversation shifted to more mundane subjects, Barbara couldn’t stop thinking about how Tony’s answer might relate to what she’d wanted to find out. Instead of abstract ideas, she’d hoped he would open up a little and give her some idea if he was a little in love with her. But he’d yet again managed to avoid the type of conversation she wanted. And yet again, she’d ended up even more drawn to him, amazed at how he seemed to have something fascinating to say about any subject being discussed.

  CHAPTER 15

  Nick Joyner, the chief curator at the Chicago Museum, was finishing his daily inspection of the grounds when his cell phone rang. He checked the caller ID and saw that his secretary was trying to reach him.

  “You have a long distance call from a Jean Pontour, at the Louvre,” she said.

  “Do you know what he wants?”

  “Something about negotiating an exchange between our two museums.”

  “Tell him I’ll call him back in a few minutes, as soon as I get to my office.”

  Joyner returned to his office, smiling. He saw it as a personal validation that the most famous museum in the world was requesting the opportunity to make an exchange. After all, it was thanks to him that the CM had grown from little more than a private art collection to the well-respected institution it had become. As soon as his secretary dialed the number and transferred the call, he was ready to deal.

  After a few salutations, Jean Pontour got straight to the point.

  “We’d like to exchange one of your museum’s mummies for three Renaissance masterpieces,” he said with a heavy French accent.

  Joyner’s immediate reaction was negative. It was a lot easier to find Renaissance paintings than perfectly preserved mummies dating back to the third dynasty or earlier, as were all three of his. Besides, the ancient Egypt collection was the pride of his museum. But he listened respectfully to Pontour and acknowledged that the three paintings he named would be impressive acquisitions for any museum.

  “I’ll talk to my board,” he said in conclusion, “but there’s virtually no chance that we can accept your offer.” With that, he said goodbye and hung up the phone.

  To his surprise, most of the board members didn’t share his feelings about Pontour’s proposal, but instead urged him to negotiate a better deal. His only explanation for their line of thinking was that they were awed by the opportunity to make the first CM trade with the Louvre.

  Against his better judgment, he did as he was told and engaged in several days of intense negotiation with Pontour. In the end, he was pressured by the board to accept the exchange of the Tonemcadu mummy for five Renaissance paintings.

  Resentful of the interference of people who, for the most part were businessmen with no experience running a museum, he called Allen, one of the maintenance workers, into his office.

  “I need you and Dave to move the Tonemcadu sarcophagus to the conference room. And be quick about it for once. I want to inspect it before I leave for the day. We’ll be shipping it to France tomorrow. Now get going.” He realized he was taking out his anger at the board members on the hapless Allen, but he didn‘t care.

  CHAPTER 16

  One day, after about a month on the job, Tonemcadu noticed that Yvette was going to employees and whispering a few words before handing them an envelope she pulled from the blouse under her uniform. After a few moments, she would take back the envelope with an air of mystery and go on to the next person. She got to Tonemcadu last.

  “Dona Rosa is retiring at the end of the month,” she said, after pulling out the envelope. “A few of us thought it would be nice to have a going-away party for her at a night club. If you’re interested, we’re asking everyone to contribute ten dollars for the drinks. We’ll be giving her this card if you want to write her a little note.”

  Tonemcadu wrote several lines in the remaining blank space of the card and gave her the money. The news of Dona Rosa’s retirement reminded him that he’d soon have to announce that he, too, was leaving. He’d found out a couple of days earlier, at a travel agency across the street from Luigi’s, that he now had enough money to buy a one-way discounted ticket to Egypt. With the position of the stars indicating that he only had five weeks left to his deadline, he decided that the party would be a good time to inform Luigi and his co-workers of his departure.

  The nightclub was a large two-level brick structure with a neon sign announcing “Chicago Live”. A smiling middle-aged hostess planted kisses on both of Louis’s cheeks, greeted them all, and asked them to wait while she had their table readied. A few minutes later she returned and invited them to follow her into a spacious room full of tables surrounding a busy dance floor.

  The decor was simple. Beige tile floors and white walls were enlivened by a few pictures of the Chicago skyline. Flashing lights illuminated the dance floor and contrasted with the softly lit seating area. On a small stage, a three-person band was attempting to play a song over a sound system that exaggerated the bass to the detriment of the melody.

  They followed the hostess to a large table next to the dance floor. The names of each employee had been placed in front of his or her assigned seat, along with a glass of white wine. Right away, a cross-table conversation started to take shape as Teresa and Yvette speculated about how Luigi’s customers would react when they found that the place was closed for the evening. It ended when William, who’d downed his glass of wine in one shot, asked Yvette
to dance. They were soon followed on the floor by Louis and Teresa.

  The dancing went on, enjoyed by all except for Tonemcadu, who was trying to decide if he could ask Barbara to dance without breaking his commitment to conceal his feelings for her. Then the drummer announced that the band would be taking a break, and the music stopped. Once everyone was back at the table, Louis stood.

  “As you all know, Dona Rosa is retiring next Thursday, after fifty years at Luigi’s,” he said. “I’m glad everyone was able to come and wish her well.”

  He looked at his substitute mother with an expression full of affection.

  “Dona Rosa, we want to thank you for being such a good friend and show you how much we love you.” He handed her the card they’d all signed.

  Dona Rosa put on a pair of glasses and started to read, silently moving her lips.

  After a couple of minutes she looked up with tears in her eyes.

  “Speech! Speech!” William yelled, and the others soon joined in.

  Dona Rosa looked embarrassed. Tonemcadu doubted she’d ever spoken in front of a group before. She launched into a rambling, emotional speech about how much she was going to miss them all.

  The mood around the table was subdued after she finished talking. There was more dancing and conversation, but the group seemed less interested in having fun now that Dona Rosa’s departure was official.

  At ten o’clock, Yvette announced that she had to leave for the night, and Tonemcadu stood.

  “I wanted to let you all know that I’ll be leaving, too,” he said. “My last day at Luigi’s will be in a week.“

  The table buzzed. They wanted to know why he was leaving and expressed their regrets with heartwarming sincerity. Tonemcadu noticed that Barbara wasn’t among them. She was staring at him intently and coldly. And then, she moved into the seat next to him that Yvette had vacated.

  “So that’s it?” she said, with the Trinidadian accent that appeared only at times when she was worked up about something. “I thought we were friends. I can’t believe you didn’t let me know.”

  “You were the only one I told I planned to leave,” he said. “I couldn’t tell you when because, until a couple of days ago, I didn’t know myself.”

  “Why are you so secretive?” she said. “All I know about you is that you were once married, yet you know everything about me. It’s so unfair. When I try to bring up anything personal, forget it. You either switch subjects or pretend not to understand. I thought you’d change as we got to know each other better, but it’s getting worse. It‘s been a one-way relationship, you getting to know me. Period.”

  “You’re right. I haven’t been as open as I’d like to because there are some things I’m not supposed to talk about. I would if I could. But I can try to tell you as much as I--”

  “Forget it, I’m tired, I am going home.”

  “By yourself?”

  “Yes, I’m the only person I can count on.”

  “You know it’s not safe at this time of night. Let me walk with you.”

  “I don’t care. That’s up to you.”

  Tonemcadu said goodnight to the others and left with Barbara. He had to give her some kind of explanation, but how was he to do it? There was no believable way to say that he was from another time and charged with a crucial mission he could say nothing about.

  Besides, on an intellectual level, he wasn’t convinced that he owed her much information. After all, they were just friends. He’d always been careful not to act on his strong attraction for her. He hadn’t shown any romantic interest, he hadn’t made any promises; he hadn’t even asked her to dance earlier in the evening, yet he knew from the way she was acting that, like him, she felt a strong connection.

  “I didn’t mean to be unfair to you,” he said after they’d walked in silence through several deserted streets. “I want you to know, there’s a reason much bigger than me for my secrecy. I have an extremely important mission to complete. I know how grandiose this sounds, but it’s a matter of life and death for a great many people. I shouldn’t be saying even this much, and I hope you’ll understand if I don’t tell you anything else about it.”

  Barbara stopped walking and stared at him for a long moment. Then she said, “Well, whatever your mission is, you could have at least told me when you were leaving.”

  “I’m sorry, I should have--as soon as I went to the travel agency. The truth is, I hated the thought of telling you.”

  She started walking again.

  “We’ll never see each other again after you leave, will we?”

  ”Why do you think that?”

  “I just do.”

  They had reached Barbara’s apartment, and she looked just as upset as she had when they left Chicago Live. He decided he would try to talk to her again the next day.

  “Goodnight, Barbara,” he said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Goodnight. Thanks for walking me home.”

  “I enjoyed your company, Barbara. I always do.”

  She unlocked the door to her apartment and stood on the threshold. “If you want, you can stay here and sleep on my hide-a-bed,” she said. “That way you’ll be closer to work tomorrow. It doesn’t make sense to walk all the way to your building at this time of night, then have to come back to this area in the morning.”

  Tonemcadu, who wasn’t looking forward to another long walk and felt guilty about not having told her when he was leaving, accepted the invitation.

  As she pushed open the door, he saw a room where a couch, a chair, and a dresser were separated from a bed by a pliable wooden partition. The walls were decorated with large pictures of people of various ages who in some way resembled Barbara. A kitchenette and a closed door were on the opposite side of the room. Despite its small size, the apartment looked warm and welcoming.

  She walked over and opened the couch, got sheets, pillows, and a blanket from the dresser, and started to make up the bed.

  Tonemcadu watched her every movement as she prepared his sleeping space with the greatest of care.

  “I’m going to miss you,” he said. “You’re a wonderful woman.”

  It was the first affectionate remark he’d ever allowed himself to make to her. She looked at him intently.

  “Do you mean that?” she said.

  “I only said it because I mean it. I’ll miss you.”Barbara, who now looked sad and confused, let out a sigh. Tonemcadu tried to comfort her with a hug, and she buried her head in his chest. After a few seconds she looked up straight into his eyes. Her lips were slightly parted and trembling. At that moment, he forgot his resolve to maintain only a friendship, and he kissed her. It was a deep, unrestrained kiss to which she responded with equal passion. They kissed and embraced until he led her to the bed.

  They made love for hours, reaching heights of ecstasy time and time again. Tonemcadu’s last thought before he fell asleep holding her was that the first thing he would do when he’d completed his mission would be to come and get her.

  He woke up at dawn, unutterably happy, filled with love. Then he looked at her face a few inches away and noticed that her emotions had come full circle. The playfulness and passion of the night had been replaced by a sad frown.

  “What’s wrong?” he said.

  “I don’t want you to leave me.”

  “I don’t want to leave either, but I have to.”

  “What about me?”

  “I’ll come back for you as soon as I can.”

  ”Why don’t you postpone your mission?”

  “I have a deadline. I have no choice.”

  “Then take me with you,” she said. “We all have a mission in life, even if sometimes we don’t know what it is. How can you be sure our missions aren’t connected?”

  “I promise I’ll come back for you as soon as--”

  “I don’t want to wait that long. Who knows when you’ll be able to return?”

  “Even if I could take you, I don’t have enough money for an extra
ticket.”

  “I have savings.”

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t. That’s why I tried not to get too close. I didn’t want us to have a relationship despite how I felt about you. I...”

  He stopped talking and just looked at her for a long moment. Tears had formed in her eyes, and her face seemed filled with sorrow.

  “All right,” he said finally. “You can come with me. We’ll find a way to make this work.”

  They immediately started planning for the trip. Barbara called to make reservations on a flight to Egypt scheduled to leave in a week, which would give Tonemcadu a month to complete his mission once they reached their destination.

  Despite his attempt to anticipate everything needed to travel in the modern world, Tonemcadu hadn’t realized that getting a passport would be problematic. When Barbara found out he didn’t yet have one, she got worried. After a while, she thought of contacting a classmate whom she’d heard had spent time in jail. A few days later, the young man was able to obtain a passport with the picture of someone who resembled Tonemcadu and sold it to them for a considerable amount of money, which she withdrew from her savings. Tonemcadu felt guilty about letting her deplete her nest egg, but realized he had no other option if he wanted to make it to Egypt in time. As soon as he completed his mission, he would earn the money needed to reimburse her.

  The next few days were busy and happy. Every opportunity, when they weren’t working or making travel arrangements, was spent making love in Barbara’s apartment. Their happiness was so noticeable that no one at Luigi’s looked surprised when Barbara announced that she, too, would be quitting her job and leaving with Tony.

  CHAPTER 17

  Allen unlocked the door to the storage room in the ancient Egypt wing of the museum and took a seat on the bench in front of him. He wondered how long he’d have to wait for his trainee this time. He resented having to train someone when he could do the job himself quicker and better. Ten minutes later a smiling young man in his early twenties showed up.