Chapter 5: East to West
Location: Flight to California
To accommodate a flight at any given moment, Julian had a private plane on standby, which made things a little easier for Nephy. The crew had set up a cat-friendly area so she could stretch and climb. But… cat. She mostly slept once she settled down.
With an 8-hour flight, I imagined Julian doing whatever his actual job was on the plane. I planned to cover my ears with headphones and use my thesis to make notes on the things I wanted to ask when I got to see the actual cul-de-sac houses. To do so, I had to promise to keep my laptop in "airplane mode" until Julian's security team could make sure it wasn't compromised.
About two hours into the flight, a hand pulled my laptop away and set it on the seat next to me. The subtle scent of citrus and wood told me who it was without even looking.
"It's time for a break," Julian said as he put a chilled, glass water bottle in front of me.
"Shouldn't I be able to determine that for myself?" I grumbled.
He smirked as if to say You and I both know that won't happen. Then he sat across from me as if to make sure I would comply.
I sighed and took a drink of my water, glancing at him while feeling self-conscious. His long legs were crossed at the knees, his left index finger was framing his cheek, his thumb was under his jaw and the rest of his fingers curled loosely in front of his mouth as if he were assessing the situation.
After a very long 10 minutes of complete awkwardness, he got up, took my laptop with him and disappeared somewhere behind me. I didn't even bother to protest. He was just going to do what he wanted, anyway.
Maybe he's right. My eyes do feel dry and tired. And it's nearly 11 p.m. in the time zone that we left. It wouldn't hurt to close my eyes for a few minutes.
I wasn't sure how much time had passed but the cabin's lights were turned low, and I was curled up under a blanket on my side. A warm finger traced the outside of my ear, which caused my shoulder to raise in response.
"Good. You're awake," Julian verified. "Eat this so you don't feel sick by the time we land." He was holding a mandarin slice near my lips. I reached to grab it, but he pulled it away.
"No," he said sternly.
I tried to grab it again and was again scolded with a "No."
What is his deal?
I sighed. "Julian, this is starting to be uncomfortable."
When I moved to get up, his free hand stroked my hair. It was such a comforting and satisfying feeling that I almost missed it: he was literally treating me like a pet.
"When I said it was 'uncomfortable,' I meant it is a weird dynamic."
But he continued to stroke my hair and hold the fruit to my lips until I gave in and let him feed it to me.
"Good girl," he whispered in praise. "You can be so stubborn." He swept my hair to the side and then I heard a metallic click. "Now," he said, tugging on a leash. "Let's go for a walk."
I gasped and sprung up, disoriented.
Julian was sitting across from me, reading something. I searched his face until he looked back at me and said, "Did you have a nice sleep?"
I averted my eyes immediately, and my hand went to my neck to check if anything was there.
Julian leaned forward, studying me. "I see," he said, sounding like he had reached some conclusion. "Shy Lonna is back. That must have been some dream."
I couldn't even bring myself to respond. Instead, I went to check on Nephy, who stretched when I arrived. She purred when I stroked her fur, but then she immediately curled back up and resumed sleeping posture. "What kind of dreams did you have?" I whispered to her.
A man about my age, serving as a member of the crew, stopped by. "She has such a calming effect on everyone," he shared. "Some are even suggesting we fly with therapy cats from now on."
I immediately pictured a cat cafe in the sky and softly giggled at the thought.
"Oh, I almost forgot why I came over," he said as he held out a chilled glass bottle of water. "Mr. Vane said to give this to you."
I took the bottle, but sarcastically mumbled, "I guess you should keep your pets hydrated."
"I can bring some water for your kitty, too," the crew member said and hurried off.
"We should have asked him how much longer it was until we arrived," I said to Nephy, who really didn't care either way as long as she was pampered.
"It's still about four hours," a deep voice responded.
I stayed focused on my cat. "Your voice has changed quite a bit, Nephy."
"Well, you've gone all shy and are avoiding me again. I wanted to make the most of it while I could."
"You want me to avoid you?"
"Of course, not. I just enjoy how easy you are to read," Julian said. "You wake up from a dream and you can't even look me in the eye. Even now, you're blushing."
"I don't understand how that is entertaining to you," I said. My voice came out meek because his noticing was even more embarrassing. "At least, this version of you."
I regretted saying that out loud as soon as it passed my lips. I knew I was going to be trapped in a flying metal tube for another four hours with nowhere to escape. I should have just pretended I was still asleep.
But apparently, Julian was enjoying himself, so I wasn't getting out of more conversations I didn't want to have.
I couldn't look, but I imagined his eyes had narrowed and a small smile tugged at one corner of his lips. It was the face he made when I refused to assist him during his guest lecture. "Does this version displease you, Lonna? Is there another you prefer?"
"This is ridiculous. You're like that boy on the schoolyard who teases the girl he likes," I mumbled.
Julian leaned closer to me, making it obvious he preferred to see me uncomfortable. "You're not entirely wrong," he said. "But what else can I do with a girl who doesn't know how to ask for the attention she really wants?"
This time, I met his eyes in a challenge. "What I want is to get to Agonwood and swim in a sea of data that proves everything I thought was possible could actually be plausible."
Julian stayed silent as if waiting for more.
"And… I want my laptop back," I said resolutely.
Julian stood up straight. "Yes to the first. No to the second." He turned to walk back to his seat and called back, "Now, drink your water."
"You should work on your interpersonal communications," I responded in a tone to match his.
The crewmember I was talking to before stepped into my field of view. "Sorry. I brought some fresh water for Nephy, but I didn't want to interrupt."
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure Nephy is happier with something from you than from him."
"It's just," he whispered, like he was sharing the details of a conspiracy, "none of us have ever met anyone Mr. Vane is dating. So we were all curious."
"We're not…" I sighed. "Thank you for the water."
I stayed in whatever seat was the furthest away from Julian for the rest of the flight. He must have taken the hint because he didn't even bother me about eating together when we were served our meals. I asked what options there were beforehand and was told that he had ordered it for me—to no surprise. But, admittedly, it was really good.
Is food always this good outside of coach?
Julian would occasionally walk by and drop some water or fruit in front of me without a word. By the time we were starting our descent into the Bay Area, I could muster a quiet "Thanks" while doing nothing to hide my creeping guilt that he was looking out for me in his own odd way.
Location: GIG/Apex Agonwood Research Facility
I wore the same puffer jacket I had boarded in when I got off of the plane. And though Californians might find 50° weather the cold of winter, it felt like t-shirts-and-shorts weather. I couldn't remove layers fast enough and started to worry that I packed all of the wrong things.
A black SUV with livery plates met us outside of the plane and we were told that all of the paperwork would be taken care of. After a short wait to load our things into the back where Nephy was alerting everyone that she did not agree to any of this, I was escorted to my designated seat in the SUV.
I buckled Nephy's carrier into the center seat and strapped myself in, as well. Julian sat in the front next to the driver where they chatted back and forth. It seemed like the driver was updating Julian on some things, but it was 4 a.m. to me, and I wanted to crawl into a bed.
There was a brief moment where I was scared that I had impulsively crossed the country with someone I barely knew and was being taken away in a dark SUV by said man and two others who were likely acting as security. But from several days of little-to-no sleep coupled with new varieties of anxiety, I was probably asleep before we even left the tarmac.
"…Patricks?"
Was someone saying my name?
I barely opened my very dry and tired eyes to see the woman I assumed was one of the Alex security personnel was standing with Nephy's carrier in one hand and her other hand on the vehicle door.
"We're here, Miss Patricks. Mr. Vane said to make sure you went straight to bed, so I'll take you and your cat in while we take care of the rest."
"Mr. Vane?" I mumbled sleepily. "What did he do now?" But when I looked at the front of the SUV, both the driver and Julian were gone.
My seatbelt came unbuckled with that sound of clicking metal followed by a brief scrape and then the zip as the seat reclaims the strap. It was a strange thing to notice, but it was etched in my mind because the moment the seatbelt was loosened, I pretty much tumbled out. Thankfully, I was able to steady myself and, in some sleepy bout of goofiness, I put my hands up in the air as if I had just executed a gymnastic dismount.
The awkward silence that followed was only slightly eased when I thought I spotted a small smile on her lips. But, it was pretty dark, and I wasn't even sure this wasn't all a dream.
In front of me was a cluster of standalone, identical rowhouses. I couldn't make out what was on the ground, but I was fairly certain, it wasn't grass. A male voice told the security woman that he'd take me inside, and Nephy made a cute meow after what I thought I heard him say was "Neph-monster."
"C'mon, Lon. Let's get you to bed," someone who sounded just like Marcus said.
Waking up in an unfamiliar place is disorienting, but my body decided I had slept enough and rendered me wide awake. I rolled onto my back and sat up to see a room decorated straight off of a furniture store showroom. It was both plain and staged like a hotel room, but lacked all of the tags and warning signs. There were blackout curtains over a wide window, but I could see sunlight peeking through the gaps.
Nephy's carrier was in the corner and next to that was a decent-sized, square tent structure that was big enough for me to crawl inside, but not so that it would be comfortable. I could hear her scratching in what I assumed was a small litter box inside the tent with her. I wanted to let her out, but until I understood where I was, it was easier to just let her acclimate to the smaller space of the tent.
"Hey, little girl," I cooed. "I know you want to explore just as much as I do. But I need to find the people-version of a litter box."
I found my hastily-packed suitcase, noticing how the contents were for snowy, cold, winter weather. Still, there were enough novelty t-shirts for at least a week. And there were comfy workout pants, so I was good until my things arrived in a week or so. Of course, I ended up just wearing the big t-shirt I had flown in (and slept in) out of expediency.
Cautiously opening the bedroom door, I looked for a bathroom. I could hear voices coming from downstairs somewhere, but I'd check on when less immediate concerns were pressing. But it wasn't long until I was washing my hands, splashing some water on my face and tying my hair back up. It wasn't lost on me that this bathroom smelled like Marcus, and I still had to get some payback for his kiss-and-run.
I could hear, "It sounds like she's up," in Marcus's voice. What followed was, "I should go check on her. Otherwise, who knows what she'll be wearing when we see her."
"I heard that, Marc," I said loudly and bounded down the stairs. I was still wearing my "Running on Negative Energy" t-shirt, which came to mid-thigh and everything else seemed too hot for such mild weather. And in my head, I was thinking Dan and Ellie would be waiting to scold me for taking off with just a text.
"Lon… wait…" was about all he got out before he sighed and shook his head in disbelief.
"What?" I asked.
"Everyone…" announced Marcus. "Lonna Patricks, the newest member of our team."
I stared at the living room where I saw Julian and two other men relaxing on the plump furniture.
"Marc," I whispered out of the side of my mouth.
But Julian stood and grabbed my wrist, leading me to the living room. "You might as well get introductions in, now. It's after noon and these gentlemen need to be elsewhere."
I recognized the first man, who spoke up. "There's no need to haze the newbie, Julian."
But Julian was already wearing his rogue grin. "Lonna, these guys are your bosses. This is Alex Greyson of GIG and his Chief Engineer, Dave Kirsch."
I wrested my wrist away from Julian's hand and stepped closer to Marcus before giving a small wave at the group. "Apologies for sleeping so late. I'm usually an earlier riser."
"We probably should have waited," Alex said sympathetically. "Julian said you were anxious to get started and we have a lot of paperwork we have to get through before that can happen."
Dave stood and offered a hand to shake. "Don't let him fool you, Miss Patricks. Alex could have sent someone from Legal, but he wanted to meet the author of the Spatial Pinhole Theory."
This Dave Kirsch person seems like a down-to-earth guy. "Lonna is fine. Miss Patricks is my father."
Everyone laughed except for Marcus, who grumbled he couldn't believe I actually said that.
"Well then, Lonna," Dave added. "We must discuss your t-shirt supplier. I need a shirt like that of my own."
"Please," Marcus sighed. "Don't encourage her, Dave."
Alex chuckled at the exchange. "Clearly we were all a little too enthusiastic. We should let you get settled today and reschedule orientation for tomorrow."
I wanted to say how much I was looking forward to diving into the project, but all that came out was, "I appreciate the consideration."
Alex and Dave stood and Julian walked with them to the front door. I heard Julian tell Alex, "I told you she had a cute little accent."
I turned to Marcus. "Nephy and my things are already in the room. Is there more settling than that?"
"Well, yes. Your place is next door."
"We're not staying here?"
"You're welcome to spend as much time as you want over here. But you should at least let Nephy get used to her new home."
I nodded and went upstairs to put Nephy in her carrier. I returned shortly after, ready to see my new place. I secured my backpack and walked to the front door.
"Lon," Marcus said, pointing at my legs. "Pants."
I puffed out my cheeks. "You said it was next door."
Marcus closed his eyes and shook his head. "Inconceivable."
"'I do not think it means what you think it means,'" I responded, quoting The Princess Bride.