Extraterrestrial Refugees
Chapter Nineteen

The sun was setting behind the Washington Monument. The orange and red sky was reflected on the surface of the long pool that stretched out in front of the monument. Gemma and Oscar had just visited the Lincoln Memorial. It had been an important day. Gemma was granted the opportunity to participate in a Naturalization Ceremony. She swore the oath and was presented with a Naturalization Certificate by the president himself.

She sat down on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and took a deep breath of the crisp, fall air. The color of the sky matched the flaming, autumn leaves on the trees surrounding the monuments. She reflected on the momentous six months that had transpired since her people had landed on Earth. She had been busy. Her agenda was full almost every single day with ambassador-like duties. Often, Oscar had accompanied her on her travels and when they were apart, they video called and sent messages to each other.

Oscar sat down on the step beside Gemma. She gave him a glance and a small smile. “I think I’ve mentioned this to you before, but this place—” she took another deep breath, “—it’s so much like where I grew up on Tetra. The climate is essentially the same. Even the air smells similar.”

“I wish I could’ve seen it,” Oscar sighed. He kept his eyes fixed on Gemma’s face. “In real life, I mean. I know you’ve shown me the pictures, but that’s not quite the same as being there.”

“No, it isn’t. I think you would’ve liked it. It was much cleaner than Washington D.C.”

Oscar chortled. “I’m sure it was.”

“I’m sure we can get Washington cleaned up in the near future though. We still have so much to teach you.”

“It’s a shame we have nothing to teach you,” Oscar said.

“There’s probably something,” Gemma said with a wink. “I think we’re smart enough to know that we don’t know everything.”

“People who think they know everything are generally idiots.” Oscar’s eyes followed the outline of her side profile. Her face was the most flawless thing he had ever seen. “I know I don’t know everything, but I do think I know the most important thing there is to know.”

Gemma turned and looked at him. His brown eyes seemed to glow like embers in the light of the sunset. “What’s that?” she asked. The corner of Oscar’s mouth went up.

“I think you know.”

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“Let me show you.” In one swift movement, Oscar’s hand slipped behind Gemma’s head and he swooped in for a kiss—a kiss he had been dying for months to give. But it was very short-lived. Gemma pulled back and broke free from his lips the second they touched hers. She planted her palms into the cool cement of the step and gripped the edge tightly with her fingers. She kept her gaze fixed sternly on the tip of the Washington Monument. Her heart pounded. She felt the tips of her ears turn red. The tingling sensation of his soft, gentle lips lingered on hers. She swallowed hard, finding it difficult to know what to say or do. How did I not see that coming? She wondered.

“Gemma.” Oscar reached out to touch her shoulder, but she scooted away from him and held up her hands toward him. She slowly lowered them again. “I’m sorry,” Oscar whispered. His voice was dry and raw. Gemma shook her head.

“What were you thinking?” she asked. Her voice was barely audible. She wasn’t sure if she was livid or heartbroken.

“I—I don’t know,” Oscar stammered. “To be perfectly honest, I’ve been wanting to do that since the day I met you.”

“Oscar, I’m engaged! That may not mean much here on Earth, but to the majority of us Tetranese it still holds significant meaning.”

Oscar was silent for a moment. “Gemma, it’s been six months.”

“I don’t need you to remind me.”

“Wouldn’t you have heard something by now? I just thought maybe…maybe—”

“Maybe what? I would be ready to just move on and forget about him?” She looked into the sunset again and shook her head. A tear slid down her cheek. Oscar reached out and touched her fingers.

“It might be time,” he said softly. Gemma withdrew her hand and clenched them between her knees. She adamantly shook her head.

“No. It’s not.”

“How can you know that?”

Gemma shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I just do. My heart would tell me if he was gone. I know it.”

Oscar rubbed his chin. “When will you be ready to move on?”

Gemma furrowed her brow at him. “Do you honestly think I have an answer to that question? My advice to you would be not to count on it or wait for it.” She exhaled loudly. “Oscar, you’ve been so considerate, kind and genuine since the day we arrived six months ago. I have so cherished our friendship. Friendship. I won’t say we couldn’t be happy together, because I’m pretty sure we could be. But I’ve promised my heart to another. And until I know with all my being that I’m never going to see him again, I will not be giving my heart to another.” She looked at Oscar; he looked straight ahead. “You cannot wait around for me to be ready. You’re a great guy. Go find another.”

Oscar shook his head and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. “There is no other.”

“There is,” Gemma said.

“No, there isn’t!” Oscar finally looked at her again. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone else, Gemma. You’re it. I know it’s cliché, but I just feel like you’re the one.”

“I can’t be. I’m sorry.”

“Are you? Gemma, if you want to be with me, you can be with me. You’re the only person standing in your way. Even if Vance still shows up, I’m sure he would understand. Heck, for all you know he could’ve moved on by now, too!”

Gemma chewed on her lower lip. “Don’t say that. You don’t know that.” It was a disheartening thought that had already crossed her mind one too many times.

“You have to be realistic and admit it’s a very plausible possibility. And would you blame him? Would you be upset with him or hate him for it? Wouldn’t you want him to be happy? And loved?”

Gemma stood up. “I’m finished with this conversation.”

“Answer the question first. Would you want him to be lonely?”

Gemma looked down at him. Her red cheeks glistened with tears. “I make him happy. I love him. I am his companion. He wouldn’t give up on me, so I’m not giving up on him.” She turned and began to briskly walk away.

“Giving up and moving on are two entirely different things!” Oscar called after her. He stood up and followed her, leaving a small distance between them. No way he was going to let her walk the streets of Washington D.C. alone; he cared for her too deeply.

Gemma brushed over her lips with her fingertips. She looked up to the sky where the first few stars of night were beginning to shine. The tears fell freely from her eyes. Tears of anger. Tears of worry. Tears of heartbreak. Are you still out there, Vance? she asked in her heart. She thought about her bed back in the hotel room. She wanted to fall face-first into it and allow her tears to soak the pillow.

* * *

Gemma’s phone rang shortly before four in the morning, jolting her from a deep sleep—a sleep that had taken its own sweet time coming to her. Blurry-eyed, she looked at the blinding screen and saw it was Clarence calling. She cleared her throat and answered it in a groggy voice. She rubbed the corners of her eyes, still crusty from the tears she had shed the night before.

“Gemma,” a voice boomed into her ear. It was a familiar voice, but it wasn’t Clarence’s. Her heart leapt to her throat as she sat up in bed, banging the headboard loudly against the wall behind it.

“Vance?” she shrieked, now fully awake. “Is that really you? Where are you?”

“It’s me, honey,” Vance said. Gemma could hear he was trying not to cry. She covered her own mouth and stifled a happy sob.

“Oh, babe…” She bit the back of her finger. “I love you, I love you, I love you,” she whispered.

“Do you? I came all this way to see you and you’re not even here,” Vance teased. “I guess getting your United States citizenship took priority.”

“Oh, stop.” Gemma giggled whole-heartedly. “So you’re in New Mexico?” She had reached over and turned on the bedside lamp and was already sliding out of bed. She pushed the strap of her nightgown back up onto her shoulder.

“Yes, I am,” Vance answered. “How soon can you get here? Or should I come to you?”

Gemma shook her head. “No, no. I’m coming to you. I’ll head to the airport now and jump on the first flight I can catch.” Her mind wandered to Oscar sleeping in the next room. After the previous evening’s events, she was desperate to put as much distance between them as she could, and as quickly as she could.

“Okay. I can’t wait to see you.”

“Me either. Where have you been all this time?” She debated taking the time to shower, but decided against it and started to get dressed and gathering her belongings. She carefully laid the white envelope containing her Naturalization Certificate into the bottom of her small suitcase where she hoped it wouldn’t get all bent and crinkled up.

“Oh, you’re never going to believe it,” Vance replied. “We’ve been on Mars.”

“Mars?” Gemma gasped. “You’ve been right here on Mars this entire time?”

“Yep. Crazy, isn’t it? I’ll tell you all about it. Just hurry and get here.”

“I’m hurrying, I’m hurrying. Not even going to shower. Sorry.”

“Yeah, that’s great. Means I’ll get to see you ten minutes sooner.”

“I better go so I can call a taxi.”

“Okay, you do that. I love you so much, honey,” Vance said. Gemma savored every second of his voice. She had often felt like she couldn’t remember it anymore, but the second she heard it again the familiarity of it brought her immense comfort.

“I love you, too. See you soon.” She hung up, called a taxi, and scurried to pack the rest of her things. When she was ready to leave, she stopped at the desk and grabbed the pen and pad of paper provided by the hotel.

Oscar, she wrote, I’m heading to New Mexico. Vance is back! Your friendship has meant so much to me these past six months. Sorry it can’t be anything more than that. We’ll be in contact. Gemma.

She folded the paper in half and wrote Oscar’s name on the front of it. She walked out of the room, dragging her suitcase behind her. She stopped in front of Oscar’s door and quickly stooped over to slide the note under the door. She then hurried down the long, silent, carpeted hall. A few seconds later, she heard a door opening behind her. She turned around to see Oscar leaning out of his room, wearing a pair of basketball shorts and holding the note she had written in his hand. “Vance is back?” he projectile whispered. Gemma nodded at him, then turned around and walked back to him. She couldn’t stop smiling.

“Isn’t it amazing?” she whispered. “Sorry if I woke you up. I’m just so excited. I want to get there as soon as I can.”

Oscar rubbed his eyes. Gemma wasn’t used to seeing him without his glasses. “No worries. I wasn’t asleep.”

“You weren’t?”

Oscar shook his head. “I couldn’t sleep the whole night.”

“Oh. Um… I’m sorry.” Gemma’s phone dinged. “Oh, my taxi’s here. I got to go.”

“Can you wait five minutes? I’d like to come with you.”

Gemma knitted her brows. “Really? Um, yeah, okay.” She smacked her forehead when shirtless Oscar disappeared back into his room. Him coming with her was the exact opposite of what she wanted. She shook her head and reminded herself of what actually mattered: Vance was alive! And in a few hours she would finally be in his arms again. She let the bliss chase away all the awkward feelings she currently had surrounding Oscar. If he at any point tried to bring up what transpired the night before, she would either change the subject, pretend to be asleep, or just flat-out ignore him.

Oscar reemerged from his hotel room fully-suited, key cards in hand and pulling his suitcase behind him. “Okay, time to go see Vance.”

Gemma smiled. “I think you’re going to like him.”

Oscar squinted. “Will I really though?” His tone was sarcastic, but Gemma knew there was some raw honesty behind it. She knew, despite his smiles, there had to be some resentment on his part that Vance had survived after all. No. She told herself that couldn’t be true. If Oscar loved her like he claimed he did, then he would feel nothing but happiness and relief that she had not in fact lost the love of her life.

They loaded into the taxi that waited out in front of the hotel for them. “To the airport, please,” Gemma said, probably a little too loudly for how early it was, but she could not contain her excitement.

Vance was alive!

“So, are you going to tell him?” Oscar asked. They were sitting in a plane destined for Albuquerque. Gemma had hoped they would not be seated next to each other, since they had gotten the tickets last minute. But, unfortunately, the lady at the check-in counter was overly friendly and helpful to excess and, assuming they were a couple, made some arrangements so they could sit next to each other.

“Tell who what?” Gemma asked, only half hearing everything going on around her. Her mind was already in New Mexico.

“Vance, Are you going to tell him you kissed me? Er…sorry. That I kissed you? Are you going to tell him?”

“Um…” Gemma looked past the woman seated to her left and looked out the window at the rising sun. She stared at the screen on the back of the seat in front of her. “Yeah. I mean, we tell each other everything.”

Oscar nodded. “Of course. Hashtag relationship goals.” He cleared his throat and chuckled awkwardly. “Can I meet him for a few minutes first? I don’t want him to hate me the second he sees me.”

“Oscar, I won’t even have a chance to tell him before he meets you,” Gemma said. “You kind of insisted on coming with me.”

“Do you think he’s going to punch me when he finds out?”

Gemma knitted her brow. “Uh, no. He’s not like that.”

“Well, I hope it won’t cause any bumps in your relationship.”

“We’ll be fine.”

Oscar let out a small chortle and shook his head. “You seem so sure,” he quietly said. He smiled at Gemma. “It’s really very admirable. And I seriously envy you.” He was quiet for a few seconds. “Look, I’m really sorry about last night.”

“I really don’t want to talk about it,” Gemma said. She tapped on the display in front of her and scrolled through the selection of movies. She popped in her complimentary earbuds and turned on an old children’s movie she was told was a classic. Through the corner of her eye, she caught Oscar staring at her several times throughout the duration of the flight. She could tell he was desperate to talk to her, but she was resilient in ignoring him.

A few hours later, they were at the airport. Gemma bounced on her toes impatiently as she waited for her turn to get off the plane. She basically ran through the airport, carrying her suitcase instead of rolling it behind her. She had become quite acquainted with the airport. She rounded the corner and froze when she saw Vance standing beside Clarence; both of them wore beaming smiles. Gemma discarded her suitcase and ran into Vance’s arms. She melted in his embrace. She pulled back only long enough to kiss his face. Vance stroked the back of her golden head. Gemma breathed him in. She could not help it—tears flowed from her eyes.

Clarence greeted Oscar. “Have a good flight?” he asked.

“Yeah. Well, crowded. But we’re here,” Oscar replied. He watched Gemma and Vance kiss again. Vance wasn’t what he had expected. He had seen pictures, but in real life he seemed lankier. And he knew he was strong, but he didn’t necessarily look it.

Vance, arm wrapped around Gemma, looked at Oscar. “Is this your bodyguard? Hi, I’m Vance.” He held out his hand.

“Sort of…” Gemma replied. Oscar chuckled nervously.

“I’m Oscar. And I kissed your fiancée last night. Sorry about that,” Oscar said. At first Vance furrowed his brow, and then he smiled.

“I can’t say I blame you. She is a good kisser.”

Oscar laughed nervously. “Yeah. Well, to be totally honest, it didn’t really last long enough for me to determine that.”

“Oh, come on.” Vance smiled down at Gemma, whose cheeks were a bright red. “Even her pecks are amazing.” He bent down and gave her another small kiss. “I love you.”

“Stop,” Gemma giggled.

“Stop what? Loving you? Never.”

“No… Stop talking about my kissing. It’s embarrassing.”

“Honey, I haven’t kissed you for over two and a half years—I’m going to talk about your kissing.”

Gemma rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

Oscar nudged Clarence’s arm. “Please tell me we’re driving in separate cars.”

Clarence laughed. “Nope.” He put his hand on Oscar’s shoulder. “I’ll let you ride up front with me and we’ll turn the music on real loud.”

“Great,” Oscar said behind clinched teeth.

“How did you get away from work to come here, by the way?” Clarence asked as they meandered toward the airport exit.

“Oh, you know the president likes me to spy on you guys every now and then. I was planning on coming out for a few days anyways. You think you’ve got a room for me?”

“You could almost have a whole spaceship to yourself at the rate everyone’s moving away.”

“That many, huh? Well, I suppose that’s a good thing, right?”

“Yes, of course it is. For the most part, they seem to be assimilating well,” Clarence said.

“That’s good. Any more…incidents?” Oscar asked.

“No. It helps that we don’t look any different. Really there aren’t any problems with racism as long as the Earthlings don’t know the Tetranese are, in fact, Tetranese. So most of them have figured out to hide their identities as much as possible,” Clarence explained.

“That’s kind of a shame though, isn’t it?”

Clarence shrugged his shoulders. “It is what it is. I think it’s preferable to being victims of racism.”

“Yeah, maybe… But having to hide your heritage—that stinks.”

“It’s unfortunate, I agree. But people don’t change overnight.”

Oscar looked over his shoulder at Gemma, longingly. She glowed with happiness, clinging to Vance’s hand; he carried her suitcase in the other. “Unfortunately,” Oscar sighed.

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