Penni continued to stare at the computer
screen. She’d taken two breaks and gotten herself a soda from the vending
machine in the lounge, hoping they would clear her head, but she still couldn’t
crack this blasted code.
A glance at the clock in the corner
showed it was nearly nine p.m., and she groaned. “Give it up for tonight, girl.
Go home, let the old brain cells rest, and tackle it again tomorrow.”
She closed out the program and shut
down the computer. She didn’t have to look around the office or peek over
cubical walls to know she was the only occupant left on this floor. It was okay
with her. She didn’t mind working past normal quitting time. She didn’t get
paid overtime. She was straight salaried. She did so because it was in her
nature. She enjoyed her job, and she enjoyed working.
After all, with no one to go home
to, what would be the point? she thought to herself as she got into the
elevator and took it down to the main lobby.
Stan, the night guard on duty,
glanced up from his paperback book when the elevator dinged and the doors
opened. He tossed her a smile when he recognized her. “Another late night, eh, Penni?”
“Unfortunately, a fruitless one,”
she admitted with a sigh. “I’m hoping a good night’s sleep will re-energize my
brain cells so I can tackle that damn algorithm with a fresh perspective in the
morning.”
“Good idea. Need an escort to your
car?”
“I’ll be fine. Thanks.”
The man gave her a wave. “Have a
good rest of the night! Sleep tight!”
She walked out to the parking lot,
knowing the man would be watching her until she safely got into her vehicle.
Sliding under the wheel, she locked her door before starting the engine. What
followed was like a little ritual for her: lock, start, seatbelt, kiss.
She smiled at the small wheat amulet
hanging from her rearview mirror. Pressing a kiss to her forefinger, she
touched the amulet then put the car into gear.
It was a twenty-five-minute drive to
her apartment if the traffic wasn’t heavy. This time of night, it wasn’t.
Combined with the fact that she was beginning to feel exhaustion creeping up on
her, she took the chance and pressed down on the accelerator, hoping to trim a
few minutes off that time.
A yawn caught her by surprise.
Giving her head a shake, she completely missed seeing the vehicle parked on the
side of the road with its lights off until after she whizzed past it. Less than
a second later, red and blue lights went off on its hood, and the police car
pulled onto the road behind her.
Penni uttered a choice word and
slowed. Pulling her car into the parking lot of a Save U Rite, she stopped and
shut off the engine. From her side mirror, she watched as the patrol car eased
up behind her, lights still flashing. A single figure got out and slowly
approached.
“Good evening. I’m Officer Oratami
with the Weyr Police Department. May I please have your driver’s license and
proof of insurance?”
Wordlessly, she handed him the two
items she’d placed in her lap, knowing he’d be asking for them. In the glare
from the nearby light pole, she could see the man’s face. He was young, but he
had that air about him that told her he wasn’t a rookie.
“Ms. Stollings, do you know why I
pulled you over?”
“Yes, sir. I was speeding.”
He nodded. “You were doing
sixty-five in a fifty. Is there an emergency or some valid reason why you were
going that fast?” He sounded professional. Calm. Maybe a little bit bored. It
made her wonder how long he’d been on his shift.
Penni shook her head. “No, sir. I’m
on my way home. It’s been a very long day, and I’m tired. I have no excuse,
really.”
“How long a day has it been?” he
inquired, curious.
She checked the clock on the dash
display. “I reported to work around seven-thirty this morning, so it’s been
over fourteen hours.”
“A fourteen-hour shift, eh? Where do
you work?”
“At Greenbelt.”
He appeared surprised. “I didn’t
know people who worked there worked such long hours.”
She managed a weak smile. “Actually,
I enjoy my job. I often work extra hours, even though I’m on straight salary.”
“You’re a go-getter?” he gently
teased. “Trying to climb that corporate ladder?”
“Nope,” she honestly admitted. “I
just like my job.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, how
does your family take to all these late nights?”
Taking a deep breath, she let it out
with a loud sigh. “I’m on my own. No family. Well, except for Pickles.”
“Pickles?”
“My cat.”
“Ah.” He held up the driver’s
license and insurance card. “Give me a minute or two to check to make sure
you’re legit. I’ll be right back.” Without waiting for her to respond, he
strode back to his vehicle. She was able to watch him consult with the computer
in his car. As he promised, he was soon back.
“You have a remarkably clean record,
Ms. Stollings. Not even a speeding or parking ticket.” He slowly shook his
head. “Either you’re very lucky you haven’t been caught before now, or this is
truly your first infraction.”
He held out her credentials to give back
to her. She reached up to accept them when she saw the name tag above the
breast pocket: V ORATAMI.
Plucking the cards from his fingers,
she was about to place them in the side pocket of her purse when she caught him
staring inside her car. More specifically, at or out the front windshield. She
turned her head to see if she could detect what had caught his attention, but
there didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary happening.
“Miss?” the officer asked and
pointed. “What is that?”
That’s when she realized he was
talking about her amulet. “Oh, this?” Lifting it from where it hung, she held
it out to him. He took it almost reverently and laid it in his palm. “It’s my
amulet.”
“My mother had one exactly like it,”
he commented, running a thumb over the surface. “Is this one made of wheat,
too?”
“Yes. I got mine from my mother. I
guess if I ever get married and have children, I’ll pass it along to one of
them.”
“If you don’t mind me asking you
this, and you don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to, but was anyone in
your family a Virgon?”
She wasn’t aware of her gasp of
surprise until she saw his eyes widen. “Y-yes. I’m a Virgon. So was my mother.
How do you know about—”
“My mother is a Virgon.” He tapped
his chest and smiled. “That makes two of us.” He chuckled. “Now it makes sense
why you work all those extra hours and such. I’m guilty of the same thing. I’ll
work a double shift anytime we’re shorthanded. I guess you could say we Virgons
are gluttons for punishment.”
The comment made her smile. “Mom
used to say the same thing. She said it was a personality trait we’re born
with.”
He gave a one-shoulder shrug. “That, and a few other traits.”
The officer returned the amulet to her, adding, “I have one almost exactly like
it in my squad car. I never go on shift without it.”
She couldn’t help herself but to
ask, “When is your shift over, Officer Oratami?”
“Shift change is at ten o’clock. I
get off then, but I still have to write a few reports before I can call it a
day.” He stared at her, and she got the impression he wanted to ask her why she
wanted to know. She chose to answer his unspoken question.
“I usually order a pizza after I get
home when I work late. How do you like yours?”
Oratami didn’t seem surprised by her
invitation. A few seconds of silence passed before he replied. “Do you get it
on a whole wheat crust?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll eat it with any kind of topping as long as it’s not
anchovies or pineapple.”
She turned her head, looking away
from him when she smiled. “I’ll leave the entry light on.”
He straightened. “If I let you go
with just a warning, I won’t have to fill out a report, and it won’t go on your
spotless record.”
“Sooo, when do you think you’ll be
by to help me eat it?”
“Eleven…ish?”
She nodded. “Sounds good to me. I’ll
be waiting.” Finally looking back up at him, she added, “Thank you, Officer
Oratami.”
“Vince. My first name’s Vince.”
“Nice to meet you, Vince. Until
later?”
He stepped back to let her depart.
From her rearview mirror she noticed he remained standing there in the parking
lot, watching her as she drove away.
Oddly enough, she discovered she was
no longer tired or sleepy. She was excited, a bit apprehensive, but happy to
have found one of her own kind.
“Or would that be he’d found one of his
own kind?” she wondered aloud.
It didn’t matter. Their meeting,
although accidental, had to have been preordained.
