Chapter Fifteen
Beryl had been more than a little embarrassed that she had totally gotten the dates wrong about her turn to host the monthly family dinner and wound up with her pushy siblings horning in on her date with Jake.
Despite that, the night had turned out not terrible, from her perspective. She was thrilled that her siblings and Jake seemed to get along famously and the spontaneous family dinner was a roaring success.
After she kissed Jake one last time on her front porch as her siblings catcalled from the driveway, she practically floated back into the house.
Well, after ensuring her siblings wouldn’t harass Jake any further. They went their separate ways, as did Jake.
In the time it took Jade to drive home, Beryl got a call.
“No matter what the boys say, they all really like Jake. I wanted you to know that,” her younger sister said.
“Thank you for telling me.” Beryl had figured out that the boys were okay with Jake during dinner. Her only concern was about her eventual future with a human.
As if Jade read her mind, she added, “I know he’s a human, but I really like him, Beryl.
He listens more than he speaks and when he does talk, he’s intelligent.
He also seems quiet and thoughtful, just like I would expect from an artist—and the exact opposite of some belligerent tough guy who thinks his opinion is the only one that matters.
You deserve to be happy, even if it’s not a forever kind of relationship.
I think he will be good for you. Let yourself be happy. ”
“Thank you, Jade. I appreciate that. I do worry a little bit about Jake being human, but I really do like him.” She sighed. “Every day I like him more.”
“I can sure see why.”
“I know,” Beryl said. “The first time I saw him, it was like, wow. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. And you know that spark of attraction people talk about?”
“You felt it with him?”
“Literally,” Beryl said. “My arm brushed against his and this sizzle went over my skin.”
“Yikes. Sounds painful.”
Beryl laughed. “It so was not. Pretty close to the opposite, I think. And it wasn’t a one-time thing, either.”
“Intriguing.”
“I’ll say,” Beryl said. “Anyway, I’d better let you go. Morning comes early at the Supernova Supermarket.”
“One more thing,” Jade said quickly. “We need to meet up and have another girls-only spa day soon. My nails are looking rough. I mean, it’s like I work in a mine or something.” She giggled. “Oh, yeah—I do work in a mine. Maybe that’s the problem.”
“For pity’s sake, Jade. It’s not like you carry a pickaxe over one shoulder and chisel out chunks of bauxite every day as a part of your duties. You’re the accountant.”
“Accounting can be dangerous. You know, the occasional stinging papercut and the ink stains one gets logging supplies in a ledger by hand are treacherous.” She giggled again.
Jade worked with electronic accounting and probably didn’t even carry a pen or a pencil.
Still, Beryl loved her little sister and her sense of humor.
“Oh, right—I forgot about the papercuts and ink stains that darken your work life while you wield an electronic tablet to labor at your job. However, you can twist my arm and I’ll join you for a girls-only spa day soon.
Text me in a few days, when my life settles down a bit.
” She’d glanced at the clock and yawned.
Jade said, “No. I’ll set it up for the day after tomorrow, after work. If I wait until your life settles down, we’ll never go.”
“Good answer. Love you, Jade.”
“Love you, too, Beryl. Night.”
Beryl went to bed feeling more hopeful about her life than she had in a long while.
Moving to Earth had not been in her life plan—until the debacle of the wedding that didn’t happen. Beryl had spent several days wondering what she should do next. She couldn’t eat. She couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t function.
The extensive plans she’d made for her life after the wedding had dissolved like sugar in boiling water. She’d never have gotten through those dark days without her little sister, who’d pointed her in the direction of moving off-planet for an adventure with the family.
Contemplating a new path had been the key factor in pulling her out of her melancholy.
A new plan. A new place. A new chance.
Long before her wedding, her family had been planning to move to Earth when her parents retired. She would have been the only Ashcraft staying behind on Alpha-Prime. The disaster at the altar put an end to that.
Once she’d been incorporated into the family plan to give up everything they knew on Alpha-Prime and move to Earth, Beryl wondered how she hadn’t made that choice in the first place.
Meeting Jake further validated her decision.
Because of him, a path filled with possibilities was in her future. She felt lighter than air. She was happy.
And she wasn’t going to let anyone or anything intrude on that happiness.
A good night’s sleep ensured that Beryl started her day feeling just as light as when her head had hit the pillow. She got out of bed with joy in her heart as she made her way through her morning routine before setting off to work.
Tonight, she’d be seeing Jake again.
The thought buoyed her through her drive to the Supernova Supermarket.
She hummed happily to herself as she tucked her purse in its usual drawer, got settled behind her desk, started up her computer and opened her email account.
Her mood took a bit of a hit when she saw a message from Diesel informing her that the quarterly elder council meeting she’d agreed to attend had been rescheduled. To today.
Apparently, a committee member had an emergency item that had to be addressed.
Diesel’s message said, “Be there if you can. If not, I understand.”
Beryl checked her schedule. The meeting was to be held after lunch, so as long as there were no strawberry catastrophes, she should be okay.
Beryl messaged her cousin that she’d be there. No problem.
After a reasonably uneventful morning—which was a nice change, she thought—and a hurried lunch at her desk, Beryl drove to the Big Bang Truck Stop and slipped through the side door that led to the basement facility.
Beryl followed the directions Diesel had included in his email and located the conference room where the meeting was being held. She went in and found a seat as close to Diesel as she could get, because he was the only person she knew in the room.
Two minutes later, the door opened and another familiar face entered. The Alpha woman gave Beryl a friendly greeting and took the chair next to her. It was Ivy Upchurch. Beryl had met the Big Bang Truck Stop facility’s lodging coordinator during the facility’s Seven-Year Inspection.
Together, Ivy and everyone at the Alienn Mining Co. had stalled the inspectors until Diesel could meet them.
Recently, Ivy had been promoted to lodgings director, and Beryl understood it was her first time attending a quarterly elders council meeting. It made Beryl feel much better about attending the meeting knowing she wasn’t the only new person.
Once the council meeting had been gaveled in, one of the elders piped up without being called on and went on a rather long rant about human-Alpha dating, complete with a plan of action to forbid it.
“What’s the point?” he asked the group, likely not expecting or wanting a response. “It’s not like they can get married and be together here on Earth.”
“They could, too. They could just live together. Why not?” someone at the end of the table said quietly, yet loud enough to be heard by all. That voice seemed familiar to Beryl. Was that Aunt Dixie? She glanced in that direction, but didn’t see her wily aunt.
The elder’s face turned a fierce shade of crimson. “No! They should not be allowed to live together either! I say all human and Alpha relationships should be banned! I say we also formally outlaw any Alphas who are living with humans!”
“Good that you have an opinion, Mr. Gris. We’ll note it in the minutes as usual,” Diesel said, sounding like he was in diplomatic mode.
Beryl’s face heated up. She was probably a fiercer shade of crimson than the elder at the table who was trying to ruin her life. Not too many folks knew she was dating a human—at least not yet—but it probably wouldn’t take long. There was that vibrant grapevine, after all.
Beryl glanced around the table to see if anyone was staring at her with a smirk that said they knew all about her picnic in the park with Jake or their dinner at her place. Would anyone’s head explode to discover she planned to go to his home tonight for another date?
Ivy leaned close and whispered in Beryl’s ear, “Don’t worry about Mr. Gris. He’s had that same complaint for the last twenty years. No one listens to him, especially not Diesel or the council.”
Beryl released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Thank you,” she whispered back.
Ivy winked at her. “Us new folks to the elders council have to stick together, especially us girls, right?”
Beryl gave her a grateful smile and nodded. She was delighted to know someone here besides Diesel. Ivy was good people, to her way of thinking.
After that, the meeting didn’t last long.
The “emergency” item regarded something Beryl didn’t really understand involving interstellar communication between Alpha-Prime and Earth, and it seemed to be dealt with to everyone’s satisfaction.
They scheduled the next meeting for three months in the future and gaveled out.
Once the meeting was officially over, Diesel was immediately surrounded by four people asking questions. Beryl didn’t wait to chat with him. She could catch up with him later.
Ivy walked her out and they made plans to meet for lunch soon. “Or my sister has set up a spa trip for us after work tomorrow. Want to join us at the Nebula Nail Salon?”
“I really do.” Ivy glanced at her nails and frowned. “I’m definitely overdue.”
Beryl told her the time and Ivy said she’d make an appointment and join them.