Posted by Commander Shara Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Tennessee, Earth - Home Sweet Home

Posted by Commander Shara Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Tennessee, Earth - Home Sweet Home

(snips)

Her skin tingling where he had pinched, Shara had slipped out of bed after he went downstairs and availed herself of the large rain shower. There was a bit of exhaustion left from yesterday, but much like any sort of catharsis there was calmness left in its wake. Shara had revealed the one painful secret she had held all these years and now that Micah held it with her she felt the slight weight lifted. She wasn’t ashamed of having a baby so young- well, not entirely- but anytime she had thought about telling others the inevitable fallout she could envision was paralyzing. No matter if it was ultimately a good thing, there were going to be hurt feelings, especially at her keeping it a secret. But she would have to live with that. Besides, maybe nothing would come of it. Maybe Lila wasn’t curious enough, didn’t need that bit of info in her life to be happy. Which was good, right?

Dressing in a long loose sundress, Shara poured a cup of coffee and moved over to the computer terminal. She checked for any important messages from HQ and then set about researching her piano options in Knoxville. Sure enough there was a seller and she called them up and they graciously had someone play on a few so she could hear the difference and they settled on one that she felt would work best for her. She’d never had her ow piano before. Not since her mother’s on Midos. A part of her always wanted to ask for it, since neither her father or brother played, but that would require a conversation none of them wanted to have. She might have to suck it up and talk to Gavin sooner rather than later now that Faye and Daggum were going to invite him to the wedding but her father? She’d rather face a firing squad. And gladly.

Making some toast and tossing on some sturdy walking sandals and a wide brimmed hat , Shara left the house and went out for a stroll across the meadow. Their meadow. the thought made her smile.

~Shara

Later, sitting on the sofa where she had closed the call with Nadine and Micah, Shara sat very still. She had had to force herself to say the woman’s name over and over in her head so she didn’t accidentally call her Lila. How horrible would that have been. But she seemed… nice. You can fake a voice easily enough but Shara was too well versed in those games to be easily fooled. Nadine Wells seemed kind. It was a good start.

With dinner now involving company, Shara set out to see what she could rustle up out of the water and the land. Trapping and hunting were out, though while she was here she was curious what she could do with a bow and arrows, but that was not for today. When she had more time, maybe. Besides, they hadn’t thought to ask Nadine if she ate meat or fish! Well, they’d all be winging this anyway, so they’d wing dinner as well.

A couple hours later, Shara had a creel with two fairly large bass and a catfish and a basket of edibles from the woods and along the creek. Looking at the mushrooms (morels and hen of the woods), she imagined Micah could do something really lovely with them. She’d also foraged some watercress, white and red clover, and ground ivy to toss in a salad, along with wild garlic that she thought might be nice with the mushrooms or the fish, or both. As she approached the cabin she chewed on an ivy leaf, which as a member of the mint family had a minty undertone, but was quite green and herbaceous. It was strong, but she liked it, and like a lot of these kinds of plants, mellowed when cooked.

Taking time to clean the fish, Shara set them in the cooler fridge thing Micah had wrapped up on a metal baking sheet, left the mushrooms, greens and herbs on the kitchen counter, and went upstairs to shower the fish off her again. She was glad for the task he’d asked of her actually. It kept her somewhat occupied and kept the panic away. Was this going to be easy? Hell no. But at the same time it didn’t have to be all that difficult either. She was hoping they could weather the hard parts of each other’s stories well and that that would be enough, that it wouldn’t put Nadine off. But who knew? She didn’t, that’s for sure.

Back in her cream and pale yellow sun dress and with her hair loose, she padded through the cabin barefoot and back outside in search of grasses and flowers she could put in a vase (or more likely knowing Micah, a tall glass) for the dinner table. Out in the sun, her skin was flushed from time spent outside and the air made her feel more alive than she had in a long while. She loved being in space (ever the stargazer), but there was something about sun and fresh air that just invigorated her in a way that the carefully controlled artificial environment of a ship or station never could. It’s why she had been so enamoured with Faye’s garden on the Manhattan. Stooping to pick some daisies, she smiled and for the time in awhile she didn’t feel quite so damn old.

~Shara

It was mid-afternoon when the sound of Vanessa’s engines could be heard. In moments, Shara’s husband set the ship down almost exactly where it had been that morning. There was a long pause and nothing happened.

Inside, Micah looked at Nadine. “Deep breath. You’ve waited a long time for this moment. So… be in this moment. It won’t come again… but it may be the first in a long of moments to come. You ready?”

The ramp slid open and Micah was the first to come down. He waved at Sha and blew her a kiss, then he turned and reached back to help Nadine down the ramp. Yes, she could walk. But this was a moment Micah new a steadying hand might just be welcome.

As they walked closer to the house, Micah stopped them about ten feet from the porch. “Wife… meet Nadine Wells. Nadine Wells… Shara Calloway. Y’all girls go on inside. I’m gonna go see a man about a piano.” and he winked at Sha and patted Nadine on the shoulder and whispered “Careful. She bites.” and then he chuckled. “Hopefully only on me, though. Go on. You got this.” and he walked slowly back to the ship.

Micah