Proximity Page 12

CHAPTER 12

  With each passing day, it grew a little easier to get back to life as before. Initially, it was all I could manage to go to work and come back home. I wasn’t depressed—just so preoccupied that nothing else held my interest.

  There had been no further clues as to Eric’s whereabouts. Had Sabela ever actually come into contact with him, she probably would have been able to use her senses to track him down. But it was near impossible for her to locate a person she’d never actually seen. Finding physical objects or geographic locations was fairly straightforward, but with people it wasn’t so simple…She had to have some familiarity with the individual.

  As the days wore on, I gradually reverted back to my usual set of distractions from the monotony of life. I danced, expanded my collection of music CDs, reread some of my favorite books. I even signed up to teach a ballet class at UNM. Sabela tried to occupy my mind by getting me out of the house for all variety of activities. We went rock climbing, shopped, and attended several productions from the summer musical series.

  It was on one such attempt to distract me from my thoughts that she suggested we attend an evening lecture Dominick was giving at UNM. Astrophysics never enticed me quite as much as it did Sabela—but apparently the lecture would be well-attended, and I knew Dominick could use the moral support.

  Despite our early arrival, the sizable lecture hall was already beginning to fill up. Evidently astrophysics is more popular than I gave it credit for. Either that, or attendance was mandatory. Judging from the number of unenthusiastic-appearing students present, I guessed it was the latter. We took our seats near the back of the room, with a good view down to the podium.

  Sabela’s face was calm, but I could see her fingers subtly fidgeting as she looked down at her husband. Dominick was similarly fidgeting with the laser pointer in his hand, a little less adept at concealing his anxiety. The bustling hall quieted down as the lights lowered. An older gentleman (at least, old in comparison to Dominick) gave a brief introduction, and it was Dominick’s turn to take the podium.

  It took a few seconds for his jitters to settle down, but then Dominick became absorbed in the lecture content and took on a surprisingly calm and confident demeanor. I must admit, the presentation was actually interesting enough to hold my attention. I did sneak a few looks over to Sabela, who was beaming with delight at her true love. Judging from some of the questions and comments from the audience at the lecture’s conclusion, Sabela and I were not alone in our approval. Eventually the professor who had led off the session stood up to wrap up the Q & A. He suggested that anyone with further questions could come down to the podium to speak with Dominick directly.

  Sabela and I kept our seats, planning to wait for Dominick and then take him out to dinner afterward. We watched as a small cluster of people formed around Dominick to address their additional questions. He legitimately seemed to be enjoying the interest in the subject matter, temporarily overcoming his aversion to the spotlight.

  As the rest of the crowd continued filing toward the door, I suddenly caught sight of a woman standing to Dominick’s left. I would recognize that shiny, dark hair and porcelain skin anywhere. I seized hold of Sabela’s forearm and gasped. She started with surprise, then turned to face me, her eyes questioning. I leaned in and half-whispered, unable to slow the speed of my words, “It’s her…We have to get down there!”

  “Where?” she whispered in return, instantly grasping the meaning of “her”. Eyes darting around the group at the front of the hall, Sabela caught sight of her. “The one to Dom’s left?” she guessed.

  “Exactly,” I confirmed. “Come on!”

  I jumped from my seat, my hand still gripping Sabela’s forearm. Impatiently fighting my way against the current of people still heading for the exit, I practically dragged poor Sabela down the long flight of stairs. We arrived at the base of the steps just as Dominick’s group was beginning to break up. Strangely, the one person who lingered behind to keep talking to Dominick was the woman in question.

  I stumbled forward, Sabela at my side, and attempted to nonchalantly interject into the conversation. “Hey Dominick, that was a great presentation. You actually managed to keep my attention,” I winked with a smile.

  “Wow…That’s quite an accomplishment!” He chuckled, giving me a quick hug. I skirted aside as he reached his arm around Sabela.

  “Sabela, Palta…This is Emma,” Dominick said as he gestured to indicate the outrageous beauty before us, even more impressive on closer examination. “She’s been interning with one of my colleagues at the VLA for the past few weeks.”

  Leave it to Dominick to fail to notice that supermodels don’t sign up for astronomy internships on a daily basis. Emma smiled with charming grace as she offered her hand to shake mine, then Sabela’s.

  My mind was spinning with questions...

  Were she and Eric still together?

  Did she know his true identity?

  Had he told her anything about me—or the events of that ill-fated night?

  Did she know where he was now?...

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Emma,” Sabela smiled with easy grace. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your last name?”

  “It’s Moran,” Emma said courteously. “Emma Moran.”

  My legs threatened to give way beneath me as I processed the meaning of her reply. Of course they were still together.

  She wasn’t just his girlfriend…She was his wife.

  I stood in silent dismay, glancing out the corner of my eye toward Dominick, who was quickly recovering from a puzzled expression. Evidently he had no prior knowledge of her last name.

  Sabela alone kept her composure. “Moran,” she repeated. “That’s such a familiar name…Have we met before?”

  “Not that I’m aware of,” Emma replied politely. “I’m sure I would remember such lovely faces,” she added with an endearing smile. Great, now she was complimenting me. Though she had been nothing but warm and friendly, I didn’t want any reason to like her.

  Surprisingly quick to recover his bearings, Dominick rejoined the discussion. “My wife Sabela is also an astrophysicist…We met doing research at the VLA. Her sister, Palta, is a physician specializing in infectious disease. She teaches at the UNM medical school.”

  “Really? How interesting.” Emma looked slightly flustered. She quickly regained her pleasant demeanor as she turned back to Sabela. “What type of research were you doing?”

  Sabela began to answer her question, speaking in acronyms and other terminology I only vaguely understood. Emma seemed genuinely interested, and proceeded to ask about the details of the happy couple’s meeting. It appeared on the surface she was fully attentive to Sabela and Dominick’s recounting of the early years of their romance, but every few seconds I noticed her eyes darting momentarily in my direction.

  The lecture hall eventually emptied, leaving the four of us alone next to the podium. As the conversation continued without any input from me, I found my mind wandering back to the fateful evening when I last saw Eric. I wondered if Emma knew of my role in the debacle.

  Even as my attention was drawn toward that evening, I had the peculiar feeling my memory was growing fuzzy. I struggled to remember the exact appearance of the pile of debris on the floor, the sound of the alarm blaring overhead, even the feeling of Eric’s skin as I traced my fingers along his neck to check for a pulse. My most precious remembrance—the sound of his heartbeat pounding in my ear as I awoke on his chest—was slowly drifting from my conscious mind.

  I struggled in vain to hold on to the memories…They were slipping away like sand through a sieve. I looked up to see Emma’s eyes focused entirely on me, as Dominick and Sabela chattered in the background.

  “Stop that.” I glared authoritatively in Emma’s direction, my voice echoing through the empty room.

  Sabela and Dominick both turned toward me in stunned silence. I stood motionless, arms c
rossed in front of me, staring Emma down as her eyebrows raised with alarm.

  “Pardon me?” she asked awkwardly. “I don’t know what you mean.” Somehow her eyes indicated otherwise.

  “If you want to borrow my thoughts, you’ll have to ask permission first.” I said snidely. “Somehow I don’t think you were planning on putting them back where you found them.”

  Sabela gasped, then instinctively took hold of my hand. She reached out with her opposite hand to grasp Dominick’s shirt sleeve, and shifted her weight backward as if prepared to break into a run at any second.

  Emma dropped all pretense of surprise. “What happened that night? Did you see who attacked him?” She was suddenly interrogating me.

  I suppose I should have been relieved that she had at least gathered I wasn’t the one responsible for assaulting Eric. Instead, I was just plain pissed off.

  “Didn’t you get a good enough look at my mind the first time? If I knew the answer to that question, you would have already helped yourself to it,” I snapped.

  “I’m sorry for my intrusiveness,” Emma gave the appearance of legitimate remorse—an act I didn’t buy for a second. “I was just trying to make out if you were friend or foe.”

  “If by ‘foe’ you mean a brutal killer, then I suppose I’d fall into the ‘friend’ category,” I replied cynically. “Although in your case, we may have to find a secret option number three.”

  “Palta, please,” Emma held up her hands appealing for a truce. “I made a mistake that set us off on the wrong foot…Please accept my sincere apology.” Her eyes turned pleading as she continued cautiously, “I was desperately searching for a way to protect my brother’s life.”

  One word stood out above all the others.

  “He’s your brother?” My voice trailed off as I paused to reflect on the notion.

  “You didn’t know that?” she asked incredulously.

  “No, how on Earth would I?” I came back, my sarcasm regaining steam.

  Emma paused in contemplation for a moment, no doubt debating whether to attempt another probe of my mind to validate my claim. Wisely, she decided not to push her limits. She glanced around slowly at the three of us. Sabela stood unwavering, still gripping my hand and Dominick’s arm. An equally frozen Dominick stared uneasily back at Emma. She took a little breath in and exhaled slowly, then directed her attention back toward me, choosing her words carefully. “How long have you been here?” she asked tentatively.

  “By ‘here’, do you mean Albuquerque?” I asked doubtingly.

  “I think you know what I mean,” she prodded. I paused, debating whether to give her a straight answer.

  Sabela’s voice suddenly emerged to fill the void. “One hundred and twenty-five Earth years,” she said very evenly. “I traveled here as a girl with my parents. Palta was born eight years later.”

  Emma’s entire body language shifted abruptly. “I knew it!” she exclaimed. A look of wide-eyed excitement lit up her face as she raised her fingers up to cover her gaping mouth.

  “You’re Kencane Capal’s children!…You have no idea how long we have been searching for your father.”