Gaia placed her hands on her hips. “Don’t do that—even though it came in handy this time. So can you help me pick out an outfit to wear on a date with an astronomer?”
“Absolutely.” She snapped her fingers, and Gaia looked down at an attractive dress in midnight blue with a pattern of stars all over it.
Gaia smiled. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
“Any time. Now, have fun on your date. Oh! You need shoes.” She snapped her fingers, and the brown leather boots disappeared. Gaia looked down at her feet and almost fell over. She was wearing the most ridiculous high heels. The silver shoes went nicely with the stars, but the heels… No way. She stepped out of the shoes, snapped off the heels, and put them back on. Her height dropped at least four inches, but they still felt uncomfortable and just looked wrong.
Fate said, “Let me help.” She snapped her fingers, and the shoes became ballet flats. “There.”
“Yes. Better. Now I’m ready. Where is he?”
“I think you’ll be happy. He’s in California. I know how you like that state because of its many geographical variations. Mountains, ocean, desert, lakes…everything.”
“Terrific. I should get going.”
Fate snapped her fingers, and Gaia stood outside the door of a large domed building.
She knocked, and the door flew open, revealing a bespectacled older gentleman with thinning gray hair and a toothy grin. He wasn’t bad-looking, but he wasn’t dressed as well as she was. His pants were corduroy, and his casual shirt was plaid. But who was she to complain if he was a nice man? Maybe Karma could help them both pick out a new wardrobe sometime.
“Welcome. I assume you’re Gaia,” he said.
“I am. And you are?”
His brows raised. They weren’t groomed any better than hers. “Your friend didn’t tell you my name?”
Gaia just shook her head.
“Call me Dr. Ned for now. That’s what the kids call me when I speak at their schools.” He stuck out his hand for a handshake.
She shook his hand and wondered when he was going to invite her in. “May I come in, or did you want to look at the stars outside?”
He slapped his forehead. “I’m sorry. Please come in. I’m not used to having company.” He backed away from the door, and as he did, his corduroy pants squeaked.
“So you’re a doctor,” she said. “I know a doctor. He’s a cardiac surgeon. Are you a cardiologist? Or a surgeon?”
He stared at her, incredulous. “No, I have a PhD, not an MD. I’m a doctor of astronomy, and my specialty is observational astronomy.”
Mother Nature was puzzled, but she was getting used to that feeling as she learned more about human beings up close and personal. “Are the stars sick?” she asked.
He laughed. “You were joking. I get it now. Sorry, I’m not always skillful when it comes to recognizing jokes. Good one!”
He smiled, and she felt a little more at ease.
“Let me take you up to the observatory. I’m proud to say I have one of the most powerful telescopes on the West Coast.”
“Really?” She wasn’t much better at conversation than he was, but she’d give it a try—for now. Every time he moved, his pants squeaked. That was bound to drive her crazy before long.
When they finally reached his telescope, he asked, “Do you know much about the stars?”
She smirked. “Why don’t you tell me what you want me to know, the same way you’d explain it to school children. I’d like to hear what you’re teaching them.”
He smiled. “Of course. We’ll start at the beginning then. Take a look in here.” He pointed to an eyepiece that magnified the night sky hundreds of times. “With so many stars in the universe, the night sky is a beautiful sight. But not all stars are the same. I’ll explain the different types of stars so you’ll know exactly what you’re gazing at each night. First of all, what is a star? Do you know?”
Did he really want her to answer that? Of course she knew. She had created them, but how could she explain that? Fortunately, he continued his lecture.
“Stars are burning balls of gas, and from a far distance, they all look pretty much the same. But did you know that there are differenttypesof stars? Here in my telescope, we can take a closer look at those twinkling stars you see way up high.”
She couldn’t help tuning him out. He droned on and on about things she already knew, but he took all the beauty and magic out of it.
