Married To The Stars

Ritha Alkez sat at her work desk, a tight grip on her halopad. Once again she was watching the recording of her husband, Captain Domenic Alkez of the Celestial Raven, being promoted. Ritha let out a dry laugh. She couldn't even think of him without his title. It was all a part of his legend. While he flew into space and won heroic battle after heroic battle, she lay tossing and turning; night after night. Domenic helped defend their colonies from the Blades of Vendisia, a rogue group of Denassiri who didn't approve of their government's treaty with humans; and who were quickly gaining support among other aliens. Ritha, on the other hand, passed her days pretending to be happy while she filmed one wedding after another. Pretending the grooms's cologne, their hands placed tenderly on a bride's hip, weren't slivers of ice striking her heart.

No. She helped the masses forget the escalating aggression while waiting in quiet desperation for any news. Her whole body would shake as she fought the urge to send a daily message for him to contact her. Ritha didn't care that it would still be a month or more before he'd be able to respond; as long as he did. It was better than his last call being a year ago. It was better than his last shore leave being two years ago, when they'd barely sat down to lunch before he had to report back to his ship. Ritha stood on the walkway overlooking the docking bay. He gave her a quick wave and she returned it with a strained smile on her face. She'd bought a new dress and shoes with her recent paycheck to surprise him, fought her coarse hair into submission so it fell in thick waves to her shoulders. Domenic had even made an effort. He showed up in a plain grey shirt, wearing black dress pants and shoes. He'd ordered a pass for the theatre, something he only enjoyed in small doses but knew she loved, to make up for it.

Ritha still had that pass in her desk drawer, hidden under work papers. She kept it like that would be enough to bring Domenic back to her. Ritha's mother, Saria Ramoor, came over often to talk about mindless things like what happened on the lasted tv show, the name of which Ritha would forget soon after she mentioned it. Or Saria would fill her in on the latest family news; Ritha's sister, Brisa Ramoor, had a difficult birth but was now recovering with her son. She knew how much Ritha needed that even if her husband, former admiral Adan Ramoor, had been forced into retirement years before the first Denassiri skirmishes started. But today Ritha opted to stay indoors, glad now she'd chosen to become her own boss. She found any recordings she could to hear Domenic's voice. Ritha listened to military recruitment ads that used his voice, his acceptance speeches, even the rare interview. She listened to the story of a war hero repeated a dozen times. Yet no one stopped to ask about the ones waiting at home with bated breath.

Didn't they wonder how this felt? All those questions but what about us? What about me? Ritha watched Domenic's hologram beam at her; she missed his warm brown eyes, instead of the blue pixelated ones that stared at her. Her sight grew blurry, lashes growing heavy with tears…yet the effort to shed another one felt like more effort than she could bear. And all the while wishing she'd hear him come through the door again.