Tiona (a sequel to "Vaz") by Laurence Dahners Read Free Book Online Page B

who had homes still ate at the shelter.
    Judging from the kind of worn, though clean, clothing Tiona wore, the frugal lunches she packed, and the fact that she ate dinner at the homeless shelter, Nolan thought she must be very poor. He’d decided she must be trying to get through grad school as cheaply as possible to avoid building up debt. Probably her family, if she even had one, didn’t have the money to help her get through school. Nolan’s family, though not wealthy, had enough money to help him get through school without going into debt. As he watched Tiona struggle he appreciated his own family’s help more and more.
    The only time he’d ever heard Tiona speak of her family was the time she’d attributed her expensive little speakers to her father. He wondered if she’d actually gotten them at a secondhand store or something and was just too embarrassed to say so.
    He also found himself respecting the young woman. He’d like to help her. In fact, he found her very attractive. Not just her pixie face, but her obviously brilliant mind. He chuckled to himself; I can’t be lusting after her body. With the clothes she wears I have no idea what her body looks like!
    Whether or not he felt attracted to her seemed to matter very little. It seemed like she hardly noticed that he was alive. He’d tried inviting her along when he went out for beers with a few of his buddies and to a Tar Heel basketball game he’d managed to get tickets for. She always had something else to do.
    For a few moments he considered just giving up, but then, remembering the stories about his father’s persistent pursuit of Nolan’s mother, he resolved to keep trying. So far, he hadn’t gone to anything like the lengths his father had.
     
    Tiona sat staring sightlessly at her experimental set up, her mind running in circles. Nolan’s membranes didn’t move when she applied her current, but she realized she had no idea what that meant. The fact that hers moved, but his stayed stationary even at very high currents, didn’t actually help her understand why hers were moving.
    Nolan said, “Tiona?”
    “Uh-huh,” she said, not looking up, but feeling a little irritated at the interruption.
    “My family puts on a big feed for Thanksgiving. We’d love it if you came over Thursday afternoon.”
    As she was so distracted, it took Tiona a moment to process the request. He’s trying to feed me again! she thought. She turned to look at him, “Um, thank you for the invitation, but I’m going to be spending Thanksgiving with my family in Raleigh.” Realizing with some amusement that she’d eaten most of the apple he’d given her, she tossed the core into the trash.
    “Oh, okay. Maybe some other time.” Nolan turned back to his desk, leaving Tiona wondering what was going on with him. Handsome, steady, stable, nice friendly generous, just the kind of guy Mom would think I should marry. Bland, boring, unexciting, just the kind of guy I could never fall in love with.
     
    ***
     
    Lisanne looked around the room at the family members who had gathered for Thanksgiving. Lisanne’s dad and her brother were watching football on the big screen. Vaz’s dad had passed a couple of years ago or he would have been sitting in there watching the game as well. Lisanne’s sister-in-law, her mom and Vaz’s mom were in the kitchen with her, each making different parts of the big meal. Dante and his fiancée sat in the breakfast nook talking seriously about their wedding plans. Tiona and her cousins were up in her room where they had gathered when they were kids.
    Unsurprisingly, Vaz became more and more fidgety with all the people in the house and eventually said he needed to check on something in his lab down in the basement. Lisanne suspected her husband wouldn’t be back out of the basement until she called him for dinner. Vaz did this every year at Thanksgiving though, so no one really even noticed it anymore. In the past she’d tried to get him to