Lieutenant Commander Vernon Reid found himself standing in the restaurant that his wife Tessa managed for a second time in as many hours. The sight was so unusual that some of the waitresses that were employed at Ember’s did a double-take just to make sure they weren’t seeing things. Vernon could only shrug weakly at the questioning looks they were giving him as he moved through the seating area toward the back of the restaurant.

The chefs working in the kitchen were less shocked by his presence and more annoyed that he was taking up valuable space while they milled about in their efforts to prepare for the dinner rush in a few hours. When Reid asked where his wife was, the head chef threw a thumb toward the little office space that was tucked away beyond the large freezer that was adjacent to the kitchen. One appreciative nod later, Vernon found himself at the threshold of the cozy little office his wife occupied.

“Honey…” Vernon called out to Tessa, who had a PaDD in each hand and a contemplative look on her face. It took several iterations of him trying to catch her attention before the woman’s eyes drifted up long enough to register someone standing at her door.

“Oh!” Tessa chirped with a smile, “Is your shift over already? I hadn’t realized… I was so caught up in planning that I must have just lost all sense of time.”

“No, sweetheart,” Vernon said with a tired sigh, “I was only here an hour ago… so I’m still on duty. And I’m here as an extension of said duty day, because I heard you invited our new Commander to a party that I hadn’t heard about before she asked me for details. Now I’m here… looking for those details.”

“Wait… did Teydra not already tell you all about it?” Tessa asked, her face the very picture of confusion.

Vernon shook his head, “I haven’t seen her since our meeting with the Governor. Why, was this her idea?”

“Well no… at least not entirely. She told me that Vahna was the one who actually had the idea, but you know how busy she gets up there with those freighter captains. She’d never have time to organize anything. So Teydra came down here and talked to me about it just a little while after you and Jak left. I thought it was a lovely idea, to have a party to celebrate your new boss’ arrival and her first diplomatic victory,” Tessa said with a bright smile.

“Diplomatic victory?” Vernon looked even more puzzled despite the explanation.

Tessa nodded, “That’s what Teydra said. Something about Miss Novak winning a major battle of words with a previously undefeated opponent. It sounded so spectacular that I just couldn’t help but get caught up in her enthusiasm… though I don’t actually know what she was talking about.”

“Don’t worry dear… I do…” Vernon said, folding his arms and leaning heavily onto the doorframe.

“Oh good,” Tessa smiled up at her beleaguered looking husband, “Now, as for the party itself. I’ve blocked out a few hours on our calendar for tonight so we can have a lovely gathering with your staff. When did Miss Novak say she was going to be coming?”

“She isn’t,” Vernon said flatly, “She said you reached out to her and just told her that she was invited, but didn’t tell her anything else. That’s why I’m here, dear… to get something I can take back to her that might convince her to attend.”

“Well, the party is for her, it would be a shame if she wasn’t here,” Tessa said, her tone drooping a little.

“Did you include that when you talked to her?” Vernon asked.

Tessa’s head leaned to one side, “Talked to her? I never talked to her, dear. I simply sent her an invitation through the console there.”

“Can I see it?”

“Sure,” Tessa said, sliding her chair back a little to give her husband room enough to approach her work terminal. Vernon walked over and brought up the messaging function on the device’s display, scanning the contents of the message. After looking it over, he straightened his posture and let out a long sigh.

“Yeah… that’s what I thought…” he muttered to himself before turning to Tessa, “I think I see why she wasn’t too thrilled to accept it at face value. If I didn’t know you like I do, I probably wouldn’t have said yes to it either.”

“Meanie,” Tessa pouted, slapping her husband’s arm lightly.

“Tess…” Vernon said as he curled an arm around her shoulder, “Commander Novak doesn’t know you like the rest of us do. This is her first day, and she’s already had to deal with one of the biggest headaches this system can throw our way. You can’t expect her to see a ‘please come to a party at 1900 hours’ message with no other details attached and just say ‘yes, I’ll show up to this mystery event bring thrown by the wife of a man I’ve only worked with for less than a day.’”

“When you put it like that…” Tessa continued to pout a little while giving her husband a weak hug.

“I’ll see what I can do about getting her to agree to come, but can you maybe ask me first next time before you decide to invite my boss to an event like this? I want to at least look like I know what’s going on around here,” Vernon teased his wife gently.

Tessa looked up at him, “I suppose I can do that. For you.”

“Thank you dear,” Vernon leaned down and gave his wife a brief kiss on her forehead, “I’ll leave you to iron out the culinary details, and see if I can spin this in a way that won’t make the Commander any warier of showing up.”

“Okay,” Tessa said with a bright grin.

Vernon gave her shoulders a squeeze and made for the door before stopping mid-step, “Wait… did you say this was Vahna’s idea?”

Tessa nodded, “That’s right.”

“As in… Vahna Drae… Orion-type…” Vernon added, brows furrowed.

“She’s the only Vahna I know,” Tessa responded flatly.

“The same Vahna who only ever comes to parties when there’s alcohol and a quiet corner to hide in to avoid having to talk to anyone until she’s halfway to a blackout… that Vahna…”

“Yes, dear… one and the same,” Tessa said with an edge of exasperation in her voice.

“I don’t believe it…” Vernon muttered as if something had suddenly broken inside his mind, “Two events with an absurdly low probability of occurring have just happened back-to-back… This station is doomed…”

“Oh stop,” Tessa said, moving from her chair to give her husband a reassuring hug, “Nothing is doomed. Vahna just suggested we celebrate something. She’s allowed to want to enjoy things with her friends every once in a while. You don’t have to act like the station’s going to fall into planet all of a sudden just because of that. You’re being dramatic, dear.”

Tessa’s words caused a rather skeptical look to cross Vernon’s face, “I’m the dramatic one? Never thought I’d ever hear that out of you…”

“Oh shush,” Tessa smacked her husband’s chest in annoyance, “How about you go talk to Miss Novak about coming to the party and leave me to get it all ready.”

“Yes dear,” Vernon said with a hint of playful sarcasm before hurrying out of the door before she could retaliate again.