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Gallatin seemed completely recovered now. He nodded and grasped his sister’s arm. “Please, you must go.”
She sighed and turned her back, but Shubuta stepped forward.
“For you, Sir.” She handed him the vial of medicine I’d watched her rub across his arm and a clear pouch of black liquid with a thin tube running from one end. I assumed it was blood. “It’s very likely your body will restore itself without this. You are very young still, and it seems you respond quickly to treatment.”
“Thank you.” He smiled and gave her a slight bow. “I will always remember your loyalty.”
She smiled and appeared a little flustered. Then she bowed, turning before she’d finished. I remembered Cato’s words about Shubuta’s feelings for him, but I didn’t feel threatened. It was appropriately sweet.
The few remaining aliens quickly slipped out the back, but Ovett waited for Cato. She still stood with her back to us looking down, her arms crossed over her waist and her thumb and forefinger pinched her lips.
Gallatin’s arm loosened on my waist, and he stepped forward, touching her arm. “Please, sister. I can take care of myself now. You must go while the humans are all contained and my uncle is distracted.”
She took a quick breath and straightened, lowering her arms. “Very well,” she said. “The last humans to be wiped are in the barn. The soldiers will release them, but you should have time to do what you need to do.”
He nodded, and they clasped hands one last time.
“I’ll be in contact,” she said, and then she looked at me, giving me a tight smile like I were an annoying itch she couldn’t scratch.
“Goodbye,” he said.
Almost faster than my brain could comprehend, we were completely alone. My ears roared with the sounds of all that had happened, and I felt like I needed a week-long sleep.
“Now for the last thing,” he said, facing me and taking both my hands in his. “You must close your eyes and press your face into my chest. I’ll cover your ears, and I have to use my touch if you’re going to keep your memories.”
I nodded, eyes wide. “I trust you. But… will it hurt?”
He smiled. “No. It takes less than a second. It’s like a flash of light that radiates out a distance.”
I stepped forward and pressed my nose into his sternum then he reached up and slipped both his palms flat over my ears. My heartbeat picked up as I waited, but no sooner had my eyes closed than he stepped back again, smiling.
“You did it?” I asked, blinking.
“It’s finished.”
Months later…
Almost a year had passed since those twenty-one days that began one hot afternoon in May. Jackson and I officially broke up, and I went to work full-time with Dr. Green, preparing to take over his practice when he retired. I took courses at the college, and he gave me the hands-on experience I needed for my degree. I was going to be a veterinarian. It was only an animal doctor, but still, it was a doctor.
Russell and Yolanda moved to Gainesville for school, and Roxie opened a hair salon in town. Then in July, Jackson announced he was moving to Starkville, and Mr. Edwards divided up the farm and sold off parcels. D’Lo bought one, as did the town’s newest resident Gallatin Sentinel.
As “a Native American from Arizona,” who’d been studying farming out west, he claimed he’d always dreamed of living in the piney woods of southern Mississippi. Only I remembered the truth.
That was the hard part, being the only one to remember what really happened those weeks we’d all shared. It was hard when Yolanda and Roxie didn’t remember us being friends, and it was hard when Braxton and D’Lo didn’t remember how much we’d depended on each other. But burying Flora again was the hardest part.
Gallatin suggested the easiest way would be for him to give everyone the same memory of her funeral as if they were there. A headstone was placed on her grave just past the old, abandoned church camp, and her mother complimented me on singing Flora’s favorite hymn at the service. On a grey afternoon in August, Gallatin and I went back alone to visit the site. I let him hold me as I wept, and we made peace with that bitter part of our past.
Now spring had returned, and I followed Dr. Green out to the paddock behind his office. The sun was strong in a clear blue sky, but the punishing heat was still a month away. It made me feel restless, excited, like something new was beginning.
“Fanny Magee brought her mare over to put with Clyde,” Doc said, pulling out a long metal pole with a loop on the end. He paused for a split second, surveying my height. “You might be too small for this, Prentiss.”
“I thought you said now that I was training—”
“There’s not really a lot we can do in the way of helping things.” He cut me off.
I frowned as I watched him. After nearly two years working with the old vet, I’d learned by the way he talked that he was uneasy about my response to our job today. It seemed the more we worked together, the more protective he became.
“The drive to procreate is one of the strongest in nature.” He lectured as he snapped on his gloves.
I nodded as I watched a carpenter bee drill a hole for laying eggs in one of the wooden beams above us. From there, my gaze wandered out to the field where some wildflowers grew. I picked up a set of gloves and inspected the thin gold band with a tiny diamond, an engagement ring that circled the third finger of my left hand. My mind skipped across the pasture, down to the bottom where a guy ran a tractor, getting the ground ready for spring planting.
“It’s not much different with humans,” the old vet continued, and I smiled with affection. I’d learned that whenever he felt uncomfortable, he filled the space with reassuring, scientific logic.
“Animals, like people, are driven by the need to continue the species, produce more life. We humans have just learned to control it. Somewhat.”
Somewhat. I’d seen how quickly humans could turn into animals. Dexter and the other boys started high school last fall, and they were always very polite with their “yes, ma’am” and “no, ma’am.” If I thought too much about how they’d danced around the fire, Dexter’s threats, their vicious eyes, it made me sick.
But I didn’t want to think about that today. I listened to Dr. Green’s reassuring voice, and I watched the hum of spring afternoon busyness. My mind drifted back to the fields, to our farm, and warmth tightened low in my stomach.
“You’re going to need to stay back, now.” Dr. Green stopped me before opening the gate to the pen where the horses waited. Clyde was already nosing around the hind end of Ms. Fanny’s mare.
“He’s going to mount her,” the doctor explained. “And she just has to stand still. If I need to, I’ll hold her head.”
He stopped moving then and looked at me. “What’s wrong?”
I realized I’d fallen behind, staring wistfully back across the pasture.
“Oh, I’ve had this headache all morning,” I quickly lied. “If you don’t need me, maybe I’ll just go back to the house and lie down.”
“This is all part of the job, Pren. If you’re going to take over, you need to know how it works.”
“I know,” I nodded. “It’s just… I feel a little dizzy.”
“Migraine?” He held my chin and looked in my eyes. I glanced away, but I could tell he was buying it.
“I don’t know. Maybe.” It was my very best acting job—all driven by that natural instinct he kept going on about. That natural instinct that had my insides all tied up in knots.
“Well, go on home, then.” He patted my shoulder. “It’s spring, after all. We’ll have plenty more opportunities.”
I nodded, walking slowly until I was out of his sight.
When I was safely away, I broke into a run. Our house was empty when I got there. Daddy lived with Aunt Millie-Ray now, and she was helping him get sober. Braxton had renewed his faith in God and relocated to Natchez to start a church. That left the house to Gallatin and me. I figured we’d live in it, since
it was close to the farm, then we’d build something new. If we had time for that.
I stripped off my work jeans and my old t-shirt as I dashed to the bathroom. I threw my sweaty bra in the laundry and ran topless across the hall into my mamma’s old closet where a few light summer dresses were hidden. I grabbed one with a full skirt and small buttons up the front and jerked it over my body.
A brush through my hair and a tiny bit of perfume behind my ears, I smoothed cherry lip gloss over my mouth and threw the tube on my dresser. The screen door screeched as I pushed through it, and it banged shut behind me.
Running as fast as I could, I took off across the field. The tall grasses swished at my thighs under my skirt, taunting me, and as I got closer to the sound of the tractor, the tightness in my chest had spread to the top of my head. I was feverish as I jumped up on the metal gate and watched him driving the huge machine.
The sun made shadow-lines across Gallatin’s bare back, and I watched his olive muscles flex as he turned the wheel. My stomach twisted. I knew he wouldn’t hear me if I called, but I was desperate for him to look up. Then he rounded the corner and saw me.
I didn’t know if he read my face or my mind, but he killed the engine, leaving the tractor mid-field. He swung a leg over and jogged in his dirty cowboy boots to where I waited and quickly crossed the fence. His mouth found mine as I pulled him, stumbling into the trees. My heart beat faster, and I strained to cover his neck and shoulders with kisses, tasting his saltiness mixed with my sweet lip gloss.
His mouth chased mine before moving to my cheek and neck, forging a trail of tingling sensations across my skin. I ached for his rough touch as he dropped to his knees, pulling me onto his lap.
Looking back, I blushed at my wildness. I barely remembered his voice saying my name, as electric waves followed by effervescent bubbles surged through my torso. Gasping I felt us lifting higher, like we were soaring past the clouds, among the stars, as sensation upon sensation curled the arches of my feet. Shudders rippled through my body as I came down, until at last I was lying against his chest, my arms weakly holding his neck.
We were both quiet, regaining our breath. He held me against him, stroking my back through the thin fabric of my dress. Suddenly I couldn’t stop a giggle. My brain was still fuzzy, and laughed more.
“What’s so funny?” I heard the smile in his voice.
“Teen pregnancy would cease to be a problem if human guys could touch that way.” Sliding my finger across his bare chest, I couldn’t help another small laugh. “Even after we’re married and we’re together for real, I want you to kiss me like that.”
“I’ll do whatever you want, but when we’re married and I take you, you’ll change your mind.”
Excited nerves tightened my stomach. I couldn’t even imagine. Lifting my head I met his glowing amber eyes. They were so warm and full of love, I couldn’t help kissing him again.
“How will I ever be normal after this?” I sighed.
“Do you want me to stop?”
My nose pressed into his cheek, and I smiled. He knew I’d never say no. I traced my finger down the line of his scar under the dark hair that always covered it, then I stretched up to kiss his cheek, thinking about how far we’d come, how much had changed.
“You always want to protect me,” I said.
“It’s my job now isn’t it?”
“Less than a year ago, you said I was too young to get married, and look at us already engaged.”
“That was nearly a year ago, and I could sense this was what you wanted.”
“Through your alien powers?”
“Through the spirits of my ancestors, the trees.” He smiled against my hair, and I laughed. “And through you telling me straight out we should be together.”
Straightening, I brought my hands to my lap. “Well, you did stay here for me. It was the least I could do.”
Even glowing in the warmth of being together, the memory was bittersweet. The night I’d left Jackson’s camp, my fear at the thought of him dead or across the galaxy never to return, was a heartbreak I’d never forget—along with our other big difference.
“And you have hundreds of years ahead of you, but I don’t.” His expression shifted, and my eyes flickered down. “I don’t want us to waste time.”
Strong arms circled my body, pulling me against him in a tight embrace. “We’ll figure it out. It doesn’t make sense that humans once lived so long and now they don’t. Maybe it’s environmental. Perhaps in another world, it’ll be different.”
I nodded against his neck, swallowing my fear at his words, at the idea of other planets, other aliens. Scary aliens. His uncle. I traced my finger along the leather strap to the round pendant in the center of his chest.
“Dr. Green said the urge to procreate was one of the strongest forces in nature.” I tilted the shimmering charm back and forth, watching the three warriors appear. “It made me think of your uncle.”
Gallatin leaned back to study my face. “What about him?”
“Cato said the threat of your offspring… he’d come for you. I assume that means for them, too?”
“Are you ready to leave?”
“I want us to be safe,” I dropped my chin, not wanting to see his eyes as I confessed. “But I’m still afraid.”
“Then we’ll wait until you’re not afraid.”
I hugged him close, resting my chin on his shoulder again, looking off into the trees. “When I was little, I used to dream of being swept away from my broken home by a handsome prince. We’d live happily ever after somewhere in a castle, like in one of those fairytales.”
His hand moved up and down my back. “Would you settle for science fiction? Or nonfiction, I suppose. And I already told you, I’m not a prince…” A deep exhale. “I’m screwing this all up.”
I pulled back. “No! I meant…”
Amber eyes twinkled with mischief, and I lightly punched his arm. Then I stood, pulling my dress back around and straightening the front. “I’m not smart enough for science fiction.”
“That’s not true. I’ve seen you in action.” His hand sneaked under my skirt and up my thigh. It left tingle in its wake, and I skipped back out of his reach, turning to go.
“I’ve got to get back to work. Or maybe I’ll go down to the creek instead?”
When I heard him rise, I started running. He caught my arm, and I shrieked with laughter as he dragged me back to him, covering my mouth with his and pulling me back to the soft ground. I held us together as his lips pushed mine apart, his arms strong and solid around my waist.
We weren’t safe. We weren’t even necessarily in a better place, but we’d found a break from the running, from the people getting hurt or killed. I’d take over Dr. Green’s practice, and Gallatin would work our farm. We’d spend afternoons at the creek and nights in each others’ arms.
When the time came, I knew I’d go with him to Gliese or wherever else he was sent. It was hard to know what our future would hold, but we loved each other. We’d found peace. It was only temporary, but we were together, and that’s the most anyone can hope for, human or alien.
* * *
The End.
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Thank you for reading Behind the Stars!
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The idea for this story grew from two things—summers I used to spend with my grandparents in southern Mississippi, running through the woods behind their house and letting my imagination roam, and driving with my husband from south Alabama to north Louisiana along U.S. 49.
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Reading road signs with names like Prentiss Puckett, D’Lo, Cato, and more, we brainstormed a story of a girl who lived in Dabb Creek and had adventures with her friends. Since it was my husband, it had to be science fiction.
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I finished Behind the Stars in the spring of 2012, but life being life, I’m only now getting the chance to release it to my reader-friends. I hope you all love it as much as my first readers in Spanish Fort did.
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