Reunion : Part Three

"Hi," she greeted softly, her brown eyes warm. "I heard you were back. Thought I would . . . greet you."

Tyvek was mesmerized to see his old love. Without thinking he opened the door to allow her in. At that point his visitor, Sub-Commander Rhea, also entered the room.

There was silence and then Shara looked hurtfully at Tyvek.

"Forgive my rudeness. Shara this is my.... cousin from Vulcan. She came to visit my father who is currently on assignment," lied the Vulcan.

"Does your… cousin have a name?" asked Shara.

"I am Rhea." replied the Romulan.

"Welcome to Serenity,” Shara replied rather formally before turning her attention back to Tyvek. “I was just in the neighborhood and wanted to say welcome home," she said.

"I am unable to accompany you right now but perhaps later we can have some personal time together," Tyvek requested.

"Maybe." she replied as she exited the door, not giving him a chance to say another word as thoughts and emotions hit her from all sides. It took her less than a minute to disappear down the hallway.

Being psychic was not fun sometimes, concluded Tyvek

Shara found herself in a little Irish Pub off the main thoroughfare ordering the strongest drink they had. Sipping the very strong concoction before her, she sighed and carried it to a darkened booth. The sounds of a handful of customers was merely background music for the drama playing out in her mind as she tried picking out all the emotions and thoughts from one another... Hers, his . . . His *cousin’s*.

So lost in her own thoughts she hadn’t felt the approach of a woman.

“I knew I’d find you here,” came Karissa’s soft voice.

Shara looked at her and for a moment she didn’t respond. “Well, not like I’m hard to find am I?”

Karissa took a seat across from her. “Looks like you have a lot on your mind.”

Shara sighed and took another sip of her drink. “I think you know me too well.”

“That’s what sisters are for, right?”

Shara stared into her glass as she pushed it around with her fingers. She wasn’t sure she wanted to talk about it.

“It’s Tyvek, isn’t it?”

Shara’s brown eyes met Karissa’s. “Do you always have to know everything?”

Karissa shrugged. “You know how it goes . . . and it’s a bit of an occupational hazard anyway.”

Not being able to escape, she sighed. “Yes, it’s about Tyvek.”

“You went to see him?”

Shara nodded. “And I wasn’t the only woman there . . .”

Karissa’s brows knit together. “You don’t think . . .”

Shara shook her head. “No, I know she’d not another woman in his life. Though I have to admit, when I first saw her . . .”

Karissa nodded in understanding.

“But I guess the worst part of it was knowing he’d lied to me about who she was,” Shara said.

“What did he say?”

“That she was his cousin from Vulcan,” Shara said with almost a hint of contempt. She wasn’t sure where the anger was coming from, but it was there. “Why couldn’t he just tell me the truth of who she was?”

“And who is she?” Karissa replied.

Shara looked at her. “Let me put it this way, she’s not Vulcan.”

Karissa was quiet for a moment. “Could she be there because of his recent mission?”

Shara was quiet for a moment and nodded. “I think so . . .”

“And does he love her?” she asked.

Shara was silent and then shook her head. “No . . . So why am I so upset then?”

Karissa smiled. “This is new territory for you, Shara. You don’t know how to respond . . . Give it some time. You know this woman isn’t a threat to your relationship with Tyvek. Your bond with him is much stronger than you believe at the moment. Give it some time. He’ll contact you . . . By then he might even be willing to explain.”

Shara nodded reluctantly, took her drink and downed it in one gulp. “Well, I’ll try to be as understanding as you . . .”

“You will be . . . I’m sure,” Karissa smiled.

Not having much faith in that sentiment or that Tyvek would be contacting her anytime soon, she could feel a melancholy descend upon her.

“It *will* be all right,” Karissa said, trying to ease her sister’s mind and heart.

“We’ll see . . .” was all she said and got to her feet. “I’ll see you around, Sis.”

With that, Shara left to take the long way home. A nice walk would help clear her mind.