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Read book online ยซEarthbound by DM Arnold (read book .TXT) ๐Ÿ“•ยป.   Author   -   DM Arnold



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their original places. โ€œThank you for dinner,โ€ he said. โ€œIt was delicious and I truly enjoyed it.โ€

โ€œThank you for suggesting it. It was my pleasure, and it helped take my mind off my troubles. I've had a lot on my mind lately.โ€

โ€œWould you like to tell me about your troubles? I'd be more than happy to listen.โ€

โ€œYou're not heeding my warning, Nick. Maybe... But not right now.โ€

โ€œHow did you become an expert in comparative religion and mythology?โ€

โ€œI'm not. I'm an archeologist -- a historian. My specialty is ancient Sumeria. For my PhD thesis I prepared a translation of newly discovered clay tablets containing a version of the Gilgamesh myth. I translated it from the cuneiform.โ€ She stood and took a small, flat box from a shelf and handed it to him. He opened it and saw a shard of pottery with odd impressions. โ€œCuneiform. This is a piece I found on a dig in Syria during graduate school. They let me keep it. It's nothing too important, just a piece of household inventory from a merchant-class family. It dates to approximately 3500 BC, making it about 5,500 years old.โ€

โ€œThis is amazing, Suki.โ€ The artifact was as old as Koichi's journal. He returned the box to her. She replaced it on the shelf and resumed sitting beside him.

He looked into her face. โ€œHow did you end up here, teaching those courses?โ€ He held eye contact until she broke it.

โ€œI ... I came here to get away from it all.โ€

โ€œGet away from what?โ€

โ€œI have a past, Nick, and not a happy one.โ€

โ€œAre you running away from something?โ€ he asked.

โ€œ...Yes.โ€

โ€œDid you commit a crime -- steal something? Kill someone, perhaps?โ€

โ€œNo, nothing like that.โ€

He looked into her face. โ€œI didn't think you capable of such. Maybe you had an affair with a politician that went wrong.โ€

โ€œOf course not,โ€ she giggled.

โ€œDid you intentionally and unrepentantly injure another?โ€

โ€œNo, Nick -- I'm the injured party.โ€

โ€œThen tell me about it. It won't change my opinion of you.โ€

โ€œI don't want to bother you with my problems.โ€

โ€œIt's not a bother. Let me share your troubles, to lighten your load.โ€

She buried her face in her hands, and then looked up. โ€œAll right. I'll make another deal with you. You tell me your sad, sad story, and I'll tell you mine.โ€

Nyk looked into her eyes again. โ€œI don't have too much to tell.โ€

โ€œWhere's your home town?โ€ she asked.

โ€œ... My birth certificate says Augusta, Georgia, but I don't have a home town. I grew up in the country, in a house on a bluff overlooking the sea. I was an only child.โ€

โ€œDown south?โ€

โ€œYes, the southeast -- near a small city on the coast.โ€

โ€œYour warm climate. I thought I detected a trace of a southern accent in your speech. It's quite charming.โ€

โ€œI had few friends growing up, being isolated the way we were. I flunked out of my first college, then I went back to study botany. I work for FloranCo on a ten-month assignment manning their field lab. They provide me with a house and living expenses, as well as a salary.โ€

โ€œTell me about your family, Nick.โ€

โ€œIt's just my wife and I. We don't have any children.โ€

โ€œDo you miss her? What's her name?โ€

โ€œHer name's... Cindy. Yes, I miss her. I'm not sure she misses me, though. She's a geneticist, a microbiologist. She's a brilliant woman, the head of genetic sequencing in our organization. It's a very important position. She has plenty to keep her busy, and lots of friends.โ€ Nyk looked down. โ€œI'll bet she hardly notices I'm gone. She's had a long string of lovers -- both men and women.โ€

โ€œHow do you feel about that?โ€

โ€œIt shouldn't bother me, but it does.โ€

โ€œIt must bother you, or you wouldn't have brought it up.โ€

โ€œWe both believe what two consenting adults do while they're by themselves is no one else's business. I truly do believe that. She was like this before we married. She didn't think our marriage was any reason to alter her social life.โ€

โ€œDo you love her?โ€

โ€œ... I don't know... I thought I did, but lately I've had my doubts. It's funny, Suki. You and I have known each other for three weeks and I feel more comfortable talking with you than with her. There are times I'll look up at her and ask myself -- who is this person? I'll wonder if our marriage wasn't a big mistake.โ€ He brushed a tear from his face. โ€œHer behavior does hurt me. I'm pained to know I can't satisfy her -- that I've never lived up to her expectations.โ€

โ€œHow did you two meet?โ€

โ€œI've known her a long time, since we were children. She's the stepdaughter of an old friend of my dad's. My earliest recollection of her was when I was three and she was five ... I think she married me out of pity. I was so lonely and miserable after my parents were killed.โ€

โ€œI'm sorry to hear that,โ€ she said. โ€œHow did your parents die?โ€

โ€œThey died in a ... plane crash. That was ... eight years ago. Aside from Cindy, I'm alone in the universe.โ€ Nyk looked down and saw Suki was holding his hand. He patted the back of hers. โ€œThat's all right with me. I do well by myself. Maybe it's the reason I applied for this assignment. I'm sorry, Suki. I've made it sound like I'm unhappy. I'm not.โ€

โ€œNot unhappy isn't the same as happy,โ€ she said. โ€œAre you happy?โ€

โ€œI'm happy enough. I don't think my sad, sad story's all that sad.โ€

โ€œWell, my story will make up for it.โ€ She closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. โ€œI want to set the record straight between us. I'm not interested in relationships -- not right now. I'm not looking for a boyfriend. I'm a lesbian.โ€ She looked into his eyes. โ€œI'm not saying that to blow you off, Nick. You're a nice guy, and I like you. I'm saying it because it's the truth, and I want to make sure we understand each other. I hope it doesn't bother you.โ€

Nyk shook his head once. โ€œShould it?โ€ he asked. โ€œWe can be friends, can't we?โ€

โ€œIt bothers some people. It bothers my father. After I finished graduate school, my father insisted I get married, in an arranged marriage like the old days in Japan. He wanted an heir, someone to pass the crest to. We fought about it and I finally relented. I married the son of one of his business associates.โ€

โ€œHe wished to bind your line to his associate's.โ€

โ€œI don't know why he insisted. I think he was trying to make a point, that I'm not really a lesbian. It didn't work. The marriage was a disaster. I was never attracted to the guy. I had to grit my teeth in bed. My husband started abusing me, hitting me. One day, we had a big fight and he beat me -- he beat the tar out of me. I ran home to my parents and my mother took photos of my injuries. I had two black eyes and bruises all over. She called the police and they arrested the guy. We got a restraining order and I filed for divorce, which, of course was granted.โ€

Tears were starting to well up in her eyes. โ€œMy father blamed me! He blamed me for not trying hard enough, for not being attractive enough! He insisted I marry again. We had a huge argument. This time I refused and I told him I am absolutely resolute. I told him I am a lesbian, I will never marry another man, I will never even sleep with another man, and that the Kyhana family line will die with me!โ€ She stroked tears from her face.

โ€œThen, my father said, 'To me, you're dead already,' and he threw me out of my childhood home. I haven't been back nor spoken with my parents since.โ€

โ€œSo, you came here.โ€

โ€œNo! There's more! I had nowhere to go. I knew of a friend with whom I had a brief affair during grad school. Alice was her name. I called Alice and asked her if she could put me up for a while. She agreed. I moved in and it turned out she was just as abusive as my ex-husband. Only in her case, it wasn't physical -- it was emotional abuse. She called me names -- she did everything to break my spirit and to make me submit.

โ€œAfter a year of this, I wanted out. I couldn't go home, I wasn't on speaking terms with my father. I started circulating my resume on the sly, looking for a position, anything away from the City. I hadn't used my degree in three years, and that didn't help. Finally, this college saw my Gilgamesh translation and offered me a two-year contract as a lecturer. I sneaked out of her apartment in the middle of the night. I spent the rest of the night at the airport and came here with what I could carry. Luckily, it's a furnished apartment.

โ€œSo, I'm here by myself. It's hard for me. I've never been alone before. I mean, really alone with no one to turn to. This community seems so closed. Everyone here has their own family and circle of friends. I do feel like a stranger in a strange land.โ€ She stood, turned from him and pressed her fist to her lips.

Nyk stood and placed his hand on her shoulder. โ€œIf you ever need a shoulder to cry upon, use mine. Consider it another gift.โ€

She turned to face him. โ€œOh, Nick...โ€ He opened his arms to her and she fell against him. โ€œI'm so afraid,โ€ she sobbed. โ€œI'm not strong ... I'm all alone ... I miss my mother ... I'm such a mess...โ€

He held her and felt the warmth of her body against his. โ€œYou've been mistreated, Suki -- you didn't deserve it,โ€ he said, putting his lips to the top of her head and inhaling the scent of her hair. โ€œNo one deserves mistreatment.โ€ He smoothed his hand along the back of her head and down her hair. โ€œIt's okay to let it out.โ€ Nyk cried with her. โ€œLet it all out.โ€ Suki wept against him as he held her and caressed the back of her head. โ€œLet me be your friend. You said we strangers must stick together. If you're ever alone and afraid, call me.โ€

She looked into his eyes and stroked one of his tears off his face with her finger. โ€œYou're sweet,โ€ she said and kissed his cheek. โ€œI'm so sorry. This evening didn't end the way I expected. Nick, I will have you as my friend if you'll have me as yours. I hope you know what you're getting into.โ€

He thought, so do I.





5 -- Christmas


Nyk set down his lunch tray and sat across from Suki. He reached into a pocket, withdrew a folded piece of paper and began to hand it to her. โ€œWhat's that?โ€ she asked.

โ€œA thank-you note. Hospitality must be followed up with a thank-you note.โ€

โ€œRead it to me -- my fingers are all tuna.โ€

โ€œDear Suki. Thank you for the wonderful dinner. It was delicious and an experience I shall never forget. It was a gift, one I accept it in the spirit in which you gave

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