Twenty

 

On Sunday morning, the gentle touch of sunlight woke Marsha. She was still entangled in Sophie’s arms, and she smiled as she relaxed into their warmth. She wasn’t sure if cuddling while sleeping was a human thing or an affectation of Sophie’s. Either way, she’d take it.

Her eyes skimmed up and down Sophie’s frame in her pajamas. They’d kissed a lot since the other day, but they had yet to do any more than that. Marsha knew Sophie was inexperienced, but she wondered if that was the only problem.

Although she’d wait as long as Sophie needed, that didn’t stop her from wanting the other woman physically. Sophie’s pajamas were modest, yet Marsha could make out the outline of her nipples, and it teased her. The flower-printed bottoms hugged the curve of her legs, and Marsha lost her breath whenever she saw her turn around in them. The longer she knew Sophie, the more attracted she was to her.

Overcome with affection, she pecked Sophie on the cheek. Sophie’s eyes fluttered open, and she smiled sleepily at Marsha.

“Go back to sleep,” Marsha whispered.

She’d planned to make breakfast for Sophie, and it wouldn’t work if Sophie was awake.

As soon as Sophie’s breathing evened out, Marsha slipped out of the room. Terry was already in the kitchen, standing over the coffeemaker. Marsha tensed up when she saw him, and for his part, he looked a bit shocked as well.

Marsha thought about going back to Sophie’s room. She wanted to stay in this apartment, though, so she and Terry were going to have to get along. “Good morning,” she said, forcing a smile. “I was hoping you’d be here. I’m going to make Sophie some breakfast, and I could use some help.”

“Sure.” Terry gave her a faint smile back and didn’t make any snarky comments. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you, actually. I’ve been hurting lately, and I said some things I didn’t mean.”

“I know. I didn’t take them seriously.” But her heart warmed. She appreciated the apology. Considering how cold he’d been toward her, this felt like a truce.

“What were you thinking of making?”

“Something simple. Like toast.”

He chuckled. “I’m sure you can do a little better than that. You’ve been working at a restaurant for a while now.”

“Not cooking the food,” she said defensively. “Besides, Sophie likes toast.”

“All right, I can help you make toast.”

She pulled a loaf of bread out of the fridge. “So you haven’t heard anything from Gary?”

“No.” He put two slices in the toaster. “I guess you heard about my adventure the other night.”

“Sophie told me.” She kept her eyes on the toaster as it heated up. “I understand how you felt. The best way to get over one guy is to get under another one.”

He snorted. “Don’t tell me they have that expression on other planets.”

“No, I heard it on TV.” She opened the fridge and cupboards, unsure if Sophie would want butter, jam, or peanut butter. “I don’t think I ever thanked you for believing I was who I said I was.”

“You made it very obvious.”

“Not to everyone.”

“Have you told anyone else?”

She had to lie like a human now. “Nope.”

He looked suspicious, but let it go. “Well, I hope you keep it that way.”

She understood what he meant. If she didn’t, his whole break-up would’ve been for nothing.

“And you can stay as long as you want,” he said. “Especially now that you’re dating Sophie. It’s nice having you here. Makes things interesting.”

“Thank you.” The toast popped, and she set everything on a small platter, along with a cup of the coffee Terry had brewed. She paused before bringing it to Sophie. “Are you having dinner with everyone tonight?”

“Sophie’s sisters? They’re coming?”

“We were talking about going to a restaurant if you don’t want a big group here again,” she said. “Her parents still aren’t talking to any of them, so it might be a weekly occasion.”

“Oh God, I didn’t even think about that. I’ve been so caught up with my own shit, I’ve been a terrible friend.”

He looked so stunned, Marsha didn’t even mention the possibility of Katie coming to stay with them.

 

***

 

Sophie was awed by the breakfast Marsha brought her. Not so much the culinary skills it had taken, but the fact that Marsha had done something so thoughtful. And had done it for Sophie.

She dug in eagerly, showing her appreciation with every bite. “This is amazing.”

“Oh, please,” Marsha said—but she was preening. “Terry’s doing much better, by the way. He even seemed to approve of our relationship.”

“Is that what this is?” Sophie asked shyly.

Marsha pushed the breakfast platter out of the way and straddled Sophie for a long, meaningful kiss. “This can be whatever you want it to be. If you’re ready to call me your girlfriend, I’m completely fine with that.”

Sophie’s stomach fluttered. “How can you be so sure? You’ve been so many places… met so many people…”

“And none of them made me feel the way you do.” Marsha kissed her again, more passionately this time. “This is it for me. I want to be with you, and that’s not going to change. If you wanted to get married tomorrow, I’d be fine with that.”

Sophie giggled nervously. “Aliens really do work differently, don’t they?”

“Trust me, this isn’t an alien thing. We don’t mate for life. In my case, I don’t even mate for a month.” She took Sophie’s hand. “This is you and me. The connection we have makes me certain this is going to last.”

Sophie could barely breathe. She wanted to believe what Marsha was saying—and whether or not it was a good idea, she did believe it. Marsha had never really lied to her. She’d always been sincere—well, almost always.

There had been that one terrible lie of omission that had nearly destroyed Sophie’s trust in Marsha—but bit by bit, Marsha had built it back. Sophie trusted her almost as much as she had before that.

Maybe that was what was holding her back from giving herself to Marsha completely. She wouldn’t feel right if she made herself vulnerable to her at this point. But how could she get that trust back? The only things she could think of were patience and time.

“I think this is going to last, too,” she said softly. “Whatever freak accident made you land here, I’m so happy it happened.”

She pressed her lips to Marsha’s again, and Marsha’s sweet-scented hair swept over Sophie’s face. Sophie let out a small moan, but when Marsha’s hand moved to the front of her shirt, she tensed up and Marsha stopped immediately.

Sophie would get there… just not yet.

 

***

 

That night, Marsha walked with Sophie, Nicole, Katie, Terry, and Nicole’s husband and kids. They’d decided to go out to a nice restaurant for a change, especially since they wanted to include Brian, Deacon, and Mitzi and there wasn’t enough space at the apartment.

Marsha noticed that while Sophie kept a careful distance from her, she never strayed too far either. Marsha wondered if Sophie could feel the tug between them the way she did. She had a constant urge to scratch Sophie’s thighs—the human equivalent to the way beings showed affection on her home planet. She would’ve settled for holding Sophie’s hand, but not when her family was around. And not when she was this deep in the closet.

The kids raced ahead of the group, then turned back and waited with rolled eyes for the adults to catch up. Marsha was entranced by them. She’d never interacted with such small humans, other than briefly at Grubinski’s, and she was fascinated by their energy and expressiveness.

Mitzi was only four, but could already walk and talk. By the time Marsha’s planet spun around the sun four times, a hrylyt youth was barely capable of rolling over. They grew slowly, even though the rotations were longer.

Marsha wondered how the average lifespan of her species compared to a human’s. And would she have a human lifespan now that she was in this body? She had never had reason to look into this; she didn’t know if science even knew the answer. No one stayed in their borrowed bodies. They were used for the length of a visit, then surrendered into the mist.

Nicole was chatting with Katie about the summer camp the kids had been attending, and Sophie jumped in every so often with a recollection of their own childhood. A soft smile came over Marsha’s face. Being with these people was peaceful and pleasant. It was nice to feel like she was part of a family, if only through her connection to Sophie.

“So none of them are allowed to bring any kind of nuts,” Nicole was saying, sounding outraged. “I understand the peanuts, but walnuts? Almonds? Pine nuts? None of the kids are even allergic to them, and they say it’s a liability.”

The group came to a fork in the road, and Terry stopped short. The rest of them stopped as well, and Marsha frowned at the way the blood had drained from his face.

Standing directly in front of them was Gary.

“What are you doing here?” Terry asked shakily.

“Deacon! Mitzi!” Nicole called, and hurried forward to gather them up. The rest of the group went along with her, but Marsha lingered behind, wanting to hear what Gary would have to say.

“I was shopping.” Gary hefted up a plastic bag. He looked uncertain, too. The rancor from the other day was gone. “What about you?”

“We’re on our way to dinner,” Terry said.

Gary glanced at Marsha. “Did you set this up?”

“No!” She held up her hands. “I had nothing to do with this, and neither did Sophie. It’s just a coincidence.”

“I suppose stranger things have happened.” Gary’s eyes drifted back to Terry. “You look good.”

“Thank you,” Terry breathed. “You do, too.”

Marsha knew that human etiquette would dictate she give them some space. She wasn’t human, though. She could get away with this.

“And you.” Gary turned back to Marsha. “Still roaming the streets? Your spaceship hasn’t come to take you away?”

Now she was the one whose face was paling. “Don’t talk about that,” she hissed urgently.

“Wait, what?” Terry asked. “You—you told him?”

“You really didn’t know?” Gary asked. “She and Sophie showed up at my work to tell me this outlandish story about—”

Terry lunged forward and covered Gary’s mouth. “Stop right there.”

Gary said something muffled, then broke out of Terry’s grip. “What is the deal here?” he demanded, straightening his clothes. Some passers-by looked at them funny, but continued walking.

“They were completely serious,” Terry whispered. “I know it sounds insane, but it’s true. You can’t tell anyone. If you ever cared about me at all, then never speak about this again.”

Gary’s eyes bugged out of his head. “You really believe what you’re saying? That Marsha’s a—a—not a regular person?”

Marsha let out a breath, relieved that he’d avoided using the actual word.

“I do,” Terry said. “It’s true, and she can prove it if you give her a chance.” He hesitated. “And then maybe you’ll understand why I didn’t fill you in from the beginning.”

“I…” Gary glanced at Marsha, then back to Terry.

Marsha stepped forward, smiling brightly. “Look, everyone is getting impatient. I, for one, am hungry. Why don’t you come along with us to dinner?”

Gary seemed taken aback. “I don’t know. This is all a little weird.”

“It’s just dinner,” Terry said softly. “It doesn’t have to be anything more than that.”

After another pause, Gary let out his rollicking laugh. “I might as well. If I’m going crazy, at least I’m in good company.”

 

***

 

Sophie didn’t know what Marsha had said or done to make Gary join them for dinner, but her heart lit up at the sight of him at their table.

During the meal, Deacon and Mitzi carried the conversation. They babbled to each other about this, that, and the other thing while the adults fawned over every word they said.

“You guys are going to spoil them,” Nicole chuckled under her breath. “Brian and I don’t give them this much attention in a month.”

Sophie was sure she did. Nicole was an incredibly loving mother, even if she was modest about it. Sophie wished their own mom had been as encouraging and affectionate as her.

“Did you know birds came from dinosaurs?” Deacon asked. “Imagine if T. rex could fly. Have you seen Jurassic Park? I like the part where the dinosaur lifts the people up and eats them.”

Sophie smiled and nodded between bites of her breadstick.

“Enough about the dinosaurs,” Brian said, sounding more annoyed than Deacon deserved. “We’ve heard about them every day for six months. We know all the fun facts by now.”

“Sophie and the others don’t.” Nicole seemed to be restraining herself from snapping at him. “Let the boy have his fun.”

Sophie hadn’t spent time with Brian and the kids in so long, she wasn’t sure if this tension was normal for them. She glanced at Marsha, who looked equally uncomfortable.

Terry and Gary, though, were in their own world. Terry took a bite of his pasta, then gazed silently at Gary. Gary scratched at his beard and sipped his water, dipping his head but never taking his eyes off Terry.

Sophie kicked Marsha under the table and smiled at her. She hoped Marsha understood how proud she was. If those two got back together, it would be largely due to her hard work.

“I made an ankle bracelet at camp,” Mitzi said. “Auntie Sophie, you want to see?” Without waiting for a response, the four-year-old swung her leg onto the table.

“Mitzi, stop that,” Brian said sharply.

The table was silent as if everyone had been rebuked. Sophie put down her breadstick, watching Nicole carefully. Her face betrayed no sign of emotion.

“Have either of you reached out to our parents?” Katie asked suddenly.

“No,” both Sophie and Nicole said.

Sophie sometimes forgot how bad it had to be for Katie, still living with them. She had to be completely isolated now, being so far from a city and not knowing how to drive. This must have been her first human interaction all week.

Sophie hadn’t checked with Terry about her coming to stay with them, since he’d been so caught up with his issues. Now, though, the mood was somber enough that he snapped out of his fixation on Gary. “Why don’t you come stay with us?” he offered. “You could get out of that environment for a little while.”

“We’ve actually been talking about that,” Katie said.

“We’ll lend you the sleeping bag, if you even need it,” Nicole said.

Sophie nodded. “Since Terry is onboard, come anytime. We’ll find space for you.”

“Okay,” Katie said, visibly relieved. “Brian, when would you be free to drive me?”

Brian’s jaw was tense. “Nicole, it would’ve been nice for you to ask before volunteering my services.”

“Sorry,” Nicole muttered. “If this is going to be a weekly thing, maybe next Sunday would be good. We’d be coming to Rocksoil anyway.”

“So this is a weekly thing now,” Brian huffed.

“If it’s a problem, I can always come and pick up Katie,” Terry said. “I’m off work for the summer, and I don’t mind doing what I can to get someone out of a tough situation.”

“You’re such a sweetheart,” Gary murmured.

“That’s fine.” Brian drew his shoulders back. “She’s my sister-in-law. I’ll drive her. Tomorrow.”

“I can wait another week,” Katie said, looking uncomfortable. “It’s no biggie.”

“Fine,” Brian and Terry said at once.

Sophie twirled her pasta around her fork, keeping her head low. It would be nice to have Katie visit.

Not so nice to have to hide the fact that she was dating Marsha.