We Leapt Into the Sky

Chapter 29

Seph shifted from foot to foot, his toothbrush in his mouth as he idly flipped through listings of townhouses for sale in New Calathea. His fingers pausing over a photo of a modern building crafted from sleek metal and warm wood. Lush green forests covered the mountains, and he felt calmer just looking at them. Then his tablet alerted him that Antony was calling, and he fumbled for a towel to wipe his mouth before answering.

"Dude, are you in the bathroom?"

"Brushing my teeth."

"Well, your bed head is amazing."

Seph poked at the spectacular cowlicks, where his blond hair curled up toward the ceiling. "It looks like I've got a bird on my head."

"I know," Antony said, and he flashed Seph a brilliant grin.

"What's up?" Seph asked, carrying the tablet from the bathroom and flopping back onto the hotel bed with its slightly scratchy comforter.

"I'm 'graduating' from my art therapy program today. Wanted to call you since we have a bunch of stuff going on and I won't be free later."

"Antony, that's great! Did you like the program?"

He tilted his head, running his hand through his wavy hair. "Yeah, I feel like I got something out of it," he said, and his expression brightened. "I got to use a pottery wheel—I needed help with it, but I made a vase that was fired in the kiln today."

"I'd love to see it when I can."

Antony rubbed the back of his head and smiled. "Sure. You're spending time with Bria today, right?"

"Yeah, to help her with some paperwork, so she'll take a break when it's finished." He sighed. "Bria and I haven't really talked since I've been here. Only niceties. I know when we were on the expedition, she worried about her students who were away on their own trip. It seems she was trying to provide emotional support to a mutual colleague on Acinos as well."

"Bria, offer emotional support?"

"Well, I think she may have a bit of a crush." He crossed his arms. "Bria has never been one to share much with me, but I wish she would have been more forthcoming on the expedition, if only to admit that she was frustrated with being away from her lab. Instead, she was grumpy and pushy and closed off."

"Do you resent her?" Antony asked. His tone was carefully neutral, and it sounded like an honest question.

Seph rubbed his fingers over the corners of his mouth. "I think I do. She's deathly afraid of being perceived as having a personal life, as though being a scientist means there's no room for anything but research. But it's not like that was a common part of the academic culture at her university. It's just Bria, and it bleeds through into how she runs her own lab."

"Yeah, that sucks," Antony said. "I don't know her well, but I can imagine. Still, you checked on her, and it isn't your responsibility to sort through her emotional issues."

"I agree," Seph said. "Even if she opened up to me, I don't think I'm the right person to support her." He paused, allowing some of the tension to drain out of him. "I'm not planning to stick around Acinos forever, and if it's alright, I'd like to come see you once I'm done sorting this out."

Antony smiled at him. "Yeah, I'd like that. I'll still be here on this moon, and I'll be happy to wait for ya."

"I'm looking forward to it," Seph said.

* * *

Seph spent the morning and early afternoon in Bria's office, hunched beside her as they finished the last pieces of paperwork documenting the expedition for the university.