Page 11 of Surrendering the Skies

“Hi there!” He dragged a stool over to the counter and sat down. “Looks like you’ve made it back to your ship in one piece.”

“Thank goodness.” She propped the tablet on her knees and angled it to give Ash a better view. “Did you get any of our messages?”

“I did.” His mouth curved down in a frown. “I’ll assume none of my replies got through?”

“Nope,” Ash said, shaking his head. “We had a few little mishaps out on Kasarad, unfortunately.”

“So I heard.” He raised an eyebrow. “Dare I ask what happened out there?”

Geneva rolled her eyes. “Despite all our careful planning, it seems no one accounted for the possibility of some kid’s foot slipping off the brake and obliterating most of our communications equipment with his truck. Then it turned out, we didn’t have the right replacement parts to fix it, and I’m sure heads are going to roll overthaterror, and by the time our ship came back—” She stopped herself mid-sentence, preferring to focus on what lay ahead of them rather than the past. “But never mind. How haveyoubeen? Tell us everything about civilian life!”

Marcus glanced away from them, his fingers twisted together on the countertop in front of him. “Um…there is something I have to tell you. And though there’s no good way to do it, I know there’s no use in delaying any longer.”

Her brow furrowed. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

“No, no. It’s just…” He chewed on his bottom lip, still averting his gaze. “I met a woman a few months ago and we’ve been, you know, seeing each other.”

Geneva blinked as his words hung heavy in the air. A pit formed in her stomach and she searched for a suitable response. “Oh.”

He exhaled. “Look, I didn’t intend for this to happen this way, or at all, even. But it did, and I wanted to tell you about her as soon as possible.”

She gritted her teeth together. “It sounds like, though, you neglected to tell her about us.”

His dark eyes flicked up to meet her glare. “What do you think I should have said?”

“How about, you’re already involved with two people who love you very much, who can’t wait to see you again?” She swallowed back the nauseating combination of rage and sadness roiling inside her. “Sounds pretty good to me!”

“And then having to explain how you’re millions of miles away, only visiting home for an occasional weekend here and there, not to mention…everything else.” Marcus rested his forehead on his clasped hands. “I know it isn’t fair, springing this on you when you’re coming off a tough assignment. But maybe, just maybe, you could try to see things from my point of view?”

“Your point of view?” she said, bitterness creeping into her voice. “The way I see it, we were deployed to the opposite end of the galaxy, stuck doing menial, thankless work, while you were off embarking on a wild romance with some woman we’ve never met.”

“Yes, but don’t you see? At least the two of you had each other.” His shoulders slumped. “I knew what I was getting into with you, and I have never—not once, Geneva—asked you to sacrifice anything for me. Quite the opposite, in fact. You know I’ve loved every moment we’ve spent together, but haven’t you ever thought about what it’s like for me, to always feel like the one who’s left behind?”

Anguish gripped her chest, squeezing her heart like a vise. “I never wanted to make you feel that way.Wenever wanted to make you feel that way.”

“I know. But then an opportunity came along, someone who expressed an interest in being here for me, and who was more present in general, and…” He glanced away again. “It felt nice. I’m sorry if it makes me a selfish, terrible person, but I didn’t want to pass it up. To passherup, because with or without me, she’s a wonderful woman.”

Silence descended on the small room. Geneva snuck a peek at Ash, but he stared straight ahead, his expression offering no clues to his inner thoughts. She turned her attention back to the screen, resignation creeping up on her. “Who is she?” she asked quietly. “What’s her name? What does she do? How did you meet?”

He cast her a skeptical look, as if doubting her sincerity, yet some of the tension eased out of his stance. “Her name is Adele, and she’s an accountant with one of the bigger firms in Triayda. Our paths had actually crossed a couple of times before with various work-related things, but a few months ago, we were seated at the same table for some party to honor one of the heads of my company.” His hands turned up and he shrugged. “I’d expected it to be a rather boring affair, but we had fun, and then she asked if I’d like to get together with her again.”

She forced her lips into a tight smile. “How lovely.”

“It was.” Marcus let out an awkward laugh. “She’s smart, and sweet, and charming, and funny, and…” A hint of color appeared on his cheeks. “The next time you’re on Pasurea, I’d like you to meet her.”

Drawing back from the screen, she wrinkled her nose. “Why?”

“Because you’re important to me and I care about you, and I don’t want to lose that.” His shoulders rose and fell with another sigh. “And Adele is important to me and I care about her, too. I’m not saying you two have to be best friends with her, but I would love it if, one day, we could all get together and have a nice time.”

She didn’t answer.

A lengthy pause elapsed before Marcus spoke again. “I am sorry about how this all played out, really. I understand if you need some time to process everything.”

“Yeah.” Her mouth twitched to the side and she lifted the tablet off her knees. “I’ll message you sometime soon, I guess. And I’m glad you’re doing well.”

Ash leaned over to look into the camera. “Thanks for being honest with us. I’m sure it wasn’t easy.”

Marcus flashed him a grateful smile. “Take care, you two. I hope to hear from you soon.”

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