Chapter 12: Meetings
Asha was nervous about meeting Christine and her husband, worried that it might be too good to be true, and she and her husband might be walking into a trap instead. On the other hand, she did not wish the paranoia rampant in the Romulan society to hijack her own common sense.
When it was time to leave, Asha was careful to drive the flitter in a non-daredevil manner, much to her husband's relief.
"Maybe I'll experiment more with our flitter's function on the way back," she told him, however.
"I hope I am correctly discerning a humorous undertone to this ominous statement, my wife," Thorek said, stiffening slightly in his seat. Asha grinned, amused at his ever-lofty choice of words – which was precisely why she had decided to tease him.
"You'll find out on the way back."
"If you insist on exposing me and other road users to your exuberance, I will be most short-tempered."
"In that case, I'll think about it again," she answered cheerfully.
"Please do," Thorek said grimly.
When they arrived at the Jo'reks' beautiful villa, Christine and her husband were waiting for them. The couple's assistant, Galan, escorted them from their flitter to their hosts.
They exchanged greetings, and Asha looked cautiously at Vekal tr'Jo'rek. He was very tall, with greying hair and wise brown eyes. He smiled kindly at her as Galan led them inside the house.
"Pardon all this secrecy," Christine said to Asha when Galan left the room. "The Tal Shiar is interested in keeping us apart in case Humans band up and disturb the peace."
"We have a government and an efficient Senate, but those who truly rule the planet, population and our activities are the Tal Shiar. The military has no love for them and those whose families they ruined or executed loathe them," Vekal added, his eyes darkening. Christine placed her hand gently on his forearm. He turned his head, looked into her eyes and took her hand in his. Asha felt a sharp pang in her heart; not only for his grief, but also because she longed for the kind of tenderness she was witnessing between Christine and Vekal.
"You must be having many questions on your mind," Vekal told Asha in a fatherly manner; then, looking at Thorek: "And you as well. Let us show you around the house first, and then we can talk about the matters on all our minds."
The house was cheerful and homely. It contained more colours and bright little decorative objectives than back home – her Romulan home, Asha had to remind herself. Or maybe it was not so much the interior decorations and furnishings that made everything so inviting, but rather the quiet affection between Christine and her husband. Asha gazed wistfully at their clasped hands every now and then.
Finally, their group separated. Christine took Asha's arm and led her to the hall, and the other two went outside to the garden.
Christine and Asha sat down and helped themselves to some tea.
"Ironically, we have the Tal Shiar to thank for our meeting," Christine remarked. "They executed Vekal's family like they did with your husband. Vekal noticed the parallels at once. As for me, they kidnapped me in case I smuggled plant genes onto their planet that would cause all their crops to die or their livestock to weaken due to the introduction of deliberately manipulated genes. I asked the Romulan government if I could study some of their crop samples, seeing that the treaty between the Federation and Romulus seemed steady enough back then. And then they proceeded to arrest me."
"They're completely insane! They are willing to go so far that they will use perfectly innocuous situations and material as proof for crime and a justification for murder! I was accused of spying on Romulan warfare because I was conducting research for a holonovel. A holonovel! How ridiculous is that? How come no one has tried to get rid of them?" Asha exclaimed, her face flushing with anger.
"The Tal Shiar have tentacles everywhere. They operate underground and have power over the politicians and authorities in the Romulan government. Excuses serve as explanations."
"The mighty and malicious have always fallen. Often, the little things have the last word when the mighty turn a blind eye to them. No organisation can supervise each and everything. You and I would hardly be having this conversation otherwise. Or maybe I am too idealistic and too hopeful. Maybe my glass is too half-full."
Christine smiled. "I do not think so. One day, the Tal Shiar will fall. But at what cost?"
They were silent for a little; then Christine said: "Romulan spouses give each other bracelets. I saw that you and your husband do not wear them?"
"I know about the practice and don't see what good it would be for an enforced marriage. I notice that you and your husband wear them?" Asha said.
"Yes. Vekal got them quite soon after our marriage. He can be quite traditional in some ways," she smiled, showing Asha the beautiful cuff bracelet with her name engraved on it in Kzhad characters.
"It's beautiful."
She was silent for a little, then said: "I wonder where Thorek and I will be in four or five years. Whether he'll find a truly suitable mate in a Romulan woman and we'll just kind of muddle along, or whether we'll do the uncommon thing and divorce."
She fully expected Thorek to seek out another mate sooner or later.
"Asha," Christine said gently, "You seem to have made up your mind about where you see your marriage going. Are you really so sure that it will end in separation of some kind or the other?"
"I can't imagine us wanting to stick it out with each other for the rest of our lives. He is in fact encouraging me to seek a mate outside our marriage because he finds the thought of mating with a Human so distasteful," she gushed.
Christine nodded.
"I mean, I don't long to…you know…be intimate with him, either. He is good to me in that he makes sure my needs are covered, and he never forces me into anything. I respect him, and I believe his heart is kind. But I don't suit him, you see. He recently split from a woman he truly loved. A Romulan, of course. She decided on a betrothal with someone else. As I mentioned to you when we first met, I trust him with my life. But would we make a good husband and wife? I don't think so. And I don't fit anywhere, really, although my assistant Kihika is an angel, and some Romulans are agreeable to me. Not all are alike, and I can't fault my husband."
"You have been on Romulus for around four months?"
"Yes."
"It may seem like a long time to you, but in the end it is very short, or seems so to me as I have lived here for ten years. Give it time, Asha."
"Time!" she exclaimed softly. "Do you have family and friends back on Earth?"
"I do."
"Do you miss them?"
"Yes. Every day."
"And has time softened that longing to see them, to speak with them…to reach out to them?"
Christine sighed. "No, Asha. But it has made me accept what has to be accepted. That we might never hear from each other again. It has made me accept that I had it in me to start a new life on a hostile planet. And Romulus has surprised me in so many good ways, Asha. Most of all my husband."
"Well, for all I know, my parents are probably still so busy nagging at each other they never noticed my disappearance." She laughed, ignoring Christine's slight frown, then resumed: "I can see that you and your husband love each other."
Christine smiled. "Yes, very much. You know, after our forced marriage, I did my best to keep him at arm's length. I would try to avoid him, and he would do everything to be able to speak just one word to me. In fact, as I was really horrid to him. When I saw how hard he was trying, I just couldn't resist. He came to me one night, knelt before me and asked me to speak with him. Romulans are extremely proud people, and it must have cost his pride dearly to kneel before a Human. I felt ashamed of my behaviour. We began to talk. I found out that he had a heart of gold. And we fell in love."
She paused, gathering her thoughts, then resumed. "He was there for me when I miscarried. We grieved together. Not once did he make me feel guilty about it. That loss, too, I learn to accept, and I am very happy today. Above all, we do not expect perfection from each other, because there's no such thing. We have learnt to live a full life, just the two of us."
"I'm sorry you lost your baby," Asha said, "and I'm glad you have found joy in your marriage."
"Life, no matter on which planet, is unpredictable. Give Thorek and yourself a chance. Or…"
"Yes?"
"Thorek's suggestion might be worth considering."
"Oh no, not you, too!" Asha snapped crossly. "That's out of the question!"
Christine chuckled. "I won't hold your youthful stubbornness against you, young lady, but it would seem you are just as unwilling to give some things a second chance, too!"
Asha didn't respond, but concentrated heavily on her cup of tea.
"You will find an intimate relationship with a Romulan most enjoyable. Believe me." Her eyes twinkled.
Asha's dimples emerged. "Can they be tender? Caring?"
"Yes. Of course. They're not the ruthless barbarians people on Earth claim they are."
"Okay. That's good to know. Well, they are as diverse as Humans. In the end, we're all people."
"Yes. And you won't get mauled up. Unless you want to be."
"Christine!"
Christine laughed into her teacup.
Vekal and Thorek exchanged thoughts over their cups of tea.
"Asha is different in so many ways and yet we are very similar in some ways. It baffles me," Thorek said.
"You are surprised because you think she should be the complete opposite of your expectations in every way. It can be quite shocking to discover common ground because that discovery defies your prejudice," Vekal remarked, sipping at his tea. He leant back comfortably.
"I was married once before. I was unfaithful, and my first wife remarried, and she's happy. And then Christine and I met by force, but we fell in love by choice."
He told Thorek how he had won her heart with patience, respect and humility.
"We have gone through ups and downs, we lost a child before it had the opportunity to see the light of Romulus, and we grew together. My life would be very empty without her. We have been married for ten years. I have cherished each one of those years."
"Asha and I are but four months into our marriage. It has been very difficult. I am not sure she and I are as well suited as you and Christine."
Vekal smiled wisely. "That is what Christine and I also thought at first. But in the end, no two marriages are alike, obviously, and only the two of you can decide."
Thorek sipped his tea. "She can be quiet, and she can be very passionate and opinionated. Then she's very direct, and then again she's withdrawn."
Vekal raised his eyebrows. "A Human with a Romulan personality. Or so people who prefer absolutes would choose to view it, yes?"
Thorek looked sheepish. "You have a point."
"I do think time will be your best ally, as it was for me. That, and spending that time with your wife."
"I have started to do so."
"And?" Vekal prompted.
"It seems to please her."
"And does it please you?"
"It does. She can be refreshingly mischievous. She laughs a lot, and it is very contagious."
"In other words, she is able to make you laugh. And you are surprised?"
Thorek gazed into the depths of his teacup. "It is unexpected."
Vekal smiled, reached for the teapot and poised it over his guest's cup. "In this kind of marriage, expect to be in for a lot of surprises. You'll see, it will make your life very exciting and depending on your reactions, fulfilling, especially if her heart is given to laughter. More tea?"
"Yes please, thank you."
In the afternoon, they assembled for lunch and regrouped later. Christine and Thorek sat down in the hall while Vekal invited Asha to stroll around with him in the huge garden.
"So," Christine said, smiling. "I am the second Human you are meeting, is that correct?"
"Yes," Thorek replied awkwardly, looking at a picture of his hosts on the wall.
Christine watched him in amused silence until he said: "I would be grateful for your advice, Ihhei."
"Naturally. Consider this a small Human-Romulan exchange program. And I can start by assuring you that we Humans can be as temperamental and capricious as a hundred Romulans put together."
"Ihhei, even to me that sounds alarming."
"Excellent. And do feel free to call me Christine."
"May I please have a closer look at your picture?"
"Certainly." She removed it from the wall and handed it to him. Thorek studied it earnestly.
"You both look very happy," he said finally, handing it back to her carefully.
Christine laughed. "Yes, we were and we still are. We decided to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary at the Firefalls of Gal'Gathong. Our baby was conceived there, but I miscarried."
"Your husband told me. You must have suffered much."
"Yes, but we also suffered together. And life continued." She smiled. "And so it will for you and Asha. She is very frightened, although she won't show it, and she doubts herself and everyone around her, though she won't show that, either. Did you notice her body language when she sits down?"
"No."
"She is so tense her body won't touch the back of the chair. She digs her fingers into the backs of her hands and keeps her feet pressed together. Small things, but they show me she's very tense. She's on her guard all the time."
Thorek sighed. "I didn't notice."
"I was the same way and my husband had to learn how to 'read' me, just as I had to learn how to 'read' him. It is a give and take, and this kind of thing never comes overnight. You already know all this, but it always helps when someone says it aloud. Anyway, once we crossed that bridge, we were in a good place. Each relationship is unique, and you will have your own bridge to cross in your own way, provided you're willing."
Thorek nodded. "I like to hear her laugh," he said rather suddenly.
Christine's eyes brightened. "That sounds like an excellent start."
In the meantime, Asha nervously accompanied Vekal to the garden.
"There is no need to look so worried, Asha – if I may call you so?"
"Yes, please do, Ihhai."
"I am Vekal to you."
"Thank you. Am I really looking that worried?"
"Quite."
"I feel like I have to be on the defensive all the time," she said.
"You are safe here."
"I know – it's not the location. It's this Romulan superiority and Human inferiority issue," she said directly.
"I understand. You are concerned that I might be biased against you."
"Well, yes and no. It makes no sense, because you are hosting me and my husband so generously, and you are kind to me. I know that just like Humans are not all alike, Romulans are not all alike. And still that knowledge doesn't want to sink into my mind."
"You arrived very recently on Romulus and were forced into marriage against your will. It's not easy, paenhe."
It was the custom of older male Romulans to address younger females they were on familiar terms with as paenhe – daughter. Asha decided she preferred this over the use of their first names. It made her feel like she had a family again. She looked at him, touched.
"You confer a big honour on me by calling me daughter, eneh," she replied, returning the gesture by calling him father.
"You are learning our culture and manners of speech fast," he complimented her.
"I have a very good teacher. Thorek is doing his best to help me integrate."
"It is not easy getting used to each other, isn't it?"
"It isn't, but I am very fortunate, for he has a kind heart. Even though he insists that he only listens to his conscience and that Romulans are not known for kindness."
Vekal smiled. "And you are unconvinced."
"Totally," Asha said with conviction. Vekal laughed. "No wonder he is mystified by you."
"Mystified? By me? But I'm just…me."
"You are observing things he has not observed about himself before. Tell me, my paenhe, does he show some bias against you?"
"Yes, but I, uhm, scold him, and he does not seem the type to bear grudges."
Vekal chuckled. "You have the spirit of a raptor."
As they walked, Asha stopped at a familiar-looking tree. "We have one like this in our garden at home. An Y'gora tree?"
"Yes."
"They are such beautiful trees." She ran her hand over its trunk and looked up to its golden-green flowers as she always did with the tree at home.
"Golden in summer, silver in winter," Vekal said. "Just like trees transition from one state to another, so do relationships between people, paenhe. If you have any questions at any time, contact me. My wife and I are happy to help."
"Thank you, eneh," Asha said gratefully, her eyes filling with tears. And like a father, Vekal took her in his arms and comforted her in the shade of the Y'gora tree by simply holding her and letting her grieve.
