I didn't know whether I was right or not. All I knew is that, by Saturday at sundown, Larry still hadn't shown up. I didn't get a wink of sleep that night. I kept worrying that something had jeopardized the mission. Or what if news had leaked? What is someone saw them? What if there was another traitor among them?

That Sunday morning I kept pacing back and forth in my pajamas. I couldn't help worrying. Then my phone rang. I literally jumped across the room to grab it. "Hello!"

"Hello? Hey, it's me."

"What happened?"

"Nothing. Our mission is over. We took a little longer than planned. But we got what we were looking for. We should have enough to build five more facilities."

I sighed with relief. "Well, that's good."

"I want to prepare you for this, though. I think someone saw us because there are rumors going around of why we want those specific plants."

"Uh-oh."

"And that's not the worst of it. One of our men was talking to a co-worker near the facility and some people in the woods overheard them."

My heart started jumping in my chest. "They…they what?!"

"All they heard was GMO. They don't know it's for cancer. But it's worse, because opinion websites are starting to criticize us for using GMOs. I mean, some people think we're making biological bombs."

"WHAT?!"

"Yeah, and in some of the towns around the facility, there have been some protests and one small riot."

"Oh, no. It's starting to leak out, right?"

"Yeah, it is. I'm going to see what we can do. I'll call you later this afternoon to keep you updated."

"All right, bye."

"Bye." After he hung up, I stood there motionless. Our whole plan was starting to crumble, little by little. My mind was racing at a thousand miles per hour. What would we do if the world found out? Or, better said, what will we do when the world finds out? That was inevitable.

The whole day was a blur. I guess I was so worried about it all that I didn't care a thing about anything else. I had a small breakfast then went up to my room and sat by and watched the clock. I didn't have lunch. The girls started to worry. They thought I was sick or something. It took some hard convincing, but I finally convinced them that it was nothing.

Nothing, ha!

I stood by all afternoon. I was actually getting tired of waiting. Not tired as in desperate or bored. I mean, really tired as in sleepy. I actually started getting really sleepy. I actually fell back on the bed without noticing. I was almost asleep when the phone rang again.

I stood up so fast that I got dizzy and fell back down. I closed my eyes shut and grabbed the phone. "Hello?"

"Um, Spiny?"

"Yeah. What is it?"

"Something, uh, didn't exactly go as planned."

That took all the dizziness and drowsiness away instantly. "What? What are you talking about?"

"Well, one of the trucks was on its way to the facility and it was carrying flower petals and seeds. It…it lost control about three-fourths of the way and veered off the road. It crashed into a tree."

I could feel my heart in my throat. "Oh, no!"

"And of course, the sound of the crash attracted people. And when some dope called emergency responders, the people obviously saw everything they had been carrying."

I fell back on the bed. I needed time to remain calm. I was one point away from having a panic attack. "Well, uh, what now?" I said, my voice trembling.

"Well, right now people still believe that we're making biological weapons. But in case they ask us if it is for that, we'll just say 'no.'"

"And if they ask for the real reason?"

"Well, we'll just say 'no comment.'"

"Yeah, you expect people to be satisfied with an answer like that?"

"Uh, not really, but what can you do?"

"Well, I, I, I…"

"Don't panic, Spiny. Don't panic. Why don't you take a break or something? I won't be back till Wednesday probably. Get your mind off all this. Hang out with Lilia or go to Arnold's. No wait, bad idea. They've probably seen the news. They'll be asking you a lot of questions. Just hang out with Lilia, but don't answer any of her questions, got it?"

I exhaled deeply. "All right."

"Everything's going to be fine, Spiny. We'll find a way out of this. That's what friends do, don't they?"

I chuckled. "I guess so. Bye."

"Bye." Well…now what? I looked at the time. It was almost six pm. I had to get out of the Palace for a while. I texted Lilia: "Hey, beautiful."

A little while later, she texted, "Hey, cutie. How's my King Charming?"

"Fine. How about going to a Chinese buffet?"

"Sounds great. Be ready in ten minutes."

"Will your parents let you?"

"They're about to leave. My sister's in charge. Had to go on emergency."

"But will they let you go?"

"Sure they will. Be here in ten minutes or I'm coming to get you! ;)"

"Okay. Love you. B"

"Love you too."

I went in and took a quick shower. I changed into a new dress shirt I'd bought and my brown dress pants and shoes. This was semiformal so I didn't bother with a tie or anything. I combed my hair and walked out my room.

Kathy was walking by. "Where you going?"

"Taking Lilia to a Chinese buffet."

"Oh. You going to be late?"

"I don't know. I just need some fresh air. If not, I'm going to explode. I'll be back maybe at ten. But you all better be asleep."

She smiled. "We will. Have fun. But not too much fun."

"Kathy!" I shook my head. Really! Sisters can be such a drag sometimes! But I still love her. Oh well. What can a guy do? I stepped outside and walked up to Lilia's door. I rang her doorbell. She opened the door. "Oh, hi."

"Hi."

"Come on in."

"Thanks." I wiped my feet and stepped in. Lilia was brushing her hair. "Sorry I'm not ready. I just started brushing my hair."

I smiled at her. "It's all right. I'm in no hurry." Yes, you are! You're about to have a complete personality/nervous breakdown! "Um, Lilia?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh, I don't want to sound forward or anything, but is it all right if, I, uh…" I pointed at the hairbrush. She looked at where I was pointing and smiled. "You-you want to brush my hair?"

My stomach got all jittery like a bowl of quivering Jell-O. I nodded. I could feel my face burning. Even though she was my girlfriend, it still happened. "Sure, you can. I'd love to have you brush my hair." She handed me the brush and sat down facing away.

"Um, how would you like it?" I asked.

"However you want my hair to be."

"Oh, it doesn't matter to me. I think your hair is beautiful in any way. Um, maybe except falling off." That made her laugh. I love making her laugh.

"Oh, Spiny. Well, just whatever way is easier for you."

"All right. I'll just comb it straight back. How does that sound?"

"Sounds fine."

I nodded. "Okay, then." I started running the brush through her soft, delicate, silky brown hair. It sent shivers all over me every time I touched it.

"So, how have you been, love?" she said to me.

"Huh? Oh fine, just fine."

"Really?"

"Yeah, yeah. How about you?"

"I'm been fine, too."

"Why did you parents have to go so fast?"

"Oh. They had to see an aunt of mine." She sighed. "She's…she's very sick. She has cancer."

Cancer?! I didn't react in the way I should've. I should've said something like, "Oh, I'm sorry!" or "I hope she gets better." Instead I, uh, gave a sudden jerk in my hand and it happened to be the one with the brush in it.

"OW!"

"Oh, sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!"

"It's all right. What happened?"

"Nothing, it's just that I had a muscle spam. That's it."

"Oh. Well, anyways, that's why they left suddenly."

"Oh. What kind of cancer does she have?"

"Leukemia. It's not that advanced, but it's getting close to being untreatable. But she doesn't want to have chemotherapy or surgery. She keeps on believing that they'll find a cure in time."

Oh, man. This was definitely not helping me any. I stopped brushing her hair. She stood up. I grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around so that we were face to face. "Spiny, what's wrong?"

I have the cure! Larry and I have the cure! We can save your aunt! I couldn't help thinking all that. But I didn't say it. Instead, I just said, "I…I…" I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to hold in the tears.

"Spiny. What's wrong?"

I put my arms around her and pulled her into a hug. I hugged her tight. She hugged me back. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing. I just…I'm just emotional, I guess. I guess it made me remember my mom and dad."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay, it's okay. I'm fine, really." I pulled away and wiped my eyes. She looked a little teary. I felt guilty. I'd probably given her the idea that her aunt wouldn't survive. I felt like a dope. I sighed. "Well, shall we go?"

"Sure." She went to the stairs and shouted up towards the top. "I'm going out with Spiny! I'll be back by ten!"

Her sister's voice said, "Okay! Have fun, but not too much!"

Lilia blushed. "Shut up!"

I laughed. "Why is everyone telling us not to have too much fun?"

She smiled. "Who knows? Shall we go?"

"Sure." I opened the door for her and stepped out into the evening air. We walked to a nearby Chinese buffet. I paid for both of us and the waiter showed us a quiet, cozy, romantic table for two in a corner.

I had a nice time. As usual between couples. I completely forgot about everything. We spent hours there, laughing and kissing over chow-Mein and orange chicken and of course, chocolate pudding.

Afterwards, when it got dark, we went to the park. We sat on a bench and admired the stars. I was lost in deep thoughts. "You know something?" I said.

"No, what?" said Lilia.

"The stars, the universe, and all that we can see…it's like an ocean."

She looked at me funny, then looked up at the starry heavens. "You think so?"

"Yeah, I mean. You're always amazed by the enormity and the immensity of it all. It never stops surprising you. You're always in awe and wonder. And you feel so…insignificant against it all."

"You know, I never thought of it that way." She looked up, then at me. "But you know what else never stops surprising me and always leaves me in awe and wonder?"

"What does?"

"It's something that's even bigger than any ocean or any starry heaven. It's something majestic and inspiring and awesome and wonderful."

"What is it?"

She smiled at me in such a warm way. "The love between you and me."

That touched my heart in a way I never thought was possible. I suddenly felt on top of the world and away from all the troubles. I smiled at her. "I love you, girl!" I whispered.

"I love you, boy!" she whispered back.

I put my arm around her and she put her head on my shoulder. We were like that for a long while. We didn't say anything, but kept our eyes on the beautiful stars. I couldn't help looking up and saying, Thank you. Thank you for giving us this beautiful universe. Your paintwork and artwork is more beautiful than anything. I'm always so admired by creation. It makes me want to write poetry and songs.

When it got to be near ten, we started for home, comforted by each other's silence. When we got to her house, her parents' car was in the driveway and the living room lights seemed to be turned on.

"They're back!" Lilia said.

"Is it all right if I say hi?" I said.

"Sure!" She grabbed my hand we ran to the front door. She walked in and went to the living room. "Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad."

I was about to say "hi." But I was stopped when I saw it. I knew that reality had hit me hard in the stomach.