Invasion

Reaching over to Cassy he gently gave her shoulder a shake. She responded by rolling over onto her back. Her heavily lidded eyes regarded him. When she saw he was sitting up, she quickly did the same.

"What's the matter?" she asked huskily. "Are you all right?"

"Fine," Beau said. "Perfect."

"No cough?"

"Not yet. Throat feels fine too."

"Why'd you wake me? Can I get you something?"

"No, thanks," Beau said. "Actually I thought you'd like to see something. Come on!"

Beau got out of bed and came around to Cassy's side. He took her hand and helped her to her feet.

"You want to show me something now?" Cassy asked. She glanced at the clock.

"Right now," Beau said. He guided her into the living room and over to the slider that led to the balcony. When he motioned for her to step outside, she resisted.

"I can't go out," she said. "I'm naked."

"Come on," Beau said. "Nobody's going to see us. It's only going to take a moment, and if we don't go now we'll miss it."

Cassy debated with herself. In the half light she couldn't see Beau's expression, but he sounded sincere. The idea that this was some kind of prank had occurred to her.

"This better be interesting," Cassy warned as she finally stepped over the slider's track.

The night air had its usual chill, and Cassy hugged herself. Even so, everything erectile on the surface of her body popped up. She felt like one big goose pimple.

Beau stepped behind her and enveloped her in his arms to help control Cassy's shivering. They were standing at the railing facing a broad stretch of the sky. It was a cloudless, clear, moonless night.

"Okay, what am I supposed to be seeing?" she asked.

Beau pointed up toward the northern sky. "Look up there toward the Pleiades in the constellation of Taurus."

"What is this, an astronomy lesson?" Cassy questioned. "It's two-ten in the morning. Since when did you know anything about the constellations?"

"Watch!" Beau commanded.

"I'm watching," Cassy said. "What am I supposed to be seeing?"

At that moment there was a rain of meteors with extraordinarily long tails, all streaking from the same pinpoint of sky like a gigantic firework display.

"My God!" Cassy exclaimed. She held her breath until the rain of shooting stars faded. The spectacle was so impressive that she momentarily forgot the chill. "I've never seen anything like it. It was beautiful. Was that what they call a meteor shower?"

"I suppose," Beau said vaguely.

"Will there be more?" Cassy asked, her eyes still glued to the point of origin.

"Nope, that's it," Beau said. He let go of Cassy, then followed her back inside. He closed the slider.

Cassy sprinted back to the bed and dived in. When Beau appeared she had the covers clutched around her neck and was shivering. She ordered him to get under the blanket to warm her up.

"Gladly," he said.

They snuggled for a moment and Cassy's shivering abated. Pulling back from where she had her face tucked into the crook of his neck, she tried to look into Beau's eyes, but they were lost in the gloom. "Thanks for getting me out there to see that meteor shower," she said. "At first I thought you were

trying to play a joke on me. But I have one question: How did you know it was going to happen?''

"I can't remember," Beau said. "I guess I heard about it someplace."

"Did you read about it in the paper?" Cassy suggested, "I don't think so," Beau said. He scratched his head. "I really don't remember."

Cassy shrugged. "Well, it doesn't matter. What matters is that we got to see it. How did you wake up?'' "I don't know," Beau said.

Cassy pushed away and turned on the bedside light. She studied Beau's face. He smiled under her scrutiny. "Are you sure you feel all right?" she asked. Beau smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure," he said. "I feel great."

6

6:45 a.m.

It was one of those cloudless, crystalline mornings with the air so fresh it could almost be tasted. The most distant mountains stood out with shocking clarity. The normally dry ground was covered with a cool layer of dew that sparkled like so many diamonds.

Beau stood for a moment taking in the scene. It was as if he'd seen it for the first time. He couldn't believe the range of colors of the distant hills, and he questioned why he'd not appreciated it before.

He was dressed casually in an Oxford shirt, jeans, and loafers with no socks. He cleared his throat. His cough was all but gone and his throat didn't hurt when he swallowed.

Pushing off from the entrance to his apartment building he walked along the walkway, then up the driveway and into the back parking area. In the sand lining the far periphery he found what he was looking for. Three black mini-sculptures identical to the one he'd found in Costa's parking lot the morning before. He scooped them up, dusted them off, and slipped them into separate pockets.

With his mission accomplished, he turned and retraced his steps.