AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Kiritela wraps her arms around my neck. “Sing her a song, pa. You sing so well.”
Her older sister laughs. “That is not a half bad idea.”
As the drone begins its descent to our destination, I say, “Thank you all. You have given me much to think about.”
???
I sit in the auditorium of the university lecture hall. As a former sicortar, I have been afforded pride of place at the front with my family. My eyes search the audience for Melinda, but there is no sign of her or Wyatt. To occupy myself, I read through the program about Ricky Charles. According to it, he is a country rock singer from a town called Nashville. I am not sure what country and rocks have to do with music. Could it be he sings odes to the geology of the country? We have a tradition here on Krovatia of composing poems to celebrate nature, so perhaps it is something in the same vein.
The lights dim and a hush comes over the audience. To my right, I spot some movement. It is Melinda arriving with Wyatt. As she takes her seat, she feels my eyes on her and looks up. We stare at each other across the short distance. Then she looks away and sits down.
A spotlight illuminates the center of the stage. Into it struts a man, holding an instrument close in looks to a lanjo. I sit up. This could be interesting after all. He smiles at the audience and addresses us, “Hello Krovatians. It’s an honor to be here. Here’s a song I wrote.” And he starts strumming on his lanjo-like instrument. His voice, when he begins to sing, is deep and melodious. His song is about the joys and anxieties of first time fatherhood. I listen to it, smiling at a lyric which reminds me of myself when I first held Kiristen in my arms. I glance across at Melinda. Her eyes are fixed on the stage, her hand rubbing her chest through the thin material of her dress.Oh my darling love, how I wish I could ease this ache.
The concert progresses, this time with other musicians joining in to create a cacophony of loud sound. It takes a while for my ears to accustom themselves to it, but somehow, I find myself swaying to the beat of the music. I listen intently to the intelligent, insightful words Ricky Charles sings. He is talented. I can see that. Every so often, I cast my eyes towards Melinda. Several times, they cross paths with her eyes on me. I cannot help myself from mouthing, “I love you.” Her eyes widen, then she looks away again. But then, as if she cannot help herself, she looks to me again. I mouth the words once more, “I love you.” I see her breath hitch as she stares at me. Finally, she looks away again. This time, she maintains self-control and stubbornly refuses to look my way again.
There is a lull, then Ricky Charles addresses the audience. “This last song tonight is one that has great meaning for me. It’s about a time I did something that hurt someone I love. I wrote the song with the hope that one day, the hurt would heal enough for her to forgive me. The song is called ‘One Day’.”
Melinda and Wyatt rise to their feet and hold out their communicators with the flash light on.Curious. I see other Humans in the audience do the same. As the music starts, they sway from side to side with their lights casting a glow, like stars in the night sky. Soon, other Krovatians take the hint, and they too stand with their communicator lights on. Troy gets to his feet and holds out his light. Kiristen too. Within a short time, we are all on our feet, swaying our lights back and forth. And then, Ricky Charles starts to sing.
I know you hurt, my love I hurt too…
The song continues, detailing the rupture between the lovers and the hope that one day, they will re-unite. When the song finishes, the audience spontaneously breaks out into loud humming. I realize there are tears on my cheeks. I gaze across at Melinda. Tears streak her face too. We stare at each other for an endless moment. Then it is gone. The lights come back on in the auditorium, and the concert is over. People start filing out, a rumble of voices as they exclaim about the performance. Melinda and Wyatt disappear from my sight.
“That was amazing,” enthuses Kirimara.
“I loved it. Especially that final song,” agrees Kiristen.
I look at my son. “Kiristen, I think I know what grand gesture to make.”
He smiles. “I’m glad.”
Chapter 45
Melinda
We’re back from the concert, which was a great success. All day, Wyatt has been stressing about it. The soundcheck was a disaster. The sound system wasn’t working properly. Ricky Charles stormed off and had a hissy fit in his dressing room. Wyatt finally managed to talk him out of his funk. At one point, it looked as if the whole thing would never get off the ground. At the last minute, it came together. We got to our seats just as the lights dimmed, and I saw Kirimor. I couldn’t look away. His eyes looked so sad. He mouthed, “I love you” to me several times. I wanted to say it back, but I didn’t.
Now we’re in my room, and Wyatt is pacing about excitedly, still on a high from the success of the evening. He’s on a call with Rivlor, telling her all about it. I hadn’t realized he had formed such a strong friendship with the Venorian commander of the cargo ship. She’s also an investor in his venture, so I guess she has a right to know how it went.
He grins into the camera, “You should have seen the auditorium light up with thousands of communicator lights for the last song. It was magical.”
Her deep, melodious voice responds, “I hope to see it for myself when he performs on Ven. Cute boy, I am glad it went so well.”
Cute boy?
Wyatt finally ends the call and undresses. We haven’t been intimate since he came here. He sleeps in his boxers and I wear a tank top and panties to bed. I don’t know if Kirimor and I will ever get back together, but I know that Wyatt and I are finally over, much as I love him. We should have cut that cord long ago. Now, I want more than anything for that love we had to morph into deep and lasting friendship. I think we’re on our way there.
He goes to the bathroom then comes back and gets into bed beside me. I turn and lie on my side, facing him. “So, it’s cute boy is it?”
He blushes. “It’s not what you think. Just a private joke we have going. Rivlor has been a very good friend to me, nothing else.”
“You’re free to make it into something else, if that’s what you want.”
He gives me a pained look. “You’re what I want, Mel. Is there really no hope?”
I touch his stubble roughened cheek. “It’s time to go our separate ways, honey. Being with Kirimor has made me see that.”
He blows out a long breath and stares at the ceiling. “I know. I’m beginning to realize it too.”
