Waiting For The Light Ch 03

Waiting for the Light

Chapter three

The Meeting

A call, in the early afternoon, informed us they were near. Standing on the front entry steps, we waved as their SUV entered the drive. We were walking out the front gate to greet them before they'd come to a stop. Offering my hand, I greeted Ben first.

"Ben, so glad you could make it. I'm Rick," I said, and smiled.

Ben was a man of no small stature. His hand swallowed mine in a return handshake. "Thank you. Lovely place you folks have," he commented, looking around as we shook hands.

Rachael, on the opposite side of the SUV, greeted Gloria. When the pair moved around to our side, the greetings began anew. Obviously, no strangers to casual or formal greetings, Gloria leaned in, offering her cheek, while clasping my hand. Ben did likewise to Rachael, a move that surprised and flustered her.

"So, how was the drive?" Rachael asked.

"Long, but incredible country... you two certainly have a nice property," Gloria replied.

Rachael smiled and nodded.

"Yes, we hardly believed we were lucky enough to find this place, seven years ago. We both wanted privacy, and we certainly got it."

Gloria gave a knowing nod and stretched mightily.

I'm not one to ogle, but it was damn obvious that Gloria was braless. Mentally guessing at her breast size, I watched as her stretch forced her nipples into the light material of her button-down blouse. A little smile crossed her lips when she caught me looking. Clearing my throat, I looked away quickly, certain she was a match to my Rachael.

"Well, you two must be parched. Let's head in," I announced, moving to Rachael's side, and sweeping my hand towards the front gate.

"Ah, why don't we let the ladies head in. I'm hoping you'd give me a hand with our equipment, Rick," Ben interjected.

"Happy to. Rach, you know what I want. Okay, Ben, lead the way."

A half an hour later, the last of the MUFON equipment was unloaded and in the house.

"Wow, you folks do come prepared."

"Yeah, comes with trial and error," Ben commented, just as the women joined us with drinks.

Gloria slipped her arm around Ben, after handing him a beer. It was all the confirmation we needed, and Rachael winked at me. After a quick toast, Gloria asked to see where our sighting had occurred.

"Out back," Rach piped up, and pointed in the direction of the back door. The four of us moved to the back porch. "Rick and I were out here -" Rachael started to say, and caught herself.

"Yeah, we were having a nightcap when we saw it," I quickly interjected.

It was Gloria that seemed to catch what Rachael was about to reveal, as Ben was all business, looking out over the property. A knowing smile crossed her lips.

"Thank God for privacy, huh?" Gloria quipped.

With a half-hearted chuckle, Rachael nodded, as a blush crossed her cheeks.

"Okay, so you two were out here... you know, doing what Rick said, and then what?" Gloria asked.

Rachael swallowed hard and looked at me. "Well... all of a sudden, we noticed there weren't any night sounds," Rachael started to explain.

"Night sounds?" Ben questioned, looking back at us.

"Yeah, you know... frogs croaking, crickets chirping... night sounds," I said, jumping in.

"Huh, and then what?"

Rachael looked at me and I shrugged, as Gloria moved to Rachael's side.

"Go ahead, Rachael, just tell us, we're all adults."

Offering a weak smile, Rachael went on. "After we calmed down, I noticed there weren't any other sounds, and I told Rick."

Ben raised an eyebrow, "Calmed down?"

"Jesus, Ben, don't be so obtuse. They were out here having sex," Gloria quickly commented, rolling her eyes.

"Oh... OH!"

At that point, I felt I had to add to the conversation, "Look, Ben, I was out here alone, the night before, and saw the same thing." I wasn't sure why making that delineation might have helped, but I said it anyway.

"I see. So, you saw the Blue Star or whatever, too, on your own?"

I nodded.

"This thing about the sound, did it also happen?"

I nodded again. "Yeah, it was weird. I thought I'd gone deaf, and when I looked up, there it was. Not as bright and smaller than what we saw the night we were together. I looked away briefly and the sounds returned, so I looked up again and whatever it was had disappeared."

At that point, Gloria jumped in. "Wait... are you saying when you and Rachael were out here, doing you know, what you saw that night was larger and brighter?"

I confirmed what Gloria was asking, as Rachael hadn't seen it that first night. Gloria looked at Ben, and it was as if they had the same idea. "DAP camera!" they said, in unison.

The DAP (Digital acquisition project) device was an AI-tracking camera. It could find and name objects in the sky. Unknown objects were tracked, all by a deep database, and all others were simply identified.

"Give me a hand, Rick,"

I aided Ben, while Rach took Gloria in to review her log of our sightings. As we worked to set up the equipment Ben wanted to use, I decided to engage in small talk.

"So, Ben, how'd you get started in this?"

Without looking at me, he answered, "Well, like you, I had an experience I couldn't explain or understand. After a bit of digging, I found out that MUFON was always looking for more field operatives."

"Huh. That how you met Gloria... doing field work?"

At that, he did look up at me. "Yes, why do you ask?"

Sensing I might have crossed a line, I shrugged my shoulders. "No reason really. You two seem extremely comfortable around each other, is all. Guess I took it as you were together."

Ben grinned and went back to what he was doing.

"Comfortable... that's an interesting way of putting it," he commented, and chuckled.

"Hey, I don't mean to pry, but with our offer for you two to stay, Rachael and I were wondering about sleeping arrangements."

"Ah... well, we've shared the same bed for the past five years. That answer your question?" Ben commented, making a final adjustment to the DAP cam, after connecting it to a laptop.

"Yes, yes it does, and we have a very nice guest bedroom, with its own full bathroom."

"Great, any chance you have a long table we can set up out here, for the rest of our gear?"

Still in work mode, I left Ben to get a table. Once inside the house, I found Rachael and Gloria in the living room, side by side, looking very chummy.

"Oh hey, Rick, Ben and Gloria are using the guest room," Rachael announced.

I gave her a salute and headed out to the garage. When I came back through, they both met me.

"Look, we were talking about what to do about dinner, would you like to grill?" Rachael questioned.

"Sure, pick out what you want so it can thaw, okay?"

I got a nod and a smile, before heading back out to the back deck.

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