Page 22 of Private Exhibit
The what?Andy asked, trying to keep up with the conversation.
Grae had a block put up around his memories once, Vorena explained.Long story, but it saved his life at the time. It was a pretty ingenious piece of work, but that one, she went on, nodding towards the office,is way better. Whoever built that was incredibly powerful. Did he do it himself?
Uh, no, Andy replied while he hunted around for a distraction.Gods, he thought. He did not want to be talking about all this.
You're being your usual chatty self today, I see, Vorena teased.
Andy started to open a cabinet, then closed it again with a sigh.Sorry.
If you don't mind me saying, you look like you need to get laid.
Andy barked a laugh.Gods. You have no idea. He glanced towards his office, then quickly looked away again.
Vorena raised her eyebrows.Oooh. I know that look. She chuckled, but the sound trailed off as a frown slowly creased her brow.Not into the whole office-romance thing?
What? No. That's not–
Because he sure is a cutie.
Mine, Andy thought, hating himself for even thinking it. He couldn't have Devon. Even if he did deserve it—which he didn't—it couldn't work. Or could it? Andy frowned, eyeing the ghost across from him.How do you do it? You and your husband. How does that even work?
Vorena puffed up her cheeks and mimicked blowing out a heavy breath.It's not always easy, she admitted.The first several years were hard. I had a really tough time just learning to be visible, let alone tangible. I had to watch Benash grieve me, and then slowly help him to accept that I was still here once he could see me again. He thought he was going crazy at first. And then there was the whole matter of him aging while I stayed like this.She waved a hand at herself, looking every bit a young, fit, twenty-something woman.
And she's been dead how long?Andy thought. He was pretty sure she'd mentioned something about sixty years, which meant her husband had to be in his eighties, at least.Gods. What a disparity.
But it works, Vorena went on.In many ways, I feel like I've grown old with him. We made a life together. We keep house together. We watched his daughter grow, and then his grandsons, and now there are even a few great-grandbabies in the family. It's not…ideal, I guess. I would have loved to have lived and really gotten to experience certain things, but those weren't the cards I was dealt. And in the end, we made it work. We took what we had and made the best of it.
Andy crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at the floor. If he were being honest with himself, he'd considered the fact that he could have a chance with Devon once the boy was dead, but he hated himself for even thinking it. He didn't want Devon to die. Of course, there was nothing he could do to stop it. Just like Junior had been robbed of a chance at a full, normal life, the same would hold true for Devon. As it did for Jess and countless others.
You thinking of getting back together with your ex?Vorena asked.
Andy choked.What? No. Gods, no. He shuddered at the thought.
That bad, huh? Sorry, she added with a grimace.You've always avoided that particular subject, but I'm nosy and I'm a sucker for stories.
Andy shrugged off the comment, then found himself answering,Worse.
Vorena was silent for a moment before she asked,Alright, tell me this: If you could go back in time, knowing whatever you know now, would you not have dated her in the first place?
Yes, Andy blurted out, then frowned.No. Oh, hells. I don't know.He dropped his arms to his sides.I loved her so much. She was my soulmate. My everything. Hells, I knew I was gonna marry her almost from the day we met. I was sixteen, completely directionless, totally lazy and not even caring yet what I wanted to do with my life, but I knew I wanted her. She was it for me. Smart. Beautiful. Funny. As much as everything went to shit after we were married, life with her was good for a while. All the love songs made sense, you know? I felt complete. Plus, I got Junior out of it. Then again…sometimes the best things that happen can turn out to be the worst.
Or, Vorena cut in,the worst things that happen can wind up being the best.
Andy scowled.What do you mean?
Vorena leaned back on her hands.Did I ever tell you that I was in jail? That's how I met Benash, actually. He arrested me, back on Tanas, where we used to live. I was part of an underground rebel movement, trying to wake people up to the tyrannical control the government had over us. We were trying to find a way to escape Tanas when I got caught. And I knew I was dying. I had what you here call Fallon's Disease.
Andy hissed in a breath.Gods. That was a horrible way to die. Coughing up blood and slowly suffocating. The disease could be cured, but only if caught in time. And from what he'd heard, the Tanasians were dreadfully lacking when it came to medical knowledge and technology.
All I wanted, Vorena went on,was to get here. To see this place before I died. To be in a land of freedom, even if only for a moment.She paused.I didn't make it, but I got close, thanks to Benash. But what I did get instead was something I never thought I'd get to experience. Love. He fell in love with me, those last few days in the prison. And then he got me out. We escaped and nearly made it here when my lungs finally failed, and I wound up dying in his arms.She paused again with a shrug and a hint of a smile.But we're here now. And together. I can be with him without suffering. So, yeah, our relationship is unconventional, but it works. We're happy, and that's all that matters.
Andy looked away, frowning. Was Junior happy to be a ghost? Happy to no longer be suffering? Or would he rather have lived longer, regardless of the conditions? Andy had always been too afraid to ask, and Junior had never brought up the subject himself.
As for Andy, he knew what his own answer would be. He'd wanted his son to live. He still did, even though it was far too late. It was why he'd thrown himself into medicine the day afterJunior's diagnosis. Why he'd worked himself nearly to his own death, trying to find a cure. For the past four years, finding that cure had no longer mattered.
Until now.
Andy looked at the door to his office, picturing the sweet, mesmerizing boy on the other side. A shiver ran through his body, and he quickly turned away. He couldn't afford to go back down that road. Couldn't face more failure.
