Chapter Six: Operation High Tail — Part 9
George turns pale, burning under the scrutiny of Jynx, who is currently in a state of dispassion. He is often quick to dismiss women, having the set bigotry of an older gay male who has been encouraged to act as the stereotype for far too long. He is quietly reminded that Jynx has a personality far more powerful than his, and the raw force of will to back it. He doesn’t know what she’s capable of, but he suspects that finding out would be hazardous to his health. He considers the question, intending to remain silent until it becomes apparent that Jynx isn’t going to let him sulk without answering her.
“I won’t let that happen, and that’s a promise.” George says.
Jynx snags a piece of George’s bacon, savoring the flavor, wondering, not for the first time, if the post Storm ecology might take pigs off the menu. “The arch at Queen Wilhelmina State Park is too far away form any of the arches we mapped and we’re only speculating based on our mapping of arch points as to which one will land directly on the town center. We’ll find an arch nearby, and do things the way Captain Joe planned it. In the meantime, we’re kind of on vacation, and the ship probably needs repairs from having been frozen half solid and thawed out so quickly.”
George smiles, knowing that Jynx is still on Captain Joe’s recovery list. “Jude and I can get on that, unless you have something better to do, sweets.”
“You know I hate it when you call me sweets.” Jude grumbles, a hint of a smile there just the same.
Jynx is left wondering at why the odd couple’s bickering affection is both warming to her heart and slightly disturbing to her mind. She ends up following them out to the ship, where Jude and George begin to assess the condition of the tarp and rope for the sails. In time George develops a tension test and determines that the rope has dried with much of its strength intact, implying that very little moisture absorbed into the center of the rope. Then, with Jynx holding a checklist, the two began the lengthy process of inspection for every part of the ship. The Edgewind proved itself in need of minor repairs above deck, where the weather had cracked some of the varnish off of various bamboo surfaces, to some need for drying below deck, where a bit of water had collected in the cargo hold, probably from their many moist encounters during low gravity exchanges.
Considering this, George and Jude begin the slow process of hauling the ship into a gravity field about half that of Earth’s moon, and Jynx helps them by acting as a centering point. George and Jude take the time to search the underbelly for cracks, warps and corrosion. Finding none, George is particularly happy to call it a day, Jude and George bouncing off with less and less recovery as they get into the heavier gravity. Jynx follows them shortly after, finding a lawn chair and sitting next to ChoCho, who has been, according to Jon, sleeping most of the day.
“He will be sleeping for awhile, love.” Jon says.
“Were his injuries that bad?” Jynx asks.
“In the movies, the hero keeps moving on adrenaline alone, fighting the next bad guy for hours on end, with no rest in sight, and while this can happen, it is more realistic that the injured crawl into a corner and either heal or die. After so serious an injury, such as what you’ve experienced, and ChoCho, it may take weeks, even months to fully physically and emotionally recover. We’ve seen him snap after the battle in the Glen, and this looks to have been much more serious confrontation. His physical and emotional recovery will require constant affection and somebody to talk to. Even a hundred years ago, his outlook would have been bleak, because if the wound didn’t kill him, the emotional recovery might just take him anyway.”
“It was a just a little tiff.” Jynx says, her mind racing quietly through everything she saw, how ChoCho had moved with a quiet grace borne of something akin to instinct, powered by desperation. “Beautiful, graceful, and fragile. He had been death, Jon. But nobody died.”
Jon smiled knowingly, hoping Jynx might just crack and let some of the pain come out. In another world, one not shaped by disaster, Jynx might live her life under intense psychological scrutiny. In that world, Jynx might be put in a small room and encouraged to use a lot of crayons while under the influence of mind numbing drugs. Unexpectedly, Jynx let tears fall down her cheeks, putting a hand on ChoCho’s and squeezing gently. As if ashamed, she lets her head drop to her chest. ChoCho’s hand is cold, though she can feel a pulse under her fingers, and can see his chest rise and fall slowly. She can smell blood from the healthy, seeping wound, and she can’t imagine a world without ChoCho.
“If I knew how to do what he did in the same fight, the black creatures who take souls would be everywhere.” Jynx says. “It’s wrong and it makes me a monster and I don’t care because ChoCho will never let me do terrible things again. I feel so bad because I haven’t even been worried about Heath, or Kevin, Captain Joe, and I certainly haven’t cared one way or the other about Kiyoshi. But ChoCho and Heath, they care about everybody. It makes me feel so small inside, like other people have something I don’t.”
“It sounds to me like you need to rest and talk as well. When ChoCho is up and moving, I would like you to help me with his therapy sessions. For now, maybe you should both just take it easy, take some time to heal.”
Jon has heard this kind of talk before, more so since the storm, but also before. It is something characteristic of death. Some people see things when they are about to die, and those things become the basis of stories and myth dating back thousands of years. Jynx must have been very close to death to be talking as she is now. Jon wants to keep her close to those she loves, and it is apparent, despite her wanting it to be different, that she loves ChoCho most of all. Jon pauses for a moment, her face set in the stern, carefully chiseled kind of expression she has had her entire life.
“You have love in your heart.” Jon says. “It’s honest, and it’s focused, and you have never felt it before now, have you?”
“It really is a painful mess, isn’t it?” Jynx says, the calm returning to her voice.
“Yes, but even at its darkest, isn’t love beautiful?”
