An Ocean of Consequences

Chapter One - Pt. Two

(2378 words)

Time passed without me noticing until Garee plopped down onto the sand beside me. I was happy to keep watching the clouds build in the distance and smelling the approaching rain, but the wide-eyed look on his face told me he wanted to talk—now.

"How'd it go?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"He is perfect, Keer." His smile was so wide his eyes narrowed. I took that as thanks. "We're going to the Flats the day after tomorrow."

"Wow, already?"

His only answer was a shake of his head and an even wider smile.

It was nice to see my closest friend so happy, especially over the possibility of a relationship. Garee had never been completely comfortable with his sexuality, given the social pressures—something to which I could relate.

Our government—the only part I cared about—centered on the ideology that humans were to be judged by their conscious actions, rather than inherent traits, or something like that. Four generations ago, the island veered dangerously close to its population peak, and the government had the tough decision of whether to enact child limit laws to control it. The idea was not popular, but when the alternative was starvation, people stopped seeing it as unfair. The law limited families to two children—the tradeoff being free surgical contraception and birth services, when desired, and the penalty being additional taxation. Only the richest of working or political families—Chaize's was the only one I knew of personally—had more than two children.

Each child had to be claimed by both parents to monitor adherence to the law. This made people more chaste, private, and rigorous with family structures. No one would outwardly judge Garee for being who he was or choosing to be with whomever he loved, but he was an only child. The gravity of possibly ending his family's business with the absence of future children weighed heavily on him.

"You were right," Garee said, pulling my thoughts from their grim path. "He said he had been dying to talk to me for weeks but could never catch me while I wasn't working."

"You're welcome," I teased.

He stood. I stretched my arms up like a kid, asking for his help to get up. He pulled me up with such force I caught air before he squeezed me tight against him in a hug. I wrapped myself around him.

"Thank you," he said against my shoulder.

He eased his grasp. I stretched out my legs for him to place me back on my feet. Taking me by the hand, we started on the way back to his house. "So, tell me what happened. Did he ask you, did you ask him?" When I looked at him, he stared ahead and his expression changed. "What?"

"Will talking about this make you upset?" He looked over with a small frown.

I rolled my eyes. A comment like that from anyone else would infuriate me, but he could get away with it. He had been there through all of my recent milestones and missteps. He was the one who pushed me to pursue medicine against my father's wishes, even letting me stay over when I was afraid to go home and face the repercussions of my decision. Garee was there when I met Chaize, when he proposed, and was the shoulder I cried on when it ended. It was time I got over myself and reveled in one of his moments.

I took a deep breath. "This has nothing to do with me. I may not want to be in a relationship for a very, very long time, but that doesn't mean I can't be happy for you." My mouth twisted into a smile as I tried to believe the words I had just spoken. "I am happy for you."

Garee gained back a grin that slinked across his face. He squeezed my hand. "So can I tell you all about him?"

I could not stay mad at him for long. It made me happy to see him happy. "Please."