A Pearl of Great Price
Chapter Three - Beginning
San Francisco, Earth
1 August 2263
Selek
He was absolutely not nervous. Vulcans did not get nervous. So whatever it was that he was feeling, it was definitely not nervousness. Right.
Was he absolutely sure that he knew what he was doing? Absolutely not. But did he want to do it anyway? Absolutely yes. So here he stood, waiting. She should be here in thirteen minutes. He was far too early. But he would not want her to arrive with no one to meet her. It was better for him to stand here, waiting, than for her to feel forgotten.
So when she materialized on the pad before him five minutes before the scheduled time, he breathed a sigh of relief. He had been right to come early. He waited for the technician to give the go-ahead, and then he stepped forward and extended his hand to help her down from the pad. It was a big step for someone not used to it. Although she could have extensive experience in this sort of travel for all he knew. This was not a subject that had come up in their talks.
She smiled at him and grasped his hand, and once again he felt those shocks rock through his body. She must have felt something as well, for she gave a tiny little gasp. Well, and good, then. She stepped carefully off the edge of the pad and then walked around the edge to the next lit disc, where a medium-sized bag sat. Before she could reach for it, he had it in his other hand. She turned her face up to him and it lit up with a another bright smile. And then they were walking out, from the dim lighting of the terminal, into the brightness of mid-morning.
He bent his head down toward her. "Your hotel is only one block away. It is an easy walk."
"Oh, by all means let us walk! It is so bright and pretty this morning. It is always this way this time of year?"
"By no means. Yesterday was all fog until almost noon."
"Oh, I cannot wait to see the fog. I have heard of San Francisco fog all my life."
He almost forgot himself and chuckled. He would have to be more careful. "I do not think you will have to wait long to see the fog. Surely no more than a day or so. And if it does not come then, we shall drive up the coast a bit and you can see it there."
"Oh, yes, please. I would be ever so grateful." She was practically bouncing, she was so excited about the prospect of actually seeing fog. Such a little thing to be so excited about. But then, it was something new to her.
They reached the hotel and he escorted her to the desk, where she presented her ID and checked in. They gave her a small wand and asked whether she needed instructions on how to use it. "No, thank you. This looks just like the ones I am used to." She smiled and thanked the clerk and took the small map he handed her and they headed across the lobby to the bank of turbolifts.
"I have gone to numerous conferences over the years and all the hotels in Europe seem to use this type of door-wand. It's strange how so many things are standard now."
"I have noticed this as well. Not only on Earth, but throughout the Federation, there are many things which are standard. You could go from one planet to another and not notice the difference if you did not look at the sky or the vegetation."
She looked at him, a very thoughtful look on her face. "I had not considered that. It must make it much easier on frequent travelers, but have we not lost something along the way?"
"I believe you are correct, but there does not seem much that you or I can do about it."
"I suppose you're right. But I think if I were to do a lot of traveling, I might look for those places which were not entirely standardized to visit."
It was absolutely astounding how similar their viewpoints were on things like this. He had no idea how that could be.
They came to the door with the number that matched the one on her wand and she inserted the wand into the slot beside the door, which swung open. They walked in and he sat her bag on the bench at the foot of the bed. He looked around, memorizing the layout of the room, and watching her look it over. The bed was large and very comfortable looking. He eyed the height and then chastised himself. It was not the time for thoughts like that. The bench at the foot of the bed was almost as long as the bed and wide enough to sit comfortably on. On the wall opposite the head of the bed hung a large viewscreen. One set of controls was on the small table beside the head of the bed. There was a small table and two chairs between the viewscreen and the entrance to the small balcony. Under the viewscreen was a large dresser. On this side of the dresser was a small desk, with a comlink sitting on one corner. The closet covered the remainder of that wall. Behind him, opening at right angles to the door to the hall, must be the bathroom. And on the backside of that wall was a long couch, with a small table at each end. There was another set of controls for the viewscreen on one of those tables. The furniture was nice and in good condition, and everything was very clean. She had chosen well.
She finished walking around and looking at everything and came back to stand in front of him. "I can unpack later. I find I am anxious to begin seeing the city."
"Then let us begin." He bent his elbow in invitation and she slipped her hand around his arm, stepping close to him. Not too close, but very nicely close. It was a good sign. He turned toward the door and led her back out, down the hall, down the turbolift, out onto the sidewalk in the bright sun.
They walked a small spiral around the area, so that she could see what was close to her hotel, and the transit station. And then he took her just a bit further in the other direction, and showed her the Vulcan Embassy. She examined the structure with critical eyes. "The building was purchased already completed, I presume."
"Indeed it was. It would have taken much longer and been much more expensive to have a building built from the ground up."
"So it does not look anything like real Vulcan architecture."
"No, nothing at all. That architecture would look very strange here."
He led her up the sidewalk to the gatehouse and the gatekeeper came out. "Good morning s'haile Selek."
"Good morning, Karset. This lady is Durra Uhura, who is kinswoman of the new wife of Ambassador Sarek's son Spock. She will be visiting in San Francisco all of this month and may come to the Embassy from time to time. I trust you will remember her."
"I will, s'haile. You need not fear that I will forget her."
Selek nodded his head and the gatekeeper opened the gates, allowing them to proceed up the walkway. Durra looked up at him. "Did I just get free access to the Embassy?"
His lips quirked up slightly. "Something like that, yes. You may still have to identify yourself inside and have a valid reason to be there, but you will not be left standing at the gate."
Her eyes twinkled and she grinned at him. "You are a very good person to know."
For some reason this simple statement filled him with contentment. It did feel nice to think that she thought of him in this way. He led her through the wide front doors into the building, nodding at the clerk seated at a desk in the lobby near the door, and proceeded across the lobby and out through a much smaller door into the rose garden. She exclaimed over the lovely roses in bloom and they walked back and forth there for half an hour.
And then he led her into the small gazebo and sat her down at the wicker table there just as the kitchen people were coming out with the luncheon he had ordered. She was surprised and charmed, and asked him many questions about the food, pronouncing everything delicious. They sat and talked for a while after they had finished eating, until he saw the staff hovering in the shadows, ready to come and clean up. And then he stood and offered his arm again, not wishing to give the staff anything to talk about by offering his hand to help her up. He led her back into the building and down the hall to the exhibit of artifacts. They spent the whole afternoon there, as she asked question after question. Extremely well-thought out questions, they were, too. He was impressed.
When they had seen everything, he walked her back to her hotel. He found he did not want to leave her there, but he was not sure that he was not being too forward already. He did not wish to press her. He accompanied her to her door and would have said his good-byes, but it was evident that she was not ready to see him leave. "Please come in. I would so love to sit and talk a while longer." So it was that he found himself once more inside her room. She looked around. "Well. We can sit on the couch or at the table. Which would you prefer." She looked brightly up at him.
He tilted his head and looked back at her, considering. What he really wished to do was sit beside her on the couch. However, that would be very forward at this stage. Therefore it would be much better to sit at the table. He nodded his head in that direction. Did her face fall a bit? Had he made the wrong choice?
They sat at the table and conversed, and the sun began to set. When the bright colors streamed in the window, she exclaimed and went to stand on the balcony. "Oh, look, how gorgeous! You can see the colored light on the water! So lovely."
He thought she looked lovelier than the sunset. There was no good way to say that at this point, though. He almost sighed. Beginnings were difficult.
She turned and came back into the room, standing beside him. "Would you think me terribly forward if I suggested that we order supper in and talk a while longer?"
"Absolutely not. Nothing would please me more."
She grinned and that dimple beside her mouth popped up once more. That was very intriguing. He felt the desire to investigate it at much closer range.
It was almost 2200 before he reluctantly took his leave of her. She followed him to the door, and they stood there, looking at one another. Again, he felt a very strong desire to touch her. Before he could censor his action, one hand reached out and curled about, the backs of his fingers brushing lightly down the side of her face. She smiled softly and her eyes deepened. She spoke gently to him. "I have had such a wonderful day. Thank you so much for showing me about. The luncheon was very special. I don't know how I can ever thank you enough."
"Your enjoyment is all the thanks I need. I regret that I will be unable to see you during the day tomorrow, but there are meetings which I must attend. But, if you are willing, I would like very much to take you to dinner. And there is a musical presentation late in the evening, if you are interested."
Now her face shone at him. "Oh, I would like that very much. I shall spend the day unpacking and doing a bit of shopping. What time shall I be ready?"
"I will call for you at 1900. The musical presentation starts at 2100, so we should have sufficient time to dine without rushing."
"I will look forward to it all day." Her eyes were alight and her whole face was soft and open and so appealing. He could not stop himself from brushing her cheek lightly once more. And then he straightened up and stepped back from her and forced himself to leave. She stood in the open door and waited until the turbolift doors closed, waving to him as he disappeared from her view. Perhaps beginnings were not so difficult after all.