Chapter 81
Mimi and Sordd made their way to a secluded spot in the lounge. As Mimi sat down she let out a small sigh; despite the G-suit and the round of saline she was still feeling a bit dizzy. Her friends had told her stories, which were funny at the time, of people vomiting and blacking out as a result of changes in G-force. It wasn't funny now.
"Do you want to return to our quarters in order to obtain some rest?" Sordd asked her through their bond.
"No, not yet," she carefully replied in her mind. She turned to look at him and gently placed her hand on his. The physical contact helped her to communicate telepathically, although it still required a lot of concentration. "I've been looking forward to the journey through the Sol system, if we return to our quarters I will miss it." Mimi paused. She quickly looked around the lounge. "Do you think we will be interrupted?"
Sordd turned to look at her, "It is generally accepted that when a couple are sitting together in silence they do not want to be interrupted, unless it is an emergency."
"Really?" she exclaimed as her eyes opened wide in wonder.
"Ha! It is protocol." The bond between them allowed him to sense Mimi relaxing a little, it was obvious that she was strained. "Hakausu Sakht may interrupt us at some point, but you are aware of that."
Mimi smiled a little and then schooled it away again. "I like meeting new people; I mean new Vulcans, Sordd. I'm just aware that my emotions are not well controlled." She scanned around the room again. Everyone had somber expressions on their faces, except the younger children.
"Mimi, during our studies into Vulcan culture and protocols I do not recall saying that you were not allowed to express any emotion," he replied to her thoughts.
"I do not want to cause offence…" she responded, "I smile and laugh when no one else is, except the children that is."
"Since meeting you I have carried out extensive research on the importance of humans expressing emotions," he said, in a reassuring tone. He had done this in order to better understand she who was his wife. "Curbing your emotions would not be good for your mental or physical health. If you do not express them, it could lead to physical stress as well as problems with memory, anxiety, and depression." He gently placed two fingers on her two fingers, a culturally acceptable display of affection. "Mimi, it would be highly illogical for you not to express ANY emotion." He paused again before speaking, "I do not have sufficient data, however, I hypothesis it would be impossible for you not to have any outward expression of emotion on a long term basis."
"I don't want to embarrass you!" she replied.
"Embarrassment is an emotion," he responded to her concerns. "For a Vulcan to be embarrassed would be illogical. You are she who is my wife, a human wife, emotional responses are to be expected. Anyone who expects otherwise is illogical in their thinking."
In his mind Sordd went over the events of the previous few days, indeed, weeks. Mimi's last few weeks on Earth had been filled with a dizzying round of parties involving family, friends, and work colleagues. The culmination of all these events took place in their rooms at the Embassy when Mimi said goodbye to some of her close family members: Hugh, Abigail, Rachel, Andrew, Peter, and Adam. To say the evening was chaotic was an understatement. No individual member of the family was to blame. On the whole Mimi's family were all emotionally stable. 'Steady' would be the word her father, Hugh, would use to describe them. Even Rachel, her sister, who was always an 'interesting' addition to any gathering had her emotions reigned in for the evening. No it was not any one particular family member, it was all of them put together which made the atmosphere chaotic.
He had stood back and simply observed the proceedings, well more observed Mimi, which was always fascinating. He was 100% sure that he would never come to the end of that fascination. He noted more clearly than ever before how Mimi had the ability to swing from one emotional extreme to another. Extreme for a Vulcan, but probably well within normal parameters for a human. One moment she would be in a fit of laughter as she was reminded about an incident in her past, and the next there would be tears of sadness rolling down her cheek at the thought of leaving her friends and family. If a Vulcan allowed themselves to swing from one emotion to the other in a similar fashion they would be ill for a number of months...
As each member of the family departed there was a lot of hugging and kissing. He had inwardly flinched at the sight of it but he managed to school himself, they were family after all. He noted that some people held the hug longer than others. The shortest hug was Peter's, at 5.27 seconds. Sordd noted that it was Peter who pulled away first and not Mimi. Perhaps it was related to the fact that he was a teenager. Her father Hugh's hug was the longest of the evening, as would be expected, at 22.69 seconds. Then as it looked as though they were going to release each other from the embrace they hugged again for another 21.43 seconds. After she had hugged her father Sordd sensed that she was a lot more relaxed and her anxiety levels were a lot lower; he also could smell oxytocin in the air. Quite fascinating! He had to admit he was inwardly relieved that all of this was happening in the privacy of his Embassy apartment, as opposed to a shuttle terminal.
He looked on as they got into their city flitters. Mimi waved frantically to each of them; indeed she continued to wave frantically even when they were well out of sight. It was illogical for him to comment on this matter. When they had returned to the privacy of their own rooms the floodgates opened and Mimi sobbed on his shoulder. He let her cry it out; he would not have been able to do anything to stop it anyway. The chemicals that were being released into her system as she cried had a calming effect on her. Again, quite fascinating!
Although the whole evening had been quite fascinating, he had required hours of meditation to regain his equilibrium. On the other hand Mimi only required a good night's sleep. In many respects humans were to be envied...
Sordd turned back to the present moment, he sensed Mimi was feeling more relaxed after their short conversation. A small smile appeared on her face. Sordd paused, a slight green flush appeared on his cheek, "T'Sai Margaret, I find it quite gratifying when you smile," he said out loud as their fingers touched.
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Notes
I couldn't think of a chapter heading, so if you come up with one let me know!
Ha - yes
Hakausu - Healer
T'Sai - Lady
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Thanks again to Kehlan and RobertBruceScott for your input :) You both give me food for thought and help me to improve on the story.
