Once inside, Melissa observed from her kitchen window as Gabriel hesitated before backing his SUV out of her driveway. She watched as the illumination of his headlamps was enveloped in the indistinct darkness, how quickly their brilliance faded and was absorbed by the obscurity. A sharp pang of sadness pierced her heart as his Explorer disappeared in the night.
Melissa turned from the window and looked through the dining room and into the family room. The space was dark; no lights illuminated the downstairs rooms save for the single fluorescent overhead bulb of the stove. Thankful for the dimness and what it indicated, Melissa stepped quietly away from her position in the kitchen. She moved past the front door and up the steep staircase and down the hall to her bedroom.
She passed her father’s bedroom first. His door was shut signifying that he slept. Grateful for the solitude that her father’s slumber offered, Melissa stepped into her room and stripped off her outfit, the clothes she bought for her special night with Gabriel.
Forcing his image from her mind temporarily, Melissa pulled off her boots and jeans before shrugging out of her sweater. She peeled off her pink camisole and slung it over her desk chair sitting at an askew angle from her computer desk against the windowed wall.
In her undergarments, Melissa left her clothes where they had fallen on the floor and stepped into the bathroom. With her father sleeping soundly, she did not risk indecency with her state of undress. Closing the door behind her, Melissa turned the shower on full blast and stepped behind the curtain.
She stood before the spray allowing its powerful flow to massage her weary body. Melissa turned the temperature control knob to the left making the water hotter, attempted to rid her body of the chill that settled on her, infiltrated her very core.
With copious beads of steaming water cascading down her body, its warmth enveloping her, relaxing her, Melissa cried. Her tears blended with the running rivulets of the shower. They were cleansing sobs; cries of sadness and confusion, of regret and distress.
Gabriel had confided in her a secret so profound it overwhelmed her. Melissa closed her eyes tightly as the image of that partially formed abomination in the steel tank appeared in her mind. She rubbed at her eyes with both hands, tried to expunge the horrible image from her mind.
When the image had sufficiently cleared–even if momentarily–she could envision Gabriel. She rationalized that Gabriel, in his beatific glory, was not a mere fabrication. He was not inhuman despite what Terzini’s plan was. She recalled every tender action he performed, every polite gesture he undertook. They did not seem contrived or artificial. He was genuine and generous of spirit, more so than anyone she had ever met. Gabriel embodied benevolence and kindness. He was patient and protective; brave and bountiful.
Melissa opened her eyes and turned off the stream of water. With the sudden realization that she knew Gabriel, knew what kind of person he was, Melissa stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel. Determinedly, she strode out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. As she dressed in her bedclothes, she fully appreciated the importance of her epiphany. It did not matter how Gabriel came to be; it did not matter what the original intent of his creation was; no more than how or under what circumstances any other human being on the planet came to be. Gabriel James was every bit as human as she was.
Satisfied with her insight and firm in her resolve, Melissa Martin climbed into her twin-sized bed and slept. In the morning she would rise and go about her day. She would call Gabriel and tell him of her newfound understanding.