The Chain
Vulcan,
Today
I almost left my husband, a chain stopped me…
“I
swear, Sarek, you’re going to have to choose. One of us goes.”
“I
will not choose. You will both stay.”
“Oh…”
I was so in shock by his lack of loyalty that words failed me. Eventually I
managed to stammer a response. “Well
…isn’t that so…typically magnanimous of you Mr Ambassador.” My usually reliable
temper was suddenly lost and I felt swift liberty at the prospect of my Vulcan
husband witnessing a grand emotional display. It would do him good to hear a
few home truths. “You know, Sarek; I’ve been a fool as far as you’re concerned.
First, you seduce me into marrying you, then you convince me into leaving my
lovely home world for this desolate rock, after which I’m dragged to a
god-forsaken ancient castle you call a ‘family house’ and then, and ONLY THEN,
do you reveal I have competition for your affections! Well I’m putting my foot
down for once. It’s your turn to sacrifice…so choose.”
“It
is my wish that you both remain.” He said it with the decisiveness of someone
used to having orders obeyed.
At
this point I realised I just wasn’t getting through; I needed a more ruthless
approach. “No, I won’t go on. I can’t move around this place without being
hunted, persecuted, threatened and even snapped at. Lord knows how many times
I’ve been jumped on trying to escape to the bedroom. I’m frightened to move.
It’s just not fair!” I turned my back to him. “Well if you won’t choose to help then I’ll
have to escape. I’ll remove myself and my belongings to the guest wing and live
alone in peace.” That said, I started to gather my
book and tea cup emphasizing the intention of an immediate departure. “And you
can forget any visits”, I turned back to look at him in the eye, “as I’ll
forbid it!” Then moving past him I added, “Besides it would be useless to
visit, you’d only be followed.”
His
hand shot past me and across the door, blocking my exit. “The ‘guest wing’ and ‘no visits’?” he
repeated. For a second his fixed Vulcan features looked almost in shock.
“None!”
“That
is not an acceptable situation, Amanda.”
“Join
the club!”
He
looked at me with a sudden seriousness and I realised that he was urgently
redeploying his approach. I knew my husband's reputation at diplomacy and fully
expected a merciless assault on my standpoint.
“Perhaps
I could purchase a chain, Amanda?”
“What…oh…that’s
just cruel isn’t it?”
“No, it would only be a temporary solution. I
shall also engage the services of a proper expert in correcting this jealous
behaviour.” He tilted his head at that exact angle which made him appear
‘innocent’…and I melted. (Why hadn’t he just been merciless?)
Still,
he couldn’t be completely trusted. “When
will this chain appear, Sarek? Because right now, a guestroom
sounds like a very comfortable option.”
He
walked briskly past me, heading for the computer. “I promise in less than thirty
standard minutes, you will visit the master bedroom without further
interruptions.” He sat down and began typing.
“What
makes you think I want to visit the bedroom in the next half hour?”
Still
typing he looked at me, again tilting his head, and his eyes danced with his
hands. “Amanda, for a compromise to be reached there must be certain sacrifices;
I believe humans refer to them as ‘pay-backs.’ I will chain Ee-Chiya
and pay for the sehlat’s re-training and you will be in our bedroom in thirty
minutes. Do we have a bargain?”
I was
totally in awe, “Yes. My god Sarek, you are
one hell of a negotiator!”
“I am
ranked by Starfleet as the top in my field.” He tapped his finger on the screen
with dramatic finality. “I have booked the services of an animal behaviour
specialist starting tomorrow and purchased a retractable sehlat training chain
to be delivered directly. Now I believe you have 28.3 minutes to change into
something more appropriate …”