Because sometimes you need an excerpt, especially when it's about peace, love, and understanding

Maybe how the moon appeared to Sooz. Photo from 2024.

Thank goodness that despite an achy shoulder, I can still manage revisions, lol. Was just reading Chapter 21 from Home and Far Away, and I had to put a paragraph here.

P.S.... If you want Sooz's backstory, get a copy of Far Away from Home: The Enran Chronicles Book Three. Don't worry about Books One and Two; Book Three concerns Noth in another galaxy, and as he doesn't recall his past, those earlier segments won't be missed (Though if you want the whole ball of wax, go for it!). One of the joys about writing this particular series is while the books connect, certain ones can be read as standalones. Far Away from Home and Home and Far Away are like that, just saying, hehehe.

Anyways, shameless plugs aside, more to matter is what Home and Far Away is truly about, that of love mattering more than anything, that people are worthy of said love regardless of their origins. Sooz is discovering that imminently, but will she be brave enough to act on her discoveries?

 

 

Two hours later, Sooz stood on Richard’s front porch, squinting into the darkness. Yet the Hernandezes’ home was well-lit and from where she stood, Sooz observed a crowd gathered at the back of the house, dogs barking and children shouting alongside the live band. Max snoozed in his spot and Sooz trembled, the tune not recognized but somehow so familiar. It was nothing like what The Other had crooned, nor was it akin to what Sooz listened to on the radio. It was festive and bright, and she tapped one foot, then stopped herself. “I am not going over there,” she said aloud, then inwardly, but Chella didn’t respond.

The porch light shone, as did the moon’s glow, but that light came and went as thin clouds fluttered in the sky, obscuring the satellite. Faint shadows fell across the yard from the workshop as Sooz stepped from the porch, merely to admire the night sky, she told herself and Chella, if Chella was listening. But Chella had stopped pestering Sooz shortly after mentioning the music, which now rang in Sooz’s ears.

She walked to the middle of the yard, then gazed at the party; laughter nearly bested the music, then lively horns made her wince, the merry nature impossible to ignore. Was Richard drinking a margarita, Sooz then wondered. Her mouth watered slightly and she frowned, then sighed as a stiff wind made her shiver. She returned to the porch, but didn’t go inside, wishing for enough courage to walk away.

Yet not permanently, as she had wanted to last week, or even yesterday. Again yesterday she had considered leaving this property with the firm intent never to return. That was a foolish, mean-spirited notion, futile as well; she couldn’t leave Chella or Gilly or…. Her heart ached profusely, but not over Squee or the dead steers. She didn’t care if she never got her driver’s license; today had proved that patients would indeed visit Kevin’s office, for if Matty Shomberg could walk through those doors, anyone in need would learn the young physician’s practice was a safe place. Nobody would be turned in for being illegal, no one would be refused treatment. Or Sooz hoped that Matty’s visit would relay that essential statement. She felt badly that he had walked part of the way there, not enough gas in his truck for him to have made the journey on his own. Richard had put gas in the truck while Sooz had stayed with Matty, learning more of his history. He had fallen asleep by the time Richard returned, Sooz covering the old man with a tattered blanket on the sofa where he had slumbered during Home and Far Away.

She would check on him next week, maybe driving illegally if necessary, but Richard would probably insist on taking her. She frowned, then sighed, again her heart pounding. His affection for Matty was probably aligned to having lost his grandfather, but Richard wasn’t like most men. He was tender due to his late wife and raising their only daughter. He was thoughtful in part from those elderly beloveds who had instilled within him their vanishing values. Often during the nightly news, Richard complained about war protestors, not that he thought the Vietnam conflict was worthy, but previous generations had left their families, fighting valiantly or dying on foreign soil. It was a necessary sacrifice, he would say, no more, no less.

Sooz trembled, considering those she had known on Enran, then she blinked away tears. Would Noth have fled to Canada or burned his draft card, probably not, she wanted to think. He had sacrificed as much as any American past or present, and again she grasped his great desire to return. Not to this time, but his own, and what could that America be like if so much of the current youth was surly. Then Sooz clucked; Chella had called her surly in not wanting to join them. How had Chella managed to pass herself off as a human, Sooz then wondered. Maybe by understanding Spanish, but hopefully not by drinking alcohol. Sooz wondered if margaritas were being served, and again her mouth watered. She went in the house, shut the door, then stomped upstairs. But even in her room, with the door closed, the horns were sirens, pleading for her to….

She shook her head, then stepped to her dresser. Her curls had returned, the weather more humid than in summer. She shook out her tresses, then swept them atop her head, securing the bun with bobby pins. A few strands fell and she scowled despite liking how those curls adorned her face. She gazed at her clothes, long trousers and one of Richard’s shirts tailored to fit her. Then she peered at the closet, where some of Celia’s outfits remained. Approaching the closet, Sooz closed her eyes, muttering a Parcathn prayer. Opening the door, she pulled the string for the light. She rummaged through what hung on the rod, then smiled, finding a dress not previously noticed. It was blue, with yellow stripes running diagonally, meeting in the middle. Would it fit, she wondered, and if so, would wearing tennis shoes with it look ridiculous?

She wished for her previous wardroom, one of her bright tunics would be more appropriate. But that life was her past and if she was going to remain here, best that she integrated with Richard’s neighbors. She frowned briefly, then smirked, taking the dress from the hanger, then firmly closing the closet door.