“Oh?” I said, straining to think of a way to escape.
“He likes you. I can tell. It’s the first time he’s shown an interest in anyone since… well, it happened.”
I sensed this was something I should pay attention to. It could explain why Kal could never bring himself to kiss me. He was never going to tell me why. Maybe his inebriated sister would.
“What happened?” I said.
“I’m not sure I should say,” Emana said.
“You can trust me,” I said. “I won’t tell a soul.”
“His wife died,” Emana blurted.
He had a wife? So that was why he was finding it so difficult to kiss me… He wasn’t over her yet.
Suddenly, my goal seemed a lot more difficult than I thought. He was never going to divulge his innermost secrets to me if he couldn’t get close to me, and he wasn’t going to get close to me if he couldn’t get over the memory of his wife.
Now it made sense. He was attracted to me but didn’t feel comfortable acting on it.
So, I wasn’t undesirable.
“When did she die?” I said.
Emana upended her glass and looked sad when she saw it was empty. I handed her mine.
“Are you sure?” she said, peering at me with eyes that wished she didn’t have to ask but knew it was impolite not to do so.
“I’m sure,” I said, itching to get back to our previous topic.
Emana grinned at the drink and supped on it.
“Mm,” she said. “Yellow.”
I waited for her to answer my previous question but she appeared to have forgotten it.
“When did she die?” I repeated.
“Who?”
“Your sister-in-law.”
She squinted at me.
“How do you know about that?” she said.
“You just told me.”
“Oh.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Almost two years ago.”
Two years… It was a long time. More than enough to get used to someone not being around any longer…
Unless it was your soulmate and you loved her with all your heart. People died of broken hearts all the time back home. Maybe Kal would have too if he wasn’t young and so much responsibility still rested on his shoulders.
But he was ready to move on. His inviting me here proved that much. He wanted to move on, he just needed a little helpful push in the right direction.
“How did it happen?” I said.
“She was coming back from visiting her parents and there was a problem with the shuttle,” Emana said. “It exploded.”
A shuttlecraft. My palms grew sweaty just thinking about it. I got airsick just hopping in the air.
“Anyway!” Emana said, linking her arm through mine. “Come on. Let’s head back to the party!”
Panic thundered in my chest. If we went back, I could get distracted for who knows how long. Then how would I plug the device in the computer?
I glanced at the grandfather clock in the hallway. I had less than ten minutes left. I couldn’t go back to the party. I needed to head back.
I pulled to a stop.
Emana looked me over, wobbly on her feet.
“Is everything all right?” she said.
“Yes,” I said, scrambling for an excuse. “I, uh, just need… the bathroom.”
“The bathroom is this way,” Emana said, leading me in the opposite direction to the study.
No!
“Not bathroom!” I said. “Barroom.”
“Barroom?” Emana said. “What’s a—”
“Uh-oh,” I said.
“What?”
I waved three fingers in her face.
“How many fingers am I holding up?” I said.
“Three,” Emana said.
Man, she was tougher than I thought.
“No,” I said. “I’m holding up five.”
Emana squinted at my hand.
“Are you sure?” she said. “I can definitely see—”
“This is worse than I thought,” I said. “I think you’ve succumbed to mojito… itis!”
“Mojito… itis?”
“It’s a very serious condition,” I said. “It happens when you drink too many mojitos. You start seeing things that aren’t there. You need to go eat lots of meat. Stat!”
“Meat? But I’m not hungry.”
“That’s the mojitoitis talking,” I said. “Quick! Go back to the party and eat as much meat as you can! It’s the only way to save your life!”
Emana’s bloodshot eyes fluttered.
“Die?” she said. “I could die from mojitoitis?”
“Definitely. But don’t worry. You’re only in the early phase. You need to act fast if you want to reverse the effects.”
“Then why do humans drink this?” Emana said.
I glanced at the clock. Just five minutes left.
Gah!
“Because it’s only when you’re close to death that you’re truly alive!” I said.
Emana brightened up.
She said, “We have a similar expression in Titan—”
“That’s great!” I said, shoving her forward. “Tell me tomorrow! When you’re still alive!”
Emana staggered down the hall, downing the last of the mojito as she went.
“Waste not, want not,” she said, hiccupping.
I bolted back up the hallway and glanced over my shoulder to make sure Emana had disappeared when I reached the study.
It didn’t matter either way. I had to complete the mission!
I felt sorry for Emana. She wouldn’t die but she was going to wish she had.
I was almost there. Now all I had to worry about was taking care of that damn Niik.
The bacon worked like a charm. Niik followed me as I placed one piece after another in a long trail down the hall. Niik whined and checked over his shoulder, glancing back in the direction of the study.
“Come on,” I said. “Just a little further… You like this dried bacon, don’t you? Well, I’ve got plenty more and it’s all got your name on it.”
I brought my hand out. Niik whined even louder. I opened the door of a room down the hall from the study and made sure it wasn’t occupied.
Lavish trophies, medals, and certificates adorned the walls and specially-made shelving units. I compared it to my paltry collection back home in my parents’ house.
Most were for sports. Badminton, basketball, athletics, I excelled at them all. But the one I was most proud of, the one that I’d worked hardest for, was my bronze chess medal. I was never going to be a world-class chess champion but I didn’t need to be. I just wanted to make my
