Ascension Discovery

  Without warning, Alena was suddenly left to carry on with her life as though nothing had happened. Amanda no longer needed her help; it felt as though a major piece of her life had been taken away. Alena’s ruminations were interrupted when she heard a shuffling noise behind her.

  “I’m headed off to work, hon,” Bryon whispered as he came up behind his wife and put his arms around her tiny waist. He pulled her close to him, bending down over her shoulder to kiss her cheek. Unsurprisingly, she twisted around until she faced him, causing Bryon to smile down at her upturned face.

  “I’m going to miss you.” She reached up to pull his face down to her own and planted a resounding kiss on his lips. “Please don’t stay late tonight. I just know we’re going to hear something from Amanda very soon and I want us together to hear her news.”

  “I’ll do my best, but please don’t change your plans in anticipation of hearing from Amanda.”

  Rolling her eyes at his admonition, Alena nodded and decided on the spot how she would fill her day. “I’m going to continue the kids’ crystal lessons. It’ll give all of us something to keep occupied and they need the instruction and practice anyway. Will that please your sense of priorities?”

  As if the announcement had prompted action, the kids in question came running into the kitchen, ready to eat breakfast and begin the day’s adventures. The absence of Juila’s toddling feet seemed to stab a fresh wound in her heart which Alena tried to keep from her expression as she leaned around her husband to smile at their children. “Who’s up for crystal lessons today?” she asked cheerfully.

  “I am!” the three chorused in unison.

  “Then let’s get breakfast going so we can get started, shall we?”

  Bryon squeezed her arm tenderly and whispered, “I think this is the perfect idea.” He gave her another kiss before releasing her and turning around to kneel down and hold out his arms to his children.

  As if they had practiced a million times before, the trio rushed forward allowing their momentum to be stopped by their father’s body. Rocking back on his heels with the combined weight of the kids, Bryon reached around to pull them close to his chest, dropping a kiss on each of their heads.

  “Be sure to mind your mother,” he admonished as he let go of them and stood up to take his leave. “If your hands are washed, then go sit at the table to be ready for your meal.” Bryon had to smile as Kyelon rushed out of the room to wash up while both Andera and Justan took their places at the table. Giving Alena a quick kiss on the cheek, Bryon left the kitchen, hurrying slightly to keep from having to time his transfer to work in his telepod.

  Only having to use a portion of her concentration, Alena instantly created four plates of scrambled eggs and fried foxl which appeared on the table. She sat down across from Justan, folding her hands as they waited for Kyelon to return. She would normally have spent this time getting Juila settled in her high-chair, yet the space remained empty beside her as another reminder of the missing pieces to her family.

  The morning sped by as Alena instructed the kids, even relenting in her admonition against Kyelon learning the skills as well. Not only did she not have the desire to create more discord, she did not have the heart to tell him no when he looked at her so eagerly. Technically still too young, Kyelon should have waited at least another anon before learning the school’s basic entrance exams.

  As the children’s skills began to get sloppy, Alena glanced at her time-piece only to discover several hours had passed and the children’s nap time had arrived. “I think we’ve done enough crystal practice for today. Why don’t we end our lesson with the basic song you’ll be needing to sing on your fist day before you all go down for your nap.”

  The children groaned in unison.

  Chuckling at their reaction she said, “I know you were hoping I forgot about naps.” She stood up from the table at the same time as the kids. They lined up and began singing. When they finished the short song, Alena smiled and clapped softly, “That was just perfect. You are the smartest little students ever! Okay, Justan you take the lead and we’ll march down to your rooms.” Alena’s surprise compounded when none of the children put up any argument to laying down, which meant they really had exhausted themselves.

  As soon as the tucking in ritual had been satisfactorily completed, Alena once again found herself at a loss for how to fill her time. Her mind returned to the song, hearing it as if it were new from the different inflections the children had used when singing it. The simple, catchy tunes were created to teach the children to remember their role in society. Sometimes she wondered if the songs were more of an indoctrination into maintaining peace, but then she decided it was not a bad thing in which to conform.

  Wandering aimlessly down the hallway, she found herself standing in Bryon’s office. Obviously, her mind had decided it wanted to know if Amanda had attempted contact. Alena smiled at herself, taking the few remaining steps to sit at the desk and turn on the patil. Seconds passed by before the machine hummed to life displaying several pop-ups, causing adrenaline to shoot through her system as she leaned forward intently, scanning each item for news. Unfortunately none of the waiting messages had anything to do with Alena’s interest.

  Sinking back into the chair, she sighed with disappointment. Surely Amanda meant to return to Tuala, if only to let them know what she had discovered. Alena was surprised it had taken so long, even though it had only been a day and a half.

  Knowing she had another good two hours while the children napped, Alena decided to go over her patient records and determine who would need to be visited in the afternoon. Several clients were pregnant for the first time, so they were naturally more nervous about the whole process. Alena wanted to spend more time with them easing their fears and making them more comfortable with the pregnancy symptoms.

  Alena preferred to use these checkups to familiarize herself with the woman’s life-line so she would be better prepared when her delivery time arrived. Delving completely into her favorite subject, Alena soon lost track of time as well as her worries.

  Chapter Six

  AMANDA CAME DOWN the stairs to see if she could find Riccan. She had not expected to find him watching television on the enormous big screen in the living room. As she came around the corner she heard the roar of the funny car engines as they sped down the quarter-mile track.

  Riccan spotted her out of the corner of his eye and immediately turned the television off. “I’m sorry, did the TV wake you up?”

  “No, not at all. You can keep watching the races, don’t let me interrupt.”

  “Are you sure? I was just watching John Force win another one. I think he’s going to win the championship this year.”

  “Absolutely. I enjoy the races, too. Turn it back on.” Amanda settled on the couch next to Riccan and pulled her feet up under her as she curled up.

  Riccan aimed the remote at the screen and clicked the power button. The sounds of the engines immediately filled the room again.

  Amanda had never experienced surround sound quite like Riccan’s as the reverberations seemed to come from every direction, almost as good as being at the races themselves. After several rounds of cars went down the track, Amanda found herself no longer resting back on the couch, but rather leaning forward and cheering her favorites to the finish line.

  Riccan smiled at Amanda’s enthusiasm, soon involving himself equally in the viewing. He had never found a woman who actually wanted to watch the races. Certainly there had been plenty of women who had tolerated the sport to humor him, but he could tell Amanda was actually enjoying the races for herself and not for him.

  When the racing ended, Riccan asked Amanda if she wanted to eat dinner. She had not realized her hunger during the excitement, but now the idea of eating sounded marvelous. She nodded her head enthusiastically and wondered what wonderful creation Riccan planned to concoct.

  “I have an idea. How about we go out for dinner? I know of a nice restaurant not too far from he
re. I think you’d enjoy it.”

  “Sure, but I hope it’s not too fancy. I don’t have anything to change into if that’s the case.”

  “Nothing fancy, you look perfect. Let’s get going.” Since Riccan had a plan, he was like a freight train in motion. Nothing could keep him from his forward progress until he had achieved his goal.

  Amanda grinned at Riccan’s enthusiasm, temporarily distracted from her own stress. Not knowing any better, she began turning toward the kitchen to go back out to the garage when Riccan grabbed her elbow and steered her in the opposite direction.

  “The vehicles are parked in the other garage.” He led the way with a foolish grin of anticipation on his face.

  “Vehicles? As in plural?” Amanda asked quietly to herself, not really expecting an answer. Surprised Riccan would need to have a car, she then chided herself for her stupidity. Of course, Riccan would need to have acceptable transportation on Earth, since he could not very well travel around in his alien telepod and expect to remain unnoticed. Now she wondered just what types of cars Riccan would want to own; his taste in the telepod left her thinking they would probably be exotic models of sports cars.

  Riccan opened the garage door and led the way across the concrete to the first bay.

  Amanda almost laughed when Riccan opened the passenger door of a white 4-Runner; definitely not exotic or showy at all. Her estimation of Riccan’s sense of decorum went up a notch. He did not feel the need to show off how rich he was in everything. Amanda sat in the vehicle and watched as Riccan walked confidently around the front of the truck and got into the driver’s seat.

  He reached up to pull the visor down, causing the key to drop into his outstretched hand. He pushed the garage door opener at the same time as he put the key into the ignition. The engine started immediately and soon they were driving up the tree-lined, cobbled driveway. They paused for a second as the gate registered their approach and started slowly swinging open toward them.

  Riccan turned left out of the driveway, navigating the roads toward the secret destination, keeping Amanda in the dark until they arrived. Just as he had described, the pizzeria was only a few minutes away. He pulled over in front of the quaint building, pleased to see the smile of approval on Amanda’s face.

  A dress code definitely did not come into play with the informal setting and the casual waitstaff. The place had a down-home feel and the smells emanating from the kitchen left her mouth watering. Amanda sat in the booth, looking over the two-sided menu. She wondered how big the servings would be and whether to get a pizza for herself or if they were going to share.

  As if reading Amanda’s mind Riccan said, “Go ahead and order whatever sounds good. We can always take any leftovers back to the house.”

  The waitress came to their table and asked if they were ready. Both nodded and placed their orders. She told them it would take approximately ten minutes for the pizzas to come out of the ovens and then she turned and left them alone in their booth.

  Amanda looked around and noticed there were very few people actually in the restaurant. “Why’s nobody else eating? I thought you said this place was really good?”

  “Oh, it is. We’re just early for dinner and late for lunch. I expect by the time we’re done eating the place’ll be pretty full.”

  Unaware of the actual time, she decided she really did not care. It was enough simply to enjoy her time with Riccan. Amanda leaned her chest forward against the table and said, “Tell me more about your parents.”

  He smiled and leaned back against the booth seat as he considered what more to share. “Let’s see, they met in school. My dad’s sister actually introduced them.”

  “Wait, I thought your dad was an only child!”

  “No, he has five brothers and sisters. My dad was just their first child, they had Sanda the next year, Stina the year after, then came Phen, Zuna, and finally Rucen. Rucen died in a telepod accident when he was just twenty-two which was really hard on the whole family. Since they lived on Acaim, they were all very close. None of the other siblings showed the same skill with their birth crystal so only my dad was part of the special teaching program with Jehoban.”

  “So you’re saying they also have regular schools on Acaim? It’s not just a school for gifted students?”

  “Right, the families usually come with the gifted student, so they have other children who need their standard education. All of the children go to the regular school, whereas the gifted children have additional schooling tacked on to their schedule every day, sometimes including the weekends.”

  Amanda nodded although she still found the whole idea slightly confusing.

  “Let’s see…where was I? Oh yeah, I was telling you how Aunt Sanda introduced Mom to Dad. My mom thought he was nice enough for an older boy, but they didn’t hit it off immediately. At the end of that year my dad graduated from what you’d call high school and decided he wanted to continue on to post-study. Once Dad wasn’t around all of the time, then Mom realized she had feelings for him, so she attended the same post-study school as he did. They’ve been together ever since, but they didn’t get married until after they both finished school, so Mom hurried up with her education so she could get done a year earlier.”

  “Did they have you right away then?”

  “No. Mom wanted to have lots of children, but it was not part of Jehoban’s plan. They tried for years, and eventually she did end up getting pregnant, but she lost that child long before her due date. The wise-women all told her it’d be dangerous to try again, but she had a dream in her heart to have a child, so they kept trying. A couple of years later they had me, but she never got pregnant again. She was very thankful to have even one. Dad used to say ‘we don’t have quantity, but we have quality.’ Mom’d always wholeheartedly agree.”

  “That’s so sad. Do you think that’s why she decided to become a teacher?”

  “I imagine so. She wanted to surround herself with children, even if they weren’t her own. Her heart didn’t know the difference and the children she taught all loved her the same as she loved them. She was the best teacher, her classes always received the highest marks on all of the tests. The District always shipped the worst students to her class to try to bring her scores down, but she was so loved by the students that she soon won over even the most difficult pupil and they learned well from her. She always created new games and songs to help them learn.”

  “It sounds like she really loved her job.”

  “Absolutely! She definitely found her life’s calling. I think that was Jehoban’s plan for her all along.”

  “Have you ever met Jehoban?”

  “Yes, lots of times actually. Why?”

  “What does He look like?”

  Riccan cocked his head in consideration before starting to frown as he replied, “I don’t really know. I’m sure I would know Him if I saw Him…”

  “But I thought you said you’d met Him many times. How can you not know what He looks like? Rasa had the same reaction as you when I asked her what He looked like.”

  “It must just be His way. Maybe He doesn’t feel it’s important for us to know what He looks like, only that He is.”

  “I guess, but I still think it’s awfully strange.”

  They dropped the subject because the waitress chose that moment to bring them their pizzas. Conversation ceased as they began devouring the hot and melty slices. Amanda sighed in delight as she tasted her first bite of the beef and pineapple pizza. True to Riccan’s description, it was the best she had ever eaten. She wondered if they made their own cheese as it seemed so fresh and stringy. All thoughts except pleasure stopped until they were both full and resting with their backs against the booth seat.

  Amanda was embarrassed by how much food she had actually consumed, but she was not sorry since it had been just as good as Riccan had promised. She was going to miss eating here when they went back to Tuala. She wondered if she would be able to come back anytime soon. She turned to
ask Riccan about it, but then hastily shut her mouth as the waitress came back to their table to see if they wanted any dessert.

  Riccan declined the offer after raising his eyebrows in question at Amanda and receiving an emphatic shake of her head.

  With a chuckle at the response, she asked, “Would you like a to-go box?”

  “Yes, please,” Riccan responded.

  She immediately returned with the boxes and their check.

  On the drive back to Riccan’s house Amanda paid more attention to the streets and other houses along the way. Counting only four houses between the restaurant and their final destination, Amanda noticed the fact each residence boasted many acres of land to maintain privacy. Each home, when she could actually see the building, was large and stately. Sometimes all she could see was an ornate gate at the end of the driveway and nothing else.

  Riccan turned into the driveway and waited for the gate to swing in before he continued to drive slowly up the cobbled drive. Amanda marveled at the beauty of the landscape and asked, “Did you design all of this?”

  Riccan laughed before he replied, “Yes, if you can agree that paying the best landscape designers to do their magic and oversee all of the workers! I don’t exactly have what you’d call a green thumb, but I can really appreciate a beautifully landscaped space.”

  Amanda chuckled as well as she nodded her approval of the designer’s choices of trees and flowers. She had always been interested in botany, but she had never had a yard of her own to decorate. This landscape would sure be an inspiration for a future project, if she ever got the chance.

  They parked in the same spot where they had originally begun and went back into the house. Riccan put the leftovers in the refrigerator while Amanda made herself comfortable on the couch. Within a few moments, Riccan joined her and they began to talk again about the past.