Chapter 18 #2
I get where he’s coming from. Few beings in the universe have made contact with humans.
There are a number of strict regulations the Intergalactic Alliance has laid down, mainly due to the fact that humans are still woefully behind in their overall evolution compared to other species and societies beyond their planet.
Of course, we basically ignored those regulations when we abducted Sasha and Felix—whoops.
I take a couple of minutes to fill my family in on the backstory of how the crew of the Sleigh Belle has grown, first with Sasha, who became partners with Kheph, and more recently with Felix, who has paired up with Najar.
And finally, Gemma, who decided to join her brother for an intergalactic life among the stars.
As I draw to the end of my story, I smile. “It’s been a wild, whirlwind romance.” I hold up our clasped hands and kiss Gemma’s knuckles. “But I’m convinced that Thekmis brought Gemma into my life at the perfect time for us to fall in love.”
Exactly like a couple in a Hallmark Christmas romance, I think to myself with satisfaction. The goddess knows me well.
My parents don’t seem to know what to say, but my sister comes to the rescue.
“I can tell how happy you are. You’re practically glowing. I’ve never seen you quite like this… ever.”
My tentacles gesticulate wildly, full of so many feels. “I’m floating three moons above my orbit, as they say.”
Gemma chuckles softly.
My dad shifts awkwardly in his seat. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, er, Ms. Taylor.”
Gemma pipes up in a wonderfully sassy tone. “It’s Dr. Taylor, actually, and it’s lovely to meet you all too.”
My parents gape at her, no doubt amazed. Medical professionals are highly revered on Draveth, and the best of the best serve with our military.
Gemma flashes her biggest, brightest smile. “I’m very lucky to have met your daughter, and I’m eagerly anticipating spending the rest of my life with her.”
My mom lets out a soft gasp. “Are you two getting married? So soon?”
Nova interjects in a wry tone. “Come on, Mom. Remember how fast my courtship with Bromar was?”
I give my sister a mental high tentacle, then say, “We’re still undecided as to what recognized designation we want to attach to our relationship, but we’ll figure it out in our own time. For now, we’ve made a verbal commitment to one another that we both plan to follow through on.”
My father frowns. “There aren’t many humans who travel the universe, Dr. Taylor. How do you plan to assimilate to this new way of life?”
“Please, call me Gemma. After all, we’re basically family now.
I won’t lie, adjusting to life among the stars has been a bit of a trip and not entirely smooth sailing, but I’m adapting surprisingly well—and Luna’s helping me every step of the way.
I’m optimistic about the future. In fact, I’ve already begun making plans for how to use my expertise in a whole new intergalactic context. ”
She proceeds to launch into a lively explanation of said plan and how all the members of the Sleigh Belle’s crew will be a part of it. When she gets to the end, she smiles smugly at the shocked looks on my family members’ faces. I have to bite my lip desperately trying to hold back a laugh.
My one true love is fierce and fiery in a way that never ceases to turn me on.
Eventually, my mother seems to find her voice again, her dark blue tentacles swaying uncertainly in the air. “That all sounds quite ambitious and admirable.”
“There’s a lot of need for the kind of services we intend to provide as traveling emergency responders, and it just so happens that the talents of every member of our crew can be used in a vital way to help in almost any imaginable scenario,” Gemma say.
I puff my chest out with pride. “In fact, I predict we’re going to become legendary!”
Gemma raises her free hand and we high-five. “Hell yeah, we are,” she agrees.
My father nods his head slowly, his dark yellow tentacles coiling and uncoiling in a contemplative manner.
“I haven’t always understood the life choices you have made, Luna, but you’ve always been an independent Dravethian who knows her mind.
You don’t allow others to sway you.” He purses his lips.
“While that fact has proven inordinately frustrating at times, it’s also something I have come to deeply respect about you. ”
I gawk at him in disbelief.
He continues, “Your mother and I have long been worried about your future, being so far away from home and your family.”
“I get that,” I interject, “but if it gives you any peace of mind, I’ve found a second family here on the Sleigh Belle.”
My mother smiles softly. “We’re happy to know you have a support system like that, especially when you’re so far from us.
What your father’s trying to get at is an apology.
It’s taken us some time, but we’ve come to realize that your decision was the best course of action for you.
Over the last twelve months, we’ve watched how you have fully blossomed into yourself”—she gets choked up—“and in a way I don’t know that you ever felt able to do with us. ”
Galactic gods, what is happening right now? Am I in The Twilight Zone? Was that human TV show not simply fiction?
My father clears his throat. “We own that we were wrong to try and force our values and expectations on you, and we sincerely apologize. Your mother and I were raised by very strict, traditional parents, and our families both have a long history of upholding Dravethian culture. Even as a young child, you bewildered us with how different and resistant you were to all that we believed to be necessary for our children.”
“Admittedly, we didn’t know how to nurture and support that side of you,” my mother says, “because we were convinced that it would lead you down a path of loneliness and heartbreak. We didn’t want that for you.
But the more we tried to force you into conformity, the farther you drifted away from us, until you went so far as to run halfway across the universe.
” Her shoulders slump, and her expression turns sorrowful.
“We told ourselves you wouldn’t be able to survive away from us and your home world for very long, that you’d come back once you realized the error of your ways. ”
I can’t hold back a snort of disbelief. As if that would ever happen.
“However,” my mother continues, “it was we who were forced to see the error of our thinking, and it wasn’t an easy truth to swallow.
As your father said, we have gradually come to realize that you’re the happiest we’ve ever seen you since you chose this path for yourself, and even though it deviates radically from our traditions, it is no less legitimate. ”
“In other words,” Nova chimes in, “we’re basically trying to tell you we’re sorry we were major tentacleholes when we didn’t support or respect your choices.
We want to let you know that in spite of everything, we’ve never stopped loving you and we hope we can rebuild our family connection.
Following your timeline, of course. Big bro’s also in on this.
We’ve all be talking about this for a while now. ”
Their serious, resolved expressions are a kick to all three of my hearts.
For so long, I’ve wanted them to accept me as I am and support my choices about my own damn life.
Hearing this now is overwhelming and a bit confusing, especially after a long year of strained emotional and physical distance between us.
But I want to accept this gesture of goodwill and believe in their apology.
Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly as I prepare myself. I need to speak my truth too.
“I appreciate your honesty, so I want to be totally truthful with you too. How you acted toward me felt like a rejection not only of my dreams, but of me as a person. And that really fucking hurt. It still does. Without Kheph and Naj at my side and supporting me through it all, I honestly don’t know where I’d be right now.
I do know I’d probably be pretty damn miserable. ”
Gemma leans heavily into my side and squeezes my hand tight, grounding me.
“I appreciate your apology, but it doesn’t erase all of that pain, and it’s probably going to take me a long time to reach forgiveness.”
My mother wipes at her eyes with one of her tentacles. “We understand that.”
“Good. In the meantime, I hope that we can take steps to rebuild our trust and our bond as a family. I’d like to have you all in my and Gemma’s lives going forward, but relationships are a two-way street, and I need you all to meet us in the middle.
We don’t have to agree on everything, but I need you to respect what we decide we want as a couple.
” I lean over and kiss Gemma’s cheek. “Gemma and I are now a unit, and you need to accept both of us. At the end of the day, she is the most important person in my life, and she takes priority over anyone and anything else.”
“We don’t expect forgiveness,” my father says softly, a pained expression on his face. “We must carry the weight of our failure as parents, but going forward, we intend to change and will prove to you how committed we are to reuniting our family, including Gemma.”
That’s when Gemma makes me swoon as she says, “On Earth, we have a saying: Put your money where your mouth is. In other words, talk is cheap.”
So. Fucking. Cool.
“What do you suggest?” Nova asks.
Gemma tosses her majestic mane of hair with a sassy flourish. “I think a great way for you all to prove your commitment would be to meet us somewhere like, say, an intergalactic space station?” She glances at me inquiringly. “What do you think, babe?”
My life partner is so fucking smart and sexily shrewd.
“That’s a fabulous idea, gorgeous.” I gaze back at the screen. “We’re actually going to be visiting the central Intergalactic Alliance space station that houses their medical school soon. We’re hoping to find a way for Gemma to get enrolled in classes to make her plans a reality.”
Gemma smiles. “I’m a damn good doctor, but I have virtually no experience treating patients of other species, so I need to expand my knowledge in order to be able to do that safely and effectively.”
My parents take a moment to talk quietly to one another, their voices so low I can’t make out exactly what they’re saying, but eventually they turn their attention back to us.
Dad clears his throat. “Your mother and I would be happy to meet you at that space station for a visit. But your sister is far enough along in her pregnancy that she has been advised not to travel off world until after the baby is born.”
Nova sticks out her bottom lip in an obvious pout that makes me smile.
“That’s a bummer, Nova.” I wink at her. “Guess it means that I’ll have to make plans to come and visit you in person after my niece is born.”
Her eyes brighten and she grins back. “I’ll hold you to that, kiddo.”
I explain our current navigational trajectory to my parents and when we anticipate arriving at the space station.
They confirm they can work with that timeline and will meet us there soon.
After that, we say our goodbyes and I eventually end the communication, still a little solar-shocked and disoriented.
I came into this conversation expecting bad news and a whole lot of awkward silence, just like I’ve been getting for the last year, but it seems that during the last few months that we’ve gone radio silent with each other, my family has been doing some much-needed reflection.
For now, I’m cautiously optimistic about rebuilding my relationship with them.
“You okay?” Gemma asks, concern written all over her face.
I collapse into one of the seats on the bridge and she sits beside me, never letting go of my hand.
“Truthfully, I’m still kind of processing everything that happened. I definitely wasn’t expecting what went down, but I’m… happy. My family seems to have finally gotten their tentacles out of their asses and realized they were wrong. I kind of never thought this day would happen.”
Gemma’s lips twitch and she arches an eyebrow. “Perhaps another blessing from Thekmis, so to speak?”
“No shit. It seems pretty improbable to me that they would acknowledge their wrongdoing without some kind of divine intervention.”
Gemma laughs and then sighs. “I’ll probably always be a little bit pissed at them for how they treated you—sorry, not sorry—but I’m going to try to keep an open mind and get to know them all because you love them and they’re important to you despite their shitty behavior.”
I lean toward her, and we rest our foreheads against one another. “Have I told you how epically awesome you are?”
“Maybe once or twice, but I don’t get tired of hearing it.”
I chuckle. “Don’t worry, I plan to keep telling you for the rest of your life.”
“I’m down with that.” She reaches the hand up to cup my cheek.
“You have the biggest hearts of anyone I’ve ever met.
There are a lot of people who would cut ties with their family for the way yours have treated you, but your kindness and willingness to give them a chance to do better speaks volumes about how epically awesome you are.
” Her smile is breathtakingly beautiful.
“You teach me how to be a better person every day. I deeply admire and respect how brave, kind, loving, and fiercely independent you are. In this unimaginably vast expanse of universe, I’m completely convinced that you are one of a kind—and I’m so damn glad you’re mine. ”
To my surprise, that’s when the tears I’ve been holding back start streaming down my face and I collapse into her arms. While I let out all the pain and sorrow I’ve been carrying, Gemma holds me and comforts me until my tears dry and I am finally able to let go of some of the hurt I hold in my hearts.