Chapter Twenty

Back in Bluewater, the gossip and innuendo had reached a crescendo. It seemed everywhere Wanda turned these days, she couldn't escape it. All she heard in town was that she'd slept with a college professor and had his baby, then hidden it from her loving and devoted husband. Sweet, kind-hearted little Wanda Tinker, the dutiful toymaker's wife, had hidden a deep dark secret for many years. Now pretty much all of Bluewater knew Melody was not the late Stephen Tinker's child, making Wanda feel even worse about the situation than she already did.
The rumors also persisted about Melody's sexuality and general all-around "oddness," another hot topic of conversation in the Village. Wanda tried her best to diffuse them, but they spread like wildfire despite her denials.
It was a bittersweet moment for her as she reflected on the changes that had taken place in the lives of her family -- Stephen's death, Melody's departure, and the revelation that Stephen wasn't Melody's father after all. Deep down, Wanda feared for Harmony's life and future. Would she end up like Melody -- defiant, rebellious, and generally a royal thorn in Wanda's side?
Wanda's thoughts also turned to the man she believed was Melody's biological father, her former physics professor Dr. Marcel Hyden. She wondered what he was doing, where he was, how he was doing. Was he married? Did he have other children? How had his life turned out? How might her life have been different had she been with him instead of Stephen?
After her trip to Bluewater Baths and Salon in a last-ditch effort to recapture some of her lost youth, Wanda walked into Le Magnifique Restaurant to treat herself to a meal. There she got a host of dirty looks from the patrons as she was led to her seat.
The only thing keeping Wanda's sanity intact was her weekly chats over tea, coffee, and pastries with Florence Delarosa. Florence, out of the entire town, was the only person who refused to turn her back on the suddenly lonely widow. She truly felt sorry for Wanda, felt that a woman like Wanda did not deserve the hand she'd been dealt. Her daughter ran off to college, then her husband passed away, then the house of cards that had been her charmed little life came crashing down around her. Wanda would even take little Harmony with her, and the child would happily play around in the flower beds.
"My husband used to say all the time, he thought Melody might have been a nun in a previous life, for all the time she spent studying and working on her projects," Wanda said while sipping coffee. "He used to call her his little sky princess."
"I'd love to have a child someday," Florence said wistfully. "Unfortunately, I spend so much time with the flower shop that I don't really have much time to socialize. But if I were to have a child, I'd want her to be just like your Melody."
Wanda brightened. "Seriously?"
"Seriously. You know, I was on the Sim City Arts Council, the committee that determined the winner of the student art contest a couple years back. I saw your daughter's painting."
Wanda was stunned. "Really?" she asked.
"She has a lot of talent and a lot of potential. Too much potential as an artist for it to go to waste, if you ask me. You think it's at all possible -- I know she's wrapped up in school and her scientific interests -- but is it at all possible you could convince her to take up painting again?"
"I don't know, Florence. She just seems to want to know as much as she can about as many different things as she can. She just loves to learn, always has. She gets that from her father. That's why I think Le Tour is perfect for her."
"A girl as gifted as she is," Florence smiled, "can probably do absolutely anything."

Melody, meanwhile, was blossoming at Academie Le Tour. Through her hard work, she had made the dean's list, and found herself surrounded by a steady group of loyal friends for the first time in her life, friends who were willing to help her and protect her at all costs. She was amazed and mystified as to how this happened. She was the same person she always was, and she wondered why all of a sudden people were drawn to her, instead of running away from her like they did in high school. These new friends understood that she preferred to keep her own company, and gave her her space when she requested it, but at the same time she was learning that research was much more fun with a group.
Melody involved herself even deeper in her paranormal activities. Besides maintaining her website, she and Chester Gieke started the Astronomy Club for like-minded students. The pair, along with Marla, Edwin, and other students they'd enlisted, went around campus passing flyers everywhere. All they needed was a faculty sponsor. Not to mention, besides investigating paranormal activity and studying mathematics and astronomy, she had resumed her robot building hobby and taken up computer programming. Not bad for a young woman whose ever-present thirst for knowledge was such that she used to lock herself in libraries just to learn more. She could feel her mind expanding more than it ever had before. She found there was so much to do, so much she wanted to do -- and so little time for her to do it.
On the notices section right by Dr. Hyden's office, he had posted an advertisement for a student assistant, someone who would help him with students, grade papers, and also do some speaking in public. "You know the dean's looking for an assistant," Melody muttered during a research session.
"I heard about that," Edwin answered. "I think you should go for it."
"Me?" Melody asked, pointing at herself with disgust.
"Why not?" replied Chester, looking at her. "You'd be perfect. You already know the material."
"But it requires public speaking."
"So? You can't talk in public?"
"I freeze out when I'm practicing charisma in front of a mirror, what do you think would happen if I'm talking in a room full of people?"
Marla smiled. "You'll do fine, Mel. You'll see."
Chester, the jokester of the bunch, added, "Imagine all those suits in their underwear. That should loosen you up."
"Seriously though, if the topic is something you're interested in," said Edwin, "it should just flow. You'll forget you're talking in public."

The popularity of Melody's website captured the attention of Dr. Marcel Hyden, dean of the astronomy department at Le Tour, and he called Melody into his office right after class. "We were able to trace the website address to you, Miss Tinker," he said, stroking his chin.
Melody's heart beat about four thousand times a minute as she realized that she was in the presence of the man her mother said was her biological father. She looked upon him with awe and reverence as her cheeks blushed. As she looked around his office, all the telltale signs of his profession were glaringly evident -- walls lined with books, ungraded papers on his desk, posters of aliens and the solar system, and unfinished scientific experiments. Tongue-tied and fidgety, Melody took deep breaths as she reluctantly sat down opposite him.
"A very intriguing project you've embarked on," he said, looking directly into her face. "Is there any -- personal reason you've started this?"
"No special reason," replied Melody, taking deep breaths in between her deliberate statements, "I'm -- I'm just wanting to find out how many alien abductions there have been and how many people are scared to come forward."
Dr. Hyden smiled. "Have you always had this interest?"
"Yes," Melody replied. "I've always felt that we weren't alone in the universe."
Dr. Hyden forced himself to gaze into the eyes of the young woman seated before him. They were hauntingly, strangely familiar. The two of them stared at each other a good long while. The physical resemblance was apparent and obvious. And so, too, thought Melody, was the similarity in interests. The situation was awkward, to say the least.
Filing this in the back of his mind, Dr. Hyden changed the subject. "Have you selected a major, Miss Tinker?" he asked.
"Yes," she said. "I've decided to major in astronomy."
"You want to study the stars?"
Melody nodded her head yes.
"There's more to astronomy than just stargazing, Miss Tinker," he told her.
"I know that," she smiled. "That's what I'd love to learn. All the little nuances, even about extraterrestrial life."
Dr. Hyden shook his head. This Melody Tinker intrigued him. At first, she was shy and awkward, stuttering over her words, shuffling her feet and avoiding his gaze. But as soon as the topic turned to astronomy, it was as if a beam of light had cut through the awkwardness as she lit up within. He remembered that feeling. It was the exact one he'd had, when he'd first discovered the universe and all its possibilities. She reminded him a lot of his favorite niece Delilah, also a student at the Academie, who possessed this same otherworldly passion -- only it was for art.
After Melody left, Dr. Hyden templed his fingers and gazed down at Melody's profile, pondering. Looking back at his life, he wondered how things could have been. Was he so single-minded in the pursuit of one goal, only to have it consume his entire life?
He had never found his heart. He'd spent too many years analyzing every possible nuance, that the part of his heart that stored away love, had shrunken and withered away to dust. Or had it?
Was there someone out there who would show him the way after all? He shook his head, his heart and soul belonged to Academie Le Tour now. Besides, he decided, he was far too old to chase dreams and fantasies.

Every day after classes Chaz met Melody in the parking lot of Aldrich dorm for driving lessons. Obediently, Melody pulled into the curb at the end of Aldrich Avenue where her dorm was, turned the ignition off, and glared hard at Chaz. Immediately he pulled his hand from her knee. "Are you going to teach me to drive or not?" she asked angrily, her eyes hard as stones beneath her glasses.
Chaz blushed crimson. "Sorry," he murmured. He definitely wasn't going to get anywhere with this ice queen at all.
And right after driving lessons there was math tutoring. As time went on, Melody became pleased with the progress Chaz was making -- and, secretly, with the fact that she was able to help. This 'odd pairing' certainly had dorm residents shaking their heads, even more so when, after dinner, they were playing rock-paper-scissors in the dorm cafeteria. Even more shocking was that Chaz had managed to elicit laughter out of the usually dour Melody with his playfulness. "You know, you're not half bad," Chaz said. "It isn't often I can play rock-paper-scissors with a girl."
Melody flashed him a surreptitious, mischievous grin. "Well, you obviously haven't met me yet."
"Hah!" Chaz chuckled. There was a wicked glint in his eyes. "Is that a challenge?" he asked.
Normally Melody wouldn't try to rise to the occasion, but she needed a welcome break. "I can beat you hands down," she said, grinning broadly.
"Try me."
"Okay, what's first?"
"How about a game of pool."
"Heh," sniggered Chaz, "easy peasy. I learned from the best. You're on."
The pair of them walked to the pool table. Melody watched intently as Chaz set up the balls in a rhythmic order. "You first," she said.
"Nah, I'm a gentleman. It's always ladies first."
"Fine, if you say so," Melody grinned. Walking toward the cue ball, she aimed her pool stick right at it. She watched Chaz land the first shot. "Not bad," she murmured.
"Like I said," he bluffed, "I learned from the best. My dad was a world-class hustler."
We'll just see about that, Melody thought to herself. Over the course of the next half-hour, Chaz could not believe what he was seeing. This girl, this 'geeky' girl, was taking him to the cleaners. His face fell to the floor as he watched Melody pot the final ball. "That was a fluke!" he protested. "My dad taught me all the moves!"
Melody just smiled as he handed over the money. Grumbling under his breath, he turned away.
"You could always have a rematch," called Melody, feeling slightly guilty.
Chaz slouched off, waving his hand dismissively, "Nah, you're okay," he said, "I don't fancy getting slaughtered by you a second time. I'll take my chances with someone else."
Melody stepped up to Chaz, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's okay," she said, handing the money back to him. "It was a simple question of mathematics. That's all. Once I worked out all the angles, it was pretty straightforward. Besides, I really don't need this. I just wanted to take a break from studying." She continued to explain the different angles of the pool balls. "So, when I cued the balls, they scattered in all sorts of different directions. It looks chaotic, but there's a simple pattern to it all, one where angles play a key role. Let's take the six ball for instance. It was located perpendicular to the five-ball but was at a forty-five-degree angle to the pot...."
Chaz shrugged his shoulders and looked directly at her, a broad smile spread across his face. "I guess I don't really know you at all," he said, curling her fingers over the bunch of simoleans in her hand. "You take it."
"No," replied Melody, taken slightly aback, "I don't need it."
"Listen kid," came the reply, "you won it, fair and square." Chaz crossed the room, then turned to look at Melody. "I guess there's a lot to learn from you." He winked, sticking his thumbs up and vanished out the door. His wallet was a little lighter but his respect for Melody had grown a little deeper.

It so happened that Melody was passing by Delilah O'Feefe's rental house and handed her a flyer advertising the latest Astronomy Club meeting. Delilah, like Melody, was tall and beautiful, with dark, silky hair. Melody caught Delilah's eye, and she invited her in.
"Your apartment looks cozy," Melody said, warming herself with a cup of Delilah's hot coffee. "Thanks." Delilah gave Melody a warm smile. "So, your name's Melody, right? Edwin was telling me, you're in his calculus class."
Melody nodded.
"So, what are you majoring in?" Delilah couldn't help but notice the physical similarities between herself and the girl she'd invited in her apartment.
"Astronomy, with a concentration in applied mathematics."
Delilah was impressed. "I'm an art major." The girls spoke for quite a long while about their chosen interests. When Delilah talked about loving to paint, and wanting to become an artist, Melody couldn't resist telling her about her experiences with art, even to the point of bragging that she'd been Darren Dreamer's apprentice. "You were Darren Dreamer's apprentice?" Delilah asked, astonished. "God!" Melody gazed at Delilah in awe. Delilah had the sophistication and worldliness that Melody wished she had, and Delilah herself longed for Melody's innocence about the way the world worked.
"Dr. Hyden's doing a lecture series on the big bang theory of the origin of the universe."
"Uncle Marcel and his silly theories about aliens." Delilah laughed.
But she looked over at Melody and saw her frown. "Uncle Marcel?" Melody asked.
"Yeah, Dr. Hyden is my uncle. His sister, Dahlia Hyden O'Feefe, was my mother."

The name Dahlia O'Feefe sounded familiar to Melody. When she was studying art history, she'd seen some of Dahlia's abstract paintings. Just then she got a mental image, of a tall and stunningly beautiful woman in a foreign country, surrounded by bohemian artists and philosophers. I don't believe this, she thought, this girl and I are cousins! And Dahlia O'Feefe was my aunt!
"After my mom died, Uncle Marcel took me in, and then took me here, where he taught, says he wanted to keep an eye on me."

Wires and motherboards littered the landscape at Chester Gieke's off campus apartment at Focaccia Place. Moldy pizza boxes and cartons of day-old Chinese food were also scattered about, along with the distinctive smell of a soldering iron mixing with sweaty socks. It was this atmosphere to which Melody had come, again. The pair of them constantly together definitely had tongues wagging around Academie Le Tour. And the fact that she'd be there until four in the morning -- that really had them talking.
Mostly, though, she wanted to tinker with his brand-new toy, a Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer from the early 1980s that he'd purchased with his grant money off Simbay for his computer science class, that he had bragged about in chat.
"I didn't know you took up programming," Chester asked.
Melody's insatiable curiosity was piqued as she sat down in front of the Spectrum, examining its keys and wondering what every function was. "I dabbled in it a little bit, yeah, what with the toy robots. I'm also taking computer science, learning BASIC and stuff."
"Sounds fascinating." Chester grinned. "Hey, you never finished telling me what happened that night."
"What night?" Melody asked.
"The night you were abducted."
Melody looked back at Chester, stopping her typing for one moment. "There isn't much I remember about it, actually. All I remember is going out to stargaze after I'd had an argument with my mom, and being beamed up on the mothership --"
"Well, what happened when you got on the mothership?"
Melody briefly changed the subject. "You had to program every single BASIC command by hand?"
Chester leaned over. "Yeah, quite a challenge, and you'd need plenty of patience. Now, what happened on the mothership again?"
"All I could see were green bipeds with huge black eyes, all staring at me. It was like they could see right through me. There I was, standing in my school uniform. I must have been quite a sight for them to see."
"And then what happened?"
"I don't remember much else, except there was this extremely bright light shining in my eyes. I didn't know where I was or if I'd ever return. I couldn't see the ground below because I was so far above everything. It was like I'd prepared my whole life for it to happen, I'd wanted it to happen so badly, I'd known it would happen because I'd believed it would happen, and when it did happen, I didn't know how to react. And I knew nobody would believe me because everyone in Bluewater thought I was a kook anyway. Especially my parents. They'd have had me committed to an asylum if I'd have told them."
"So they blocked your memory."
"And pretty much as soon as they'd picked me up, I was ejected from the ship back onto Eagle Lane, right in front of my house. The entire trip had taken about four earth hours, but only a few minutes in their time. I was looking at the clock, it was about two in the morning. My parents and baby sister were asleep. So I got onto the computer and I told you."
Chester grinned again. "Hey, how's your website going?"
Melody chuckled as she turned off the Spectrum and switched to his much more modern Moneywell. "I'm getting so many hits on it, I can hardly keep up. There's obviously an interest in this sort of thing."
"How many people have reported abductions -- or at least paranormal activity?"
"I've gotten at least a thousand e-mails. I can't separate my website mail from my regular mail." Chester laughed. "Perhaps you should get a separate e-mail address for your website."
"I didn't think about it, that's a good idea. That way, I can separate my regular mail from the mail I'm getting because of the website." Melody sat down and read her letters. "Most of them are about seeing spaceships circling the sky at night, as if they're spying on them."
"You mean the aliens?"
Melody nodded as she answered email. "They're canvassing neighborhoods seeking more potential victims." She stopped for a moment. "Hey, here's this one letter, it's from a teenage girl. She says her parents don't like her interest in astronomy, they want her to 'get her head out of the clouds.' Unfortunately this scenario sounds very familiar."
"You should write a book," suggested Chester. Melody stopped typing her email and looked at Chester behind her, thinking he would burst out laughing. But his facial expression never changed. "I mean, your abduction, this website, all your research -- "
"Nah, I don't know. I wouldn't want people to know who I am. Especially the gossip hounds in Bluewater."
"Hey, maybe the folks in Bluewater won't read your book."
"Yeah, but they'd know about it from the book shows on TV."
"You could use a pen name. All you'd have to do in your book is detail your experiences with extraterrestrial activity, maybe add in some autobiographical anecdotes. I'm telling you, Mel, people would gobble this up. You've got a story to tell."