by Amy Thomson
“I could provide transport to the shuttle terminal,” Sheriff Hiller offered. “My grandfather is the local historian. He’d be happy to say a word or two about the station.”
Juna met Toni’s eye, and the sheriff winked at her. Juna fought back a laugh. Grandpa Hiller’s long-windedness was notorious. Listening to him rattle on was almost more punishment than the reporters deserved.
“That’s very thoughtful of you, Sheriff,” Analin said.
The sheriff shrugged. “They’re tying up the roads. It’ll help ease congestion.”
Clearly Grandpa Hiller had outdone himself. The reporters looked slightly dazed when they got off the bus at the press conference. It took ten minutes for them to recover enough to begin asking really probing questions, and Analin was able to bring the press conference to a close after a few more minutes. One of the deputies dropped Juna at home, and she slipped quietly upstairs and gratefully into bed, even though it was only the middle of the afternoon. She was so sleepy lately. She felt like a bear, slipping in and out of hibernation.
She was awakened around dusk by a comm call.
“Good evening, Dr. Saari, I’m Counselor Tatiana Kon-stantin, from the Survey’s legal department. As you know, the Survey is most concerned about the situation that you are in, and we are doing everything in our power to help you. We’ve arranged for the charges to be dropped as soon as your pregnancy is terminated.”
Juna felt the rising hope in her fall away at the lawyer’s last words. She clutched the edge of the table and took a deep breath, reining in her anger. “There seems to be some misunderstanding here. I’m planning on keeping the baby.”
“I see,” the woman said, obviously surprised. “You realize that you are not allowed on active duty while you are pregnant?”
“That clause in my contract refers only to space travel and hazardous duty.”
“Your duties with the Tendu will require considerable travel.”
“Then I guess we’re both in a bind, aren’t we?” Juna said. “We’ll have to work out a compromise that will enable me to continue to work for the Survey.”
“That may be quite difficult, Dr. Saari.”
“I understand that,” Juna replied, “but Moki and Uka-tonen need my help and support, and I can best help them by remaining in the Survey.” She smiled inwardly. The Survey wasn’t the only one who could deal in veiled threats. “It would be a shame if I was forced to retire because the Survey was unable to work around the needs of me and my child.”
“I see. We will need to reconsider our position in this matter.”
“Yes, we will,” Juna said. “The Tendu and I need to have a say in the Survey’s plans for us.”
“I’m sure we’ll take your needs into account, Dr. Saari.”
“How can you do that if we’re not included in the decision-making process?” Juna demanded.
“I’m sure we’ll discuss your request, Dr. Saari,” the woman said. “I’ll talk to the director, and set up a meeting with you after your leave is up.”
“Thank you,” Juna said, doing her best to sound grateful. “We look forward to discussing our plans with you.”
“You’re welcome, Dr. Saari,” she said, and signed off.
Juna sat back with a weary sigh, rubbing her forehead. She was bone-weary. Even though she had just wrung a concession from the intransigent Survey bureaucrats, it did not feel like a victory.
There was a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
It was Anetta, carrying a tray laden with food.
“You’ve had a long hard day, dear, so I brought your dinner up on a tray. I made you pea soup. When you’re done with that, there’s roast chicken and spanakopeta,” she said, setting the tray down on the desk.
“Thank you, Tati.” Juna said gratefully. She really was too tired to go downstairs to eat.
“I remember when I was pregnant with my first.” Her aunt paused a moment, her eyes shadowed, remembering her family, lost in the war. In that moment she looked truly, frighteningly old. “I was so tired I could hardly move for the first couple of months. And you’ve had a very hard day.”
“Netta-Tati, do you think I’m being selfish?”
“Selfish, Juna? Why on earth would you think that?”
“For having this child, all by myself, without planning it. I ask myself why I want a child, and nothing comes back. All I know is that I want this child. Maybe it’s for all the wrong reasons.”
Anetta reached out and took Juna’s hands. “When I was young, surprise children happened a lot more often. A lot of women stopped the pregnancy, and for them it was a difficult choice, but the right one. But some women wanted to keep their children, and somehow they made room for them, even when it was hard. Juna, you want that child. Don’t let anyone talk you out of it. You have all of us behind you, and we’ll make it all work out somehow. It won’t be easy– children never are. But most worthwhile things are difficult.”
“Thank you, Netta.”
Anetta reached down and hugged her. “You’re like a daughter to me, Juna.”
Juna looked at her aunt’s kind face, seamed by time. She had helped fill the hole left in Juna’s life by the death of her mother. “You helped bring me back to life after the camps, Tdti” she said. “I was so afraid for so long.”
“We helped each other, Juna. That was a bad time for us all. Some days I thought the cloud would never leave us. It was like that when Toivo was hurt, too. Your father– ” She shook her head. “I thought your father was going to go crazy. Then Toivo pulled out of it. The doctors performed miracles, but it was Toivo’s stubborn spirit that made the difference. He just refused to die. Then, when he found how bad it was, it was your father and Selena who wouldn’t let go of him, who made him live.”
“I wish I’d been here when Toivo was injured,” Juna said regretfully. “The worst part was knowing he was hurt, and not being able to do anything.”
“But you brought the Tendu and their miracles, and soon he’ll walk again. He hasn’t been this happy since the accident. And that baby will be another miracle,” she said. “You’ve given us so much, veljentytar” She stood. “Now, eat your dinner before it gets cold.”
“Yes, Tdti Netta,” Juna said with a smile. She dug into her soup with sudden enthusiasm. She was still scared and uncertain about her future, but at least she wasn’t alone.
It took nearly a week to find Bruce, and then two more days to get him out of the backwater jail he was imprisoned in. Juna was settling into bed when the comm chimed. “Juna, it’s for you,” her father called from the foot of the stairs. “I think it’s Bruce. I’ll transfer it upstairs to your comm.”
Juna padded to the door, pulling on a robe as she went. “Thanks Isi,” she called down. “I’ll get it.”
She switched on the comm. Bruce’s face appeared. He looked rumpled and peevish.
“Hello, Bruce,” she said.
“Have you got any idea how bad a time I’ve been having?”
“I’m sorry, Bruce.”
“That’s easy for you to say, isn’t it? You didn’t have to spend a week in a stinking Mauritanian jail.”
“Bruce, we got you out as quickly as we could,” Juna told him.
“I wouldn’t have had to go through all this if it hadn’t been for you. First I was stuck on that damned ship– Now this.”
Juna took a deep breath and pushed away her pain and anger at Bruce’s sudden, surprising hostility.
“It was an accident, Bruce. The Tendu undid my contraception without my knowledge. They had no idea what they were doing, and I didn’t know I could get pregnant.” She considered pointing out that she would never have gotten pregnant if he had gotten his shot too, but that would only make matters worse.
“And now you want me to give up part of my child-rights so that you can have the baby.”
“Bruce– ” Juna began. “I don’t want to take your child-rights away. I’m not out to get you. I think you s
hould get a good night’s sleep, and think things over tomorrow morning. I’d like you to come up here, meet my family, and talk the situation over. It’s your child too, Bruce, and I want what’s best for all of us. You, me, and our daughter.”
“A daughter?” Bruce said. “You mean– It’s a girl?” His angry expression was replaced by sudden amazement.
“So the Tendu tell me.”
“A girl,” he said and shook his head. “A girl,” he repeated somewhat more quietly. “I’ll be damned.”
He was pleased. Juna felt her own fear and anger vanish. Perhaps now he would be willing to talk.
“When do you want me to come up?” he asked.
“As soon as it’s convenient.”
“I’ll see what I can do, and then call you. What’s the time difference?” he asked.
“We’re plus 3 GMT,” she told him.
“Oh jeez. I woke you up,” Bruce said, looking embarrassed.
“Not quite,” she said. “It’s all right. Let me know when you’re coming up.” She felt herself relax with relief at his sudden shift in mood. Maybe she could work things out with him after all.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll see you as soon as I can.” He shook his head again. “A girl. 1*11 be damned,” he muttered as he reached for the disconnect button.
Juna and Counselor Gheisar picked Bruce up at the shuttle station.
“Well,” he said tightly after Juna had introduced him to her lawyer. “I guess you’ve got me surrounded.”
Juna winced inwardly. She wished Analin was here. She would have found some clever way to defuse the tension, but Analin had gone back to Earth, where she could work more directly with the major news organizations.
“Bruce, it’s not like that,” Juna protested. “Sohelia wants to find out what the Pop Con people have said and done, so that we can build the best case to keep our child.”
“I see. Perhaps I should have brought my lawyer as well.”
“If you’d like,” Sohelia broke in, “you can ask him to come up or have him present by comm link during our discussions. I’ll need to speak with him, anyway.”
“That would be good,” Bruce said.
“Your lawyer is Bernard Frishberg, I believe? I’ve worked with him before. He’s good.”
“Thanks,” Bruce replied. “He should be. He costs the Earth.”
“With a little luck, the Survey will wind up paying your legal fees. After all it was their negligence that caused this pregnancy.”
“So Bernie says.” Bruce sounded dubious.
“Moki is looking forward to seeing you, Bruce,” Juna interjected, to change the subject. “He’s busy helping my nephew repair the grape crusher. Moki’s still crazy about machines,” she added, smiling fondly. “He misses you.”
“It’ll be good to see him again. How’s Ukatonen?” Bruce asked, clearly relieved at the change of subject.
“Much better. They both perked up as soon as they got here. They’ve been a big help around the farm, and with the new vineyards we’ve put in we need all the help we can get. Ukatonen’s developed a real liking for the farm horses. My father’s asked him to help train a pair of colts to harness.” According to her father, Ukatonen had a gift for working with horses.
“You seem happy to be home,” Bruce noted. He sounded a bit wistful.
“I am,” Juna agreed. “I think living with the Tendu made me appreciate my family more.”
“I guess after four years of living in a tree with aliens, it would be nice to be home.”
“No,” Juna said. “That’s not what I meant.” She paused, trying to find the words that would bridge the gap of understanding that lay between them. “The Tendu were together so much. No one was ever alone. It was hard at first, living in everyone’s pocket, but gradually I became part of the community, even though I was an alien and a stranger. I felt more alone on the ship coming back than I did living among the Tendu. They made me realize how much strength I could draw from being a part of a community.”
Bruce looked uncomfortable. “I think you’ve been spending too much time with the aliens and not enough time with your own people,” he told her. “You need to remember that you’re home now, Juna, among human beings.”
His words saddened Juna. She realized that she was seeing an aspect of his personality that she had refused to acknowledge on board ship. If only she could make him understand how much her time with the Tendu meant to her, how deeply it had changed her.
“Bruce, I wouldn’t change what happened to me on Tiangi. The Tendu taught me so much. I can’t imagine my life without the Tendu in it.”
“Juna, I– ” Bruce began, “You shouldn’t– Dammit Juna, I don’t want my daughter raised by aliens!”
She placed one hand protectively on her stomach, and took a deep breath, pushing away her fear that he would take the baby away.
“Bruce,” she said gently, “I’ll be her mother, not Uka-tonen, not Moki. I want to marry into a family that will love her as much as I will. Ukatonen and Moki will be part of her life, but she’ll also be surrounded by humans.”
“Then marry me, Juna. We can make it work– you’ll see.”
She felt a wave of sadness wash over her. She couldn’t marry Bruce, not after what he had said about the Tendu.
“I’m honored that you would ask me, Bruce. It’s very kind of you to offer, but we’re too different. It wouldn’t work.”
She hoped that she had turned him down gently enough. If he got angry at her, he might make things even more difficult.
“But, Juna, the child needs a father!” he exclaimed.
“Bruce, the child needs a family, a happy one, not two people married to each other out of obligation.”
“And what about me, what about my rights?” he demanded.
“That’s one of the reasons you’re here, to help settle the custody issues,” Sohelia pointed out. “I don’t expect any final agreement to come out of this, but perhaps we can find out what each of you wants, and start to outline some kind of settlement. However, you two may be arguing over something that will never happen. Pop Con could force Juna to end the pregnancy. I’m going to do everything in my power to prevent that,” the lawyer continued, “but until the hearing, custody is a moot point. If you want this child to live, you must work together to make that happen.”
They drove on in sullen silence until they passed the Ueno place. “We’re nearly home,” Juna said, trying to break the mood. “I hope you’re hungry. My aunt’s making a big dinner for us. She’s a wonderful cook.”
“Actually, I’m starved,” Bruce admitted. “I don’t eat much when I’m shuttling between stations. All those gravity changes do strange things to my stomach.”
Sohelia nodded sympathetically. “Mine, too.”
“I guess I got used to shifting gravity, growing up here,” Juna remarked. “They sent us to school out on the outer rim, where the gravity is heavier, so our bones would be strong. After the first month, I hardly noticed the change anymore.”
Juna turned in at the gate to her family’s farm. “Here we are.”
Bruce looked out the window at the solid-looking stone house. “I expected something a little more spartan.”
“The house was built by the first colonists, a group of Reform Amish,” Juna explained. “The Amish had big families, so they built big. And they built to last. The stone was left over from building the station. Most of the original houses are made of it. It was the cheapest building material they had.”
“It’s a nice place,” Bruce said.
“Thank you,” Juna replied. She stopped in front of the house, and pulled Bruce’s bag out of the back of the truck. Anetta came out on the porch, wiping her hands on a dishtowel, and nodding at Sohelia as the lawyer went inside.
“So you’re the father of my new niece!” Anetta said when Juna had introduced them.
“Well, I suppose I am,” Bruce acknowledged, looking suddenly embarrassed.
Just
then, Moki came out of the barn. “Bruce!” he shouted, and broke into a run. He took his bag. “Bruce! I’m going to have a sister! Isn’t that great!”
“Moki, why don’t you help Bruce get settled, and show him around the farm?” Juna suggested, relieved to be passing Bruce along to someone else for a while. “I’ll go help Anetta in the kitchen.”
“Okay,” Moki said. “Danan and I got the crusher put back together. It runs much better now.”
“Good for you!” Juna said. “You’re turning into a real mechanic.” She smiled. Moki was sounding more like Danan every day. Sometimes he sounded deceptively like a ten-year-old boy.
Bruce followed Moki around the farm. Moki clearly liked the vineyard, and was intrigued by the winery, with its tall steel vats, and the crushing and bottling machines, as well as the small, immaculately clean lab for testing the wine. But it was clear that the little alien was even more excited by the prospect of having a sister. Listening to him made Bruce’s blood run cold.
How could this alien child blithely assume such a close relationship to his daughter? And how could Juna and her family allow it? It all seemed deeply, profoundly wrong to Bruce. Finally, he excused himself and retreated to his room on the pretext that he needed to wash up before dinner. He winced as he lay down on the bed. The bruises from the beating he had received during his arrest were still tender. He closed his eyes, shutting out the high-ceilinged room, and tried to remember how he had gotten himself into this situation.
Juna had seemed improbably beautiful when he had first seen her on Tiangi. Brilliant colors and patterns flickered and slid across her naked body like some strange light-show. Walking in the forest with her was like stepping into Eden. She was graceful and completely at home in the alien forests of Tiangi. Then she had cried in his arms like an abandoned child. He had been touched by her loneliness and vulnerability, and flattered that someone as famous as she was would be drawn to him.
She remained beautiful after the aliens had given her back her original creamy brown skin. But on board ship she had gotten more and more wrapped up with the aliens and their problems. The final frantic flurry of sex during the quarantine had been exciting, but he had been secretly relieved to have the relationship end. Only, now, it wasn’t over.