A Beautiful Day Pt. 03

***

She found Adam working on his laptop in the living room of the cottage. He glanced up at her. "Nice uniform," he remarked, trying not to grin.

"Did you have a good day?" she asked.

"Certainly. The wifi here is excellent. I can work just as if I'm in the office." He leaned back in his chair. "You're a bit cleaner than I expected after a day digging in the dirt."

"I showered."

"You did? Where did you find a shower in the middle of an orchard?"

"I found one." Sara walked to the staircase. "I need to get ready for dinner. Talk to you later!" She went up the stairs before he could respond.

As soon as she reached the second floor, Linda's door opened. "Ah. Sara. I thought I heard you come in." Linda was already dressed for dinner in crisp black slacks and a red blouse. "Leon is having us over for dinner at his house. We can walk there when you're ready. It's at six thirty, so we shouldn't leave any later than six fifteen. Can you be ready by then?"

"Sure," Sara said. "It doesn't take me long."

"Great. Did you already take a shower?"

"A quick one."

"Okay. Leon had one of his men stop by with a few things for our rooms, and they gave us the softest fleece bathrobes. You should find one hanging on the inside of your door. There's just one bathroom for all of us to share on this floor, but I think Adam and I are already ready to go, so it's all yours if you need it."

"Okay. Thanks!" Sara walked to the bedroom she had claimed at the end of the hall. She stepped in and closed the door. On the back of the door, she found a bathrobe hanging from a hook, just like Linda had said. Sara locked the door and started to strip off the green uniform.

Was it worth it to take another shower? Despite the distractions, Sara felt like she'd cleaned herself off fairly well in the communal shower. She folded the green shirt and shorts and set them on top of the dresser. A large mirror was attached to the wall above the dresser and Sara paused to look at herself in her underwear. The bra and panties didn't belong to her, but they fit her perfectly, so she decided to keep them on. She retrieved the bathrobe from the back of the door and slipped her arms into it. Linda was right, it was very plush.

Sara looked towards the closed door and was surprised to see a second robe hanging there. This one was black and silky, like a kimono. Very feminine. Did Linda also receive a second robe like this? Or was it something provided only for Sara?

After a moment's hesitation, Sara took off the fleece bathrobe and reached for the black silk robe. It weighed next to nothing. She slipped it on, tying it around her waist with the attached belt. It was short, leaving most of her legs exposed, and the thin silk clung to her body. After looking at her reflection in the mirror for a minute, Sara removed the robe, but only long enough to take off her bra and panties. She put on the robe again and gazed at herself in the mirror.

Very sexy. The clinging silk was thin enough that it clearly showed the poke of her nipples. Had Leon given her this? It was lovely, but way too sexy to wear outside her room. Definitely not something she could wear to walk past Linda and Adam on the way to the bathroom.

Sara removed the black robe and hung it again on the hook, then hung the bathrobe over it. She went into her overnight bag and found a pair of loose pants and another tank top. She dressed quickly and didn't bother with make-up. When Linda came down the stairs just before six fifteen, Sara was already in the living room waiting.

***

They ate dinner on Leon's second floor patio, with a view of the mountains and the setting sun. It was gorgeous. Sara could see the ring of sagana trees in the distance, surrounding them on all sides. A flock of raucous colorful birds flew by overhead, chattering to each other.

Instead of a set menu, Leon had one of the chefs from the worker's cafeteria come to the table and offer suggestions for their dinners. When Sara's turn came to select her dinner, she just smiled at Leon and said, "Whatever Leon recommends."

Leon returned her smile. He said to the chef, "Bring her the Malosa flank steak. I'll have the same." He turned to Sara. "It is my favorite. I hope you enjoy it as well."

"Malosa?" Sara asked. "What's that?"

Which made the chef laugh. "I am Malosa!" he told her. "This is my special dish!" The chef was still laughing as he went off to prepare their food.

"Come," Leon said. "While we wait, I will show you my house." He spoke to all three of them, but his eyes were on Sara. As they stood, Sara could feel Linda also watching her.

Leon had several luxurious rooms: a large living room, a dining room, an entertainment room with a television screen so big it should have been in a movie theater. But it was immediately evident that this wasn't the part of the house he was interested in showing them. He took them to a large brown door which he had to unlock with a fingerprint scan. Inside, they found themselves in an enormous room filled with laboratory equipment.

"This is my personal laboratory," Leon told them proudly. "The trees are my passion. I have no wife or children; here is where I spend my time."

"Oh my God!" Sara stared at a round black cylinder with an attached display screen. "Is that a Ludwig centrifugal spectrometer?"

"Yes!" Leon beamed.

"And you have a Pederson sample analyzer too! Those are expensive!"

"Yes! Have you ever used one?"

"An older model..." Sara gazed at the piece of equipment enviously

"Dr. Albert helped me to know what to buy," Leon said. "Over there, that white door is a vacuum-sealed lock to a culture growth laboratory."

"Amazing!" Sara's eyes sparkled. "Is there a window? Can I see inside?"

"Perhaps another time," Linda interjected smoothly. Her eyes flashed a warning at Sara. "I think it's important that you relax in the evenings, Sara. You've spent all day toiling on these saganas... I don't want you to burn out on them and lose your focus."

The message was clear. "Right," Sara said. "Maybe another time, then." She looked at Leon, trying to convey an apology to him.

Leon frowned. She could tell he was eager to show her around his laboratory, and annoyed that he couldn't do so. "Let me show you through my small plant greenhouse then." He gave Linda a hard stare. "No saganas there, only small plants and flowers."

Linda nodded. "We'd love to see it."

Leon led them out of the lab and through a winding corridor, finally opening a door into a vast greenhouse. Sara had been excited by his laboratory, but her breath was just as taken away by his greenhouse. He had rows and rows of plants, with beautiful, bright flowers of all colors. He led them along a meandering path through the crisscrossing aisles, pointing out significant plants in his collection, and grinned as Sara breathlessly spoke the latin names of his rarer plants, her eyes glowing with delight.

"Are those your orchids?" Sara pointed at one section of the greenhouse, where a sea of pink and white flowers bloomed. "You have so many!"

"Yes. Do you like orchids?"

"Yes..." Sara thought of Mikka's comment from earlier, and felt her cheeks grow warm. "Do you?"

"I love them," Leon said, and chuckled.

A man appeared at the door of the greenhouse, and called to Leon in Melepria. Leon said something back to the man, then turned to them and in English said, "Dinner is ready. Let us return to the table."

***

It was the white wine that did Sara in. They finished one bottle during dinner and started another just before dessert. Linda and Adam asked for coffee with their dessert, but Sara just poured some more wine into her glass. She'd only finished half before her eyelids started to droop.

"I think we need to get Dr. Olson to bed," Adam remarked, after noticing her head nod over and snap back up.

"I'm sorry," Sara said to Leon. "I feel so sleepy all of a sudden!" She tried to shake it off, but immediately felt the weariness pressing against her again.

"You've had a long day," Linda said. "And another long day tomorrow. I think maybe it's time we head back."

After thanking Leon for the dinner, the three of them walked back to the cottage. The night was warm, with a slight breeze stirring the leaves around them. Above them, a crescent moon lit the sky. Sara felt more awake outside in the fresh air, but knew that when they returned to the cottage she barely had the energy to brush her teeth and wash her face before retreating to the comfort of her bed.

She left Linda and Adam in the living room as she went upstairs and changed into a t-shirt and a comfortable pair of shorts. She could hear the murmur of her two companions chatting downstairs as she walked to the bathroom and took care of her nighttime tasks. When she finally collapsed onto the bed, sleep took her almost instantly. She didn't even bother to get under the covers.

***

Her eyes opened in the darkness. She leaned over to check the time on her phone. 12:07. Middle of the night.

She felt disoriented, confused by the room around her. Where was she? What had happened? Her memory slowly trickled back and she began to reassemble her situation. She was in Meleprija. She was in Leon's guest cottage. She'd eaten dinner at Leon's house. How long ago? Only about four hours? It felt like it had been days ago.

She remembered walking back with Adam and Linda. Exhausted and light-headed from the wine, clutching the railing of the stairs as she ascended. What time had she fallen asleep? Definitely earlier than usual. 8:30? 8?

She listened for the sounds of Adam and Linda, but the cottage was quiet. They were probably asleep. It was past midnight, after all.

Was Leon asleep?

The weariness which had overtaken her earlier had passed, apparently satisfied by her few hours of sleep, and now she felt wide awake. She rose from her bed and walked over to the window. Outside, a landscaped yard, strategically lit by carefully placed floodlights, extended for twenty meters before hitting a line of boundary bushes that separated the yard from the road . In the distance, she could see the blocky silhouette of Leon's house. A few of the windows on his second floor glowed with light.

Did that mean he was awake?

Sara watched his windows for a few minutes, looking for Leon's dark outline to pass by, but she didn't see him. It didn't mean he wasn't awake. Maybe he was on the couch watching TV, or maybe he was at his desk working.

Sara walked to her bedroom door and reached under the heavy bathrobe that hung there, extracting the silky black robe. She draped it over the bed and then stripped off her shorts, panties and t-shirt. She slipped on the robe and tied it around her waist, enjoying the way the cool fabric slid over her skin. She returned to the window, gazing at Leon's house.

The silk robe was a gift from Leon, she had no doubt about that, and it was meant to be worn without anything underneath. Why had he given her something so sexy to wear? What did it mean? Did a Melepria man even consider this to be sexy attire?

After a moment's consideration, Sara undid the belt, leaving the robe open in the front. She looked down at her body, her light skin standing in contrast with the shiny blackness of the robe. She looked through the window again, at Leon's house, at the night.

The next thing she knew, she was easing open her bedroom door and peeking outside. The doors to Adam and Linda's rooms were closed, and the house was dark and quiet. Sara crept over to the stairs and descended slowly, step by step, carefully placing her feet to make no sound. She reached the front door and eased it open, stepping out into the night.

The cool evening air embraced her bare skin, and the breeze toyed with the bottom of her robe, causing the silk hem to lightly stroke her upper thighs. Sara touched her nipples with her fingers, feeling the way they had tightened into little pebbles from their exposure. She pulled the door carefully closed, turning the knob to make sure it wouldn't lock behind her.

How far to Leon's house? Less than a five minute walk. She listened for a moment, but aside from the sounds of night insects and the far-off warble of a night bird, the world seemed very quiet. How strange, to listen to a world absent the buzzing of driving cars. She knew that the facility had security guards driving around on patrol, but she couldn't hear any nearby.

If a security guard did drive past and saw her walking half naked on the road, what did it matter? She wasn't breaking any rules. Sara walked down the path to the road and turned towards Leon's house.

The breeze caught her robe, pulling it up behind her and making it flap like a cape. It was a sensual feeling, to be walking naked through the night air. Sara's heart began to beat faster as she approached Leon's house. What if he wasn't alone? What if Sara knocked on his door, and he opened it to see her standing there naked aside from the flimsy robe draped on her shoulders, and behind him she could see a crowd of his guests gawking at her?

It wouldn't matter, she assured herself, for the same reason it wouldn't matter if a security guard drove by and saw her walking along the road. She wasn't breaking any laws. It was okay to be naked like this in Meleprija.

What if Leon invited her in, introduced her to his guests? What if they were all wearing clothes, and she was the only one who was naked? Was she capable of engaging in conversation with strangers wearing only a tiny, open robe?

Sara pushed her hair out of her eyes, shaking her head. What was she doing, imagining these scenarios? Trying to terrify herself into going back to bed? Or was it turning her on?

Sara reached Leon's house and walked up a white path to his front door. She stood on his porch, suddenly nervous, and a part of her wanted to turn right back and go back to bed. She knocked on the door, at first timidly, then a little louder.

A minute passed. She heard the sound of footsteps behind the door. A lock being undone. The door opened, and Leon stood there, looking down at her. He was naked.

"Sara?" he asked, surprised. His eyes flickered over her nude body. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah..." Sara said shyly. "I just... I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep... I wondered if you were awake..."

He smiled. "I'm up late, yes... involved with some work, but it's work you may be interested in. Would you like to come in?"

"Yes, please," she murmured.

As she stepped in, he said, "Do you like that robe I left you? It looks very nice on you."

"Yes. Thank you."

Leon took her hand. "Come with me. Let me show you what keeps me up at night."

This time when Leon showed her his laboratory, Sara didn't have to worry about Linda looking over her shoulder. Leon stood smiling while Sara flung herself from one piece of equipment to the next, like a little girl seeing her presents under the tree on Christmas morning. "Do you know how accurately I could evaluate your trees if they let me use this stuff?" Sara asked, her body pressed against a chemical analysis machine. "Instead, they have me sending data back to Chicago to run on our old machines there..."

Leon beckoned her to a large microscope. "Come look at this. This is what I was looking at when you came to my door."

Sara walked over and sat on a stool in front of the microscope. She leaned over to look in the eyepiece. "These are... sagana phloem cells? But very large. Is this from a hybrid?"

Leon leaned over her, and she could feel his weight pressed against her back. "Yes, a hybrid. You know the Andrade-Avila sagana?"

"Of course."

"I've been working to create a hybrid between that and the Red Barbosa."

"Really." Sara peered through the microscope again. "But don't they have different ideal soil compositions?"

"Yes. That's a problem, but one I'm made some progress on. Here, have a look at this one." Leon leaned against her again, removing one slide and replacing it with another.

Sara looked through the microscope again. "This is another Red Barbosa

hybrid?"

Leon's arms wrapped around her waist, holding her close against his chest. She could feel his breath on her neck. "A mix of Red Barbosa and Gaspar."

"Gaspar? Wow. It looks amazing. So healthy. Have you done a charge test on the sap? What's the yield?"

Leon's hand rose, cupping her breast. "34.2."

"Are you serious?" Sara lifted her head from the microscope, closing her eyes as Leon's fingers stroked her nipple. "That's incredible."

Leon swiveled her chair around. His penis was partially erect. He leaned over and kissed her, and she could feel the head of his penis touching her leg. His hands continued to squeeze and stroke her breasts. Sara opened her mouth to his. She reached out and touched his chest, feeling the definition of his muscles.

He broke the kiss. "Come with me. I have something else I want to show you, something I think you will really like."

"Where?"

"Outside."

He led her out of the laboratory and through a maze of corridors, until they reached a metal door. Leon put his hand on a fingerprint scanner and the door popped open, revealing an outside courtyard filled with trees. Electric lanterns provided a soft orange glow, scattered around the courtyard at knee-level.

"Follow me. It's a short walk," Leon said.

Sara followed Leon as he led her on a narrow path that seemed to lead out of the courtyard. The path wasn't marked by any of the lanterns, and Sara picked her way carefully by moonlight. "Are we outside?" she asked, looking up at the stars. "I mean, I know we're outside..."

He chuckled. "I know that it seems we're hiking into the wild. But this area is secure. Almost there."

Sara could see something to the left that glowed with light. A small statue, lit in the glow of four lanterns. It was a stone figure of what looked like a man with a bird's head, and a fresh string of white flowers draped around the figure's neck.

"What's that statue?" she asked.

Leon paused. "That is Kon Om Ma. The Meleprija god of the land. I keep a shrine here. Many Melepria keep shrines like this." He reached for her hand, and pulled her to where she could get a better view of the statue. "When I was young, we were poor and I did not believe in any God. I did not believe in the Melepria Gods or any others. I believed we are alone in this world." He squeezed her hand. "The truth is, I still don't know what I believe. But I was poor, Meleprija was poor, and then one day we discovered wealth beyond imagining hidden in the sagana trees that surrounded us. When something like that happens, it's hard not to feel that someone is watching over us." He shrugged. "So I honor Kon Om Ma."

They continued past the statue, and the path led up a slope. At the top of a round hill, the trees gave way to a clearing. In the moonlight, Sara saw three small sagana trees, barely as high as her shoulders. Leon released her hand and let her approach the trees by herself.

"Now what are these?" she murmured to herself. "Smaller leaves, almost waxy... wider trunk..." She stroked the bark of one of the trees. "It has some Whitney-Britt?"

"Yes." Leon was grinning. "But what else?"

"What else..." Sara considered. "I know you'd want to mix it with something good..." After a minute, she guessed, "Chongzuo?"

"No." Leon walked up to the three trees. "This is a hybrid of Whitney-Britt and Enderburg."

Sara stared at him. "Enderburg? Impossible."

"Possible. I found a way."

"How? The differences between the two... so many potential negative mismatches. Everyone who's tried to mix them has failed."

"But everyone has tried, isn't that true? Because a mix between those two..."

"It could be amazing," Sara breathed. "It could change the world. What's the yield? Have you tested them?"