For the first time in our marriage, I am actually the one who wakes up first. Dan'yel is lying next to me on the bed, looking happier than he has since I met him. He's always gorgeous, but he's more gorgeous when he's sleeping. I move slightly so that I can get a better look at him. But it causes him to peal one of his beautiful blue eyes open.
He grins at me. Then he sits up and looks past me.
"What are you looking at?" I ask.
"The clock, I was just checking to see if we had time for this," he says, kissing me. I don't know what a clock is, but I've also discovered that if I ask for definitions for everything someone says I'll never get anything done.
"I see," I say pulling away from his mouth, "And do we have time for more than that?"
He nods his head.
Two hours later, and I am wearing the strange green clothing that they call "gear" and standing in front of the gate. Gear includes not only the strange green clothing, but also a heavy backpack. The team going through the gate consists of Dan'yel, Oneel, Fetti, and Kol'see.
I was hoping that there would be someone on the other end of the gate to meet us. But I know that this was a foolish wish. After all, there was no way for anyone to know that we are coming. But it feels like home right away. The air is thin here, harder to breathe. It is warm, and there are the proper number of moons in the sky.
We take the long walk to the mines. Skaara sees us as we come over the hill. He comes running to me. This is the homecoming that I was picturing.
"Oneel!" Skaara exclaims, with much excitement.
I feel a choke in my throat, and feel myself longing all the more for the children that I am not going to have for a few years. I want to take care of someone. Have someone need me. Dan'yel needs me. But not as desperately as Skaara used to when he was very small.
"Sha'uri! Does married life find you well?" Skaara exclaims, giving me the hug that I wanted before. I guess I don't mind being the second one to be greeted since my greeting involved much more warmth than Oneel's.
"Yes," I say.
"Brother," Skaara says, taking Dan'yel into his arms. Dan'yel obviously does not understand the word, and he looks toward me to translate. The problem with this, of course, is that I do not know the English word for this.
"The son of your parents," I explain.
"Brother," Dan'yel repeats, grinning and slapping Skaara on the back. The smiles are coming to my husband's face more and more easily as the days pass.
I ask Skaara to join us in the cavern. He says that he cannot, because he has work to do. We both know that this is a lie. He has been afraid of the cavern since he was a little boy. There are some stories of the place being haunted by the spirits of the gods. I know that this is just a story that was created by Ra in order to keep people away. I think Skaara probably knows that too. But that isn't necessarily a reason for all the fear to disappear.
When we enter the cavern, Dan'yel becomes very excited. He asks me to read a few glyphs to him. He translates them into our letters. Then he scribbles the glyphs down and hands them to Kol'see. Kol'see and Fetti leave the room.
"Where are they going?" I ask.
"They are checking to see if they can make the gate connect to the address," Dan'yel explains.
"Are they going to another world?" I ask concerned.
"Oh no, not yet," he explains. "They are just going to see if it works."
Dan'yel points a machine at the wall, and makes the machine make a bright light.
"What are you doing?" I ask.
"I'm talking pictures. It's a way to save the image for later," he says.
"The pictures just stay in the machine forever?" I ask, not really seeing the point of this machine.
"No, when we get back to Earth they can be copied off."
"Copied? Something I could hold?" I ask, growing excited.
He smiles.
"Oneel! Take a picture of Dan'yel!" I plead.
Dan'yel tilts his head at me in surprise. "We don't have any pictures. I want a picture of the two of us as well."
He hands the camera to Oneel. Then he puts an arm around me. Our heads tilt together, and a grin covers my face.
We hear a noise at the mouth of the cavern, and we all turn. Oneel is pointing his weapon at the sound. He yells in annoyance at Dan'yel. Dan'yel levels his small weapon on the noise.
"Nei-nay!" Abba says, throwing his hands up in the air.
"No!" I exclaim, trying to put myself between the men and Abba. But there is no need, as they have already lowered their weapons, and Dan'yel is walking toward Abba, calling him "good father" and saying all kinds of nice and pleasant words.
Abba bows before Dan'yel, before he turns to me. "Daughter, I have missed you," he says.
I believe him. And suddenly I realize that I have missed him as well. My whole life, I have thought that I had very little connection with my father. But after only a few days without him, I realize that his presence did mean something.
We spend three glorious days on Abydos. Between the meals and the sleeping we do nothing but take pictures and translate. Kol'see and Fetti try to get the gate to open to other planets several times. But each time they return, saying it did not work. Before we go home Dan'yel tries the addresses himself a few times. Each time the gate twists several times, but always stops before making the strange light substance burst out of the gate.
At last, he gives up, and he lights up the gate for Earth. I find myself thinking again that I am returning home. What a pleasure it is to have two homes.
We go to the infirmary, and they take some of the blood of everyone that went to Abydos. After that, we go to the room above the gateroom, and sit around the table. I don't catch very many words that are said at the meeting, and Dan'yel is much too busy translate. He is, after all, doing much of the talking.
When it is over, Oneel talks into the talking machine. Everyone else has left except for Dan'yel and I. Dan'yel is pretending to read. I know he is pretending, because when I first saw Oneel's face as he talked on the phone, I tapped his paper, telling him to listen. He nodded his head in order to inform me that he was already listening.
When Oneel gets off the phone, Dan'yel stands up. He walks over to him, and beginnings talking softly. Whatever he says annoys Oneel, because Oneel tries to leave. I stand between Oneel and the door, "No!" I say.
"Sha're," he pleads, making a puppy dog face.
"Number!" I demand.
Oneel turns to look at Dan'yel. My husband grins, it's a word that he taught me just this morning. The talking machine has numbers on it. You have to press them in a certain order to get a certain person. Dan'yel speaks to Oneel for a little while. Oneel scribbles some numbers on a paper. I look at my husband which gives me a nod of his head indicating that I should let Oneel pass.
Before I do I lean forward, and pull Oneel into a hug. His whole body is tense against me. "Oneel, Sara is…" I don't know the word in English so I use one in my language. But he figures out the word anyway. I can tell by the way that his body relaxes into the hug.
"Ok, Oneel, ok," I comfort him.
Oneel leaves after the hug. "What did he give you?"
"Sara's number. What am I going to say to her?" he asks.
"Tell her that Oneel is a good man. That he doesn't want to die anymore. That he needs one more chance."
Dan'yel plops into a chair. He sits with his eyes closed for a long second. "I hope trying this doesn't just break his heart all the more," he mutters.
We go back to our room before Dan'yel makes the call. He talks to her for a long time.
"Sha're… She wants to meet you," Dan'yel explains, after he puts the talking machine down.
"We can do that," I say.
"No… ah… it's a girl-only thing," he says, his eyes crinkling, "An Air Force wives thing."
"What is the Air Force?" I ask.
"Well… I'm not actually Air Force. Jack is, but she said that I was close enough."
I shrug my shoulders.
"The job… The green pants," he explains.
"But without you, I can't talk to her," I remind him.
"I thought Catherine could go with you. She's not an Air Force wife, but at least she's a woman who works in the Air Force."
I'm terrified of the prospect of going outside of the mountain without him. But I know that I need to do this. I don't want to depend on my husband forever. And if, someday, I'm going to be able to go to the market by myself, or have a job, or take care of a baby in this strange American way, I'm going to have to get used to doing these sorts of things by myself.
"Yes," I say with a smile. "Just give me time to shower. Otherwise I might smell like a yak."
"We've got a couple of hours, but I need to get you an ID."
"The shiny things you show the guards?" I ask. He nods his head.
Two hours later, Ca'fin and I get into a car. Ca'fin talks cheerfully all the way, comparing our two cultures. About halfway there she suddenly looks at me with a sigh. "What are you nervous about?
"I don't understand what 'Air Force wives' means," I say.
She smiles. "Honey, it's the tightest group of people you've ever seen. They will protect you. They will take care of you. They will help you do anything that you want to do. You're lucky. Sha're. This is a community."
We pull up in front of a restaurant. "Sha'uri?" a tall blond woman asks. She is careful to pronounce my name correctly.
"Hello, Sara," I say with a smile.
She takes a step forward, and pulls me into a bone shattering hug.
"Do you speak English?" she asks.
"Only a little bit," I stammer.
"You must be smart!" she exclaims and Ca'fin translates.
"Thank you," I say.
"Where are you from?" she asks. Ca'fin adds a warning not to tell the truth to her translation.
I would not have been so foolish, "Egypt."
"Where in Egypt?" she asks.
I hope that I am not looking as panicked as I feel. I don't know any places in Egypt.
"Abydos," Ca'fin offers easily.
Now I know that my shock must be showing on my face. "It's ok, there is a city in Egypt called Abydos. I'll tell her that you thought that was classified. That will explain your discomfort, and your shock."
"Come on, you've got to meet the rest of the wives," Sara says, after Ca'fin translates.
"Are you still a wife?" I ask. Ca'fin pauses, asking if I am sure that I really want to say that. I nod.
"You're very direct aren't you?" Sara asks. "I know that I should stay with him. What kind of a monster leaves her husband two months after his son dies? But my son died, too. I can't do any more," her voice drops to a whisper. And so does Ca'fin's as she translates. "Can't lose anymore."
"You won't lose him," I tell her. "He's changed. When I first met him, there was no life in him. Now there is. He's ready to start living again. I'm not sure he can do that without you. And I'm not sure you can do that without him."
She looks at Ca'fin as long as the translation happens. At the last word her eyes turn to me in shock and surprise. "You think… You think he could help me? If you honestly believe that, then he has really changed on this last mission."
"He has helped me," I confess. I can see that she's affected by what I'm saying, but still uncertain. "It's scary to love," I tell her.
She nods her head, "I'll come home tomorrow."
"Tell him?" I beg.
"We'll go in and give you some privacy, dear," Ca'fin offers first to her, then translating for me.
When we enter the restaurant, one young woman pokes the slightly older one next to her and they all look at me. There are three of them at the table, and one is holding a baby.
"Are you Sha're and Catherine?" the baby holder asks.
"Yes," I say with a smile. She hands her baby to another and gives me a hug too, but it isn't as tight as Sara's was.
"Come and sit," she says, pulling me toward the table.
They stand up one by one to give me a hug, as well as throwing their strange English names at me. The rest of the words Ca'fin translates.
"How old are you? You look so young!" one of them gushes.
"Marci, hush!" the oldest one, Lainie, scolds.
"Nineteen floods," I say.
"Yes! I'm still the youngest!" Marci exclaims.
"How old is your husband?" the quiet and suspicious baby holder (she look her baby back from Laine when Laine wanted her hug), Anna, says.
"I'm not sure," I mutter.
She bites her lip at hearing this, "Sha're, do you want to be here?"
"Sure, you guys are great," I assure, them not wanting to seem ungrateful.
"I mean here, like America. I mean… Do you want to be married to your husband?" As Ca'fin translates this, I can see that she shares the woman's concern.
"I miss my home sometimes. But I still get to visit it. There is no way I would ever go back to not being married to Dan'yel."
Anna smiles at this, but it's the kind of a smile you give a small child, patronizing.
Sara comes and slides into the seat next to Marci. She looks like she's been crying. Marci throws an arm around her shoulder, "What happened?"
"I just talked to Jack," she says.
"Hurt, cheating, or doing something dangerous?" Lainie asks.
"No, nothing like that. I'm… going to go back to him. He sounds… better. Not good, but…" she pauses, and Lainie squeezes her shoulder again. "It's not going to be easy, but he's Jack, and I love him."
"Good for you," Lainie says.
Anna grabs onto her hand. She looks up and smiles at me. I pat her hand, because I've already figured out these girls are pretty big on physical contact.
A woman comes and stands next to us. They take turns saying something to her. Then Ca'fin asks me what I want to eat. I ask for anything without milk. Ca'fin orders something called a hamburger for me.
"No dairy?" Marci moans. "That sucks! Simon's sister has gone gluten free. It's a pain in the butt every time she comes over!"
"How is Dave's mission going?" Anna says gravely.
Lainie's face goes even more serious than usual, "I don't know. It's all classified."
I look to Ca'fin for an explanation of that word. It talks some time before I figure out it has something to do with secrets.
"You guys don't know what your husbands do?" I ask.
"Welcome to the Air Force," Lainie says, "Now that you're not part of his missions, you'll be out of the loop too.
"No, I get to go with my husband when he goes back to Abydos," I tell them.
"Just wait until he gets assigned to another base," Anna says.
I try not to let them know I'm panicking. What if Dan'yel is assigned somewhere else?
"It's ok," Lainie says, "Sara says your husband…" she squints at me.
"Daniel," Sara supplies.
"Right. Daniel just started working with Jack, so he'll probably be here a couple of years," Lainie smiles.
Marci starts pounding on the table, "What's the name of that Italian?"
"Jasmine?" Lainie asks.
"If we're trying to connect her to the foreign wives I think we should go Arab rather than European. Egypt has a lot of Muslims right?" Anna asks.
I look at Ca'fin, asking her to explain. "Muslim is a person from one of Earth's religion. Ah… Some people on Earth believe in a god besides Ra. A god that… Isn't like yours. No one sees him."
"I don't think I want to meet the people who worship gods," I mutter.
"Well, I worship a God, honey," Anna says.
"Does he… Kill those who won't serve him?" I ask. Ca'fin's eyes bulge when she hears the question. Sympathy covers their faces when they hear her repeat it. There is a moment of silence.
"Whoever killed in the name of your god isn't going to get you here," Lainie assures me, fiercely holding my hand. "That's what our husbands are fighting to protect us from, right?" she says.
The woman comes back, and places food in front of us. I have to ask Caf'in how to eat the "hamburger" and "fries", but it turns out that they are all finger foods. I devour it in no time.
"You're done eating?" Anna asks, "Would you mind holding the baby while I eat?"
"I'd love to," I say, taking the little one. "What is this one called?"
"Tyler."
"He is a lovely child," I say.
" Are you and Daniel planning on having kids?" Sara asks. There is great sadness in her eyes as she says it, and I remember that she lost her son.
"Not right way. He says it's because he wants to get a house first, but I wonder if he doesn't think I can do all of this…" I say, waving at the pile of what I assume is baby stuff on the floor.
"That?" Anna says. "Oh honey, you don't need all of that. You just love them and feed them and you've got it taken care of."
"I could do that," I say, cooing at the baby in my native tongue.
"As far as a house is concerned, I know of a couple available on base. There's one that's a rent-to-own situation. I could get you the information on them," Lainie says.
"That would be wonderful. Dan'yel hates living in the room on base," I say.
"Oh, that sucks! You're stuck in the mountain?" Marci says sympathetically.
"It's… Compared to where I come from, it's great," I murmur, confused. I'm getting a look of sympathy from everyone. I shouldn't mention Abydos anymore. "It was… a good place," I mutter.
Anna smiles at me, "Sha'uri… Feel free to say no if you don't want to, but I've always wanted to have any kids I had learn a foreign language, and they are the best at it during their first year of life. I'm wondering if you wouldn't speak… What is your language? What do they speak in Egypt?"
"Arabic right?" Lainie says.*
Ca'fin smiles at both of us before explaining, "She speaks a rare dialect called Abydonian."
"I don't think it would be a very useful language for your son to learn," I say, grinning at the tiny baby. The baby grins back, and my heart soars.
"I don't know, the way the world is going, it could be the most useful language of all," Ca'fin mutters.
"I'd really appreciate it if you'd just talk to my son in your native tongue," Anna says, looking at me.
"Little one," I murmur the term of endearment I have not said since my brother was tiny. Girls will let you call them that word until they have reached seven or eight. But it is rare for a boy to tolerate it beyond his second year.
"Abydonian," Anna grins, "I like the sound of it."
The baby starts to cry. Anna holds out her hands to take him back. "Show me how to fix it," I plead.
"I think he needs a diaper change, and you don't want to do that," she says.
"I want to know how the people of Earth take care of their children."
"Ok, let's go to the bathroom," she says with a shrug.
The method of swaddling Earth babies is not that different from how we do it on Abydos. I'm beginning to feel that I can do handle this.
*Lainie is correct. And Air Force wives are way more aware of world affairs than average. At least in my experience.
