The Afterlife of Alice Watkins 2

by Matilda Scotney

  “But you took me to the A’khet and Peru because Principal Katya told you to, isn’t that right?”

  “Tibet, yes, Machu Picchu—I took some license with that one, I didn’t tell her outright, but she guessed,” again, the guilty look.

  “We may have got to this point anyway, Noah,” Alice scolded gently, “without the white lies and you tricking poor Patrick into leaving.”

  “I know I’ve behaved badly, but he can be very persuasive.”

  “Well, he didn’t persuade me. Noah, is this the secret you want to keep? Your parents almost certainly guessed about us, and probably Principal Katya as well. You’ll have to tell Patrick what you did, or he’ll put two and two together.”

  “I told my father. He’s agreed not to tell Principal Katya that we visited them.”

  “Why?”

  “I believe…” Noah wasn’t even sure this would happen, it was just a hunch, “that if Patrick learns we’ve been seeing each other, it might make our position as officers, on a two-year mission, untenable. I believe he would resign to stay close to you.”

  Alice thought back to the day Patrick visited her at the farm when she’d become angry at the idea of him giving up the Significator for her.

  “He’s considered that already. I told him in no uncertain terms what my views were.”

  “I guessed it, I don’t even know how, but I guessed it,” Noah said.

  “So, you propose keeping our relationship a secret? From everyone, Noah?

  His expression told her that was exactly what he proposed.

  “You’ve woven a rather tangled web, haven’t you? It’s hard to live with a lie, and it might be worse if he finds out from someone else. I’ve told Patrick I don’t love him,” she made particular emphasis on the ‘don’t’, “and that he’s wasting his time. What I do and with whom, isn’t Patrick’s concern. I appreciate his friendship, I like and admire him, but I’ve been honest with him,” Alice shook her head, “and he’s a grown man, neither of us can make ourselves responsible for how he reacts.”

  “Patrick and I have two years together on the Significator,” Noah said. “I was hoping to avoid any difficulties in our working relationship. Like I said, when I started all this with Oakes’s assignment, I didn’t consider where it would lead.”

  Noah knew his reasoning sounded lame and pathetic, but it was done. Telling Patrick now might have either no effect on the upcoming mission in threshold or a disastrous one. Patrick was popular on the Significator, but his expertise was also needed everywhere in the military, he could be assigned another ship with the snap of his fingers, and that would mean, for the two years Ryan was away, Patrick would be close to Alice. The idea was unsettling.

  “So, Principal Ryan,” Alice did at least smile, which made him feel better, “you are telling me, two senior members of the military, in command of a principality ship, cannot show enough professionalism to overcome any personal difficulties? You’re better than that, Noah. Patrick’s not going to resign, and if he is the philanderer you say, he may just shrug and wish us good luck.”

  Noah shook his head.

  “You’re wrong about him, Alice. I’ve known him for years, and I can tell you, he’s not too keen on us spending time together. Has he told you he loves you?”

  “Well,” no point in hedging, “yes, he has.”

  “Patrick doesn’t need the Significator as much as it needs him, Alice. Median and proximal space assignments would keep him occupied if he chose to leave, and he would no doubt continue to pursue you. This is an important mission,” Noah realised after meeting Alice his priorities had changed, but he was still the commander assigned to the most extensive mission ever undertaken, and he’d made some self-serving decisions of late, “and I need Patrick on the Significator; there is no-one with his expertise. He can’t be substituted, and if he left, I don’t care to think what the effect on crew morale would be.”

  “I don’t agree with how you handled this,” she squeezed his hand, “but you may have a point. I probably won’t see him before you leave, so I won’t say anything to anyone, that way there’s no danger of him finding out.”

  Alice couldn’t shake the sense of a burden descending over her, but she wouldn’t let on. She was perhaps just oversensitive, finding this out hours before Noah left. Besides, a lot can happen in two years, Patrick may meet someone else. It wasn’t beyond the bounds of possibility that even Noah might change his mind.

  The cliff and the Aunties house came into view. They could see Jane, Mary and the dogs walking across the grass to greet them. He kissed Alice quickly, hating that he’d been too much of a coward to confess until now. The idea of casting a cloud over their last few hours hadn’t been his intention, but she needed to know.

  “They won’t mind if I stay for a while, will they?”

  “They won’t mind at all.”

  Alice would have plucked the moon from the sky if it would delay him leaving.

  Pecky, the first wave of the welcoming committee, flew onto Alice’s shoulder with a squawk, rubbing his beak on her cheek in admonishment for leaving him and with love for returning. Mary and Jane expressed their delight Noah could stay for a while, with Jane happy for any opportunity to entertain with tea and cakes.

  They didn’t know Alice hadn’t been at the Tabernacle all this time. Fortunately, it seemed not to be a social habit to keep in constant contact as people did with mobile phones. Alice didn’t mention the Top of the World and hoped the subject wouldn’t come up. But thankfully, no mention was made, and after a while, Jane and Mary stopped asking questions about Alice’s visit to the Tabernacle.

  “It’s so kind of you Principal Ryan to escort Alice home,” Mary said, intrigued as to why neither Alice nor Principal Ryan appeared to have much to say other than they’d taken a trip to Stonehenge and seen crop circles. They had no idea both places were close to his home.

  “It’s no trouble Dr Greer, we like to discuss history.”

  “Jorrocks has missed you, Alice—we heard him whinnying when the shuttle landed. You may need to go and say hello to him.”

  “Of course. Come with me, Principal Ryan?”

  He smiled at the aunts and followed Alice out the door. Jane watched them leave.

  “Principal Ryan? That was purely for our benefit,” she said.

  Mary nodded and couldn’t help her smile. She liked Principal Ryan. They were hiding something, those two.

  Jorrocks was pleased to see her. She stroked him and kissed his soft grey neck. Pecky allowed Alice to show affection to the animals provided she also accepted he was to be her number one. Noah sat on the hay bale and pulled Alice down beside him. She wriggled around and leaned her back against him, pulling his arms over her shoulders. He placed his hand inside her blouse and caressed her shoulder. Contented in one another’s company, they stayed there, no need for words, while Jorrocks pulled at the hay around them. Pecky moved onto Noah’s arm and, lulled by the peace, fell asleep.

  Noah was very still, and Alice thought he might be dozing. Through the stable door, she saw clouds drifting across the blue sky, and heard the lazy sound of insects, each playing their part in these special, timeless and tender moments. Alice Watkins, whoever she was, probably never experienced this. She felt sorry for her— what a terrible life! She was glad it was only an echo from an old story. She moved her head a little and kissed Noah’s arm, she felt his face against her hair.

  “I love you, Alice,” he said, ever so softly.

  “I love you too, Noah,” she sighed and closed her eyes.

  They stayed there until the afternoon sunshine faded and early evening shadows hung from the stable walls.

  Noah took his leave—he was already hours overdue to the Tabernacle, so he bid Jane and Mary goodbye at the house, and Alice walked to the shuttle with him. As soon as they were out of sight of the aunties, they wrapped their arms tightly around each other. Alice wished they could just fuse together, then she could go everywhere wit
h him and never again endure a parting such as this.

  “I’ll try to contact you before I leave,” Noah felt the same pain. “It’s impossible to gauge Cloisters, and I don’t want to promise to call and then not deliver. If I don’t, we’ll have to wait till I get back to the ship. Perhaps you should tell Mary and Jane we were together these last few days.”

  “If the need arises, I will, but for now, don’t worry. I’ll look forward to hearing from you when you can, promise me you’ll be safe, pack a toothbrush and stay away from aliens with sticks!”

  At that, he did smile. Alice was glad her last image of him would not be sad.

  After holding each other in an embrace that felt as if it needed to last them an eternity, he let her go. She watched until the shuttle lights disappeared. As the tears began to fall, she walked away from the house, her path taking her across the cliff top, needing time to compose herself before facing the aunties.

  Chapter 29

  Jane and Mary were together in the kitchen when Alice returned to the house. The registry blinked a message with a military signature, it was Patrick, to say he would visit the next afternoon unless he heard from her he shouldn’t.

  Mary saw Alice reading the message.

  “He called this afternoon, Alice. We said we thought you might return today and agreed it would be fine for him to visit, but we would have to make sure it was OK with you too. He left a message anyway. Is it OK?”

  Alice forced a smile.

  “I suppose so. I would like to spend time with you both now, but he is another friend who’s going away so, yes, I guess it’s fine.”

  Mary felt a sudden urge to hold Alice, to place her arms around her to let her know that whatever sadness she may endure, she would always be there for her. Alice appreciated Mary’s love and concern but had already decided, no matter how difficult it might be, she would respect Noah’s wish for secrecy.

  Noah barely arrived back at the Tabernacle when he linked through to Alice.

  “Patrick tells me he’s seeing you tomorrow?”

  “I didn’t expect to hear from you so quickly,” Alice could barely disguise her delight. Fortunately, the aunties had gone out to the storeroom.

  “Principal Katya is late arriving, she went to the city, so I had a few minutes.”

  “Patrick’s coming for afternoon tea. Auntie Jane can’t believe her luck in being able to bake two days in a row.”

  “If you’re sure. I can make up some excuse to stop him.”

  “I think you’ve done enough of that already.”

  He conceded the point. “I miss you.”

  “I miss you too, Noah.”

  “Have your aunts guessed do you think?”

  “They haven’t said; I don’t know. They just want me to have friends and be happy.”

  “They love you, Alice. We’ll speak soon.”

  To say goodbye twice in one day pushed Alice to the limit. She closed her bedroom door, threw herself down on her bed and wept.

  It was dark when Alice woke. She waved her hand at the responder—4am, she’d cried herself to sleep and her clothes were just a crumpled mess. She rubbed her eyes, she was so tired. She and Noah, well, they’d slept little these last couple of days so he was probably exhausted as well.

  Alice got out of bed and wandered out to the kitchen to draw a cup of coffee from the dispenser. Pecky, sleeping on the rim of her hat, opened one eye at her unexpected presence, then decided it might still be a little early and shut it again.

  Alice sat out on the verandah, the night lights emitted a soft glow over the steps and moonlight lit up the lawn beyond. The coolness of the early morning settled around her and she curled her hands around the coffee mug, enjoying its warmth and holding it close to her. Weary, she tilted her head back against the chair.

  “Her eyes are open. She’s awake!” A man’s voice startled her, causing Alice to sit up in alarm, nothing stirred, and the only other sound apart from the sudden, rapid beating of her heart, was the whispering of the gum trees in the breeze.

  “I’m imagining things,” she muttered, leaning back and allowing her mind to drift off to nowhere in particular.

  Figures in masks and green robes surrounded her. Lying on her side, she felt a hard vibration against her head, and again she heard the man’s voice, urgent, almost angry.

  “What’s happening? Her eyes are open. She’s regaining consciousness!”

  “According to my readings,” a woman’s voice now, “she’s sleeping like a baby.”

  Through the throng of masked faces and noise, the white-haired youth she’d seen so many times before, stretched his arms towards her.

  Alice woke, choking for air. Above her, the first streaks of dawn busily pushed away the remnants of night, she heard the horses moving in the stable and the cock crowing. She craned her neck to see the clock in the house, 6.15am, she’d been asleep for two hours, her hands still wrapped around her coffee cup. Strange, it was still piping hot.

  Patrick arrived in the mid-afternoon. He brought flowers for Alice and flowers for the aunties too, but they weren’t there.

  “Just us, Patrick, I’m afraid.”

  He hugged her quickly before she could protest.

  “I love just us. Where is everyone?”

  “Belinda, our neighbour, is very elderly and frail—she’s 104 years old. She took a fall, and Mary and Jane have gone over to help. They’ll be back later. Auntie Jane is very disappointed at not being here to make you tea and fuss over you.”

  Alice made sure to sit opposite Patrick, creating a tacit distance between them. Faced with lemon meringue pie, he seemed not to notice, but after a while, moved closer, thankfully making no move to touch or embrace her again.

  “Are you looking forward to going back into space?” she asked, keeping her tone very conversational, and appreciating Pecky giving Patrick the evil eye whenever he leaned too close.

  “I’ve enjoyed the Accessor refit, I’m not as keen on long assignments as Ryan—he’s literally champing at the bit to get back out. I would have liked more time to convince you of my feelings.”

  She smiled and groaned a silent, “Oh, dear”.

  “What’s Statesman Hennessey’s replacement like?”

  “Junnot? Brilliant. Ryan requested her because she’s a communications expert, not just linguistics either, she’s made modifications to our current communications array that shows real potential. She was the first officer on the Inquisitor for years, but it’s a small ship, so this is a promotion. She’s new to the Significator.”

  “How old is she?”

  “50ish, from memory, she loves mountaineering and diving and all sorts of extreme sports. She’s quite the risk taker, and with her track record on the principality ships, she should have been a principal by now, but she always refused advancement.”

  “Wasn’t Principal Ryan young when he became principal?”

  “Yes, but in years only. He was born old. With Ryan, everything is by the book. He’s incapable of surprising me.”

  “Oh, dear,” she thought again.

  “He speaks well of you, Patrick.”

  “He does? When?”

  “When we went to Tibet. We talked about you mainly.”

  “Did you?” Patrick seemed pleased. “Well, I’ve known him a long time. I’m probably the most exciting thing that ever happened to him.” He grinned. “I’m only joking but, well, you’ve spent time with him—he doesn’t exactly ooze charm.”

  “Like you, do you mean?”

  “Of course, like me.”

  “He said you made go-carts. Great ones.”

  “My goodness, yes I did. I’d forgotten, how odd he would remember.”

  “Perhaps those times meant something to him.”

  “He was a good friend, that’s for sure. I led a pretty isolated life at the Tabernacle. My mother wouldn’t let me play with engines for quite a while after my father’s accident, so I made carts with wheels, like the ones in histo
ry. They flew like the wind down that hill from the house,” he gave a little laugh. “Ryan and his sisters used to go to the Tabernacle for two weeks at each recess to visit their aunt. They spent time with me even though they were all a few years older.”

  “Didn’t you go to school?”

  “Oh yes, locally, but Ryan, and Zoe and Mel, his sisters, did their aptitudes at the same time. Once they all started their space year, they didn’t visit so often. I did get a bit lonely.”

  The conversation convinced Alice, Noah was right, they shouldn’t tell Patrick. Listening to him now, Alice believed that when they did, their friendship could conceivably come to an end.

  “Ryan asked for me when he was made Principal,” Patrick said. “I was dividing my time between being the second officer on the Inquisitor and space dock. I’d only just received Knowledge—I was happily working on the scaffolding and containment fields and the Gravidarums, just testing and refining. I’ve never regretted accepting the Significator, but the missions are longer than I would like.”

  “Did the Accessor exceed your expectations?”

  “She’s a great ship. I did my space year on her and now, she’s faster and more capable. The size of the ship and resources it can hold limits what they can do. The Accessor doesn’t have the capability to explore planets further out, it can only chart systems, send probes, check weather patterns and the like. The Significator can do all those things, and more, and go far beyond where the Accessor and the Inquisitor can go. Both those ships only travel to the far edge of median space. They operate there, perhaps for two months and then return to Saturn or Septimus for crew, maintenance, supplies, etc. But now, since the refit, the Accessor can go not only to the far rim of median space, but even venture into threshold—and she can stay out longer. This will effectively widen median space. Ryan was wise not to let it delay any further.”

  “Will the Tabernacle build new ships? I can’t imagine a single ship is capable of gathering much information on its own,” Alice kept the questions coming, keeping the conversation in neutral territory.