‘Tis Charity
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Chapter I
Part 3
It was early
afternoon, which meant lunch break for many crewmembers on the Enterprise. Rand sprinted into her quarters, tossed
her padd on her bed and hastily removed her recorder, tossing that alongside her
padd. She went over to her dresser
mirror and inspected her
hair. Strands of platinum poked
out haphazardly around her elegant twist in a discordant crown. “Ooh, Khobran you naughty naughty boy,”
she said aloud, as she turned her head, unable to find a salvageable
corner. She’d clearly have to
remove every pin from her head and start all over again. Her hair wasn’t the only thing that
would need fixing. The
wetness between her legs was
surely a reminder that she’d need to change into a fresh clean pair of panties,
hose, and regulation pants. The
creaminess of her lips had been a daunting distraction for her throughout her
checklist runs. During the rush of
the day, Rand had tried to clean herself during a bathroom run but found it
fruitless as wad after twisted wad of tissue paper had failed to stem the
moistness. It was quite difficult
for her to stay focused on inventory and shortages when she had wanted nothing
else but to be bent over and exposed while Khobran held her down and hotly penetrated
and probed her slickness, but at least Rand would be able to fix this little
problem now. Rand pulled off her
boots, tossed them in a corner by the bathroom door, and rushed in. She turned on the water in the sink,
letting it run while she removed and discarded her pants, panties and
hose. Throwing these in the hamper
by the corner, she reached over and opened the cabinet where she kept all of
her handmade organic soaps, picked out a bottle of chamomile-infused feminine
wash and placed it on the sink counter, plucked a hemp wash cloth from the rack
by the cabinet, and shut the bathroom door behind her.
************************
Rand walked
briskly over to her dresser and pulled out the bottom drawer, retrieving a fresh
clean pair of pink lace thong panties, studied them and recalled the time when
she performed a strip tease for Khobran wearing this very same pair. She smiled to herself but thought
better of it and tossed the panties back in the drawer, trading them in for a
more utilitarian pair of high waisted, modestly cut, cotton white
underpants. Rand put these on,
along with a fresh pair of sheer black hose, and clean red overpants. Walking over to the corner where her
boots lay in a heap, she picked these up and slipped them on. Now that she was done with dressing,
she could start on her cartoonishly messy hair. She took another walk over to the dresser, grabbed her comb
and brush and then proceeded to pull out the pins from her somewhat tangled
hair.
“Beep,
beep.”
“The
computer. Wonder if it’s Nyota
calling me for a lunch date.”
Rand headed over to her desk, turned on
the computer, and sat down in front of it. A woman appeared on the screen, her thick red hair cut in a
bob that brushed to her chin, framing her high cheekbones and arched coppery
brows. She looked like a slightly
altered version of Rand herself, with fuller features and bright green eyes.
“Janice?”
“Hey,
Mom! This is a surprise. What are
you doing calling me all the way from New Jersey?”
There was a
slight pause as her mother brought her face closer to the screen. “You didn’t go to work with your hair
like that, did you?”
“Ma, be
real! I was just about to fix my
hair when you called me, so I didn’t get around to it yet, thanks to you.”
“You looked
like you fell asleep without undoing your hair, but I know that can’t be
it. How’d it get that way?”
Janice shook
her head, waving her hand in front of her face. “You don’t want to know, Ma.”
“What do you
mean?”
Rand gave
her mother a look. “Never mind.” She shifted in her chair and started to
pull all the pins from her hair.
“So, how’ve you been since the last time we talked?” she asked.
“I don’t
know why you don’t just cut it all off, like me and Stephanie. It makes life so
much easier, believe me!”
When Rand
pulled out the last of the pin, she shook out her long flaxen hair, allowing it
to tumble down her back. “I
frankly never understood why you ever cut yours. I remember seeing that picture of you back in your college
days with your long fiery red hair cascading down to your waist, wearing that
tight black turtleneck. You were a
real sweater girl. Hey, do you
still have that pentacle necklace?”
“Why would
I?”
“I don’t
know,” Rand shrugged. “Are we just
going to talk about hair all day?”
“Well, I
don’t know about hair, but your term ‘sweater girl’ fits very nicely with the
reason why I’m calling today,” said Mrs. Rand with a playful smirk.
“What it
that supposed to mean?”
“Guess who
came to visit us yesterday?”
“Who, Aunt
Trish?”
No! Why on Earth would I treat this as a
mystery if it was her?”
“Well, how
the hell am I supposed to know?
Can you just tell me? I
hate this guessing game stuff--you know that!”
Mrs. Rand
took a beat before divulging her answer.
“Khobran’s parents,” she said.
Rand was
both surprised and wary.
“Khobran’s parents! They
came to see you? Really?”
“I know that
you’ve been seeing Khobran for about a year and never told anyone back here;
not me, not your father, not Stephanie, and not Aunt Trish. No one. It’s because he’s Orion, isn’t it. You didn’t think we’d approve.”
Rand jerked
her head back, placing her hand on her chest in a defensive manner. “Ma! That had nothing to do with it! It’s just that I really want this relationship to work, and
I didn’t want to jinx anything.
You remember all those jerks I’ve been with…”
“All those
jerks? You’ve only been with four men since you started dating in high
school. Khobran makes five,
Janice. Only five…”
“And I want
number five to work, Mom! I wanted
to see how things panned out before telling anyone back home.”
“You know we
don’t care that he’s Orion, right?”
“Ma, I told
you that had nothing to do with it!”
“Well, now,
don’t get touchy. I just asked you
that to be sure. It wouldn’t be
fair to him, you know. It was
pretty awkward when I didn’t know who Khobran was when the mother introduced
herself at my place of work, Janice.
I didn’t know who she was, and I was never told to expect her! It’s not like Orions are commonplace in
Montclair. She seemed a little
hurt, frankly. Well, initially
anyway.”
Rand sighed,
feeling a leaden weight of guilt on her chest. She had thought at the time that she was making the right
decision, about taking a wait and see approach to her relationship with
Khobran, but she knew now that she’d been wrong. Rand knew she would have to right this, and talk to
Khobran’s parents herself.
“She met you
at the campus library? How did she
know to go there?”
“I guess you
must have told her where I worked,” Mrs. Rand said simply.
“Oh, I
guess. Go on. I’m sorry.”
“Well, Tara
came over to the university library and introduced herself. She told me that she and her husband
had met you along with their children when they had seeked asylum at Adrius
IV. Come to think of it, she did
recall that you mentioned where me and your father worked. She had also said that they were being
sponsored by a Dr. Grimaldi of Princeton University, the same man who had
sponsored their children when they first came to Earth. Funny, huh? Orions in New Jersey!
That means that Khobran and Hydra were here when you were in college,
isn’t that something?”
Rand smiled
brightly, wondering how it would have been like to have met Khobran and Hydra
back then. “Yeah, that is
something,” Rand sighed.
Mrs. Rand
continued. “Well, we went over to
your father’s office and he met Tara.
Her husband Rhollo came over later after he’d been exploring the campus
grounds. After that we got your
sister and her brood and went to that sweet little Ethiopian restaurant!”
“Bet they
loved that place!”
“They sure
did! Oh, and they were crazy about
your nieces, and loved the fact that they were biracial! They even mused about how your’s and
Khobran’s would look like!”
“Oh my God!”
said Rand, blushing but wondering herself.
“I have to
say, Janice, they’re an impressive family. Talk about being achievers, and survivors! Their children being fifteen years old
wunderkinds, and homeschooled!
Amazing people, Janice. They’re the kind of people you mention soon
after you meet them.”
Mrs. Rand
raised her brows, tilting her head to the side and giving her daughter a look
of gentle scolding.
“Yeah, I
know,” Rand sighed.
“They’re
thinking about moving here, you know.”
“What do you
mean, moving here?”
“What do you
think? They’re thinking about
moving to Montclair!”
“Montclair,
seriously?!” Rand was jubilant, throwing her arms up in the air and
laughing. “Wait ‘till I tell
Khobran!”
“They’d love
it,especially since the mother is
an artisan. She could sell her
wares here. You know the father is
an inventor and engineer. Had his
own business until that Syndicate…but, I’m sure you know all that.”
Rand nodded
in the affirmative. “Yes, I do.”
Mrs. Rand
looked at her daughter thoughtfully for a long time before she spoke
again. “You know, Janice, for
Khobran to want you with him when his parents landed on that space station
seeking asylum is pretty special.
He sounds special, and he sounds like he loves you very much.”
There was a
catch in Rand’s throat as she nodded silently.
“I’ll bet
he’s very attractive,” said Mrs. Rand coyly.
“Oh, yes he
is,” Rand said dreamily.
“Not
surprising, since his parents have got to be two of the best looking beings
I’ve ever seen in my life! You
should have seen the stares Tara got in the campus library!”
“You don’t
get Orions on Earth, much less Montclair,” Rand quipped.
“Janice,
don’t even bother to downplay here.
That woman is remarkable by Deltan standards! And Rhollo! My
God! I’ve never seen a man who
filled out a pair of slacks like that in my life! Apparently, neither did all those young woman who followed
him around campus!”
“Same thing
with Khobran and the crewwomen here! You’d think they’ve never seen an ass
before!”
The two
women laughed good naturedly.
“I hope
you’re using protection. You don’t
want to get preg…”
“Ma! Come on!”
“Just want
to be sure.”
“Well, be
sure! Me and Khobran are not planning on a family anytime soon, okay?”
“Bet he’s a firestorm
in the sac, huh?”
“Ma!”
There was a
short moment of giddy silence between them, before Rand and her mother broke
into robust guffaws.
“Oh,
Janice! Let me let you go. I know you have a lot to do. I’d hold on to Khobran, judging from
his parents. I’m very glad I we
met! I really think you need to
talk to his parents to clear things up with them,” said Mrs. Rand, ending on a
more serious note.
“Yeah, I
know. I’ll do that asap. I’m so glad you met them, Mom. Let’s talk some more about them soon,
okay? I’d love to hear what Dad
thought,” said Rand, smiling radiantly.
“Of
course! Well, I’m signing off now,
hon. Be good, and get that hair cut!” chided Mrs. Rand playfully.
Rand smirked
and waved her hand dismissively.
“Whatever, Ma! See ya.”
“Bye.”
Rand reached
over and turned off the switch to the computer, got up from the swivel chair at
her desk, and headed for the dresser.
Placing her hair pins in the bowl, she took her brush and swept through
her hair. Rand smiled as she
recalled the conversations with her mother.
Everyone
clearly got along famously, the two families. In her past relationships, there had always been a chink in
the dynamics concerning the family of anyone she’d been involved with. Sometimes she didn’t get along with one
of the boyfriend’s parents, or one of his siblings. In her last relationship with a Starfleet instructor, she
never even met his family. Though,
considering that such relationships were off limits at the Academy, that was
understandable! Her intuition
vibrated with a quiet excitement that told her all was good for this
relationship. She would be sure to
make contact with her family, so that they could finally meet Khobran, via
computer screen, for themselves.
Perhaps she could contact Hydra and make it a three-way conference
call. She was glad that the
relationship was out in the open now, especially since it’s proven to be the
best relationship-more than she’s hoped for, in fact! Rand pictured Khobran’s parents moving to Montclair and
becoming neighbors with her family, and the thought of that tickled her.
“Montclair
could use some Orion residents,” she thought to herself.
When she
finished brushing through her hair, Rand did it up in a French twist again,
humming along while she shaped, twisted, and pinned her head in place. Patting every inch of her do, Rand
looked in the mirror, turned her head for inspection, and gave herself the
thumbs up when the chime to her door summoned her. Wondering who in the hell it could be, Rand walked over to
the door and pressed its side button.
When the door zipped open, Rand’s mood brightened tenfold when she saw
Khobran standing silently in the hallway.
“Khobran!”
she exclaimed, rushing up to him.
Rand reached out and threw her arms around his neck and planted a long
hot kiss on his lips, which he returned tepidly. Rand, in her enthusiasm, didn’t notice. She also seemed
oblivious to the fact that Khobran never wrapped his arms around her.
“God, I
can’t believe you’re here! Talk about kismet! Wait ‘till I tell you what went on with
me! But you’ll have to be gentle
though, after that fierce pat-down you gave me in the diliteum crystal
chamber. It’s a lot of hair to pin
up again for a third time,” she said, patting her hair and batting her lashes. Rand looked up at her boyfriend and
noticed the grim expression etched in his face.
“Is anything
wrong? Did something happen?”
Khobran
broke free of Rand’s embrace and stepped inside her quarters, where he turned
to face her. Rand stepped into her
quarters like she was walking on shards of glass. She looked warily at Khobran. She had an inkling of what might be troubling him, and she felt
her stomach fist up. Oh, shit! He
knows. Khobran stood in his place,
just looking at Rand, not saying anything. His silence was palpable, and it made Rand edgy. But what made Rand really edgy was that
she was the cause of the misunderstanding to come. Khobran placed his hands on his hips and lowered his
head. When he finally raised his
head up again his eyes were brimming with tears. Rand hated herself at that moment. She felt her own eyes start to sting and become misty.
“I just got
off the computer with my parents, and they told me that they finally met your
family in Montclair, but that you never told your them about our
relationship. They didn’t even
know I existed, that my family existed.”
Khobran’s voice was soft with hurt, almost trembling. Rand raised her hands to her face and
laced her fingers together, pressing her palms together, almost like a prayer
position. She took a very deep
breath so that her own voice wouldn’t shake.
“Khobran, I
know. Let me explain…”
“Explain
what, Janice?” he asked in the same pained voice, the same soft pitch. “My mother said she was surprised when
she found out the Rands knew nothing about me, my parents, my sister, my
brother…”
Rand felt
the panic build inside her as she tried to explain her side of the story. At first, she had a hard time stringing
the words together, as Khobran stood there looking at her from his great
height, his brows cocked in judgment.
“Look,” Rand
began. “You know the lousy luck
I’ve had with guys. All four men
from high school to Starfleet Academy ended badly! I told you that…”
“Janice…”
“I wanted to
wait and see how this relationship went before I told my family about us! I-I didn’t want to jinx anything, you
know? I know it sounds silly…”
“Silly? It sounds downright suspicious,
Janice,” he said, his voice now steely and low, his vivid violet eyes
unwavering as they bore right into her.
Rand could feel the crushing weight of his eyes on her, and they made
her feel exposed, like she was lying spread eagled under the cold aim of a
microscopic lens. She wanted to
run away, but she knew that wasn’t an option. She thought desperately about what she could do to fix the
mess that she’d made. Then, Rand
came up with an idea. She looked
at Khobran, feigning nonchalance, and simply shrugged her shoulders.
“Look,
Khobran. I really don’t see the
big deal. My mother had a
wonderful time with your parents.
My father, sister, her husband and their two daughters were all there at
the outing. Everyone got along
really well, so I don’t know why not telling my family about you initially is
such a big deal. Your parents
are…”
“Oh, I’ll
tell you why it’s such a big deal, Janice! I’ll tell you why it’s an immense deal…”
“You’re
making a mountain out of an ant hill, Khobran,” she said in blithe disregard,
though her insides wanted to scream. “I really don’t understand this drama…”
“The drama
is you had a whole fucking year,” said Khobran, leaning into Rand, his voice
now rising. “How long are you
going to use your past relationships as an excuse, Janice?”
Rand’s head
jerked back when she heard the word ‘excuse.” “It’s not an excuse, Khobran!”
“Oh,
no? When I introduced you to my
parents, I was never once concerned about the fact that you were human! You were the woman that I chose as a
partner, you were the woman I cared about and desired! Our different racial backgrounds were
immaterial!”
Rand looked
at Khobran for a full withering minute, shaking her head, her eyes wide and her
tears coming to the fore. She took
her time, finding the voice that seemed to have escaped her at that moment.
“Are you
trying to say, that I didn’t tell my family about you because you think that
I’m the one who has a problem with you being Orion, as opposed to my family?!”
Her voice was a horse whisper.
Khobran
leaned in even closer until he was nose to nose with Rand.
“Jackpot,”
he said quietly.
The tears
tumbled down to her cheeks, her lips trembling. Rand turned away from her lover and pressed her hands
against her chest, as if to steady herself. She closed her eyes, not believing what she’d just heard,
what he was accusing her of. She
wanted to push Khobran, to throw something at him as she stood there trembling
with rage, shock, and heartbreak.
“Restrain
yourself, Janice,” she thought to herself. “You don’t want to hit this man! You don’t want to hit this man!” Then, she thought better of it. “What the hell,” she thought smugly. Rand spun on her heels suddenly and
slapped Khobran clean across his face with her open palm. While Khobran barely moved physically
from the impact, the expression on his face clearly showed that he was stunned.
Rand was
crying now. “How dare you! How dare you say that to me! How dare you even think that, you
bastard!”
The surprise
that was on Khobran’s face was replaced by it’s former steeliness. “The truth hurts, right?”
“There’s no
truth to what you’re saying and you know that!” she screamed. “You being an Orion was never an issue
with me! It sure seems to be an
issue with you, though!”
Khobaran
crossed his arms, saying nothing. He simply looked at her while Rand continued
to fight for their relationship.
“What about
all the times we’ve been together, don’t they mean anything to you?! Doesn’t our time together say anything
about our relationship?!”
“Yeah, it
says that an Orion is no problem in the bedroom, but poses a real problem when
it comes time to tell Mommy and Daddy that you’re fucking one,” he sneered.
Rand reached
out and pulled Khobran by his shirt and tried to shake him, as if doing so
would make the words sink in. “For
your information, my mother had no problem with you being Orion! As a matter of fact, she was concerned
about me not telling her about you because of what she thought might have been
prejudice on my part, of which I assured her it was not…”
“Perceptive
mother, at least.”
“Khobran,
are we really doing this?
Really?” Rand asked,
emotionally exhausted.
The two of
them looked at one another for a long tense moment before Khobran gave Rand a
hopeless, sad look. “Well, so much
for the liberals in Montclair.” Then, without another word, he turned away from
Rand and walked out the door to her quarters.
“Khobran!”
Rand started
after him, reaching out for him, trying to grab at any part of his body, an
arm, the hem of his shirt, but he was too fast for her, and it was also at this
inopportune moment when Rand heard something behind her.
“Beep,
beep.”
She turned
sharply towards the direction of the noise and glared at the computer, her eyes
blinded by her tears.
“You’ve got
to be fucking kidding me! Why
now?!” she yelled out loud at the little red light blinking dispassionately on
the computer console.
In a panic,
she turned to the door, and then back to the computer, initially torn between
the two. It could be the captain,
but then, it could be Uhura, or Sulu.
She would be really pissed if it was anyone in the latter category, but
if it was the captain or anyone else of high rank, then of course her duty
would have to come before her heart.
Shaken and annoyed, Rand wiped the tears from her face and eyes with her
fingers as she cursed under her breath.
Defeated, she headed for her desk, turned on the computer, and settled
in front of the screen while it lit up in front of her. Duty was calling, in the image of
Captain Kirk.
“Yeoman
Rand,” he said, peering closely into the screen. “Am I interrupting anything?”
“Nothing
that’s any of your damn business,” she thought bitterly. But when she spoke to the captain,
however, she said simply: “No, Captain.
Busy day.” Rand gave Kirk a
weak smile, trying to keep a good front.
“You look
preoccupied and tired, Janice.”
“I’m fine,
Captain. What is this call about?”
The Captain
nodded. “You’ve been selected to
join a search and rescue landing party on the planet Tijus. You are to report to the conference
room immediately. Yeoman Means
will take over your checklist duties.”
“Yes, sir.”
“See you
soon.”
Kirk’s image
went black, ending the correspondence as Rand let out a long deep breath. She
turned off the computer and got up from her chair. She murmured Khobran’s name
despondently and reached for her padd and recorder that lay tossed on her bed. Rand strapped the recorder over her
shoulder, gathered her padd, looked around her quarters for a last quick sweep,
and left.
