Stargazer Read online

  CHAPTER FIVE

  She watched television with an intensity that would have been laughable. Except that she kept looking at him with the same studious, curious expression every few seconds. And he got the sneaking suspicion she was comparing him with the men she saw on the screen, and he wouldn't have been human if he hadn't wondered how he measured up. Not that he cared.

  The movie was Casablanca. When it ended, she was blinking away tears. Thomas smiled a little. Seemed he had a softhearted little alien on his hands.

  "Did you like the movie?"

  She nodded hard, brushing her cheeks dry with one hand. "It was wonderful, but so sad."

  Thomas thumbed the eject button on the DVD player. She was staring at him again. Her almond-shaped eyes narrow, probing. "I think I understand better now."

  "Understand what?" She only shrugged, rose from the sofa and went to the shelf that was lined with DVDs. Humphrey lay in her path, oblivious to the world. She skirted him warily. He lifted his head, eyeing her, watching her every move. The two didn't much like each other, but Thomas thought Humphrey had gotten over his initial hostility. Now he was only suspicious and watchful.

  Janella studied the images on the movie cases. "May we watch another?"

  "Sure. Watch them all night if you want. Best way I can think of to learn about life on Earth. Just don't take them too literally, Janella. Reality is a lot more mundane than the movies.''

  "I do not know about that," she said softly, not looking at him, pulling out one DVD after another. "Rick seemed a good example of human behavior."

  Thomas shifted on the couch, trying not to focus solely on her perfect bottom filling out those jeans. And failing. "In what way?"

  "He appeared cold at first. Unfeeling, without emotion. But it was only his way of protecting himself from being hurt again." She decided on a DVD and turned toward him, holding it in her hand. "It makes sense, does it not? I would think that might be a common reaction to emotional pain."

  He pursed his lips, nodded. "I guess it might be. I don't know, I'm not a psychologist."

  She smiled, lifting the DVD. "What is this one about?"

  He grinned at her selection. Disney's Beauty and the Beast. "It’s a children's movie. But you'll probably like it." He got up, took the DVD from her, and inserted it into the player.

  "Why do you have children's movies, Thomas? You have no children."

  He shrugged, clicking through the menu. "No, but I have a lot of young patients. They get bored when they have to stay in the hospital for any length of time, so I buy kids-flicks and take them in. Keeps their minds off their medical problems."

  She didn't comment, and when he glanced her way it was to see the most smug, knowing expression in her eyes. Almost an I-told-you-so sort of a look, but he couldn't imagine why.

  Giving the dog a wide berth, she returned to her seat on the sofa. Humphrey only lowered his head again when she was sitting still. The opening music played, and Thomas sat beside her. He reached into the bowl on the coffee table for a handful of potato chips. Humphrey lifted his head and emitted a soft "Woof."

  Janella stiffened.

  "He's talking to me," Thomas told her.

  She blinked twice, glanced from him to the dog and back again. "What is he saying?"

  "He wants a potato chip. He loves the things. Here." Thomas took her hand in his, turned it palm up and placed a chip in it. "Why don't you give it to him?"

  "He will bite my hand off. He hates me." Her eyes widened as Humphrey got to his feet and planted himself in front of her, waiting with his tail wagging a mile a minute. "Make him sit down, Thomas. I cannot see the movie."

  "Oh, he won't sit down until he gets a chip. And I'm not going to give him one."

  She glared at him, but he only nodded toward the dog. "Go on, try it. I promise, he won't hurt you. You trust me, don't you?"

  She nodded, warily, and shifted the chip to her fingertips. Slowly she held her hand out to the dog. Humphrey leaned forward and took it. He crunched it down with relish, staring at Janella. She stared back. Humphrey sighed contentedly, turned around three times and lay down right on top of Janella's feet. She tilted her head, staring down at him as if puzzled.

  "You see?" Thomas asked. "Now he's your friend. You gave him his favorite treat and he's grateful."

  Biting her lip, Janella reached a wary hand downward and very timidly stroked the dog's head. Humphrey closed his eyes and sighed more loudly than before. Janella smiled softly, settled back on the sofa a little closer to Thomas than she'd been before. He tried to focus on the movie, instead of on the way it felt to be sitting in a darkened room with her this way. Sort of intimate, and extremely uncomfortable. The pendant he wore felt warm against his skin.

  Janella glanced at the glass of cola on the table, and it levitated, then floated into her waiting hand. She took a sip and returned it in the same manner.

  Long after Thomas had gone to his bed, Janella stayed up watching movies. And with every one, she felt she understood a bit more about these people and their ways. Thomas had explained how to operate the DVD player before going up, so she could study to her heart's content. And the revelations were enlightening. The most important of all was that it seemed women were not the rulers of this planet. The males did not obey them, serve them nor even seem to fear them. Odd concept, but one she supposed she could adjust to. In fact, in some of the films, it appeared the women were the ones in subjugation. But in most, the sexes behaved almost as equals. Fascinating.

  The other interesting difference was in the mating rituals of these people. Since neither sex was dominant, the choosing of a mate seemed to be a terribly complicated process, consisting of several steps. First, one recognized his or her attraction to the other. Then one agonized while trying to discern if the other felt the same, and went to great lengths to try to attract the other's attention. After that, one spent far too much time, in Janella's opinion, working up the courage to declare his or her feelings to the other. It was all very odd.

  Janella had never once considered that she would have to do anything to attract the mate of her choice. At home, she would only have had to choose. It would have been an honor for any of the men to be picked and she could not imagine one who would object to it.

  Here, things were going to be much more difficult. She realized with a little start that if she wanted Thomas as her own, she would first have to convince him that he wanted her.

  It was such a ludicrous notion she blinked in shock.

  And as she recalled the hostile glances of the women in the town, she knew there were plenty of others who would like to claim him. Fighting for the right to claim him would do little good, it seemed, for the choice was his. Oh, dear, this was going to be a terrible effort. From all she had seen on the screen tonight, there seemed to be an incredible amount of work involved. She would have to dress in satins and lace, and learn to apply the face paint as the women in the films did. She would have to learn to...oh, what was that word? Flirt. Yes, that was it. To flutter the eyelashes, and laugh softly, and make veiled, slightly suggestive comments, while making them seem unintentional.

  She frowned at the sleeping dog and wriggled her toe from beneath his fur. Then she tiptoed past him, not quite as secure in his friendship now that Thomas had left the room, to insert a fresh disk into the machine. She was still confused about several things, and she would study these plays until everything came clear in her mind.

  Thomas found her there in the morning, still in yesterday's clothes, slumped sideways, sound asleep. From the stack of DVDs on top of the player, it looked as if she'd been up most of the night. He stifled a laugh and moved quietly past her to put on a pot of coffee and see what he could find for breakfast.

  When he turned from the sink, with a carafe of water, she was standing in the doorway, watching him.

  "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. How'd the film festival go?"

  She shrugged, scuffing to the table and sinking into a chair.
"I enjoyed it very much. But I am still confused."

  Thomas poured the water into the coffeemaker, set the carafe underneath and turned it on. He refused to notice her tousled hair and sleep-hazy eyes. Or to let himself think that she looked almost as if she'd just been thoroughly made love to, instead of just having had a long night on the couch. In fact, he'd pretty much decided it was best not to think about sex at all when Janella was around. It tended to make his jeans too tight.

  "I'm not surprised. What are you confused about, Janella? Maybe I can clear it up for you."

  "Is it, or is it not acceptable to have sex before one is...um... married?"

  Thomas felt his brows shoot up. "Sheesh, you cut to the chase, don't you?" He fished a pair of bowls and spoons from the dishwasher, dropped them on the table and reached into a cupboard for a box of cereal. If his hands were unsteady, it was just because he hadn't had a cup of coffee yet this morning. And he could and would answer what was a perfectly logical question, in a calm and professional manner.

  "That's kind of complicated. I guess these days, it’s pretty much a matter of personal choice. Some people consider it immoral, some don't." He grabbed the milk from the fridge and sat down across from her to fill his bowl.

  "And what is your personal choice?"

  Thomas sloshed milk onto the table. He steadied his hand, set the carton down and met her gaze. Damn. She was dead serious about this.

  "That's a personal question, Janella. You can't just go around asking people about their sex lives." He reached for a napkin and mopped up his spill.

  "I am not asking just anyone. I am asking you. How am I supposed to know how to act unless you explain things to me?" He studied her, wondering just when she'd become so damned interested in knowing about Earth's moral standards concerning sex. "Why the sudden interest, Janella? You considering having sex with someone?"

  She lowered her gaze quickly. "I was only curious." She reached for the box, filled her bowl carefully, just as he had done, and then added milk.

  Thomas licked his lips and tried telling himself this was not a wise conversation to be having with her. Not with her sitting there all rumpled, her wild hair tempting him to smooth it with his fingers, her eyes soft and sleepy.

  "How did you handle sex back on Krypton?"

  She scowled at his name for her planet, but still didn't meet his gaze. "It is forbidden until one's mate is chosen."

  His throat went dry. "Did you... have a mate?"

  She shook her head. "No. But I have often wondered what coupling would be like. Have you done it, Thomas?"

  He almost groaned aloud, suddenly losing interest in his cereal. "Yeah."

  "But not with a...wife?"

  Her jet eyes were on him now, searching his face, wide with curiosity.

  "No, not with a wife."

  "What is it like?"

  He shoved his bowl away from him. "It's pleasant, okay? Can we change the subject now?"

  "Did you love the woman, Thomas? Or did you do sex with her only to relieve your physical needs?"

  "For crying out loud!"

  She jerked a little at his tone, her eyes widening. "I have made you angry. I am sorry, Thomas, I only wanted to know—"

  "All right, all right. No, I didn't love any of them. Yes, it was only physical, and before you ask, the reason for that is that's the way I want it. That's the only way I want it. Now, will you please eat your cereal and get your butt upstairs to shower and dress? We have to be at the clinic by eight."

  She stared at him for a long moment, and he could see the questions in her eyes. She wanted an explanation. But she didn't ask for one. Instead, she finally nodded and focused on her breakfast.

  Maybe the movies hadn't been such a great idea after all. Films today were nothing but sex and violence anyway. Good thing he hadn't had a copy of Rambo lying around. She'd probably be asking for an Uzi.

  Thomas sipped his coffee, glanced across at her, and saw the slightly wounded look she wore. Hell, he'd hurt her feelings, snapping at her that way. But how did she expect him to keep his distance when she sat there talking about sex as if she were thinking of trying it?

  "You know, Janella, maybe you ought to read some books. They might give you a much clearer picture of things than the movies can."

  She brightened, nodded hard. "Books. Yes, that is a good idea. I will.. .I'll do that."

  In the Bear Road Cafe, three strangers in suits and ties sat at a corner booth, listening to the locals rattle on. So far no one had mentioned a UFO sighting. Seemed they were all up in arms over some local doctor's indiscretions. Still, you never knew what you might pick up from casual conversation.

  Captain Mark Halloway chewed his bagel and pretended to read the morning paper, while the digital recorder in his coat pocket worked silently.

  "She's livin' with him!"

  "What, all alone out there on the farm?"

  "That’s right. Pretty thing, too."

  "Rosa's fit to be tied. Had her sights on the doc herself."

  "So I heard. Rosa says she don't know what that girl is, but she's no nurse, that's for—"

  "And goin' by the name of Smith. If that isn't the most unlikely—"

  "You ladies ever do anything besides gossip?"

  The one male voice in the room came from the gangly young man behind the counter. Skip, Halloway had heard him called. The others came from the table just behind his. All female, all married and, apparently, all very upset over the local doc's love life.

  "Who do those city girls think they are, anyway? Waltzing in here like they were born and bred, and waltzing right back out again with our men."

  "Yeah, but what city do you think this one's from? Rosa said she talks funny."

  "I saw her at The Pink Petunia, hangin' on the doc's arm like she owned him. She was wearing a cast, too."

  “Yup. Talk is she was in some kind of accident the other night. Doc Duffy found her and took her home with him."

  One of them sniffed indignantly, as if to say taking her home had been the least he'd done with the woman. Halloway pulled a wallet out of his inner pocket. He'd pay up and leave. This was getting them nowhere.

  "Musta been some accident. Did you see that light in the sky? Looked like a bomb went off."

  Halloway went a little rigid in his seat, his gaze leaping up and meeting that of one of the men across from him. He forced himself to relax, replaced his wallet and took another bite of the bagel.

  "I saw it. That couldn't have been her, though. That flash came from the woods out back of Doc’s place. No roads out there."

  "Some kind of government test, I bet. And what do those loonies at the paper do but call it a UFO! Hey, Skip, a little more coffee over here."

  "Yeah, I'm coming."

  "Well, what I saw that night sure looked like nothing I've seen before. Just a green streak, crossing the sky, and then that white flash. Scared my socks off, I can tell you."

  "What doesn't, Agnes? You get scared over every thunderstorm."

  "It was no UFO. Likely one of those satellites they got floatin' around overhead just petered out and came down. Don't know what everyone's getting so fired up about."

  "You don't suppose that foreign city woman will lure the doc back to wherever she came from, do you?"

  "Wouldn't be surprised. And where would we be then?"

  "I just wish Rosa would hog-tie that man and marry him."

  "Rosa! He's not interested in Rosa. Now, if he'd just take a second glance at my Becky, I know he'd-"

  "Aw, 'Lisbeth, you've done everything but shackle the man to Becky Jo, and he hasn't so much as blinked."

  Mark Halloway nodded to his two counterparts, rose and walked to the register to pay for their breakfasts. As he handed the man his money, he smiled his friendliest smile. "Say... Skip, isn't it? You couldn't tell me where I might find a Dr. Duffy, could you?"

  The man at the register looked Halloway up and down, then nodded. "This time of day, he'd be at the clinic.
Back the way you came and turn left. Third place down. Can't miss it."

  "Thanks, but I didn't want to see him at the clinic. I was talking about his farm."

  The man frowned. "You a friend of his?"

  Halloway nodded. "Yeah, and I've come a long way to see him. Can you help me out?"

  In a corner booth near the windows, a tall man sat, absently rubbing his salt-and-pepper beard and listening.

  Janella glanced out through the display window of The Pink Petunia for the fortieth time and emitted a sigh.

  "He's only been gone an hour, hon." Eugenia patted her hand and smiled. "He'll be back soon."

  Janella blinked, a little startled that she had been so obvious. Thomas had asked her to stay here while he went to the hospital to check on a patient. He had not wanted her there because, he said, she might inadvertently be exposed to some illness or other, one against which her body might have no resistance. It made sense. But Janella didn't like it.

  "You're sweet on him, aren't you?"

  Janella blinked, then frowned. "What do you mean?"

  "Thomas. You like him, don't you?" Eugenia filled Janella's teacup as she spoke, then added more steaming liquid to her own.

  "Of course I like him." Janella took a sip. She really liked the fragrant tea. Much nicer than that bitter swill Thomas called coffee. "He has been very good to me.

  "Come on, Janella. You can tell me." Eugenia winked at her.

  "Tell you what?"

  Eugenia's lips pursed, and she sighed. "Oh, fine. Be as coy as you want. Just remember, I'm on your side."

  "On my side?"

  "Yes." She looked down, shook her head slowly. "You know, he used to be so different. Happy and easygoing. Since he came back, he's a different man. Stiff as a board, and so cold it gives most people goose bumps. But he hasn't changed on the inside, Janella. I think maybe his heart's just taken an extended nap. All he needs is a good woman to shake him right from his head to his toes, and it's gonna wake up again. I guarantee it."