S2/02. Bad Blood

2.8 Frank Cage

Spring 1998, Linda's house, Windenburg

Frank tried to wiggle the rocking chair's leg. Perfect, it didn't move nor squeak. It just needed a little bit of glue, a quick fix.

Just recently he'd finished with the last folder of Dr. West's research, and while he waited for Linda to return from work, he passed the time doing her a favor. Funny, that she was so sentimental over her late grandmother's old junk. Usually she was so rational, almost as if she had no feelings at all – except for her plants and science.

But she was more emotional than she gave away, especially when it was about her family. Frank got to know her pretty well lately, and even better since he spent more time with her while studying her father's theories on anti-matter. Here, in her house, Linda insisted, because she'd promised Dr. West that she'd never let someone else have his work. She'd even offered Frank a guest room which he politely declined as he didn't want to cause her extra trouble.

Studying them here turned out to be better than taking the files home anyway. There was always a party somewhere in Bedrock Strait and people came over to his place fairly often. It was more efficient to come here early in the mornings before Linda left for the lab as he could work all day in peace.

And it's been so worth it!

Thanks to Dr. West's discoveries, Frank could easily develop a new drive system for a spaceship based on anti-matter. Once the math was done, the engineering would be a joke. The power outcome should be gigantic – and it could be used for much more than just fuel! Too bad he had to promise Linda not to use the research to develop military equipment. With the dangers that awaited him and the team on Sixam, they could really use a gear upgrade. Just in case, he took notes of every tiny detail, no matter how unimportant it seemed at first glance. He didn't want to rely on a safer and faster ship alone when it was to protect the crew's lives. In a pinch he might put together something on the spot.

Whatever, he'd be forever grateful to Linda and Dr. West – and not to forget, Delilah.

If Frank's sister-in-law hadn't come over a while ago and yelled at him how he'd dare to hurt Linda with his "hypocritical, archaic principles" – of course she'd gotten it all wrong – he'd never guessed that Linda took his disappointment about her having had an affair so seriously that she believed their friendship to be over.

He himself hadn't thought much about it, it'd bugged him a day or two and then he'd almost forgotten about it, the more under the pressure to improve the spaceship before the departure.

By the time he'd be free to talk to her again, she might not want to talk at all.

Delilah might've saved his relationship with Linda, and definitely the next expedition to Sixam. It'd just be great if she'd stopped there and not keep pestering him to finally ask Linda out. Generally he didn't hate the idea, only Delilah trying to push him there.

It wasn't that he'd never thought about it himself, but he couldn't make up his mind if he wanted to or not. Linda was smart, pretty and fun to talk to. And he'd always been fascinated by her, sometimes she was almost like a strange, alien life form from another universe.

He did like her.

But she was also kind of distant, formal, and always closed up about herself, even though they'd known each other for quite a while now. And what he'd seen of her relationship with her former boyfriend he definitely didn't want for himself.

Though it couldn't be all that was about her, could it?

Either way, he had no idea what Linda wanted. They'd spent a lot more time together recently, but he still couldn't tell if she'd like to go out with him or not, so he just never pushed on it.

Just when he finished with the chair, keys turned in the door. 

"Good evening!"

Linda was a little later than usual.

"Hi. Your chair's fixed," he greeted her.

"Really? That's wonderful, thank you!"

She beamed so brightly; Frank almost asked if she hadn't more squeaky furniture to glue. Instead, he pointed at the box she carried.

"What's that?" 

"Oh – today is your birthday, isn't it? A birthday needs a cake," she said matter-of-factly. "I'm not very good at baking, I hope you don't mind one from the store."

Between all the work, Frank'd literally forgotten his own birthday. Today the guys would've certainly surprised him with the obligatory party when he'd be back home.

Though, Linda definitely topped that with her cake. Sometimes she surprised him with how attentive she was, despite often appearing as if she lived on another planet.

"I don't," he smiled and kept holding the door open for the pizza delivery that'd just arrived.

Every day he got dinner in return for Linda leaving the house and unlimited coffee supply to him. With pizza and beer, they watched reruns of Star Toads, their favorite childhood show, before he'd go back home.

Frank, who'd watched it many times with Leroy and Diana when they were kids, knew almost all episodes by heart. He often ended up watching Linda instead. 

She knew it too, but she'd missed a lot and had forgotten more. It was fun to see her watch some episodes for the first time. She laughed at all the silly puns and dumb slapstick jokes while she picked off the tiniest chunks of char from her pizza slice, and she wiped her hands meticulously every time she finished one.

Day after day, she'd loosen up a little and dropped some of her stifling formality that made her so unapproachable. Maybe she just needed more time to warm up to people than others.

Well, a lot more.

She wasn't shy laughing, though, and the longer the episode went on, the more she laughed.

Here she was maybe her most genuine self. She laughed so heartily she almost dropped her cake plate when she fell on the backrest. It was so contagious, Frank had to laugh too.

Until a soft bump against his left shoulder startled him, which became a light weight resting on it.

Linda had caught herself again, but she was still so immersed watching with her eyes glued to the screen, that she didn't notice her new position.

She looked so comfortable.

Maybe it wouldn't be bad if she'd get used to this. Frank at least didn't mind.

He smiled and gently wrapped his arm around her.

Immediately, she shot up.

"Oh! – I didn't mean to –"

Frank chuckled, just pulled her closer, and continued to watch the TV.

Linda shifted a bit in her place but eventually relaxed again. Slowly, carefully, she leaned her head back, but not before she took a deep breath; he could hear her inhale sharply. As if she was afraid to do something wrong.

His smile grew wider.

She was so shy, it was kind of funny.

She'd calm down eventually, they weren't school kids anymore.

Or not.

Eventually she started moving around again, and he could feel her eyes resting on him.

On her face was a huge question mark. 

What was there to explain?

He answered her silent question by letting his hand wander up her neck, and stroke through her hair. Soft, silky, and thick. Her bun was almost dissolved.

He leaned forward, and she closed her eyes.

Just before their lips touched, he froze.

What the hell was he thinking?

This was Linda, for god's sake, not just a random hook up!

He had to be careful with her, the last thing he wanted was to hurt her – way to go, going along with the heat of a moment!

If there was one thing he was sure about, it was that he wasn't exactly the relationship type of guy – on the contrary.
The last time he called someone "girlfriend", was in college; almost ten years ago, and it ended anything but well. 

Rosa's jealousy was a pain in the ass, though Frank wouldn't have won a trophy for best boyfriend either. 

He had so many other, more important things on his mind. His classes, paid by the military, his part-time job, and of course his family; Leroy and Diana always came first. And Diana in particular had a rough time after he left San Myshuno, which Rosa couldn't understand. 

The relationship had been a disaster.

Both were better off without each other; and strangely relieved when it finally ended.

But now times were different. 

Both of Frank's siblings did so great.

Leroy had his own little family and a safe job at a catering company, and Diana too, stood on her own feet – instead of letting some asshole "boyfriend" keep and abuse her in one way or another.

His siblings didn't need him anymore.

It was kind of bittersweet, but Frank wouldn't have it another way.

Now he had all the time in the world for a relationship.

He just – didn't have one.

Not for lack of chances, and maybe the women he saw weren't even bad choices. But somehow he'd always avoided knowing them well enough to find out.

Guess he just wasn't made for it, even though he was a family man through and through.

Not only his siblings but also his niece Lana was his world; he'd been there since she was born and he couldn't imagine loving his own kids more than her.

Maybe he should try and find out?

Maybe it was time to give real, serious dating a chance again, instead of finding excuses for why he shouldn't ask Linda out. He certainly liked her well enough – but because of that, he also had to be one hundred –  no, one thousand percent sure that it could work between them.

He needed more time to think.

"I have to go to the lab."

Wait – what did he just say?

He never lied!

"At this hour?" Linda was surprised, and rightfully so as he'd just killed the mood.

"Yeah, I need to start building the prototype before I'll leave... I don't have much time left."

Okay, it wasn't exactly a lie, but it was such a lame excuse –

"I see."

She held her composure well.

It tasted bitter.

Couldn't he just be honest?

If she was the right one, he shouldn't be afraid to tell her the truth: that he just wanted to take it a little slower. No big deal, right?

"Let's have dinner together again soon," he said.

It was a genuine invitation, but under these circumstances it felt more like the half-assed attempt to soothe a very awkward rejection.

Of course she felt it too.

"I would like that," she he mustered up a small smile, very politely, as she always was.

Closed up.

"Good night, Linda."

"Good night, Frank."

S2/01. Trash Talk

1.5 Linda West
Spring 1998, Linda's house, Windenburg

Linda watched her cup of tea. The afternoon sun drew golden circles on the clear amber surface and below it danced a few stray black tea flakes. How easy it must be to be one of them, dancing and not having to worry ever. Of course they could not, they had no brains and no consciousness that would let them. But what if they had, Linda wondered, would they worry about being poured out in the drain once the cup was empty and rinsed? Or would they dance even wilder, if they were aware that their life soon would change so drastically – well, not life, certainly, they did not meet the six criteria to be classified as such, however – 

"– right, Linda?"

Hearing her name pulled her out of her mellow musings. "Oh – I suppose so," she hoped she had picked the right reply, but agreeing was usually never a bad choice.

"Of‌ ‌course‌ ‌you‌ ‌would!"‌ ‌ The normally gentle Delilah‌ ‌exclaimed‌ ‌with‌ ‌more‌ ‌fervor‌ ‌than‌ ‌usual. Linda‌ ‌ felt‌ ‌guilty‌ ‌that‌ ‌she‌ ‌wasn't paying closer attention.‌ ‌She‌ ‌did‌ ‌not‌ ‌want‌ ‌to‌ ‌be‌ ‌impolite,‌ ‌but‌ ‌it‌ ‌became‌ ‌hard‌ ‌to‌ ‌follow‌ ‌the‌ ‌ discourse‌ ‌of‌ ‌her‌ ‌guests,‌ ‌as‌ ‌she‌ had‌ ‌little‌ ‌to‌ ‌add‌ ‌to‌ ‌it.‌ ‌

"Education‌ ‌is‌ ‌the‌ ‌most‌ ‌important‌ thing ‌for‌ ‌a‌ ‌child,"‌ ‌Delilah‌ ‌continued,‌ ‌"Madeleine,‌ ‌you'll‌ ‌absolutely‌ ‌‌have‌‌ ‌to‌ ‌insist‌ ‌on‌ ‌sending‌ ‌Brandon‌ ‌to‌ ‌a‌ ‌private‌ ‌school‌ ‌if‌ ‌you‌ ‌can‌ ‌afford‌ ‌it.‌ ‌Leroy‌ ‌and‌ ‌I‌ ‌will certainly‌ ‌‌be doing‌ ‌our‌ ‌best‌ ‌to‌ ‌get‌ ‌Mikey‌ ‌in somewhere‌ ‌once‌ ‌he's‌ ‌old‌ ‌enough."‌ 

She‌ ‌gently‌ ‌rocked‌ ‌the‌ ‌baby's‌ ‌bassinet.‌

Madeleine Sanford nodded with grim determination. 

Oh,‌ ‌so‌ ‌they had‌ ‌finished‌ ‌discussing‌ ‌the‌ ‌best‌ ‌techniques‌ ‌for‌ ‌changing‌ ‌diapers‌, ‌and‌ ‌which‌ ‌formula‌ ‌is‌ ‌the‌ ‌least‌ ‌likely‌ ‌to‌ ‌cause‌ ‌diarrhea,‌ ‌and‌ ‌had arrived at‌ ‌elementary‌ ‌schools.‌ ‌Possibly‌ ‌a‌ ‌natural‌ ‌development.

"What about you Linda?" Madeleine suddenly addressing her confused her once more. 

"Well...", Linda gathered herself, "if I had any children, of course I'd wish to send them to a good school." But she had none, and she was not particularly upset about it. She wondered if she, too, would develop a sudden interest in formula and diaper contents if she was a mother. Somehow the idea was rather unpleasant.

The other redhead giggled. "Oh – of course you would!" Madeleine's eyes gained a suspicious spark. "Say, if you've thought about it already," – Linda had not until this very moment – "does that mean you have met someone new – and noteworthy?"

Delilah had the same spark, except her eyes sparked maybe even a little more.



"I- uh..." Linda muttered. She certainly could think of a person or two she'd consider noteworthy, but she also understood that the question meant someone noteworthy to have a romantic relationship with. Have children with.

"I have not," Linda replied honestly.

Madeleine's face fell immediately. "Oh well, you will find the right one in due time," she added with notably less interest than before. "I must excuse myself now, my dears, but I have to prepare dinner for the boys and Jesse."

The women exchanged polite pleasantries and Linda and Delilah accompanied Madeleine to the door. As soon as it closed, Delilah sharply inhaled. Her eyes sparked even more than before.

"You have someone in mind, right?" She almost burst from excitement. "I noticed when you were hesitating. Oh – and I understand, you don't want to spill the beans before it's all safe and sound, of course, I'm all for going slow – well, Leroy and I didn't exactly go slow, but it's the better way, right – "

"Dee!" Linda cried out. "I have no idea what you're talking about!" She was completely lost. The last person she had dated was Brian, but he had been gone for a while, and everyone knew it.

Delilah flashed a pitiful smile. "About Frank, of course! You're seeing him! Literally everyone is – oh!" She stopped suddenly, hesitating before she continued. "It's actually quite ugly gossip... Leroy's friends think you and Frank – that's... and that's why he's not on Rosa's side. Oh, of course I told them to stop with that nonsense!" she added fiercely. "But... honestly, I think it's lovely that you two are dating."

Linda's heart felt suddenly heavy. She had not seen Frank, not‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌last‌ ‌two‌ ‌weeks,‌ ‌and‌ ‌they‌ ‌had certainly never seen‌‌ ‌each‌ ‌other romantically.‌ ‌

"You are mistaken," she said, "we have never dated."

"But..." Delilah's face fell, "you two get along so well! I'm sure he admires you, he's always looking for you when there is a gathering," Delilah explained. "And you're always smiling when he's around. You seem to perfectly understand each other. It's just – perfect. If you haven't dated yet, you should definitely start to – "

"Delilah!" Linda had to stop her friend's enthusiasm. Delilah was probably right – maybe Frank and Linda could have been a perfect match, but she doubted that it mattered anymore. She wasn't even sure if they were still friends.

"I don't think he even still likes me." In a few short words she explained what had happened between her and Frank two weeks ago. "I haven't spoken to him since," she finished.

"Wait – why haven't I ever heard about mysterious married guy?!" Apparently that was the only thing Delilah cared about.

"Uhm..." Linda was a little lost, "he wasn't really important? Just a pastime..."

Delilah shot her another pitiful glance. "I'll let it go this one time, because it's been years ago. But next time you have to tell me about your adventures!" She giggled. 

"As for Frank," Delilah sighed and took a meaningful break, "he'll come around. My brother-in-law is not an idiot – usually. I'd not be surprised if he weren't just a little disappointed that you may have dated literally everyone but him." She smirked mischievously.

Linda laughed. "I don't think it's that!" But for the moment she felt a little lighter. Delilah was certainly right and her misstep could not have had enough impact on Frank's friendship with her to destroy it.

"You never know what's in a guy's head!" Delilah tsked. "He is a little busy right now, but I know what I see, and that's a lot of chemistry. You'll see, before you know, you'll be married and seriously considering which school you want to send your children to!" She winked.

"Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself here?" Linda giggled. Delilah's prediction sounded horrible and hilarious at the same time. But surprisingly less horrible than Linda would have thought. Maybe even –

"Wouldn't it be nice?" Delilah smiled warmly. "And we'd be real sisters too. Well... by law, but still."

Forgotten were Frank and any potentially horrible predictions. Delilah's last words made Linda wonder if her friend had always felt a bit left out. She'd been an orphan since early childhood, and had no relatives. Of course, the West family had embraced Delilah with open arms once she and Linda became friends, and the blonde girl had spent a lot of time in their house. But it must have felt different to be just a friend, and not a family member. 

Linda‌ ‌wished‌ ‌she‌'d‌ ‌been‌ ‌kinder‌ ‌to‌ ‌her‌ ‌when‌ ‌they‌ ‌first‌ ‌met.‌ ‌Delilah‌ ‌only‌ ‌got‌ ‌the‌ ‌chance‌ ‌to‌ ‌attend ‌Linda's‌ ‌prestigious‌ ‌High‌ ‌School‌ ‌by‌ ‌sheer‌ ‌luck‌ ‌of‌ ‌getting‌ ‌a‌ ‌"pity‌ ‌spot".‌ ‌The‌ ‌school‌ ‌let‌ ‌a‌ ‌few‌ ‌very‌ ‌poor‌ ‌teenagers‌ ‌study‌ ‌there‌ ‌as‌ ‌long‌ ‌as‌ ‌they‌ ‌worked‌ ‌hard‌ ‌and‌ ‌behaved‌ ‌well.‌ ‌

Delilah,‌ ‌in‌ ‌her‌ ‌shabby,‌ ‌second hand‌ ‌school‌ ‌uniform‌, ‌was‌ ‌not‌ ‌very‌ ‌popular, but she'd‌ ‌picked ‌Linda‌ ‌to‌ ‌be‌ ‌her‌ ‌new‌ best‌ ‌friend‌, ‌and‌ ‌sought‌ ‌her‌ ‌out‌ ‌whenever possible. Linda‌ ‌suspected‌ ‌it was‌ ‌because‌ ‌she‌ ‌was‌ ‌‌also‌‌ ‌not‌ ‌very‌ popular,‌ ‌and‌ ‌tried‌ ‌to‌ ‌keep‌ ‌her‌ ‌distance, but‌ ‌Delilah‌ ‌was‌ ‌cheerful‌ ‌and‌ ‌kind‌ ‌to‌ ‌Linda‌, ‌and‌ ‌quickly grew on her.

Linda took the other woman's hands. "You were always my sister, Delilah, and always will be" she said. "It does not matter who our husbands are. And I know Mae feels the same."

Delilah was visibly touched.

She blinked a few times, then giggled.

"Can't hurt if we're sisters in-law too, right? Make sure you get that man, okay?"
Linda smiled.

She was convinced Delilah read too much into Frank's feelings for her, but she actually wasn't entirely opposed to give it a try. 

If Delilah was right.

20.2 Another Wedding

Spring 1998, Basílica

Mae felt like she was melting. Even though the last month had been cold for the average spring, the temperatures had risen too high during the last days. Mae was glad she had chosen a light dress in the last second before leaving. The men had also taken off their jackets, and some even their ties.

On her left side, Herbert discussed the latest baseball season with Leroy. 

On her right side, Linda talked in science chinese with Frank. They didn't look bored, but maybe it wasn't boring if you actually understood that language. 

Opposite to her, Delilah and Diana discussed about potty training while Diana tried to stuff some food into her daughter.

And Mariella was playing somewhere with Bella out of her sight.

She looked over to the other table, where she saw the others discussing heavily, and talk insistently to Rosa. She noticed Francesco was gone.

She chuckled. Mae pitied him somehow.

"I have to use the bathroom", she lied, and then and got up.

She was bored to death here. 

The bathroom was refreshingly cool, opposite to the outside.

Mae looked at herself in the mirror. Last week, her sister had asked her if she knew what she wanted to do.

She still didn't.
She still hadn't managed to tell Herbert anything. Instead, she had secretly switched back to contraception.
Secretly.

She knew very well that this couldn't go on like this. She had to pull herself together. 

She sighed, then washed her hands and went out of the bathroom. 

On her way back, she almost ran into Francesco.

"You had enough of being exhibition object no. 1?", she teased him.

He chuckled, while turning off his cigarette on the floor. 

But his face turned serious quickly.

"Mae...", he started slowly.

"Don't." she cut him off. She didn't need any excuses.

He looked at her, as if he tried to figure out what she was thinking.

"Are we okay, then?", he asked after a few seconds.
"Don't worry", she confirmed.

She leaned on the wall next to him. There were like thousands of things swirling in her mind. And about a thousand things she wanted to say. She didn't know where to start, so she didn't say anything after all.

He leaned back too, and took a deep breath.

For a while, noone said anything.

"Francesco?", Mae heard Rosa's quiet voice. "I think I have a headache... could you bring me home?"

"...Sure", she saw him answer, when she looked to her side.

"Good bye, Mae", he said to her before they left.

She pulled up a smile.

Mae leaned back on the cool wall. She was glad she hadn't said anything. It was no use talking about what had happened in the past. He was married. He even had a kid, from what her friend's had told her. He had moved on. 

And she had her own problems to solve.

So she pulled herself together and moved on.

18.1 Graduation

Winter 1998, West residence

Linda finally arrived home. Today had been a hard day. She finally had had her hearing about her doctorate thesis she had submitted. The examiners had been harsh on her, and even though she was more than well prepared, she had needed sometimes to think about their questions.

She was just glad it was over.

Now she looked forward to just relax, maybe take a bath, and read some fiction for a change.

But when she opened the door and started the lights, the room was packed full.

"Congratulations on your Doctorate!", about twenty voices cried out.

"Oh my!" Linda was definitely surprised. "Mae, what's this?", she asked her sister.

"A graduation party for you!", Mae replied cheerfully.

"How did you know I'd pass?", Linda asked her.

"Come on...", her sister said, "You're maybe the smartest person I know, and you work like crazy! There's no chance in the world you wouldn't!"

Maybe that was a bit exaggerated, but Linda still felt flattered a little bit.

"Let me guess – you even got maximum points?", Mae asked then.

"Uhm... yeah", Linda admitted shyly.

"I knew it!"

"Congratulations, you sweet little scientist!", now Brian went forward, and kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Thank you!"

And then Delilah. "Congratulations, Linda! I'm so proud of you!" She hugged her tightly.

"Thank you, Dee!"

"Congratulations! Want a Margherita? Leroy made some, they're quite good!", Diana said to her. It seems everyone wanted to talk to her now.

"Thanks... ", Linda said, taking the glass.

"What did you work on?", Leroy asked her, "Dee said something with plants?"

Linda wasn't used to so much attention.

"Yes, I got some alien plant samples from the SRC. I sequenced their genome code", she explained.

"Really?! So you managed!", Frank said. Linda distantly remembered she might have told him once something about her doctorate work. But she wasn't sure how much anymore, or when it was.

"That plant still gives a big head ache to the astrobiologists at the SRC!", he continued.

Ah yes, he worked there, too.

"Hey Frank, shut up with the nerd talk!", Paolo interrupted him now. "Others want to congratulate her too!"

This was gonna be a long night, Linda thought.

But she was happy.