Chapter 11
Addison leads me back through the campsite. When we arrive, we linger near the back of the group gathered excitedly around the telescopes.
Professor Birkin commands their attention. He’s mid-speech, reminding them how expensive this equipment is and to not roughhouse around them and blah-blah-blah.
“Should be any moment now,” he says. “So, line up. One at a time. Don’trush. There’ll be plenty of time for everyone to see it.”
“See what?” I ask Addison.
She leans close enough for me to smell her hair. Which I do. Discreetly. “Hades’ Comet,” she whispers. “It only crosses our atmo once every sixty-nine years.”
I snort immaturely.
She glares, but smiles. “It’s fully visible tonight,” she continues. “We won’t even need the telescopes to see it — but it’s better if you use one.”
I look up, my eyes bouncing from one star to the next. “Where?”
“You’ll know it when you see it.”
Addison scans the skies. I take the moment to admire her and her eyes, each of them sparkling beneath the sea of starlight.
“There!”a girl says, pointing. “There it is!”
The others cheer with excitement.
I look up. And… there it is.
It’s… a comet, all right. Small but far bigger than the surrounding stars; its tail a bright beacon in the jet black sky.
“Whoa,” I say.
“Yeah,” Addison says. “Whoa.”
I look at her again. She’s smiling wide, just as excited as everyone else. And I realize… I’ve never seen her smile like this before.
For the moment, I don’t look away. I couldn’t, even if I wanted to.
Fuck, she’s pretty.
“So…” I say. “Not a sex cult, then?”
Addison doesn’t look away from the sky. “No,” she answers, no hint of anger left in her voice. “Not a sex cult.”
“An astronomy club?”
Addison nods as we walk together side-by-side along the tree line. Hades’ Comet is long gone, its appearance only lasting for a few minutes, but the memory of it will last the rest of my life — or so Professor Birkin says. “From the local university,” she says.
“And you’re a member?” I ask.
“Not exactly,” she says. “I got in contact with Professor Birkin a few years back. It was a during our third tour and I was… well, let’s just say I was a little stressed out.”
She approaches a group of large rocks and sits down, indicating for me to do the same. I obey, fitting into the empty space next to her.
“It was…” She pauses. “City after city. Night after night. Bright lights and loud noises. Problem after problem. I needed a break. I needed to get away, far away from it, but I couldn’t.”
“The show goes on,” I say, parroting words I’ve heard multiple times so far on our tour.
“Yeah,” Addison says. “But I needed to do something or else I was going to lose my goddamn mind.” She takes a breath. “Late one night in a wave of insomnia, I saw a documentary on TV about constellations and the wide open universe and something in me just… clicked.” She looks at me, her eyes soft. “When is the last time you stopped to count the stars, Harvey?”
I think about it. “Never,” I answer. “But I passed out in the sand outside Drew’s family’s beach house one time. If… that counts.”
“It’s easy to forget they even exist when you’re constantly in the city,” she says.
“I guess so, yeah.”
“I wanted to see them again,” Addison says. “Not just that, I wanted to learn about them. Why they’re here, why we’re here. I looked online and found out the closest university had a nighttime astronomy lab. I emailed the professor about it and begged to tag along.”
“Professor B?”
She nods. “He said sure. Come on out. Our next lab is tomorrow night. Need a ride?” She shrugs. “That was that.”
“And…” I almost don’t say it, “you’ve been lovers ever since?”
Addison exhales. “No,” she says with the hint of a smile. “We’re not, nor have we ever been.”
“I mean, I get it.” I shift awkwardly. “Honey blond locks. A sexy motorcycle. Probably a few leather jackets in his closet.”
“A wife and twin daughters at home,” she adds pointedly.
“Oh,” I say with a definitive nod. “He’s cool, then.”
“But he’s a fan,” she says. “I always pass him and his wife some tickets whenever we come through.”
“That’s very nice of you.”
“I’m a charmer when I want to be.”
“What clicked?”
“Hm?”
“You said something clicked,” I say. “What clicked?”
Addison looks up into the sky again. “I come out here, away from the cities and all the noise, and… it all melts away. There’s nothing but clean air and the cosmos. I sit down, I look up, I take a deep breath, and I remember… none of this matters.” She glances at me. “Nothing I do matters. Nothing you do matters. We’re all just specks of dust on a floating rock in the middle of a vast universe and in the blink of an eye, we’ll all be forgotten.”
I shift on our rock. “That’s bleak.”
“No, it’s beautiful. It’s freeing. I come out here, and I’m free, Harvey. Back in civilization, everything we do is under a microscope. You don’t realize it yet, but you’re entering a world of pure hell.”
I think for a moment, then shake my head. “No,” I say.
“No?”
“I’m not sure I agree.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’d rather live under a microscope than be a forgotten speck of dust.”
Addison doesn’t reply. She looks up into the sky again and sits quietly, her breaths coming steadily.
“It is pretty out here, though,” I say.
“Yeah.” Her smile returns. “It is.”
Soon, the others disperse toward the cars, and Professor Birkin approaches our rock.
“Hey, Addison,” he says. “Do you need a lift back to your hotel, or are you going back with your, uh…” He glances at me.
“Friend,” Addison says as she rises off the rock. “Professor, this is my friend Harvey.”
I stand up. “Harvey Moon,” I say, extending my hand. “Nice to meet you, Professor.”
He steps forward and shakes my hand. “You, too.”
“How did you get out here?” Addison asks me.
“Oh, I took a cab,” I answer. “It’s gone now.”
“I can only take one back on my bike,” Professor Birkin says.
Addison waves a hand. “No worries, Professor. We’ll find another way back.”
“I’m sure someone will give you two a ride into the city,” he says. “If you hurry.”
“We’ll head that way, then,” Addison says. “Thank you so much again for letting me join you tonight, Professor. I really appreciate it.”
“We’re always happy to have you, Addison. Let me know the next time you come through Denver.”
She smiles. “I will.”
“Drive safe, guys. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” we say.
“And uh,” I say. “Sorry about the sex cult thing.”
Addison sighs.
But Professor Birkin grins. “It’s all right, Harvey.”
I bow my head.
“But, if you’re interested, we meet on Fridays,” he adds.
“What?” I ask.
Addison elbows me in the ribs. “He’s just kidding,” she says.
With that, the Professor laughs and walks off.
“Oh,” I say. “He’s got jokes.”
Addison steps forward. “Come on. Let’s catch a ride.”
“He’s not like other professors. He’s a cool professor.”
“Shut up.”
“The hair should have given that away now that I think about it.”
“Shut up,”she says, nudging me with her elbow again as she shakes with laughter.
Not gonna lie, it feels good.
I give the sky one last long look before we quicken our pace back to the parking lot.