Gaele!

Part 9: Lecture

Snow fell gently against the window panes of Gaele's dorm room, and she looked up from her writing to watch the flakes bounce off the glass and disappear into the darkness. Some clung to the wooden panes, sparkling a little from the reflected lamplight on her desk.
Daddy's right, this is a beautiful place, she wrote in her journal. The seasons aren't so bad, after all. Autumn has been fabulous! Daddy came out to see how I was settling in, and took me on a boat trip up the length of Cayuga Lake, one of the famous Finger Lakes of upstate New York. And now, the image of new snow on the still bright foliage  outside is not to be easily forgotten.
I told him that I was glad he had made me come to Cornell. He said Mom was glad for me, too. I'm happy that I had some good news for her, considering it was something Mom needed to hear so badly, considering Seth was now the one stirring up more trouble for the family, in his refusal to return home after Leo's disappearance. Oh, I don't know what to think of Seth. I love hi mdearly, but he can be so wierd!
Like the time he had come home one evening announcing that he had been 'baptized'. He had been going to  worship at some little church down the road, and the more Mom and Daddy questioned him, the more disturbing his answers had become. Daddy punished Seth for his shocking statements about Splinter's teachings, calling them 'Satanic'... but Seth never cried or even sulked as a result of his punishment. The next Sunday, he went and knelt in front of Daddy and apologized to him for his insubordination, and also asked for Mom's forgiveness. Daddy said he was so impressed with Seth's humility that he finally  allowed him to got back to the church's worship services, then everything was quiet for a while,  at least until Splinter's funeral.
And that's not all! Seth found out Leo is his real father, and went off  to India or Nepal (I'm not sure) to find him. Nobody really knows what's going on with Leo, and if he's even right in the head. And maybe Seth would get lost and get attacked by robbers or freeze to death! Needless to say, Mom was very disturbed about all the rumors, and upset with Don for being so supportive of Seth's endeavors. I feel pretty bad about this, myself, I'm worried, too. But I figure maybe Don knows what he's doing? Hard to say, at this point.
And now that I'm on the subject of Don... it 's been over three months since I've seen or heard from him, but apparently he's been very busy. But so am I! I'm in the middle of studying for midterms already... which I should be doing instead of writing, right now...

A huge Biology textbook was open in front of her, and she closed her journal so that she could go back to memorizing Mendel's genetic patterns. Basic stuff... all those dominant and recessive genes... but it was all part of the exam. Reviewing and more reviewing, sometimes it got monotonous, but if she was going to get into those fabulous research labs, she had to know all the boring details. It had been the very thing her mother had been doing for her postgraduate studies... before her accidental discovery and transformation from a sample of some mysterious substance... This was enough to inspire Gaele to not only pass, but to ace the exam as well. This was the thing she wanted to strive for, to get access to that stuff, find out where it was, what it was, where it came from... and who knows, maybe Don would help her...
Her cell phone chirruped from inside her bookbag, startling her out of her reverie. "Oop," she said aloud, rolling her chair back to reach it. "Hi," she said into the receiver.
"Gaele?" Don's TV anchorman voice. "How goes it with you?"
"May I ask who's calling," she said politely, knowing full well who it was, but she felt a bit spooked that he should call just when she was thinking about him.
"Donatello," he said, in his brisk manner. "How are your studies coming along?"
"Oh! Just fine, doing very well, though the profs are grinding my tail down to a sorry little stub."
She heard him chuckle. "This is only your first year. Graduate studies are far more challenging."
Gaele laughed in return. "Well, how would you know, Mr. Independent Studies?"
"Ah, that leads into the very thing I was calling you about. I'll be guest lecturing over at the Bio-Engineering Quadrangle tomorrow evening. It's post-graduate level, but I can slip you in. I thought it would be a refreshing change for you, from all the monotonous scrub work."
"Hah! Thanks a lot, I may be a Freshman, but I'm no Scrub." Gaele said, pretending to be indignant.
"I know that," Don said in a tone that reminded Gaele of the last time she had seen him. "Are you interested?"
"Of course! I'd love to hear your lecture."
A short pause. "I'd like to visit with you afterward, only I've been invited to dinner with some of the heads of the department. I can't turn that down, it wouldn't be polite."
"No, of course not," Gaele agreed.
"I'd like to invite you along, though..."
"What, to dinner with you, and... THEM?"
"Why not? It will do wonders for getting past some of the unnecessary prerequisites... that is, providing you pass the Scrub exams."
"HO, ho."
"But I'm serious about dinner, Gaele. Will you accompany me?"
"Oh, all right, if it will help me for next year," Gaele said lightly. Funny, it was easier to sound nonchalant, than last time.
"Good. Then I'll pick you up at six-thirty."
"See you at the lecture, right?"
"Ah, I might, but I won't be able to talk with you then. You'll have to pretend you are just another student. I'll leave your ticket with Dr. Chang. We're well aquainted."
"You are, huh? Then maybe you could tell him to speak a little slower when he's dictating the notes... drives me nuts, with his heavy accent and all."
"I'll mention it to him."
"Really? But um... don't tell him it was me who said that, okay? I don't want him to pick on me... and try to trip me up on all the tough questions."
"Why not? You can handle it," Don said in a matter of fact tone. "Listen, I'm on my way to a board meeting in Syracuse... see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay, bye."

Darn campus food, this fit me just fine last summer, Gaele grumbled as she let out her breath and held it, to zip up the plum colored suede dress. She bent over and sat a few times experimentally to see if she would hang out too much anywhere, or if the waist would ride up any. Not bad, she thought as she took it off and put it back on the hanger.

The lecture had been strangely coincidental with her thoughts earlier, the main subject touching on the unusual deviations that can occur in natural, and not so natural, animal and human DNA structure. Don had made a light hearted reference to himself and Gaele- much to the amusement of his audience- as a definite, proven example of what the Bio-Engineering circle coined as the product of a genetic fluke.
Now there's a fluke I could definitely live with, one woman had said, with obvious admiration, to Don. Among the laughter and applause, he then caught Gaele's eye, and she smiled and gave him a teasing wink. His eye lingered on her a split second longer, as though in wordless question, as he continued his presentation. She decided not to waste any time trying to talk to him after the lecture was over, but had hurried back to her room to change for dinner.

At six twenty-nine, she heard a knock on her door, and she went to open it. Don was standing there, dressed in his ubiquitous black overcoat, which was dotted with beads of moisture from the precipitation outside. He gave her a polite nod, and Gaele noticed the pupils in his eyes contract a little when he looked at her dress.
"You look nice," he said mildly, as he helped her into her coat.
"Thanks! And you too, as always, you big hunk of genetic fluke product."
He grinned as she laughed, and led her down to the car waiting in front. Snow was falling again, already accumulating on the lawn and tree branches. The wind blew, chilling Gaele's unprotected legs as she climbed into the car.
Dinner was interesting, and the deans listened with what she thought was polite attention to her plans in the field. One of them joked about the ongoing research in "genetic fluke" production, as it were, saying  he was certain that there were easier, much more fun ways to replicate the DNA source... Everyone had a good laugh about that, and a particularly distinguished looking old gentleman seated on the other side of Don gave him a sly wink and a nudge. Don laughed diplomatically in return, and stole a cautious glance at Gaele. She smiled primly in response, and calmly took a sip from her glass.
"They tend to get a bit silly from the champagne," Don said later in apology to Gaele, as they climbed into the limo.
"Hmmm, is that what that was about? I was wondering why they thought 'replicating the DNA source' was so hilarious..." Gaele said in mild sarcasm, and then laughed. "Actually, I feel a bit silly myself. I've never had champagne before. I think that first sip went straight to my head. Hoo boy, is it warm in here."
"Want me to adjust the temperature?"
"Nah." She opened up her coat and he helped her pull off the sleeves. "Ah, that's better," she said, happily flopping back against the seat.
Don grinned at her.
"Whooh, I feel like a stuffed grape," Gaele said, and giggled. "And probably look like one, too. Do you think this dress is too tight?"
"It looks fine to me," Don said gently.
"Birthday present from Mom. I'm legal now, y'know. This is a very fine grade Italian suede. Here," she said, picking up the hem of the dress at her knee. "Feel it."
He raised an eyebrow in a curious look.
Her head spun from the champagne and sudden emotion, and she flung her arms around him. "Please, don't run off on me any more," she murmered into his neck.
"Who's running off on you?" Don carefully extricated himself from her grasp.
"You, you keep running off."
"That's not running off, Gaele... I hate leaving you, don't you know that?" He pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. "You mean a great deal to me."
"I do?"
"Yes. I am very fond of you."
"Ohh." She gazed wide eyed at him. "You really feel that way about me? I mean, you aren't just saying that."
"Of course not," Don said softly, but with emphasis. "You are like a daughter to me."
Gaele's mouth went slack in surprise. "Ah... a daughter?"
He smiled in response. "Might as well tell you this... to make the way clear and avoid any misunderstandings."
"A... daughter."
"Of sorts."
"I already HAVE a father, thank you."
"Well, maybe the correct term is charge, student... even apprentice."
Gaele sat up and shook her head to clear out the fuzziness. "Charge... apprentice... wait a minute. I get it, you struck a deal with Dad, didn't you? Kind of like a protector, aren't you?"
"It's more than that, my dear. It was my doing, and not your father's, that I  take you in and oversee your education, and any other sort of needs you might have."
"Is that right? And what sort of needs might those be?"
"Spiritual... intellectual..." he then seemed to halt in mid sentence.
Gaele squinted at him. "Uh huh, go on."
Don was silent.
Gaele waited, and then looked out the window. She noticed it had started snowing again. Then she looked back at Don, who seemed absorbed in pulling a loose thread from the lapel of his coat.
They arrived at her dorm, and the door opened for them to get out. Don started to get out first to help her up, and Gaele grabbed his arm. "I don't want to go home, yet."
Don settled back in, and stared at her. "Gaele... it's getting late. Don't you think you should be-"
"Please? Can't we do something else? I just-"
"I cannot. You remember what happened last time you stayed with me. Your mother was not terribly pleased, and it took a lot of explaining-"
"I can't go in there, I CAN'T! It's too- it's-" The rest of the words strangled her. She grabbed her coat and pressed it hard against her eyes to stop the tears from coming, but the emotions were too much for her to keep in any longer. After a pause, she heard Don sigh, and then the door closed. The car started up again, and moved off down the drive. When she'd recovered enough to look up, she saw they were back on the main road again.
Don held out a tissue, and she accepted it. When she glanced at him, she saw the sympathetic grin. "I suppose I wouldn't make a very good parent, after all."
"What makes you say that?" She wiped her nose on the tissue and tucked it into her coat pocket.
"Chances would have been quite good that I'd have spoiled you terribly, since I can't bear to see you cry."
"Ah, Don," Gaele giggled a little in spite of herself. "Then all I have to do is burst into tears and I'd get whatever I want?"
"Until I caught on," Don countered lightly."Which, I must warn you, would not take very long."
"Until I thought of something else," Gaele said.
"That would not be much of a challenge, in my case. Admittedly, you have something over on me, in an emotional sense."
"Why is that?"
Don's eyes unfocused, as he looked out his window. "To fill a void."
Gaele turned in her seat to get a better look at him. "What kind of void?"
"An emotional one, obviously."
"I knew that," Gaele said impatiently. "What I meant was, WHY the void?"
In the long silence that followed, Gaele wondered if she'd hit a nerve.
"I'm sorry, I guess it's none of my business," she muttered, looking at her nails.
"It isn't that," Don said. "It's just not easy to explain." His expression softened. "Maybe it would help if you explained why you didn't want to get out of the car, just now?"
"Uhm..." Gaele swallowed the tightness that was forming in her throat again. "It's just that... well, this has been the first time I've been away from home for so long, and... seeing you again reminded me... made me homesick. Makes me miss... my own kind."
Don was nodding slowly, as she spoke the last sentence. "There you have it," he said quietly.
Gaele wiped a tear that started down her cheek. So, he felt that, too... that nameless Thing that had plagued the back of her mind since adolescence, that was apparent in Devon, and Seth, that restless melancholy... knowing they were the only ones... alone, together, in a vast ocean of humanity...
She found herself being held closely by him, his woolen coat scratching her cheek in a pleasant way, his slow heartbeat in her ear. He petted her hair the way Daddy used to do, and she realized just how much she had missed that. She found relief from the burden, a deep comfort that eased the dull ache in her throat, a sense of peace, and security, of warm trust, and the dropping of guards.

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