Part 37 – 2018
They jerked against each other in the throes of bliss. As soon as the brunette caught her breath she laughed. "I think this officially makes it every place in the city."
"I think so." Rik nodded and he slowly pulled away to get himself back together. There was a word they weren't going to say but he could feel it all over that final act together. Goodbye. Laura was going to Yale in the fall and he was staying in the city. He already knew her parents hated him. The distance was only going to strengthen their case.
"Ron…" She sat up and pulled her dress closed. Those green eyes stared up at him. "They're sending me to Italy for the summer and… I'd love to go but…"
"Go. It's cool." He bent to press a kiss against her lips. Her hands gripped his body, trying to pull him back onto her. "Hey. Sh…"
"I…" She shoved him away got busy cleaning herself up and righting her clothes. She grabbed her purse off the dresser and reapplied her lipstick. She fought tears when he wrapped his arms around her waist. "They're going to make sure I don't see you again before I go, aren't they."
"Wouldn't put it passed them." He murmured against her temple.
"If only… Someday you're going to kick my dad's ass in court and I'm going to say, 'See, I told you.'" When she met his eyes in the mirror, they were shining too. "This isn't why I came in here with you."
"I know."
"We should get back before he comes looking in his room."
"Yeah, he'll kill me for beatin' him to bless the bed." He tried to lighten the mood and pretend the last couple of minutes didn't happen but there was a weight. "Come on. If Mom notices we're gone, she'll come lookin'."
--
"There he is." Zan motioned to the corridor where their son and his girlfriend were whispering in the dark. Erika relaxed a little. She always got nervous hanging out with these folks. She leaned on Zan, who already had Kelly drooling on his other shoulder. She spied Max and Liz across the room, nodding mindlessly to one of Susan’s friends while Hannah, obviously hopped up on sugar, swung from their hands between them. Isaiah sat quietly with a plate of snacks, bored to death.
"What is taking him so long?" Erika murmured, eyes fixed on her son.
"Heard her mom tellin' Susie that they're sendin' her to Italy for the summer." He made a face. "Guess we ain't good enough for them to call in-laws."
"Chill. Let them work it out." She rubbed his back and wiped a little drool from Kelly's chin.
Darin kissed Erika's cheek as he passed her to get to the girls on the other side of the room. She swatted him and shook her head while he smiled broadly at the girls in their straight posture for their parents. He towered over the whole lot of them, scrawny but three semesters had been very generous to his vertical limits. A few moments later, Max appeared next to them with Hannah on his hip. "I'm going to buy a chastity belt for him."
"He's hittin' it?" Zan barely turned to look, his eye on the food.
"He's got some girlfriend he's not naming." Max confirmed with sigh. "Susan is going out of her mind. She's trying to educate him on diseases and that type of thing and short of handing him a strip of condoms, I don't think there's anything I could do or tell him at this point. 'Keep it in your pant, kid' is something someone should have told me but as I'm the mistake on that one…"
"Remember when he was young and naïve and had never kissed a girl?" Erika teased. "Turned fine shades of red if anyone even implied sex in his presence?"
"I almost wish I could turn back the clock. I mean… what happened? He grows 14 inches and all of a sudden he's this… stud. When I was in high school, I was lucky if I didn't totally embarrass myself and…" He trailed off, at a loss. "And he graduates next year and then he's at college. If he goes away, you know he's going to screw half the female dorm in the first semester."
"I think you callin' it too soon." Zan shook his head and gestured to the boy. Sure he was tall, taller than either of them, but skinny with no muscle tone. "Look at him. All skin and bones. You really think he's been hittin' it."
"Think? Know." Max growled and had to calm himself down. "You should hear his answering machine. Girls calling, wondering why he hasn't called back, wondering what they did wrong, pleading love and devotion. All of the stereotypical signs of a player. My son is player. Should I be proud? Or should I take him over my knee?"
"How long that been going on?" Erika straightened up. That was definitely news to her. She didn't see Max all that often since the previous summer and most news on Darin came from her son.
"Since last summer. School let out and after we got back from Roswell… girls were calling our place all summer and then school started up again and Susan said his line was always ringing. Liz just laughs us off but she's technically not the grandma if something happens." He absently pulled Hannah's thumb out of her mouth and held onto her little hand to keep it that way. "I'm a nervous wreck now. What's gonna happen in ten years when Isaiah starts dating?"
"Given what I know on the subject." Zan interrupted Max's rant. "Little man'll be hittin' it in eight, not ten."
"Shut up. And someone will have to sedate me when this one here starts calling boys." He eyed his little girl with her soft brown curls and her mother's eyes. "I'm signing you up for a convent."
"Blondie's gonna be good for her old man, huh." Zan tried to peer down into her face but she was sleeping away. "Gonna go to bed without cryin', gonna go to school without whinin', gonna wait til she's 28 and engaged to a hot shot lawyer before she has sex."
"I don't know whether to hope the same thing or slap you for bein' stupid." Erika shook her head and crossed the room to loop her arm through Darin's. "So, introduce me to your girlfriends."
"Ladies, my aunt Erika. Aunt Erika, this is Lindsay, April, Penni, and Tanya."
"Penni, I think you've called the house before." She nodded to the girl.
"Rik's mom." Darin informed them. They all greeted her and chatted for a bit.
"I've been talkin' to your dad." Erika informed him out of the blue and then addressed the girls. "We're thinkin' of sendin' him to a reform camp for players." They all laughed and seemed to agree he needed it. "Be careful, girlies, don't let him walk all over you because he thinks he's special."
"Aunt Erika…" Darin tried not to whine but she was making him look bad.
"The best way to keep a guy in control is not to get his ego get too big. He's just 16 and he is such a sweetie… but sometimes he gets to thinkin' he's his own man."
"You're not 16." Penni blurted out. "You're a junior."
"He's skipped grades, girls. He's just a baby." She pinched one cheek and kissed the other before leaving him in the hands of some very intrigued older girls.
Max turned to Zan. "She's good."
"You don't have to tell me."
Darin, all hopes of scoring for the night dashed, answered the phone when it rang. It was the doorman. "Send them up… I heard you, send them up." Just then Laura brushed past him, tears slipping down her face. A few seconds later, Rik followed at a slower pace, nodding at the boy as he passed. "Steve and Dari are on their way up." Rik just waved him off as he went to tend to his girlfriend. Scanning the crowd, he saw Laura's father approach Zan and Max. "That's not good."
Rik followed Laura out into the hallway connecting to the floor's foyer. The elevator lights pressed. "He's an ass."
"I know. He's just… It's like he doesn't want me to be happy. All I suggested was a week or two before I left for Italy." She exclaimed, holding in the tears the best she could. "I'm giving up everything else for him. I'm going to the school he wants, into the major he picked for me. All I wanted was one more week. It's like he doesn't even listen to me." She looked up at her boyfriend. "Apply to Yale. Come with me. You could be in by next year, I could wait."
Rik took her hands in his and pulled her to him, a sad smile on his face. "I gotta stay here. I got a little sister now, my dad's back. I don't want to miss it all."
"Not even for me?"
"You could always tell him you got accepted to NYU. You could stay."
"I can't."
"Then we can't." Ding. The elevators opened to reveal Steve and Dari. "Hey."
"Hey." Steve nodded to them. "How's the… party?"
"Full of rich snobs." Rik slapped hands with him and nodded to Dari. "How's it goin'?"
"Grandma Rita said she's gonna hang around to see the next generation." Dari shrugged with a sad smile.
"Grandma is thrilled. Mom ain't so much." Steve rubbed his bald head where the shoe had hit him when he had given her the news.
"But you both graduated, right?" Rik looped his arm over Laura's shoulders and switched his gaze from one to the other.
"Some of us were luckier than others." Steve shook his head and tilted his head just a bit toward his girlfriend and the future mother of his child. "It's cool. You think your pops could get me on with his crew?"
"Let's go ask." Rik gestured to the apartment behind him.
"I'm not going back in there." Laura protested.
"He's not going to make a scene in front of everyone." Rik tried to reassure her and held the door open. He glanced at Dari for a second but addressed Steve when he spoke. "Where are you guys gonna live? Her mom is pissed right?"
"We talkin' to old guy. He said he'd spot us in that place you guys fixed up couple of years back… just til I find something. Says it ain't like anyone else been rentin'." Steve guided Dari into the party, both a little more than out of place with the crowd.
"Anyone else comin'?" Rik steered them around Laura's mother and her friends then around Laura's father and right to the spread.
"Nah… You remember what I was sayin' about T?" The cue-ball clicked his tongue to infer that it had indeed taken place. "Had it out with his old man and he won. The cops are lookin' for 'im. They'll find him soon enough."
"No one's seen Robbie in a month." Dari continued to hold a plate for Steve to fill. "Hank ran off couple of nights ago. Sara had her baby, though. Little boy. Javier still says it ain't his but we all know he's lyin'."
"Bet the kid looks just like him, too." Rik shook his head and kissed Laura's forehead, determined not to be dragged down by anyone's shit at his own party.
"We're gonna be cramped though." Steve went on. "Some little prick knocked up Janey and she ain't told Mom yet."
"It sounds like everyone's getting pregnant." Laura murmured softly, leaning into Rik for strength.
"It's what it feels like." Steve let out a breath. "Mom's gonna kill her and I'm gonna kill the asshole that done it."
--
In Search of... (Zan, CC / Mature) (Complete)
Moderators: Itzstacie, Forum Moderators
--
Liz helped Susan clean up after the guests. "Thanks for this. Erika wanted to throw him a party…"
"He's such a wonderful young man. George and Eva are idiots. They should count themselves lucky to have their daughter dating him." Susan shook her head.
"She just knew they would be uncomfortable in her neighborhood." Liz nodded to herself. Erika would be in to thank Susan herself but Liz liked to make sure everyone was on the same page.
"Laura is a sweet girl. They'll ruin her if they don't leave her alone."
"You got that right." Erika walked in, barely containing her rage. "You should have heard what that man said to my husband."
"I can hazard a guess."
"If he didn't keep his miscreant son away from his daughter… I wanted to rip all his hair out and shove it up his ass. He's damn lucky Zan was holdin' the baby or else he would've ended up out a window." Erika stuffed handfuls of trash into a bag. "It's not our business what the kids are doin'. They's goin' to college. I'm sure they made decisions about what's gonna happen. So long as they keep on track to college, nothin' else they do should matter. I mean… Steve and Janey was a little disappointin' but they wasn't set up to go to Harvard or Yale or NYU. They ain't made plans to break."
"What happened to Steve and Janey?" Liz stopped Erika.
"What happens to most of us in that neighborhood."
Darin threw open the door and peeked inside. "Where's Rik?"
"Walked Laura to her car." Erika waved him off.
"I'm gonna kill him." The teen took off for the elevator.
"What was that about?" Susan stared after her son in disbelief. Liz bit back her laugh but didn't say anything to shed light on why exactly Darin would want to kill his cousin. "He's out of control."
"We all told him he'd find his stride but I think we all thought it would be years in coming." Liz finally spoke. "Or that his stride wouldn't be so darn physical." She leaned on the kitchen door just enough to crack it open. "How's it going out there?"
"We're fine. Kids are falling asleep." Max called back.
"Or they were until he started yellin’." Erika rolled her eyes.
"It's late, you should head home. I can take care of this." Susan gestured the women to the door.
"No, you threw the party for my son, I'll clean up. It's the least I can do." Erika froze when the door swung open and her son and his girlfriend entered. "I thought you were headin' home."
"I can't go home, yet. I don't want to." Laura shook her head.
"Did Darin find you?" Liz bit her lip to hide the smile.
"He'll get over it." Rik shrugged and poured Laura a drink of water. "Eat something, will you?"
"You go get the trash from out there. We'll feed her." Liz shooed him out of the kitchen.
"I thought you didn't like to perpetuate stereotypes about women?" Susan smirked at Liz.
"The work is minimal and staying in here keeps them out. They think all we do is gossip and clean but I like to think of my kitchen as a quiet repose from my husband." Liz smiled brightly and popped a cool appetizer into her mouth. "I love my husband, I do… but I spent most of my adult life locked in a van with him. I didn't realize how quirky he was until the third month after we got married. He got really upset because ironing his jeans was hard to do on the road. Then there was the flossing thing."
"You have to train your husband to do those annoying things out of your sight."
"Locked in a van with him, Susan." She reminded the woman.
"So, you guys really did that whole… retro-70s thing? Driving around the country in a van with a bunch of other families?" Laura spoke up softly from her seat at the kitchen table.
"You do what you have to. But now, I get to write books for little kids and let my husband worry about keeping up with the rugrats." Liz smiled brightly and tilted her head at the girl. Her smile faded but didn't go away. "You're going to be okay, Laura."
"I know. It only feels like the end of the world."
"Did that jackass break up with you?" Erika crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow when the girl shook her head. "Then why so sad?"
"I leave for Europe in the morning and when I get back, I'm heading straight for Yale to start classes." She shrugged but was surprisingly dry-eyed. "He says if we're meant to be, we'll find a way but… I'd rather go than stay with my parents for college. He won't leave…"
Liz slid into the seat next to her. "He's right. If it's meant to be, it will be. You'll find a way. If it isn't… you're still going to be okay. I promise."
“Can I ask a question?” Laura took a breath and lowered her eyes. “I don’t want you to think I’m the sort of girl who, um… sleeps around.” She quickly raised her eyes to the older women. “Rik and I are exclusive and frankly, I think I love him but… I asked some other girls and… I figure maybe…”
Erika raised an eyebrow at Liz. “You want to jump in or should I?”
“Is this a sex question?” Liz took the girl’s hand to calm her down.
“It’s just… Sometimes, um… things take longer to… culminate and then they… um… sort of stay… culminating… for a while.” The girl blew out a breath. “And I can’t believe I just said any of that. You must think I’m a real…”
“It’s a rare hereditary trait.” Liz cut the girl off. “It’s okay to enjoy it. You said only sometimes?”
“Well, if he doesn’t… do that… he walks around like he’s drunk for… the same amount of time that it would normally…” She buried her face in her hands. “Mrs. Kasey, I’m sorry… I… Steve gave me something to drink earlier. That’s why I didn’t drive home.”
“Sugar, I came to terms with my son havin’ sex a while ago. So long as I’m not a grandma, I just pretend I don’t hear a thing. I let his daddy deal with all that stuff.”
--
"It's my bed." Darin crossed his arms.
"Didn't mean to, just happened." Rik raised his in self-defense, dropping his trash bag on the floor.
"You accidentally screwed your girlfriend on my bed." Darin nodded, brow furrowed. Zan snorted to hold back a laugh and nudged Max, who was trying to keep his eyes open. Rik didn't respond so Darin kept going. "Every time I go to bed I'm going to see it, thank you."
"Sorry, man."
"Next time you gotta get your rocks off… not in my room. Not on my bed. I don't take my girls to your place."
"He's got a point." Max forced his eyes open and got to his feet to check his kids dozing on a couch. "Though, I don't think a 16 year old should be taking girls anywhere to do anything that can't be done in public."
The kitchen burst with laughter but the guys all just stared at the door, shaking their heads. Zan ran a hand over his face. "I gotta work in the mornin'."
"Head home. I'll make sure Mom gets home okay." Rik pointed to his little sister, asleep with a bottle hanging out of her mouth. "She needs to be in bed."
Laura emerged from the kitchen with a tupperware bowl in hand. She leaned into kiss him. "I'll call you as soon as my plane lands."
"You want me to walk you down?"
"No. It's okay."
"Hey, sweetie. Is it safe to go in there?" Zan tilted his head back to see her.
"They're talking about sex just now. I'm not sure it's safe for any of you in there." She smiled at them and turned her head back to Rik. "I'll call you."
"I'll answer."
"Good answer." She kissed him lightly and made for the door without looking back.
Rik stood there for a few minutes, trying to control his emotions. He knew the others didn't know what he knew. They were all confused about how and why he was saying goodbye to her. "I'm never going to see her again."
"How do you know that?" Darin asked softly, things started to fall into place for him, his anger deflating.
"Some things I just know."
--
"There are benefits to having an alien lover. Some of these I didn't know about until five years ago." Liz tried to explain. "It was actually Ava who tipped me off to the possibility."
"What's that?" Susan sipped her wine while Liz sipped grape juice.
"Well, when Kal tested the boys he put a question on the test about anatomy. If bones could move on their own. I forget how it was phrased but that was essentially it. Every anatomy book on the planet says the same thing. Bones don't move. They're moved by muscle and tendons and nerve impulses but the bones themselves don't move. They're strictly structural. Antarian bones aren't so immobile. The nerve endings extend into the marrow and into the bone itself. That's why they're so fragile." Liz cleared her throat. "So, it's possible to send impulses through the nerves and into the bones."
"But the bones don't… move, right?"
"Not exactly. See the boys knew instinctually that the bones weren't just manipulated by muscle and they answered the question wrong. That's how we knew which ones they were."
"So, Antarian bones have another function?"
"They are shapeshifters, they have to be able to manipulate their own structures, their bones. In hybrid form, it's impossible to change the structure but the nerve endings do still extend into the bone but on X-ray you can't tell the endings are so thin."
"But if they can't manipulate them, what does it do? Having those nerve endings there." Erika furrowed her brow, not sure she was following the conversation well at all.
"If they concentrate, they can stimulate the nerve endings. It doesn’t do much for any specific purpose. Nothing particularly useful but it’s a vestigial occurrence." Liz cleared her throat, her face flushing. "But um… if say a hybrid stimulated their nerve endings in say… a finger and laid it on someone's skin. It would feel warm and it would… vibrate."
Erika threw her head back and laughed out loud. "Is that how he does that?"
"Max got really upset when Ava, um, showed me how that worked. I think mostly because it took him a while to figure out how to do it. Once he learned, he made sure to incorporate it into his repertoire."
"Well, that is… handy." Susan shook her head. "Greg had his own moves but I don’t think vibrating fingers were ever part of them."
“They have to think they’re studs in bed. If they think for an instant you ain’t satisfied, they think someone else is doin’ their job.” Erika snorted and had herself a glass of wine. “If I’m not interested, I just tell him he wore me out and I need a day to recover. If I don’t set him up, he follows me to work and drives himself crazy thinkin’ I’m gettin’ cozy with somebody at work.”
“Greg thought I was a heavy sleeper for years. Then when we tried to get pregnant, he figured out my ploy.” She shook her head with a small smile.
“Because you were always willing all of a sudden?” Liz laughed and rolled her eyes. “Max and I aren’t used to regular sex. It was sometimes months between decent places without scandalizing our traveling party more than we already had. Now, just now, he’s clued into what settling down can do for us. Hannah’s sleeping longer, Isaiah doesn’t get up at night for water anymore.” She lowered her voice though the door was closed. “If I’m not into it, I tell him I’m stuck on an idea for a book. He, um, can’t reconcile having sex when I’ve got children’s books on the brain.”
--
Kal let himself into the apartment and looked around. “Rich people. They don’t know how to party.”
“Hey, what brings you around?” Max yawned from his chair.
“Checking in.” Kal took a seat and regarded the boys who were talking out on the balcony. “Look, I got a present for the kid.”
“Don’t get him shit.” Zan waved him off but didn’t open his eyes.
“It’s college money and he can only have it if he joins the firm I tell him to when he graduates.” Kal set the envelope on the table. “Look at you. Don’t you kings have any pride in yourselves?”
“When you’re drivin’ trucks and unloadin’ trailers and hafta get up in the middle of the night with a baby, then you can ask me somethin’ bout it.” Zan shifted a little, his hand squarely on Kelly’s back to keep her on his chest. “What if he changes his mind about the firm when he graduates?”
“I’ll kill him. You don’t mind, right?”
“Whatever.”
“Look, I’m gonna need a lawyer on my side when I make the transition from one Langley to the next. The last time almost didn’t work.” The alien straightened his tie. “What kind of party was this? It’s over?”
“You said it. Rich people. I was almost in a fight, though.” Zan yawned again. “Baby! You done yackin’?”
“He’s so charming.” Kal made a face, clearly bored out of his mind but hanging around for a reason only he knew.
“You have a problem with this party, you plan Darin’s next year.” Max got to his feet if only to keep from falling asleep.
“Tell the kid that if he wants to make a difference, he should check into Quantico. He could solve a lot of problems for us.”
“Wouldn’t that be something? They’d be pretty stupid to form another unit if one of them was an alien.” Max nodded that he would mention the possibility to Darin, who was still convinced he would be the president someday… and he could be, so long as no one found out he wasn’t technically eligible to run.
“I was thinking, he gets in, he does that thing he does where he kisses ass into promotion and he keeps another one from getting formed.”
“Or he could do that.” Max agreed.
“Old guy. You seen my girl?” Zan finally gave up waiting and rose to gather the baby’s things. “Is she even on the planet?”
“She’s shacking up with that jack ass and his brood. Maybe she’ll give you a call if she comes up for air.”
“You came all the way up here for that?”
“I gotta talk to your wife. My stars are being pissy and she needs to get to the club. Come on. Give you a ride home but I need her to work.” Kal motioned for Zan to hurry. “I’m getting her a promotion so she better show.”
“How much you gonna get her paid?” Zan paused just long enough to make Kal impatient.
“She gets us through tonight, we’ll talk.”
TBC
Liz helped Susan clean up after the guests. "Thanks for this. Erika wanted to throw him a party…"
"He's such a wonderful young man. George and Eva are idiots. They should count themselves lucky to have their daughter dating him." Susan shook her head.
"She just knew they would be uncomfortable in her neighborhood." Liz nodded to herself. Erika would be in to thank Susan herself but Liz liked to make sure everyone was on the same page.
"Laura is a sweet girl. They'll ruin her if they don't leave her alone."
"You got that right." Erika walked in, barely containing her rage. "You should have heard what that man said to my husband."
"I can hazard a guess."
"If he didn't keep his miscreant son away from his daughter… I wanted to rip all his hair out and shove it up his ass. He's damn lucky Zan was holdin' the baby or else he would've ended up out a window." Erika stuffed handfuls of trash into a bag. "It's not our business what the kids are doin'. They's goin' to college. I'm sure they made decisions about what's gonna happen. So long as they keep on track to college, nothin' else they do should matter. I mean… Steve and Janey was a little disappointin' but they wasn't set up to go to Harvard or Yale or NYU. They ain't made plans to break."
"What happened to Steve and Janey?" Liz stopped Erika.
"What happens to most of us in that neighborhood."
Darin threw open the door and peeked inside. "Where's Rik?"
"Walked Laura to her car." Erika waved him off.
"I'm gonna kill him." The teen took off for the elevator.
"What was that about?" Susan stared after her son in disbelief. Liz bit back her laugh but didn't say anything to shed light on why exactly Darin would want to kill his cousin. "He's out of control."
"We all told him he'd find his stride but I think we all thought it would be years in coming." Liz finally spoke. "Or that his stride wouldn't be so darn physical." She leaned on the kitchen door just enough to crack it open. "How's it going out there?"
"We're fine. Kids are falling asleep." Max called back.
"Or they were until he started yellin’." Erika rolled her eyes.
"It's late, you should head home. I can take care of this." Susan gestured the women to the door.
"No, you threw the party for my son, I'll clean up. It's the least I can do." Erika froze when the door swung open and her son and his girlfriend entered. "I thought you were headin' home."
"I can't go home, yet. I don't want to." Laura shook her head.
"Did Darin find you?" Liz bit her lip to hide the smile.
"He'll get over it." Rik shrugged and poured Laura a drink of water. "Eat something, will you?"
"You go get the trash from out there. We'll feed her." Liz shooed him out of the kitchen.
"I thought you didn't like to perpetuate stereotypes about women?" Susan smirked at Liz.
"The work is minimal and staying in here keeps them out. They think all we do is gossip and clean but I like to think of my kitchen as a quiet repose from my husband." Liz smiled brightly and popped a cool appetizer into her mouth. "I love my husband, I do… but I spent most of my adult life locked in a van with him. I didn't realize how quirky he was until the third month after we got married. He got really upset because ironing his jeans was hard to do on the road. Then there was the flossing thing."
"You have to train your husband to do those annoying things out of your sight."
"Locked in a van with him, Susan." She reminded the woman.
"So, you guys really did that whole… retro-70s thing? Driving around the country in a van with a bunch of other families?" Laura spoke up softly from her seat at the kitchen table.
"You do what you have to. But now, I get to write books for little kids and let my husband worry about keeping up with the rugrats." Liz smiled brightly and tilted her head at the girl. Her smile faded but didn't go away. "You're going to be okay, Laura."
"I know. It only feels like the end of the world."
"Did that jackass break up with you?" Erika crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow when the girl shook her head. "Then why so sad?"
"I leave for Europe in the morning and when I get back, I'm heading straight for Yale to start classes." She shrugged but was surprisingly dry-eyed. "He says if we're meant to be, we'll find a way but… I'd rather go than stay with my parents for college. He won't leave…"
Liz slid into the seat next to her. "He's right. If it's meant to be, it will be. You'll find a way. If it isn't… you're still going to be okay. I promise."
“Can I ask a question?” Laura took a breath and lowered her eyes. “I don’t want you to think I’m the sort of girl who, um… sleeps around.” She quickly raised her eyes to the older women. “Rik and I are exclusive and frankly, I think I love him but… I asked some other girls and… I figure maybe…”
Erika raised an eyebrow at Liz. “You want to jump in or should I?”
“Is this a sex question?” Liz took the girl’s hand to calm her down.
“It’s just… Sometimes, um… things take longer to… culminate and then they… um… sort of stay… culminating… for a while.” The girl blew out a breath. “And I can’t believe I just said any of that. You must think I’m a real…”
“It’s a rare hereditary trait.” Liz cut the girl off. “It’s okay to enjoy it. You said only sometimes?”
“Well, if he doesn’t… do that… he walks around like he’s drunk for… the same amount of time that it would normally…” She buried her face in her hands. “Mrs. Kasey, I’m sorry… I… Steve gave me something to drink earlier. That’s why I didn’t drive home.”
“Sugar, I came to terms with my son havin’ sex a while ago. So long as I’m not a grandma, I just pretend I don’t hear a thing. I let his daddy deal with all that stuff.”
--
"It's my bed." Darin crossed his arms.
"Didn't mean to, just happened." Rik raised his in self-defense, dropping his trash bag on the floor.
"You accidentally screwed your girlfriend on my bed." Darin nodded, brow furrowed. Zan snorted to hold back a laugh and nudged Max, who was trying to keep his eyes open. Rik didn't respond so Darin kept going. "Every time I go to bed I'm going to see it, thank you."
"Sorry, man."
"Next time you gotta get your rocks off… not in my room. Not on my bed. I don't take my girls to your place."
"He's got a point." Max forced his eyes open and got to his feet to check his kids dozing on a couch. "Though, I don't think a 16 year old should be taking girls anywhere to do anything that can't be done in public."
The kitchen burst with laughter but the guys all just stared at the door, shaking their heads. Zan ran a hand over his face. "I gotta work in the mornin'."
"Head home. I'll make sure Mom gets home okay." Rik pointed to his little sister, asleep with a bottle hanging out of her mouth. "She needs to be in bed."
Laura emerged from the kitchen with a tupperware bowl in hand. She leaned into kiss him. "I'll call you as soon as my plane lands."
"You want me to walk you down?"
"No. It's okay."
"Hey, sweetie. Is it safe to go in there?" Zan tilted his head back to see her.
"They're talking about sex just now. I'm not sure it's safe for any of you in there." She smiled at them and turned her head back to Rik. "I'll call you."
"I'll answer."
"Good answer." She kissed him lightly and made for the door without looking back.
Rik stood there for a few minutes, trying to control his emotions. He knew the others didn't know what he knew. They were all confused about how and why he was saying goodbye to her. "I'm never going to see her again."
"How do you know that?" Darin asked softly, things started to fall into place for him, his anger deflating.
"Some things I just know."
--
"There are benefits to having an alien lover. Some of these I didn't know about until five years ago." Liz tried to explain. "It was actually Ava who tipped me off to the possibility."
"What's that?" Susan sipped her wine while Liz sipped grape juice.
"Well, when Kal tested the boys he put a question on the test about anatomy. If bones could move on their own. I forget how it was phrased but that was essentially it. Every anatomy book on the planet says the same thing. Bones don't move. They're moved by muscle and tendons and nerve impulses but the bones themselves don't move. They're strictly structural. Antarian bones aren't so immobile. The nerve endings extend into the marrow and into the bone itself. That's why they're so fragile." Liz cleared her throat. "So, it's possible to send impulses through the nerves and into the bones."
"But the bones don't… move, right?"
"Not exactly. See the boys knew instinctually that the bones weren't just manipulated by muscle and they answered the question wrong. That's how we knew which ones they were."
"So, Antarian bones have another function?"
"They are shapeshifters, they have to be able to manipulate their own structures, their bones. In hybrid form, it's impossible to change the structure but the nerve endings do still extend into the bone but on X-ray you can't tell the endings are so thin."
"But if they can't manipulate them, what does it do? Having those nerve endings there." Erika furrowed her brow, not sure she was following the conversation well at all.
"If they concentrate, they can stimulate the nerve endings. It doesn’t do much for any specific purpose. Nothing particularly useful but it’s a vestigial occurrence." Liz cleared her throat, her face flushing. "But um… if say a hybrid stimulated their nerve endings in say… a finger and laid it on someone's skin. It would feel warm and it would… vibrate."
Erika threw her head back and laughed out loud. "Is that how he does that?"
"Max got really upset when Ava, um, showed me how that worked. I think mostly because it took him a while to figure out how to do it. Once he learned, he made sure to incorporate it into his repertoire."
"Well, that is… handy." Susan shook her head. "Greg had his own moves but I don’t think vibrating fingers were ever part of them."
“They have to think they’re studs in bed. If they think for an instant you ain’t satisfied, they think someone else is doin’ their job.” Erika snorted and had herself a glass of wine. “If I’m not interested, I just tell him he wore me out and I need a day to recover. If I don’t set him up, he follows me to work and drives himself crazy thinkin’ I’m gettin’ cozy with somebody at work.”
“Greg thought I was a heavy sleeper for years. Then when we tried to get pregnant, he figured out my ploy.” She shook her head with a small smile.
“Because you were always willing all of a sudden?” Liz laughed and rolled her eyes. “Max and I aren’t used to regular sex. It was sometimes months between decent places without scandalizing our traveling party more than we already had. Now, just now, he’s clued into what settling down can do for us. Hannah’s sleeping longer, Isaiah doesn’t get up at night for water anymore.” She lowered her voice though the door was closed. “If I’m not into it, I tell him I’m stuck on an idea for a book. He, um, can’t reconcile having sex when I’ve got children’s books on the brain.”
--
Kal let himself into the apartment and looked around. “Rich people. They don’t know how to party.”
“Hey, what brings you around?” Max yawned from his chair.
“Checking in.” Kal took a seat and regarded the boys who were talking out on the balcony. “Look, I got a present for the kid.”
“Don’t get him shit.” Zan waved him off but didn’t open his eyes.
“It’s college money and he can only have it if he joins the firm I tell him to when he graduates.” Kal set the envelope on the table. “Look at you. Don’t you kings have any pride in yourselves?”
“When you’re drivin’ trucks and unloadin’ trailers and hafta get up in the middle of the night with a baby, then you can ask me somethin’ bout it.” Zan shifted a little, his hand squarely on Kelly’s back to keep her on his chest. “What if he changes his mind about the firm when he graduates?”
“I’ll kill him. You don’t mind, right?”
“Whatever.”
“Look, I’m gonna need a lawyer on my side when I make the transition from one Langley to the next. The last time almost didn’t work.” The alien straightened his tie. “What kind of party was this? It’s over?”
“You said it. Rich people. I was almost in a fight, though.” Zan yawned again. “Baby! You done yackin’?”
“He’s so charming.” Kal made a face, clearly bored out of his mind but hanging around for a reason only he knew.
“You have a problem with this party, you plan Darin’s next year.” Max got to his feet if only to keep from falling asleep.
“Tell the kid that if he wants to make a difference, he should check into Quantico. He could solve a lot of problems for us.”
“Wouldn’t that be something? They’d be pretty stupid to form another unit if one of them was an alien.” Max nodded that he would mention the possibility to Darin, who was still convinced he would be the president someday… and he could be, so long as no one found out he wasn’t technically eligible to run.
“I was thinking, he gets in, he does that thing he does where he kisses ass into promotion and he keeps another one from getting formed.”
“Or he could do that.” Max agreed.
“Old guy. You seen my girl?” Zan finally gave up waiting and rose to gather the baby’s things. “Is she even on the planet?”
“She’s shacking up with that jack ass and his brood. Maybe she’ll give you a call if she comes up for air.”
“You came all the way up here for that?”
“I gotta talk to your wife. My stars are being pissy and she needs to get to the club. Come on. Give you a ride home but I need her to work.” Kal motioned for Zan to hurry. “I’m getting her a promotion so she better show.”
“How much you gonna get her paid?” Zan paused just long enough to make Kal impatient.
“She gets us through tonight, we’ll talk.”
TBC
Part 38
Part 38
Rik lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, listening to Kelly stack his CDs. He barely winced when he heard the cracks of the cases giving way. His thoughts were focused. He could see the plane flying through the air to London for her layover. Kelly let out a string of shrill noises and returned to stacking and unstacking his things.
"Baby, get out of bed. I'll make you something to eat." Erika called into the room.
"Arsenic and iced tea… with Tabasco." He called back.
"You're not funny. Get up. Uncle Max wants to talk to you. He'll be by in an hour."
--
Darin sat up when he heard the message on his machine and burst out laughing. Old rock tunes poured through the little speaker, so he reached over to pick it up. "Oh, really?"
"I knew you were there."
"Yeah, everyone left kind of late last night."
"Am I going to see you today?"
"I don't know. I've got to spend some time with my dad."
"Well, you're busted mister. No one plays me. All those other girls are just going to have to go away."
"She was joking." Darin shook his head.
"No, she wasn't. I talked to Penni and she wasn't joking. I'm going to the beach tomorrow and when I get back next weekend, I expect to have your undivided attention."
"Fine. Supposing there were any strings left on my finger, I'll cut them loose."
"Good boy."
"Shut up."
--
"Daddy! I'm going to play!"
"Michael! I'm going to work!"
Michael leaned in the doorway while his family ran out the door and waited until they were out of sight before turning back on Liz. "So what are you saying?"
"They said I could pick any illustrator I wanted. I figured if I'm going to do a series of books based on a space man… who better to do the pictures…"
"I haven't done that in years." She slapped a picture against his chest. He rolled his eyes. "I did that for my daughter."
"It's good. I like it. My agent loved it." Liz smiled brightly at him. "Come on. I've got my heart set on this."
"How many pictures?" Michael crossed his arms. "How many per page? How many pages per book? How many books in the series?"
"You're gonna get paid, Michael. Come on. It's for your future."
"How many, Liz?"
"I don't know yet." She finally conceded. "The book did okay so they're hopeful but not promising."
"I'm not gonna quit my job for this."
"I don't expect you to. Do a sample of pictures and I won't ask anything more of you until I have a check in my hand."
"Fine. Where's the book?"
"Thank you." She hopped up to kiss his cheek and thrust the book into his hands.
"She roped you in?" Max snickered from where he was installing a new lock a few doors down. He took a breath and finished what he was doing. "If you did it, you could make money doing something you're good at and you could do it anywhere." He looked up and found Michael was confused. "You wouldn't have to stay here."
"Since when do I have a say in where I am?" Michael shrugged. "I'll talk to Maria but she's not going anywhere without Liz… you're stuck with me."
"There are worse people I could be stuck with."
"You want me to leave or something?"
"No… I just…" Max got to his feet and picked up his toolbox. "Look. I know why I'm still in New York. My parents understand and Isabel understands but you stayed with me… and I don't know why. You hate it here."
"Maybe but what I hate more is being stuck in a van where I can smell your feet all the time. Or… I hate Texas. I'm telling you that now. I think of Texas and I hear Maria scream in my head. I remember the blood and so what she only got shot in the ass and she's completely fine… It scared the shit out of me. I like sleeping in a bed with her. I like knowing I can shut the door on Mandy if I need to. I like having to open three or four doors to see you on most days. No offense but I get sick of you."
"None taken." Max managed a chuckle.
"I don't cherish the thought of raising Mandy here but… she needs to be in one place and I don't want to take her away from the friends she has now. Maria needs Liz and she actually likes running the Karaoke machine if you can believe that. I think she's gonna start giving lessons soon. The tone-deafs are driving her nuts… but she likes that. She's easier to handle when she likes what she's doing."
"I'll bet."
"You gonna stick around here fixing doorknobs and toilets forever?"
"Don't know. How long are you going to be okay with short order and drawing stuff for Liz?"
"Don't know. Let's see if I can even do this."
--
Rik picked at his pancakes. He had soaked the stack with syrup and swirled Tabasco on top but as mouthwatering as that was… he had no appetite. Kelly had jumped headfirst into her breakfast/lunch and that was literally. She had cheerios in her hair and banana smeared on her forehead. He couldn't help but laugh. She only grinned and slapped her hands against her tray, sending more cheerios flying through the air. Encouraged by her enjoyment of the meal, he tried to eat. Nothing would be made better if he didn't eat.
Still, slowly chewing his food, he was imagining the plane setting down in London and how miserable her parents were making her. When his mom pulled a chair up next to his and put her arms around him, he had to fight to keep from breaking down. "You really love her, don't you." All he could manage was a nod and she pulled him close, the way she had done when he was little. "She loves you, too. You know that right?" He nodded, trying to get control of himself, feeling stupid for acting like a baby but unwilling to sit up. "You're like me, you fall in head first and you can't get up. How long were you together?"
"Almost a year." He took a breath and managed to swallow his pancakes so he could speak clearer. "It's just… I know she has to get away from her parents if she's going to be okay. So she's going to the college they want so she can get space. I want to go with her but…" He stared across the table at his baby sister, oblivious to their serious talk. "I can't leave. I'm not ready." Sitting up, he turned to look at his mother. "How can somethin' that feels so right not get a chance? I love her. I'm not afraid to say it but I still know that we're not gonna make it. How is that possible?"
"I'm sorry."
"And I wanted to tell her… but I knew it… and I stayed with her anyway… and…"
"Am I interrupting?" Max cleared his throat from the doorway.
"No." Rik shook his head. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
"Oh, no. I'm sorry. That's not what I meant when I said I was coming over." Max shook his head with a smile and pulled a package from inside his jacket. "This came this morning but it's yours."
"Mine?" Rik wiped at his eyes and took the package. He eyed it for a moment and then looked up at Max. "Whose it from?"
"My parents."
"But…"
"We've had several long talks with them since…" Max shrugged and smiled a little wanly. "They've always been in the habit of adopting stray aliens. They've taken you on as a grandchild."
"But…" Rik stared at the package in its brown paper and then at the return address on the corner. "They've never even met me."
"Well, you've got a lot of cheerleaders. Liz, Darin, Jesse and Isabel… I think Kyle and Ava had told them a yarn or two about you." He took a seat next to the boy. "They feel like they know you. Open it."
Confused, he tore the brown paper off to reveal more wrapping, this time in a graduation pattern of blues and yellows. "My school colors." He tore that off and opened the box. On top was the card. "To Ronald Kasey, may this gift write your future. Philip and Diane Evans." Brushing aside the paper, he found a pen set engraved with his full name and several small boxes of refills.
"When Dad got into law school, his father gave him a pen set. When I graduated high school, he got me a set that I never got to use. His kids are grown with families of their own. He has the uncontrollable urge to spoil children since he's been deprived for 16 years." Max found himself rambling while Rik sat and stared at the pens. "It probably also has something to do with you getting into a law program. He was after me all through high school to find some direction… preferably in the law persuasion."
"Thanks… I guess I should probably give them a call or…"
"Write a thank you note." Erika nudged her son. "Look at that. Gold inlay."
"I'm gonna get jumped in the subway for my pens." Rik snickered but felt something when he picked them up, like he'd have them for the rest of his life.
"Getting another one of those feelings?" Max chuckled to himself. "I think I gave that part of me to Liz. I never know what's going on."
"It's a curse." Rik shrugged.
"You'll be okay. Oh… um…" Max started to leave but he snapped his fingers. "I… talked Kal out of some money, recently and I think I'll need your help to get it started."
"My help?" Rik shook his head in confusion. "Get what started?"
"A center… like a tutoring center to get um… well." Max cleared his throat and took a seat once more. "We jerked things around, getting you and Darin into that school and Kal was only doing it for me. I feel like I should do it for real. I've been scanning some books and I have to take some tests before they'll let me have a run at it but you've already got some college credits."
"So, you want to put this thing out here. You gonna come in and help all these kids get into schools."
"If not, help them get into college."
"You want me to help?"
"They know you. They don't know me." Max lifted an eyebrow. "What do you say? Keeps you busy for the summer, helps me get some sort of job outside of my building and most of all, helps everyone in this neighborhood get some sort of momentum going."
"He'll do." Erika answered for him before rising to gather her messy daughter. "You discuss it, I'll make this monster presentable."
"And I guess it'll piss Kal off and it works, right?"
"There is that." Max nodded. "What do you say? We do it and rope Darin into it so he can't go around ruining any more girls' virtues."
"Word is, he's just narrowing the field."
"Can you promise me that? Seriously?"
"Yeah. Network's been working all morning." Rik picked at his breakfast. "Phones ringin' off hooks. Girls gettin' told that he's taken but I can't reveal the lucky young lady who's been makin' the threats."
--
Darin bounded up the steps and caught the door for Zan, who was balancing a bag of oranges on each shoulder. "You wipe out the market?"
"Got a tip." Zan shrugged. "What are you doin'?"
The kid shrugged. "Dad said he was over here. You only worked half-day?"
"Truck sprung a leak. Boss thinks we could have gotten poisoned." Zan grinned and motioned for the kid to open the door for him again.
"Hey!" Erika took a bag from her husband. "What's all this?"
"Vitamins."
"You hear this? I sneezed yesterday and he thinks I'm gettin' sick."
"They were free." He waved her off and reached over to slap Max on the shoulder. "We havin' a reunion or somethin'?"
"Just going over some stuff." Rik shook his head.
"The boss is comin' over in a bit." Erika moved around everyone as best as she could with a towel-wrapped baby in her arms and a bag of oranges in the other. "We're gonna discuss a promotion."
"That's cool." Zan nodded and helped Max and Rik straighten up the living room. Soon, the men had all settled in Rik's room with the baby and a bag of oranges. Zan took one orange in each hand. "Listen to the girl laugh, Max." He sent the oranges into the air and Kelly laughed, clapping her hands together where she sat on Rik's laugh. "Darin, toss one to me."
Darin did as told and tossed Zan another orange, which he caught and sent up with the other two, his hands working quickly to keep them from falling.
Max couldn't help but laugh himself. "That's pretty impressive." The baby shrieked and Max winced. "And she can laugh."
"How long can you keep that up?" Darin pondered as he tossed Zan yet another orange.
"Three, I can keep up for an hour. Four or five for maybe 45 minutes. She usually stops me around ten minutes though. Erika thinks it makes her pee her pants she laughs so hard." Zan tossed one up behind his back.
"Zan! Cut it out! You're going to make her pee her pants." Erika called out to them.
"You see?" Zan tossed the abused oranges one at a time to Darin and Max to catch.
"How do you get going?" Darin studied his oranges.
"You have to get a rhythm goin'. I used to do it for Ava when we was kids." Zan peeled open the rind on one and sucked the juices into his mouth.
"Zan! Come in here, please."
Zan rolled his eyes and left the room. Max shoved the oranges back into their bag. "So, I hear you've been cut off. Some girl is going around threatening all your little dishes on the side… who's the main dish?"
"Just a girl." Darin shook his head.
"How long have you been seeing this girl?"
"A while?"
"Why is she so special that she's breaking up with girls for you?" Max watched his child's face but Darin's eyes were fixed on his oranges. "Fine. Don't tell me. Did you tell your mom?"
"No. Do you think I'm crazy?"
"I know." Rik smirked where he reclined on the bed with his baby sister.
"Shut up."
"Hey guys…" Max cleared his throat and crossed his arms. "I've been talking this over with Zan some and we're going to try to keep a handle on the alien stuff without you guys… but later… we have to name one to take over… You don't have to decide now but um… it's something to think about. I mean… it'll be like… five years at least before they contact us again but…"
"Planning for it would be wise." Darin finished the thought. He exchanged a look with Rik. "Which one of us is King and which one is President?"
Rik only laughed to himself. "You be the King, cause I don't think the aliens care if you're a whore or not."
"Language." Max chided lightly. "We have a lady present."
"When the time comes, we'll flip for it." Rik cleared his throat and handed off Kelly when Zan came to collect her. "What'd mom want?"
"Hire her man as a bouncer on the weekends." Zan jerked his head to the door. "We're celebratin' tonight. Come on. Mom wants to tell you herself."
--
Max rode the subway with Darin back to his mother's place. "Listen, I know we gripe about you and all the girls but I just want to make sure that you're being careful."
"You know, to hear you and Mom tell it, I'm doing absolutely nothing at school but screwing around." Darin cleared his throat. "I date a lot of girls… some of them are more receptive than others but I'm always careful and… Rik's right. I am seeing someone who isn't… tolerant of fast and loose rules."
"Is… Never mind. I don't want to know. I don't know where your mom is coming from on this but I personally, never had much experience with the other sex and it is unsettling, to me, that you've already had so much."
"What about Liz?"
"Liz… had a few boyfriends before me… kind of one after me… anyway. Still." He took a breath. "Take it easy on me, please. I plan to stick around but… you're gonna give me a heart attack." He leaned in. "And we're never, ever telling your grandmother that you have any sort of sexual experience. All right? She will kill me."
"She'll kill you because I've had sex." Darin shook his head.
"I've also missed my curfew for the last 17 years."
--
Erika held her baby while Zan finished his dinner. Rik still looked bummed but he was trying to look happy for them. The club was loud outside of the doors but inside, it was barely a murmur. "So, I am the booking agent and assistant manager-in-training. I get free dinners now. Once a month. I can get my babies in to see the show when they come in… and I don't have to pitch in when it gets crazy."
"Are you still doing the books?" Rik managed to sound interested.
"Well, yeah but I get a raise and no floor work which means I don't kill myself in these heels."
"He understands that he's still not gettin' near you, right?" Zan down the remainder of his lime-cola and sat back.
"He knows and it's not an issue." Erika tossed him a look. "Not every guy I know wants to get in my pants."
"Not true." Zan shook his head. "When do I start?"
"Friday nights and Saturday nights. Be discriminate in who comes in. We're all good. I… uh… called Steve. Told him we needed a guy for during the week." Erika nudged her son.
"That's good. He'll need it." Rik took a deep breath and picked at the remainders of his dinner. "Little girls need stuff."
"Oh sweetie…" She stared at him for a moment and then sat back, absently pulling her earrings out of Kelly's reach. "Is that… Baby… what did you see about Laura?" Her son shrugged. "You can't know the kids wouldn't be yours."
"With blue eyes?" Rik sniffed and shrugged. "At least she's gonna be okay. She'll meet whoever and they'll have kids and live happily ever after."
"Sweetie… you wanna go out there and find a pretty girl?"
"Out there? No… besides… I'm kind of still with Laura…"
"Okay."
"Who's the girl that's scarin' off all of Darin's play?" Zan reached over to take his daughter. "She don't sound like she goes to that school of yours."
"She's a transfer from a boarding school. Kicked out for bad behavior. She's a senior but she's my age. Her parents are rollin' in it. Ginger. She sounds innocent but she's cut throat."
TBC
Rik lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, listening to Kelly stack his CDs. He barely winced when he heard the cracks of the cases giving way. His thoughts were focused. He could see the plane flying through the air to London for her layover. Kelly let out a string of shrill noises and returned to stacking and unstacking his things.
"Baby, get out of bed. I'll make you something to eat." Erika called into the room.
"Arsenic and iced tea… with Tabasco." He called back.
"You're not funny. Get up. Uncle Max wants to talk to you. He'll be by in an hour."
--
Darin sat up when he heard the message on his machine and burst out laughing. Old rock tunes poured through the little speaker, so he reached over to pick it up. "Oh, really?"
"I knew you were there."
"Yeah, everyone left kind of late last night."
"Am I going to see you today?"
"I don't know. I've got to spend some time with my dad."
"Well, you're busted mister. No one plays me. All those other girls are just going to have to go away."
"She was joking." Darin shook his head.
"No, she wasn't. I talked to Penni and she wasn't joking. I'm going to the beach tomorrow and when I get back next weekend, I expect to have your undivided attention."
"Fine. Supposing there were any strings left on my finger, I'll cut them loose."
"Good boy."
"Shut up."
--
"Daddy! I'm going to play!"
"Michael! I'm going to work!"
Michael leaned in the doorway while his family ran out the door and waited until they were out of sight before turning back on Liz. "So what are you saying?"
"They said I could pick any illustrator I wanted. I figured if I'm going to do a series of books based on a space man… who better to do the pictures…"
"I haven't done that in years." She slapped a picture against his chest. He rolled his eyes. "I did that for my daughter."
"It's good. I like it. My agent loved it." Liz smiled brightly at him. "Come on. I've got my heart set on this."
"How many pictures?" Michael crossed his arms. "How many per page? How many pages per book? How many books in the series?"
"You're gonna get paid, Michael. Come on. It's for your future."
"How many, Liz?"
"I don't know yet." She finally conceded. "The book did okay so they're hopeful but not promising."
"I'm not gonna quit my job for this."
"I don't expect you to. Do a sample of pictures and I won't ask anything more of you until I have a check in my hand."
"Fine. Where's the book?"
"Thank you." She hopped up to kiss his cheek and thrust the book into his hands.
"She roped you in?" Max snickered from where he was installing a new lock a few doors down. He took a breath and finished what he was doing. "If you did it, you could make money doing something you're good at and you could do it anywhere." He looked up and found Michael was confused. "You wouldn't have to stay here."
"Since when do I have a say in where I am?" Michael shrugged. "I'll talk to Maria but she's not going anywhere without Liz… you're stuck with me."
"There are worse people I could be stuck with."
"You want me to leave or something?"
"No… I just…" Max got to his feet and picked up his toolbox. "Look. I know why I'm still in New York. My parents understand and Isabel understands but you stayed with me… and I don't know why. You hate it here."
"Maybe but what I hate more is being stuck in a van where I can smell your feet all the time. Or… I hate Texas. I'm telling you that now. I think of Texas and I hear Maria scream in my head. I remember the blood and so what she only got shot in the ass and she's completely fine… It scared the shit out of me. I like sleeping in a bed with her. I like knowing I can shut the door on Mandy if I need to. I like having to open three or four doors to see you on most days. No offense but I get sick of you."
"None taken." Max managed a chuckle.
"I don't cherish the thought of raising Mandy here but… she needs to be in one place and I don't want to take her away from the friends she has now. Maria needs Liz and she actually likes running the Karaoke machine if you can believe that. I think she's gonna start giving lessons soon. The tone-deafs are driving her nuts… but she likes that. She's easier to handle when she likes what she's doing."
"I'll bet."
"You gonna stick around here fixing doorknobs and toilets forever?"
"Don't know. How long are you going to be okay with short order and drawing stuff for Liz?"
"Don't know. Let's see if I can even do this."
--
Rik picked at his pancakes. He had soaked the stack with syrup and swirled Tabasco on top but as mouthwatering as that was… he had no appetite. Kelly had jumped headfirst into her breakfast/lunch and that was literally. She had cheerios in her hair and banana smeared on her forehead. He couldn't help but laugh. She only grinned and slapped her hands against her tray, sending more cheerios flying through the air. Encouraged by her enjoyment of the meal, he tried to eat. Nothing would be made better if he didn't eat.
Still, slowly chewing his food, he was imagining the plane setting down in London and how miserable her parents were making her. When his mom pulled a chair up next to his and put her arms around him, he had to fight to keep from breaking down. "You really love her, don't you." All he could manage was a nod and she pulled him close, the way she had done when he was little. "She loves you, too. You know that right?" He nodded, trying to get control of himself, feeling stupid for acting like a baby but unwilling to sit up. "You're like me, you fall in head first and you can't get up. How long were you together?"
"Almost a year." He took a breath and managed to swallow his pancakes so he could speak clearer. "It's just… I know she has to get away from her parents if she's going to be okay. So she's going to the college they want so she can get space. I want to go with her but…" He stared across the table at his baby sister, oblivious to their serious talk. "I can't leave. I'm not ready." Sitting up, he turned to look at his mother. "How can somethin' that feels so right not get a chance? I love her. I'm not afraid to say it but I still know that we're not gonna make it. How is that possible?"
"I'm sorry."
"And I wanted to tell her… but I knew it… and I stayed with her anyway… and…"
"Am I interrupting?" Max cleared his throat from the doorway.
"No." Rik shook his head. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
"Oh, no. I'm sorry. That's not what I meant when I said I was coming over." Max shook his head with a smile and pulled a package from inside his jacket. "This came this morning but it's yours."
"Mine?" Rik wiped at his eyes and took the package. He eyed it for a moment and then looked up at Max. "Whose it from?"
"My parents."
"But…"
"We've had several long talks with them since…" Max shrugged and smiled a little wanly. "They've always been in the habit of adopting stray aliens. They've taken you on as a grandchild."
"But…" Rik stared at the package in its brown paper and then at the return address on the corner. "They've never even met me."
"Well, you've got a lot of cheerleaders. Liz, Darin, Jesse and Isabel… I think Kyle and Ava had told them a yarn or two about you." He took a seat next to the boy. "They feel like they know you. Open it."
Confused, he tore the brown paper off to reveal more wrapping, this time in a graduation pattern of blues and yellows. "My school colors." He tore that off and opened the box. On top was the card. "To Ronald Kasey, may this gift write your future. Philip and Diane Evans." Brushing aside the paper, he found a pen set engraved with his full name and several small boxes of refills.
"When Dad got into law school, his father gave him a pen set. When I graduated high school, he got me a set that I never got to use. His kids are grown with families of their own. He has the uncontrollable urge to spoil children since he's been deprived for 16 years." Max found himself rambling while Rik sat and stared at the pens. "It probably also has something to do with you getting into a law program. He was after me all through high school to find some direction… preferably in the law persuasion."
"Thanks… I guess I should probably give them a call or…"
"Write a thank you note." Erika nudged her son. "Look at that. Gold inlay."
"I'm gonna get jumped in the subway for my pens." Rik snickered but felt something when he picked them up, like he'd have them for the rest of his life.
"Getting another one of those feelings?" Max chuckled to himself. "I think I gave that part of me to Liz. I never know what's going on."
"It's a curse." Rik shrugged.
"You'll be okay. Oh… um…" Max started to leave but he snapped his fingers. "I… talked Kal out of some money, recently and I think I'll need your help to get it started."
"My help?" Rik shook his head in confusion. "Get what started?"
"A center… like a tutoring center to get um… well." Max cleared his throat and took a seat once more. "We jerked things around, getting you and Darin into that school and Kal was only doing it for me. I feel like I should do it for real. I've been scanning some books and I have to take some tests before they'll let me have a run at it but you've already got some college credits."
"So, you want to put this thing out here. You gonna come in and help all these kids get into schools."
"If not, help them get into college."
"You want me to help?"
"They know you. They don't know me." Max lifted an eyebrow. "What do you say? Keeps you busy for the summer, helps me get some sort of job outside of my building and most of all, helps everyone in this neighborhood get some sort of momentum going."
"He'll do." Erika answered for him before rising to gather her messy daughter. "You discuss it, I'll make this monster presentable."
"And I guess it'll piss Kal off and it works, right?"
"There is that." Max nodded. "What do you say? We do it and rope Darin into it so he can't go around ruining any more girls' virtues."
"Word is, he's just narrowing the field."
"Can you promise me that? Seriously?"
"Yeah. Network's been working all morning." Rik picked at his breakfast. "Phones ringin' off hooks. Girls gettin' told that he's taken but I can't reveal the lucky young lady who's been makin' the threats."
--
Darin bounded up the steps and caught the door for Zan, who was balancing a bag of oranges on each shoulder. "You wipe out the market?"
"Got a tip." Zan shrugged. "What are you doin'?"
The kid shrugged. "Dad said he was over here. You only worked half-day?"
"Truck sprung a leak. Boss thinks we could have gotten poisoned." Zan grinned and motioned for the kid to open the door for him again.
"Hey!" Erika took a bag from her husband. "What's all this?"
"Vitamins."
"You hear this? I sneezed yesterday and he thinks I'm gettin' sick."
"They were free." He waved her off and reached over to slap Max on the shoulder. "We havin' a reunion or somethin'?"
"Just going over some stuff." Rik shook his head.
"The boss is comin' over in a bit." Erika moved around everyone as best as she could with a towel-wrapped baby in her arms and a bag of oranges in the other. "We're gonna discuss a promotion."
"That's cool." Zan nodded and helped Max and Rik straighten up the living room. Soon, the men had all settled in Rik's room with the baby and a bag of oranges. Zan took one orange in each hand. "Listen to the girl laugh, Max." He sent the oranges into the air and Kelly laughed, clapping her hands together where she sat on Rik's laugh. "Darin, toss one to me."
Darin did as told and tossed Zan another orange, which he caught and sent up with the other two, his hands working quickly to keep them from falling.
Max couldn't help but laugh himself. "That's pretty impressive." The baby shrieked and Max winced. "And she can laugh."
"How long can you keep that up?" Darin pondered as he tossed Zan yet another orange.
"Three, I can keep up for an hour. Four or five for maybe 45 minutes. She usually stops me around ten minutes though. Erika thinks it makes her pee her pants she laughs so hard." Zan tossed one up behind his back.
"Zan! Cut it out! You're going to make her pee her pants." Erika called out to them.
"You see?" Zan tossed the abused oranges one at a time to Darin and Max to catch.
"How do you get going?" Darin studied his oranges.
"You have to get a rhythm goin'. I used to do it for Ava when we was kids." Zan peeled open the rind on one and sucked the juices into his mouth.
"Zan! Come in here, please."
Zan rolled his eyes and left the room. Max shoved the oranges back into their bag. "So, I hear you've been cut off. Some girl is going around threatening all your little dishes on the side… who's the main dish?"
"Just a girl." Darin shook his head.
"How long have you been seeing this girl?"
"A while?"
"Why is she so special that she's breaking up with girls for you?" Max watched his child's face but Darin's eyes were fixed on his oranges. "Fine. Don't tell me. Did you tell your mom?"
"No. Do you think I'm crazy?"
"I know." Rik smirked where he reclined on the bed with his baby sister.
"Shut up."
"Hey guys…" Max cleared his throat and crossed his arms. "I've been talking this over with Zan some and we're going to try to keep a handle on the alien stuff without you guys… but later… we have to name one to take over… You don't have to decide now but um… it's something to think about. I mean… it'll be like… five years at least before they contact us again but…"
"Planning for it would be wise." Darin finished the thought. He exchanged a look with Rik. "Which one of us is King and which one is President?"
Rik only laughed to himself. "You be the King, cause I don't think the aliens care if you're a whore or not."
"Language." Max chided lightly. "We have a lady present."
"When the time comes, we'll flip for it." Rik cleared his throat and handed off Kelly when Zan came to collect her. "What'd mom want?"
"Hire her man as a bouncer on the weekends." Zan jerked his head to the door. "We're celebratin' tonight. Come on. Mom wants to tell you herself."
--
Max rode the subway with Darin back to his mother's place. "Listen, I know we gripe about you and all the girls but I just want to make sure that you're being careful."
"You know, to hear you and Mom tell it, I'm doing absolutely nothing at school but screwing around." Darin cleared his throat. "I date a lot of girls… some of them are more receptive than others but I'm always careful and… Rik's right. I am seeing someone who isn't… tolerant of fast and loose rules."
"Is… Never mind. I don't want to know. I don't know where your mom is coming from on this but I personally, never had much experience with the other sex and it is unsettling, to me, that you've already had so much."
"What about Liz?"
"Liz… had a few boyfriends before me… kind of one after me… anyway. Still." He took a breath. "Take it easy on me, please. I plan to stick around but… you're gonna give me a heart attack." He leaned in. "And we're never, ever telling your grandmother that you have any sort of sexual experience. All right? She will kill me."
"She'll kill you because I've had sex." Darin shook his head.
"I've also missed my curfew for the last 17 years."
--
Erika held her baby while Zan finished his dinner. Rik still looked bummed but he was trying to look happy for them. The club was loud outside of the doors but inside, it was barely a murmur. "So, I am the booking agent and assistant manager-in-training. I get free dinners now. Once a month. I can get my babies in to see the show when they come in… and I don't have to pitch in when it gets crazy."
"Are you still doing the books?" Rik managed to sound interested.
"Well, yeah but I get a raise and no floor work which means I don't kill myself in these heels."
"He understands that he's still not gettin' near you, right?" Zan down the remainder of his lime-cola and sat back.
"He knows and it's not an issue." Erika tossed him a look. "Not every guy I know wants to get in my pants."
"Not true." Zan shook his head. "When do I start?"
"Friday nights and Saturday nights. Be discriminate in who comes in. We're all good. I… uh… called Steve. Told him we needed a guy for during the week." Erika nudged her son.
"That's good. He'll need it." Rik took a deep breath and picked at the remainders of his dinner. "Little girls need stuff."
"Oh sweetie…" She stared at him for a moment and then sat back, absently pulling her earrings out of Kelly's reach. "Is that… Baby… what did you see about Laura?" Her son shrugged. "You can't know the kids wouldn't be yours."
"With blue eyes?" Rik sniffed and shrugged. "At least she's gonna be okay. She'll meet whoever and they'll have kids and live happily ever after."
"Sweetie… you wanna go out there and find a pretty girl?"
"Out there? No… besides… I'm kind of still with Laura…"
"Okay."
"Who's the girl that's scarin' off all of Darin's play?" Zan reached over to take his daughter. "She don't sound like she goes to that school of yours."
"She's a transfer from a boarding school. Kicked out for bad behavior. She's a senior but she's my age. Her parents are rollin' in it. Ginger. She sounds innocent but she's cut throat."
TBC
Part 39
Part 39 – 2024
Max sat in the chair on the far side of the pool, sipping lemonade and enjoying the sun. The other members of the summit were conversing wildly. Finally, he had to break it up. "It was a simple question."
"It entails much debate." Hanar spat.
"My mother has passed, my guard diminished. Do you really think I would allow myself or a member of my family to attempt the journey home?"
"You cannot rule indefinitely from afar." Sero declared.
"You insist on ruling over me from afar." Max sat up. "I would really rather avoid one of you sending men to Earth to kill me in 15 years. They would end up stranded here and it's a waste of your valuable resources."
"He's right." Larek waved his hand to motion the others silent. "Kivar was removed from us 23 of your years ago. We've been able to rebuild Antar to a degree with the help of your loyal citizens. I'm afraid there isn't much use in extending that generosity to all of Antar. It chews up so much of our resources for the one settlement."
"Is that all Antar has been reduced to? One settlement?" Max contemplated that for a bit.
"Each of our planets is host to an Antarian embassy and each is full of citizens. Antar's history will not be lost but the planet is very much dead. It would take decades to rebuild at this point. It could even be centuries."
"What would I rule even if I returned? Would I be a guest on one of your planets?" Max shook his head. "I may not even survive the trip back. Not through Kivar's experimental methods. Not through any of yours. My body is mostly human and while my son survived for a short while on Antar, is it the same on your planets? Humans don't live as long as Antarians. In 15 years, I would be 56 years old and be 71 on arrival to Antar. Of little use to any of you as a ruler."
"We understand but something is to be done for the remainder of your people."
"I agree. Shall I rule over my five settlements from here? Or allow my people to elect a new ruler?"
"That is your decision to make."
"I am asking your advice. Your planets house one settlement each. I suggest my people become colonized on your planet until such a time that they can be removed onto Antar once more… unless… you are willing to house them indefinitely." Max cleared his throat and Michael motioned for the boys to step up. "You've met these young men before. My son Darin and my clone's son, Ronald."
"Young Darin was disqualified as heir."
"But he is alive and still my son." Max clasped his hands together. "Ronald will be my heir to the throne but again… the trip would hardly be worth it for any of you or any of us."
"We've thought this through but it still needs to be agreed upon by our people on your home worlds." Rik took his seat next to Max. "We ask the Antarians agree to colonize on Earth if they find living on your worlds unacceptable and the prospect of returning to Antar daunting."
"Where would they get the funds to make the journey?" Hanar demanded.
"I would consider it a gesture of goodwill if my people were allowed to arrange a transport through one of you." Max cleared this throat. "I, uh, have to insist that no one be forced and that those who have been vocal about their stance on me in the negative be screened. They would not be able to live free and clear on this planet… at least not in the country which I am currently occupying. There would be strict rules of conduct."
"What are the terms?" Larek asked, leaning forward to hear over the distance of the pool.
"I can answer that." Rik poured himself a glass of lemonade before he began.
--
"Darin got to go when he was 14. I'm 13." Isaiah pleaded with his mother.
"I said no. They're going to be back soon anyway." Liz shook his head at the boy. "He's got alien powers. Do you?"
"No." Isaiah pouted and shoved his sister just because he could. She kicked him in the shin and ran off to play with Kelly. "I know. Serves me right."
"Come here." Liz patted her lap and he rolled his eyes. "Come here." Reluctantly, he took a seat on her lap and leaned his head on her shoulder. "You're still my baby. Okay? Even though you hate it when I kiss you and you don't let me sing to you anymore and you're afraid all the girls are gonna find out your mom writes baby books."
"I'm too big to sit on your lap." He protested weakly. Lucas sat on the floor with his toys, looking a little jealous but content to play for the moment.
"Then let me have my last time." She pressed a kiss to his head. "You need a hair cut."
"I already talked to Dad. He said my hair was acceptable." He pulled a pick out of his pocket to fix the damage.
"Come back here." Kyle called into the room just as his eldest daughter burst in with a bright smile.
"Valerie…" Liz bit her lip to keep the comment in. Isaiah quickly leapt off her lap, unwillingly to let a pretty girl see him sitting in his mother's lap.
"Dad says my outfit is out of the question but I'm almost 18. I've graduated high school." She turned in a quick circle. "What do you think? Will Rik fall madly in love with me?"
"Honey." Liz got to her feet to inspect closer the outfit. It wasn't exactly skimpy but skin-tight did come to mind. "Rik will tell you that you look… lovely but I don't think this is how to catch his attention."
"How about Darin?"
"We're not letting Darin see you in that." She shook her head adamantly. "I like the kid and I'd like to keep him alive and out of your father's clutches."
"Daddy ruins everything." She groaned and sank into a chair.
"No, I don't! Put some real clothes on." He called in.
"Fine." She shoved herself out of the chair and into her room to change.
"Thanks Liz!"
Erika walked in, talking on a cell. "I know and I'm sorry but I can't get back today… Stevie… sweetie… It's going to be okay. Kids get the chicken pox. Better now instead of her missing school. Where's Mere?" She moved around picking up toys and straightening things out, her little girl following on her heels. "Oh… I'm sorry, Stevie… I know I couldn't know but Rita's okay?" She lowered the phone to mouth to Liz that Steve's grandmother was in the hospital. "Get Uly or Vaughn to cover you. They owe you. They split early for two months straight cause they said their kids were sick. It's your turn." She took a deep breath. "Just cause they goin' to college don't make them more worthy. You've got superiority and you know what? You're my favorite. I'm the boss. I say you go home and be with the kids and visit your grandma cause Uly and Vaughn are working… Then tell them to call me. I'll tell them myself… Then tell them Zan's gonna pound them to dust when we get back."
Liz reached down to scoop up little Bree Kasey and went outside to gather all the kiddies. "Little ones, come on."
"Define little ones." Sara and Paula called out at the same time.
"Roll call." She announced. "Little ones: Hannah, Kelly, Bree, Alex, Jimmy, and Lucas come on. Let's get washed up. When everyone's back, we're having lunch. Big kids: Kyle Jr., Paula, Sara, Eddie, Jenny, Mandy, Isaiah… go to the Valenti room to wash up… and tell Valerie to stop hogging that bathroom."
"Drill Sergeant Evans!" Maria called out from the car, where she was listening on the radio for signs of the aliens' return. "Can it. Leave my kid alone."
"She inherited her father's grooming tips!" Liz called back with a smile.
"But my fashion sense!"
"How far away?"
Maria consulted with the radio for a moment. "Twenty minutes out!"
--
The van pulled out and the aliens all exited. The most disconcerting thing about having a summit inside a dimension dampener was the time difference. Hours inside and little time change outside. They had only been gone two hours but it felt like ten. Rik's attention was grabbed by the hoots and hollers from the gals in their troop about his appearance. In accordance with Kal's advice, he had cleaned himself up and invested in a few nice suits, one of which he had worn to the summit.
"Sexy!"
"Whoo-baby!"
Ava hopped out behind him and pinched his butt. "Go, tiger. Get them girlies riled up."
"Hey!" Kyle jogged up to them. "I thought we talked about you grabbing random ass.
"I'll grab some ass." She shifted her attention to him with a sly smile.
"You guys are so sick." Darin muttered as he moved passed them and into the parking lot.
Zan slung his arm over Rik's shoulder and guided him over to the hooting teens. "Would you look at my boy? Looks like he stepped out of GQ or somethin'."
"Hey. I dress like this for the clients and you're wrinkling my suit." Rik shoved him away and swung down to pick up the baby. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Com'ere." Zan took Bree and kissed her chubby cheeks. Dark hair tumbling into his face when she turned to stare at her big brother.
"Well? How did it go?" Liz asked where she leaned in the doorway.
"We'll see tomorrow." Max shrugged.
Darin cleared his throat, trying to keep his eyes off of Valerie Valenti while her father was around. "They've agreed to parley our terms to the settlements on each of the planets to see if our people are even interested. If they are acquiescent to the laws we want to enforce, then we negotiate for their transport."
"I'm missing something." Liz traversed the crowd with her youngest son on her hip to get closer to the young man to listen to his report.
"Five cities on five planets house Antarians. Just those five cities of maybe 200,000 each. That's all that's left… and us." He shrugged. "Clemency while we worked things out."
"We asked and they weren't very promising the last summit." Max grimaced. "But they gave us the benefit of the doubt."
"That's got to count for something." She wrapped her arm around Darin's waist. "What do you think? Will it work out?"
"I think most of those who left Antar will be willing to make a go here but I think our main concern would be the ones that stayed on Antar. There could be more of them than we know and they would hold the hardest grudge against us. Even if they claimed they would acquiesce… they might sabotage the transports or come to sabotage the colonies." Darin put his arm around her shoulders, ruffling Lucas's hair along the way. "And then we have the immersion problem when they arrive. We have to be ready for them. Have identities that will work. Teach them to contain themselves. What to do about shapeshifters… Even with our laws in place, it's going to be hard and mostly on them. We're asking them to embrace humanity without reason. There could be some calamities at the beginning."
"What do you propose, counselor, to keep that from happening?"
"Let's say they use the minimum tech to get the colonists here. It could take 15-30 years for the trip. I could be established in the senate by then. Or be president." He took a deep breath as his mind ran through the ramifications. "It would take some serious doing to keep things safe in the U.S. There would be immigration laws and revelations to the public. I mean, if we let people in too soon, there will be protests and terrorists ready for their arrival. If we wait until after they're here, we're talking mass hysteria and hate crimes. It might actually be better if we established the community in another country. Somewhere underdeveloped. I mean, we have this system of safe houses here but six or seven houses aren't going to house everyone who would be coming from the stars. Would they send them a ship at a time? A trip at a time or send them en masse?"
"Things we need to discuss tomorrow when they've heard back from our colonies." Max nodded. It would be complicated but it had to work. They had to find some way of dealing with all of those people. "Some of them might be hostile but feel they have no choice but to come to a world where they are outnumbered but not necessarily out-powered. They might feel they need to prove a point and I cannot control several thousand hysterical Antarians."
"But they need the option." Liz nodded.
"I'll help where I can." Jesse clapped Max on the back as he passed.
"Hey, weren't we gonna get fed or somethin'? Some of us were in another time dimension for hours." Zan complained.
"We put the order in. We gotta pick it up in a few." Erika told him.
"I'll go." Rik extricated himself from his fan club consisting of Valerie, Sara, Paula, Jenny and Mandy. Teenage crushes, he shook his head as he strode across the parking lot to the diner across the way. A strange feeling washed over him as he reached the doors. Shrugging, he pushed the door open. He had probably been in a dozen dives just like it over the past eight years. A woman in a tight uniform waved for him to sit while she took an order at a booth. Smoothing his suit, he took a seat at the counter. A woman in a pair of tight jeans and a fitted blouse bustled around behind the counter with various plates going one place or another. For some reason when he saw her, he thought 'marbles.'
The woman caught his eye and motioned that she'd be a second. Finally, she stood in front of him with an order pad at the ready. "It's technically my day off so, I hope this is a quick order."
"Actually… Um, we've got an order to go." He pointed to the boxes filled with dinner bags behind her. "Something like 30 burgers and 25 fries… eight bottles of soda, I guess."
"And four pies." She nodded and moved to the register to ring him up. Her eyes flicked to his face pretty often. "Do I know you, stranger?"
"Don't think so." He shook his head but that felt like a lie. "Marbles?"
"What'd you say?" Her eyes met his, dead on.
"Nothing." He shook his head and reached for his wallet. His ring catching the light.
"I ain't seen one of those in years." She commented, taking his hand to examine the old ring.
"My high school ring. Can't seem to take it off."
"I could swear I've seen that before." She scratched at the insignia on the side with her nail. "You sure I don't know you from somewhere?"
"What's your name? Maybe we did meet once."
"Never mind. You don't look like anyone I ever met. Don't get too many suits in here."
"I've only been like this for a couple of years." He grinned at her. "Used to have a goatee and spiky hair, the whole bit."
She stared at him for a bit before her face flushed and a smile formed on her lips. She took a moment to gather herself, averting her eyes. She tried to speak but nothing came out. She gestured behind her back. "I do know you…" Her hand fluttered over her mouth. "We made out in the woods behind the hotel when I was 16."
"Go Rubes!" The waitress in the tight uniform nodded as she passed them to get behind the counter.
Rik's vision filled with the memories from eight years prior. A young but beautiful girl who hit on him in the… this very same diner. "Ruby?" He shook his head with a laugh. "I guess we did."
"What brings you back through this dead end town?" She reached for his boxes and then snapped her fingers at him. "Another family scavenger hunt?"
"More like a reunion." He chuckled to himself. "A little vacation before I have to get to work."
"You clean up nice, Sparky." She leaned on the counter, eyes lowered, as she looked him over from head to toe.
He did her the same service before holding out his hand to her. "Ronald Kasey."
"Rubeena Urquiza." She held her lips between her teeth for a moment. "Are you staying here a while?"
"A week… I think, anyway."
"Maybe I'll… see you around until then." She handed him his change.
"Rik…" A whine came from behind him just moments before Valerie had wrapped her arms around him. "We're waiting."
"Then help carry something, will you, kiddo?" He picked up the first of the boxes sitting on the counter.
"I'm not a kid." She pouted but took two of the boxes handed to her. She arched an eyebrow at Ruby. "At least I was born in this century."
Rik shook his head at her and pointed to the door. "Git or I'll tell your dad how rude you're being."
"Have you met my dad? Who do you think taught me?"
Rik turned to Ruby. "I'm sorry. You give a brat a diploma and they get swelled heads."
"She's got 'tude. It's cool. Maybe she could fill in for me while we take a walk."
"Everyone's waiting, Rik." Valerie interrupted, keeping close proximity.
"Hey, Darin's been pretty lonely these days. Ginger ain't called him in about six months…" Rik trailed off when he realized that he wasn't getting anywhere. "Fine. Give me five minutes here and I'll take you for a ride later."
"Just you and me?"
"Whatever."
"See you in the room." She hopped up to kiss his cheek and bounded out the door.
Ruby watched him carefully. "She's jailbait."
"I know and she won't leave me alone… but… after I take her for a ride and explain the way of things… I'll be back."
"I don't work today. I'm leaving soon." She tilted her head and then scribbled something on the nearest bag. "I'm usually there if I'm not here.”
TBC
Max sat in the chair on the far side of the pool, sipping lemonade and enjoying the sun. The other members of the summit were conversing wildly. Finally, he had to break it up. "It was a simple question."
"It entails much debate." Hanar spat.
"My mother has passed, my guard diminished. Do you really think I would allow myself or a member of my family to attempt the journey home?"
"You cannot rule indefinitely from afar." Sero declared.
"You insist on ruling over me from afar." Max sat up. "I would really rather avoid one of you sending men to Earth to kill me in 15 years. They would end up stranded here and it's a waste of your valuable resources."
"He's right." Larek waved his hand to motion the others silent. "Kivar was removed from us 23 of your years ago. We've been able to rebuild Antar to a degree with the help of your loyal citizens. I'm afraid there isn't much use in extending that generosity to all of Antar. It chews up so much of our resources for the one settlement."
"Is that all Antar has been reduced to? One settlement?" Max contemplated that for a bit.
"Each of our planets is host to an Antarian embassy and each is full of citizens. Antar's history will not be lost but the planet is very much dead. It would take decades to rebuild at this point. It could even be centuries."
"What would I rule even if I returned? Would I be a guest on one of your planets?" Max shook his head. "I may not even survive the trip back. Not through Kivar's experimental methods. Not through any of yours. My body is mostly human and while my son survived for a short while on Antar, is it the same on your planets? Humans don't live as long as Antarians. In 15 years, I would be 56 years old and be 71 on arrival to Antar. Of little use to any of you as a ruler."
"We understand but something is to be done for the remainder of your people."
"I agree. Shall I rule over my five settlements from here? Or allow my people to elect a new ruler?"
"That is your decision to make."
"I am asking your advice. Your planets house one settlement each. I suggest my people become colonized on your planet until such a time that they can be removed onto Antar once more… unless… you are willing to house them indefinitely." Max cleared his throat and Michael motioned for the boys to step up. "You've met these young men before. My son Darin and my clone's son, Ronald."
"Young Darin was disqualified as heir."
"But he is alive and still my son." Max clasped his hands together. "Ronald will be my heir to the throne but again… the trip would hardly be worth it for any of you or any of us."
"We've thought this through but it still needs to be agreed upon by our people on your home worlds." Rik took his seat next to Max. "We ask the Antarians agree to colonize on Earth if they find living on your worlds unacceptable and the prospect of returning to Antar daunting."
"Where would they get the funds to make the journey?" Hanar demanded.
"I would consider it a gesture of goodwill if my people were allowed to arrange a transport through one of you." Max cleared this throat. "I, uh, have to insist that no one be forced and that those who have been vocal about their stance on me in the negative be screened. They would not be able to live free and clear on this planet… at least not in the country which I am currently occupying. There would be strict rules of conduct."
"What are the terms?" Larek asked, leaning forward to hear over the distance of the pool.
"I can answer that." Rik poured himself a glass of lemonade before he began.
--
"Darin got to go when he was 14. I'm 13." Isaiah pleaded with his mother.
"I said no. They're going to be back soon anyway." Liz shook his head at the boy. "He's got alien powers. Do you?"
"No." Isaiah pouted and shoved his sister just because he could. She kicked him in the shin and ran off to play with Kelly. "I know. Serves me right."
"Come here." Liz patted her lap and he rolled his eyes. "Come here." Reluctantly, he took a seat on her lap and leaned his head on her shoulder. "You're still my baby. Okay? Even though you hate it when I kiss you and you don't let me sing to you anymore and you're afraid all the girls are gonna find out your mom writes baby books."
"I'm too big to sit on your lap." He protested weakly. Lucas sat on the floor with his toys, looking a little jealous but content to play for the moment.
"Then let me have my last time." She pressed a kiss to his head. "You need a hair cut."
"I already talked to Dad. He said my hair was acceptable." He pulled a pick out of his pocket to fix the damage.
"Come back here." Kyle called into the room just as his eldest daughter burst in with a bright smile.
"Valerie…" Liz bit her lip to keep the comment in. Isaiah quickly leapt off her lap, unwillingly to let a pretty girl see him sitting in his mother's lap.
"Dad says my outfit is out of the question but I'm almost 18. I've graduated high school." She turned in a quick circle. "What do you think? Will Rik fall madly in love with me?"
"Honey." Liz got to her feet to inspect closer the outfit. It wasn't exactly skimpy but skin-tight did come to mind. "Rik will tell you that you look… lovely but I don't think this is how to catch his attention."
"How about Darin?"
"We're not letting Darin see you in that." She shook her head adamantly. "I like the kid and I'd like to keep him alive and out of your father's clutches."
"Daddy ruins everything." She groaned and sank into a chair.
"No, I don't! Put some real clothes on." He called in.
"Fine." She shoved herself out of the chair and into her room to change.
"Thanks Liz!"
Erika walked in, talking on a cell. "I know and I'm sorry but I can't get back today… Stevie… sweetie… It's going to be okay. Kids get the chicken pox. Better now instead of her missing school. Where's Mere?" She moved around picking up toys and straightening things out, her little girl following on her heels. "Oh… I'm sorry, Stevie… I know I couldn't know but Rita's okay?" She lowered the phone to mouth to Liz that Steve's grandmother was in the hospital. "Get Uly or Vaughn to cover you. They owe you. They split early for two months straight cause they said their kids were sick. It's your turn." She took a deep breath. "Just cause they goin' to college don't make them more worthy. You've got superiority and you know what? You're my favorite. I'm the boss. I say you go home and be with the kids and visit your grandma cause Uly and Vaughn are working… Then tell them to call me. I'll tell them myself… Then tell them Zan's gonna pound them to dust when we get back."
Liz reached down to scoop up little Bree Kasey and went outside to gather all the kiddies. "Little ones, come on."
"Define little ones." Sara and Paula called out at the same time.
"Roll call." She announced. "Little ones: Hannah, Kelly, Bree, Alex, Jimmy, and Lucas come on. Let's get washed up. When everyone's back, we're having lunch. Big kids: Kyle Jr., Paula, Sara, Eddie, Jenny, Mandy, Isaiah… go to the Valenti room to wash up… and tell Valerie to stop hogging that bathroom."
"Drill Sergeant Evans!" Maria called out from the car, where she was listening on the radio for signs of the aliens' return. "Can it. Leave my kid alone."
"She inherited her father's grooming tips!" Liz called back with a smile.
"But my fashion sense!"
"How far away?"
Maria consulted with the radio for a moment. "Twenty minutes out!"
--
The van pulled out and the aliens all exited. The most disconcerting thing about having a summit inside a dimension dampener was the time difference. Hours inside and little time change outside. They had only been gone two hours but it felt like ten. Rik's attention was grabbed by the hoots and hollers from the gals in their troop about his appearance. In accordance with Kal's advice, he had cleaned himself up and invested in a few nice suits, one of which he had worn to the summit.
"Sexy!"
"Whoo-baby!"
Ava hopped out behind him and pinched his butt. "Go, tiger. Get them girlies riled up."
"Hey!" Kyle jogged up to them. "I thought we talked about you grabbing random ass.
"I'll grab some ass." She shifted her attention to him with a sly smile.
"You guys are so sick." Darin muttered as he moved passed them and into the parking lot.
Zan slung his arm over Rik's shoulder and guided him over to the hooting teens. "Would you look at my boy? Looks like he stepped out of GQ or somethin'."
"Hey. I dress like this for the clients and you're wrinkling my suit." Rik shoved him away and swung down to pick up the baby. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Com'ere." Zan took Bree and kissed her chubby cheeks. Dark hair tumbling into his face when she turned to stare at her big brother.
"Well? How did it go?" Liz asked where she leaned in the doorway.
"We'll see tomorrow." Max shrugged.
Darin cleared his throat, trying to keep his eyes off of Valerie Valenti while her father was around. "They've agreed to parley our terms to the settlements on each of the planets to see if our people are even interested. If they are acquiescent to the laws we want to enforce, then we negotiate for their transport."
"I'm missing something." Liz traversed the crowd with her youngest son on her hip to get closer to the young man to listen to his report.
"Five cities on five planets house Antarians. Just those five cities of maybe 200,000 each. That's all that's left… and us." He shrugged. "Clemency while we worked things out."
"We asked and they weren't very promising the last summit." Max grimaced. "But they gave us the benefit of the doubt."
"That's got to count for something." She wrapped her arm around Darin's waist. "What do you think? Will it work out?"
"I think most of those who left Antar will be willing to make a go here but I think our main concern would be the ones that stayed on Antar. There could be more of them than we know and they would hold the hardest grudge against us. Even if they claimed they would acquiesce… they might sabotage the transports or come to sabotage the colonies." Darin put his arm around her shoulders, ruffling Lucas's hair along the way. "And then we have the immersion problem when they arrive. We have to be ready for them. Have identities that will work. Teach them to contain themselves. What to do about shapeshifters… Even with our laws in place, it's going to be hard and mostly on them. We're asking them to embrace humanity without reason. There could be some calamities at the beginning."
"What do you propose, counselor, to keep that from happening?"
"Let's say they use the minimum tech to get the colonists here. It could take 15-30 years for the trip. I could be established in the senate by then. Or be president." He took a deep breath as his mind ran through the ramifications. "It would take some serious doing to keep things safe in the U.S. There would be immigration laws and revelations to the public. I mean, if we let people in too soon, there will be protests and terrorists ready for their arrival. If we wait until after they're here, we're talking mass hysteria and hate crimes. It might actually be better if we established the community in another country. Somewhere underdeveloped. I mean, we have this system of safe houses here but six or seven houses aren't going to house everyone who would be coming from the stars. Would they send them a ship at a time? A trip at a time or send them en masse?"
"Things we need to discuss tomorrow when they've heard back from our colonies." Max nodded. It would be complicated but it had to work. They had to find some way of dealing with all of those people. "Some of them might be hostile but feel they have no choice but to come to a world where they are outnumbered but not necessarily out-powered. They might feel they need to prove a point and I cannot control several thousand hysterical Antarians."
"But they need the option." Liz nodded.
"I'll help where I can." Jesse clapped Max on the back as he passed.
"Hey, weren't we gonna get fed or somethin'? Some of us were in another time dimension for hours." Zan complained.
"We put the order in. We gotta pick it up in a few." Erika told him.
"I'll go." Rik extricated himself from his fan club consisting of Valerie, Sara, Paula, Jenny and Mandy. Teenage crushes, he shook his head as he strode across the parking lot to the diner across the way. A strange feeling washed over him as he reached the doors. Shrugging, he pushed the door open. He had probably been in a dozen dives just like it over the past eight years. A woman in a tight uniform waved for him to sit while she took an order at a booth. Smoothing his suit, he took a seat at the counter. A woman in a pair of tight jeans and a fitted blouse bustled around behind the counter with various plates going one place or another. For some reason when he saw her, he thought 'marbles.'
The woman caught his eye and motioned that she'd be a second. Finally, she stood in front of him with an order pad at the ready. "It's technically my day off so, I hope this is a quick order."
"Actually… Um, we've got an order to go." He pointed to the boxes filled with dinner bags behind her. "Something like 30 burgers and 25 fries… eight bottles of soda, I guess."
"And four pies." She nodded and moved to the register to ring him up. Her eyes flicked to his face pretty often. "Do I know you, stranger?"
"Don't think so." He shook his head but that felt like a lie. "Marbles?"
"What'd you say?" Her eyes met his, dead on.
"Nothing." He shook his head and reached for his wallet. His ring catching the light.
"I ain't seen one of those in years." She commented, taking his hand to examine the old ring.
"My high school ring. Can't seem to take it off."
"I could swear I've seen that before." She scratched at the insignia on the side with her nail. "You sure I don't know you from somewhere?"
"What's your name? Maybe we did meet once."
"Never mind. You don't look like anyone I ever met. Don't get too many suits in here."
"I've only been like this for a couple of years." He grinned at her. "Used to have a goatee and spiky hair, the whole bit."
She stared at him for a bit before her face flushed and a smile formed on her lips. She took a moment to gather herself, averting her eyes. She tried to speak but nothing came out. She gestured behind her back. "I do know you…" Her hand fluttered over her mouth. "We made out in the woods behind the hotel when I was 16."
"Go Rubes!" The waitress in the tight uniform nodded as she passed them to get behind the counter.
Rik's vision filled with the memories from eight years prior. A young but beautiful girl who hit on him in the… this very same diner. "Ruby?" He shook his head with a laugh. "I guess we did."
"What brings you back through this dead end town?" She reached for his boxes and then snapped her fingers at him. "Another family scavenger hunt?"
"More like a reunion." He chuckled to himself. "A little vacation before I have to get to work."
"You clean up nice, Sparky." She leaned on the counter, eyes lowered, as she looked him over from head to toe.
He did her the same service before holding out his hand to her. "Ronald Kasey."
"Rubeena Urquiza." She held her lips between her teeth for a moment. "Are you staying here a while?"
"A week… I think, anyway."
"Maybe I'll… see you around until then." She handed him his change.
"Rik…" A whine came from behind him just moments before Valerie had wrapped her arms around him. "We're waiting."
"Then help carry something, will you, kiddo?" He picked up the first of the boxes sitting on the counter.
"I'm not a kid." She pouted but took two of the boxes handed to her. She arched an eyebrow at Ruby. "At least I was born in this century."
Rik shook his head at her and pointed to the door. "Git or I'll tell your dad how rude you're being."
"Have you met my dad? Who do you think taught me?"
Rik turned to Ruby. "I'm sorry. You give a brat a diploma and they get swelled heads."
"She's got 'tude. It's cool. Maybe she could fill in for me while we take a walk."
"Everyone's waiting, Rik." Valerie interrupted, keeping close proximity.
"Hey, Darin's been pretty lonely these days. Ginger ain't called him in about six months…" Rik trailed off when he realized that he wasn't getting anywhere. "Fine. Give me five minutes here and I'll take you for a ride later."
"Just you and me?"
"Whatever."
"See you in the room." She hopped up to kiss his cheek and bounded out the door.
Ruby watched him carefully. "She's jailbait."
"I know and she won't leave me alone… but… after I take her for a ride and explain the way of things… I'll be back."
"I don't work today. I'm leaving soon." She tilted her head and then scribbled something on the nearest bag. "I'm usually there if I'm not here.”
TBC
Cause I know it's confusing
Max and Tess - Darin
Max and Liz - Isaiah (adopted), Hannah, Lucas
Zan and Erika - Rik, Kelly, Bree
Jesse and Isabel - Jenny, Eddie, Alex
Michael and Maria - Amanda
Kyle and 1st Wife - Valerie, Paula
Kyle and Girlfriend - Sara, Kyle Jr.
Kyle and Ava - Jimmy
I think that's everyone
Max and Tess - Darin
Max and Liz - Isaiah (adopted), Hannah, Lucas
Zan and Erika - Rik, Kelly, Bree
Jesse and Isabel - Jenny, Eddie, Alex
Michael and Maria - Amanda
Kyle and 1st Wife - Valerie, Paula
Kyle and Girlfriend - Sara, Kyle Jr.
Kyle and Ava - Jimmy
I think that's everyone
Part 40
Part 40
The mealtime frenzy took everyone's attention for quite a while, as there were still several young ones underfoot. Darin sat off to the side, contemplating his existence while he ate. Still, he was grateful when Liz plopped down beside him, sipping tea. "Worried? Confused? Horny?"
"Shut up." He laughed and picked at the remainder of his fries. So what if he had been single for a year. It had done him good. Ginger finally stopped calling to entice him into their badly matched liaisons. "I could get some if I wanted. Valerie would."
"But you won't." She smacked him upside the head.
"I won't." He agreed for several reasons. She was too young. She was way too pretty. Her father could kill him without laying a finger on him. Max and Liz would kill him for even seriously entertaining the idea. "I was thinking of taking a few months off."
"Oh yeah? What happened to the plan? President or bust?"
"Still going to happen but I'm ahead of schedule. Grandma and Grandpa Evans invited me to spend a summer in Roswell. I've been putting it off… settling for the two weeks when you guys go. Maybe I could intern with Grandpa Evans' firm, get to know them better. Without them, I never would have had Mom. Then after that, I'll go home and spend some time with Mom before I get a place of my own… and get a job."
"You don't like Quincy Williams Beckett III?" She snickered into his shoulder. "I'm sorry. His name sounds so… and he's just this…"
"Short, bald, rounding nuisance of a man?" He supplied and then shrugged. "He's okay. He makes Mom happy and that's what matters, I guess. He just… Dad had expectations for me. I've had this dream all my life of fulfilling those expectations. Quincy just… 'Why would you want to put all that pressure on yourself for such a slim shot?' He doesn't get it. 'Accounting is a firm job. You know what you're doing and there's a system that works. Law is full of impracticalities, inconsistencies and undue stress.'"
"He's really down on the stress, huh." Liz snorted. "Wait until he finds out the step-son is an alien prince."
"Oh, I begged her. No matter what happens, that man does not find out. He thinks aliens have abducted him. He swears up and down they're out to get him. I couldn't help it. I checked into it. He got flashed as a child and now he's convinced that didn't happen but aliens want his DNA."
"Sounds like a nut-job."
"He is… but he needs taking care of and Mom needs that. To take care of someone."
"You don't think she loves him?"
"Probably but I don't like to think about that. I just… feel she should still love Dad."
"You know she does but she's been lonely. Quincy has been good for her, I think."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Come on. Luke and Hannah miss spending time with you. Maybe you can interest Isaiah in joining us. He's been stuck in front of the mirror perfecting his hair for days now."
"Okay." Darin nodded that he'd be there soon and watched her go. He remembered how upset Isaiah had been when Liz had gotten pregnant with Lucas. He had been afraid everyone was going to forget all about him. Max had taken him for a walk and when they had come back, the kid had a new attitude. He was special. He was human and he knew the big bad secret and he could help being all of eight years old at the time. He hadn't really remembered too well how it had been when Hannah had been on the way. Things had worked out okay. No hard feelings anywhere.
Isaiah smiled and lifted Hannah onto his back for piggyback ride and then switched to give Lucas a turn. Then a commotion on the lot caught his attention. Rik revved the engine of his motorcycle, nodding his head to something Kyle was telling him. Then Rik slapped on his helmet and then Valerie, also with a helmet, hopped on the back before he roared off down the road. Kyle turned to his other kids. "You can apply for permission for a ride when she gets back but what I say goes. If I say you can't cause I think you're too young, then that's it. Understand?"
They grumbled and wandered away, save for Jimmy, whom Kyle scooped up to deliver to Ava for a nap. Ava looked a little ridiculous putting the four-year-old to sleep, given that he was half her size, literally. Isabel's kids looked bored out of their minds. The little one looked even more bored. Isabel was on her cell with an association or something and Jesse was on the phone again with his law firm.
Darin got to his feet finally and grabbed Eddie and then the rest of the boys for a wrestling lesson. "Come on. You guys have to do something besides sit around."
--
The motorcycle turned in a wide circle before speeding back toward the motel. Valerie tugged on Rik's arm. "Where are you going?"
"We're heading back."
"Come on. Let's go do something."
Reluctantly, Rik slowed their speed and pulled over next to a guardrail. Even when he turned off the bike, she didn't let go. "What did you have in mind?"
"Come on. I've seen you looking at me." She held on tighter.
"I'm not looking so much as glancing, there, Val." Rik cleared his throat, not sure quite how to let her down. "Don't you have guys your own age to hit on?"
"Daddy doesn't let me date. He scares them all off."
"Can I tell you something?"
"Sure."
"I think you're very pretty. You probably look just like your mom. You're smart and you're funny and that's all good and someday you're gonna make some guy really happy but the… Like I said, you're very pretty but when I look at you, I don't see some… girl I want to date…" He trailed off when her arms all but fell off of him.
"Then what do you see?"
"Kyle's daughter. There's also this… eight year age difference that makes me really uncomfortable."
"Isabel and Jesse…"
"They were in love and the age difference was really hard on them from all accounts… But they knew, absolutely knew they were in love. I don't know what you're feeling but I know what I'm not feeling." He didn't have to be an alien to know that the warm spot spreading across his back wasn't a freak rainstorm. "You don't want an old guy. Guys die first and if you marry an old guy, you'll be widowed young and you'll have to start all over again."
"Can you take me back please?"
"You okay?"
"Just take me back."
--
The gang laughed while the children splashed in the pool. Zan had control of the little ones in his end. Bree, Lucas and Jimmy, who had gotten out of his nap for the moment, all in the shallow end. Sitting down, the water barely covered his legs but they were having a blast. He turned and squinted through the sunlight at Erika, who only waved from the safety of a shaded chair. Liz and Max monitored the splash factor on the next age group. Alex, Kelly, and Hannah screamed and splashed, making it difficult for their supervisors to see.
All along the side of the pool lay the girls in various swimsuits, sunning themselves. Sara, Paula, Amanda and Jenny gossiped about the girls in their respective schools. Kyle Jr., Isaiah and Eddie took turns diving off the board to create the biggest splash possible. Michael kept his eye on them but mostly he was content to relax while Maria and Isabel picked on Darin. Jesse had fallen asleep long ago and a kinder friend would warn him he was half in the sun still. Michael cleared his throat. "Where's Valenti?"
"Hopefully not making us another brother." Sara and Paula answered at the same time, barely breaking pace in their gossiping.
"Do you seriously think they would do that to you?" Darin called over.
"Every time he gets into a serious relationship, I get two more siblings." Sara sat up to adjust her bathing suit.
"You were three when he met what's her face." Michael shook his head.
"But I still got Paula and Jr., didn't I? And then here comes Ava and we get Jimmy. Who's to say she's not already expecting kid number two?"
"Me." Kyle appeared over his daughter and whacked her with a towel. Then whacked her again. "Can't you respect your old man for like two seconds?"
"You have a reputation, Dad." She waved him off and opened her magazine.
The roar of a motorcycle caught their attention. They turned just in time to catch Valerie leaping off the back before it even came to a stop. She stomped her way into the motel room and slammed the door after her. Rik turned off the engine and waited for Kyle to rush over and kick his ass. Kyle did make his way over but slower than Rik would have thought.
Kyle tossed his towel over his shoulder and crossed his arms when he reached the motorcycle. "Did she fall off?"
"No."
"Did you touch her?"
"No."
"Did you break her heart?"
"I think so."
"Okay, then. See you later, kid." Kyle turned and headed back to the room to check on his offspring.
Setting his helmet on the back of the bike, he dismounted and circumvented the pool to find the room he'd been itching to get to since he'd left Ruby in the diner. Knocking on the door, he could feel more than a dozen pairs of eyes on his back. He waved them off without turning. When Ruby opened the door, she greeted him with a small smile and then a wide wave to everyone staring from the pool. "We have an audience."
"They're nosy. Just ignore them. I do."
"How many of them are family?"
"Bout half."
"How many know why you're over here?"
"Quarter of that half… maybe. I don't tell them much but um… they're a smart bunch and they've probably figured it out." He peered into the room around her. "You live in the hotel?"
"Yeah. No need for a car to get to work… but also no car to get away from this hell hole." Ruby didn't invite him or shut the door in his face. She just crossed her arms and leaned in the doorway. "I was miserable for two whole weeks after you took off."
"Sorry. Couldn't have been helped." Rik accepted that she had drawn him a line and leaned against the railing along the sidewalk. "You wouldn't have liked me back then anyway. I just found out my best friend stole my girlfriend. My dad comes back into my life. I find out I've got actual family in the world. Then that my dad knocked up my mom first thing back… bad days."
"Oh yeah? Which one is he? The guy with the kiddies in the pool or the guy with the babies in the pool? They both look pretty nice to me." She peered out into the bright summer day. "Look at all them kids."
"Yeah… that's a fertile bunch over there." He shrugged and watched her watching his family. "What do you do for fun out here?"
"You misunderstand." She stepped out to lean on the railing next to him. "No one has fun out here. You work in the diner, you eat in the diner, you hang out in the diner. Sometimes, you hang out in the hotel. On slow days, you maybe catch some rays by the pool." She caught his look of confusion as to why only on slow days she could sun. "If I wear my bikini out there when there are guests of the male persuasion, I get bothered. They're very rarely the kind I'd give a flip about." She leaned against a column and looked him over for the millionth time. "Didn't you have a bunch of holes in your head?"
"Prep school got fed up. I had to take them out. Never got around to putting them back in." He reached up and fingered the bumps along the length of his ear where the holes had grown over but the cartilage still bore the trace. "Didn't you use to… wear less?"
She blushed and tried not to smile. "Yeah. I was a slut-in-training, wasn't I?"
"No, you were trying but…"
"You didn't bite." She swatted him, sliding onto the railing to sit. "You know, you promised to write me."
"I had a lot on my mind. Sorry, I didn't." Settling in for the long haul, Rik shucked his damp jacket and tossed it over the rail. "You get a travelin' soldier to give it up?"
"Unfortunately. You were right. I should have done it in a bed."
"Oh, not in the woods."
"No, on the roof." She laughed, her face flaming red.
"I did it in the boiler room of my first high school." He lifted his hand to show her his thumb. "Got too close and burned my finger. Pleasant memories."
"I had shingle marks on my back for three days. I just prayed no one would see them before they went away." Her eyes darted around for a minute before she went back to watching the pool. Silence stretched between them for a long moment. "So… how's jailbait?"
"I made her cry. I didn't mean to."
"That happen a lot? You have to beat girls off with a stick?"
"Not in a while, actually. Been five years since I made a girl cry." He caught her glancing back at her open doorway. "You hidin' a husband in there or something?"
"No. I'm babysitting and my charges are napping. My baby sister's kids." She shrugged. "Brats."
"You know you love them."
"I do."
--
Liz wrapped herself in a towel and took the chair next to Erika's so she could watch the couple chatting in the shade. "What do you think?"
"He's not puttin' the moves on her but he is talkin' an awful lot for someone who forgets to call his mother since he moved out." Erika shielded her eyes to see better. "She's pretty, though. He know her or somethin'?"
"You didn't see her last time we were here but that's why we hardly saw him." Liz popped open a bottle of water. "He was in so much pain when we were here and she helped him to forget for a little while."
"Ruby." Erika blurted out. She vaguely remembered the conversation but she did remember all the Ruby talk in the van.
"She's 24. She's the assistant manager at the diner. She's only had one serious boyfriend before. When she was 17, she dyed all her hair red velvet and ran away for a week. She came back and let it grow out. It's pretty now though, huh?"
"Yeah. Brown but red. I like it." The blonde nodded, her eyes watching her son's face light up with laughter. "You know a lot about her for someone who's neglected to say if she met her."
"I know a lot more. Her younger sister died last summer and she's been raising her niece and nephew, who are napping just now. Their father is supposed to come get them soon and then she'll have nothing left to stay here for."
"Where are her parents?"
"Around. Her dad owns the diner and her mom runs the hotel but they've barely spoken in years." Liz reached for some left over fries and shook her head. "Her parents don't even sleep in the same room anymore."
"She's a nice girl?"
"She's tries to be. They spark though, don't they?"
"They do." Erika agreed and watched them interact. There was nothing overtly intimate about the way they conversed but there was an easiness about them. "How long have you known about her? I mean… about this?"
"Since we were here the first time. I hinted to him when he asked me but he thought I was messing with his mind." Liz laughed aloud and waved when Rik looked at her.
"You're good at that. If I had that, I wouldn't be able to keep my mouth shut." She glanced at her watch and waved to Zan. "Bring them in. They need more sun-block."
"Bree is so cute. That dark hair… oh… I wish Hannah would have had darker hair."
"No. Hannah is cute as a button." The three little ones were brought in from the pool by a particularly tan Zan. Erika laughed and handed him the bottle. "Be lucky you won't burn."
"Hey Zan! Don't let my boy back in the water, he's got a nap comin'." Ava called over.
"Aight." He waved her off and set about drying off the little boy.
Lucas climbed into his mother's lap while she slathered another coat of sunscreen on him. Bree hopped up and down, full of unspent energy, her dark hair bouncing behind her. Liz watched her go. "She looks like a handful."
"We don't give her sugar, at all." Erika rolled her eyes. "With Kelly, I had to eat sweet stuff all the time and she needs tons of sugar to be normal. This one… I just load her up with Tabasco and she's good to go. No sugar, no caffeine. She'll give him a heart attack, just watch."
Zan tuned them out, while he tried to dry off his younger daughter. His eyes wandered to where Rik and Ruby were seated on the railing, much closer than they had started off. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he called out, "I ain't ready to be a Grandpa yet!"
Rik's only response was to lift his arm behind Ruby's back and extend his middle finger. That sent everyone watching into reels of laughter.
TBC
The mealtime frenzy took everyone's attention for quite a while, as there were still several young ones underfoot. Darin sat off to the side, contemplating his existence while he ate. Still, he was grateful when Liz plopped down beside him, sipping tea. "Worried? Confused? Horny?"
"Shut up." He laughed and picked at the remainder of his fries. So what if he had been single for a year. It had done him good. Ginger finally stopped calling to entice him into their badly matched liaisons. "I could get some if I wanted. Valerie would."
"But you won't." She smacked him upside the head.
"I won't." He agreed for several reasons. She was too young. She was way too pretty. Her father could kill him without laying a finger on him. Max and Liz would kill him for even seriously entertaining the idea. "I was thinking of taking a few months off."
"Oh yeah? What happened to the plan? President or bust?"
"Still going to happen but I'm ahead of schedule. Grandma and Grandpa Evans invited me to spend a summer in Roswell. I've been putting it off… settling for the two weeks when you guys go. Maybe I could intern with Grandpa Evans' firm, get to know them better. Without them, I never would have had Mom. Then after that, I'll go home and spend some time with Mom before I get a place of my own… and get a job."
"You don't like Quincy Williams Beckett III?" She snickered into his shoulder. "I'm sorry. His name sounds so… and he's just this…"
"Short, bald, rounding nuisance of a man?" He supplied and then shrugged. "He's okay. He makes Mom happy and that's what matters, I guess. He just… Dad had expectations for me. I've had this dream all my life of fulfilling those expectations. Quincy just… 'Why would you want to put all that pressure on yourself for such a slim shot?' He doesn't get it. 'Accounting is a firm job. You know what you're doing and there's a system that works. Law is full of impracticalities, inconsistencies and undue stress.'"
"He's really down on the stress, huh." Liz snorted. "Wait until he finds out the step-son is an alien prince."
"Oh, I begged her. No matter what happens, that man does not find out. He thinks aliens have abducted him. He swears up and down they're out to get him. I couldn't help it. I checked into it. He got flashed as a child and now he's convinced that didn't happen but aliens want his DNA."
"Sounds like a nut-job."
"He is… but he needs taking care of and Mom needs that. To take care of someone."
"You don't think she loves him?"
"Probably but I don't like to think about that. I just… feel she should still love Dad."
"You know she does but she's been lonely. Quincy has been good for her, I think."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Come on. Luke and Hannah miss spending time with you. Maybe you can interest Isaiah in joining us. He's been stuck in front of the mirror perfecting his hair for days now."
"Okay." Darin nodded that he'd be there soon and watched her go. He remembered how upset Isaiah had been when Liz had gotten pregnant with Lucas. He had been afraid everyone was going to forget all about him. Max had taken him for a walk and when they had come back, the kid had a new attitude. He was special. He was human and he knew the big bad secret and he could help being all of eight years old at the time. He hadn't really remembered too well how it had been when Hannah had been on the way. Things had worked out okay. No hard feelings anywhere.
Isaiah smiled and lifted Hannah onto his back for piggyback ride and then switched to give Lucas a turn. Then a commotion on the lot caught his attention. Rik revved the engine of his motorcycle, nodding his head to something Kyle was telling him. Then Rik slapped on his helmet and then Valerie, also with a helmet, hopped on the back before he roared off down the road. Kyle turned to his other kids. "You can apply for permission for a ride when she gets back but what I say goes. If I say you can't cause I think you're too young, then that's it. Understand?"
They grumbled and wandered away, save for Jimmy, whom Kyle scooped up to deliver to Ava for a nap. Ava looked a little ridiculous putting the four-year-old to sleep, given that he was half her size, literally. Isabel's kids looked bored out of their minds. The little one looked even more bored. Isabel was on her cell with an association or something and Jesse was on the phone again with his law firm.
Darin got to his feet finally and grabbed Eddie and then the rest of the boys for a wrestling lesson. "Come on. You guys have to do something besides sit around."
--
The motorcycle turned in a wide circle before speeding back toward the motel. Valerie tugged on Rik's arm. "Where are you going?"
"We're heading back."
"Come on. Let's go do something."
Reluctantly, Rik slowed their speed and pulled over next to a guardrail. Even when he turned off the bike, she didn't let go. "What did you have in mind?"
"Come on. I've seen you looking at me." She held on tighter.
"I'm not looking so much as glancing, there, Val." Rik cleared his throat, not sure quite how to let her down. "Don't you have guys your own age to hit on?"
"Daddy doesn't let me date. He scares them all off."
"Can I tell you something?"
"Sure."
"I think you're very pretty. You probably look just like your mom. You're smart and you're funny and that's all good and someday you're gonna make some guy really happy but the… Like I said, you're very pretty but when I look at you, I don't see some… girl I want to date…" He trailed off when her arms all but fell off of him.
"Then what do you see?"
"Kyle's daughter. There's also this… eight year age difference that makes me really uncomfortable."
"Isabel and Jesse…"
"They were in love and the age difference was really hard on them from all accounts… But they knew, absolutely knew they were in love. I don't know what you're feeling but I know what I'm not feeling." He didn't have to be an alien to know that the warm spot spreading across his back wasn't a freak rainstorm. "You don't want an old guy. Guys die first and if you marry an old guy, you'll be widowed young and you'll have to start all over again."
"Can you take me back please?"
"You okay?"
"Just take me back."
--
The gang laughed while the children splashed in the pool. Zan had control of the little ones in his end. Bree, Lucas and Jimmy, who had gotten out of his nap for the moment, all in the shallow end. Sitting down, the water barely covered his legs but they were having a blast. He turned and squinted through the sunlight at Erika, who only waved from the safety of a shaded chair. Liz and Max monitored the splash factor on the next age group. Alex, Kelly, and Hannah screamed and splashed, making it difficult for their supervisors to see.
All along the side of the pool lay the girls in various swimsuits, sunning themselves. Sara, Paula, Amanda and Jenny gossiped about the girls in their respective schools. Kyle Jr., Isaiah and Eddie took turns diving off the board to create the biggest splash possible. Michael kept his eye on them but mostly he was content to relax while Maria and Isabel picked on Darin. Jesse had fallen asleep long ago and a kinder friend would warn him he was half in the sun still. Michael cleared his throat. "Where's Valenti?"
"Hopefully not making us another brother." Sara and Paula answered at the same time, barely breaking pace in their gossiping.
"Do you seriously think they would do that to you?" Darin called over.
"Every time he gets into a serious relationship, I get two more siblings." Sara sat up to adjust her bathing suit.
"You were three when he met what's her face." Michael shook his head.
"But I still got Paula and Jr., didn't I? And then here comes Ava and we get Jimmy. Who's to say she's not already expecting kid number two?"
"Me." Kyle appeared over his daughter and whacked her with a towel. Then whacked her again. "Can't you respect your old man for like two seconds?"
"You have a reputation, Dad." She waved him off and opened her magazine.
The roar of a motorcycle caught their attention. They turned just in time to catch Valerie leaping off the back before it even came to a stop. She stomped her way into the motel room and slammed the door after her. Rik turned off the engine and waited for Kyle to rush over and kick his ass. Kyle did make his way over but slower than Rik would have thought.
Kyle tossed his towel over his shoulder and crossed his arms when he reached the motorcycle. "Did she fall off?"
"No."
"Did you touch her?"
"No."
"Did you break her heart?"
"I think so."
"Okay, then. See you later, kid." Kyle turned and headed back to the room to check on his offspring.
Setting his helmet on the back of the bike, he dismounted and circumvented the pool to find the room he'd been itching to get to since he'd left Ruby in the diner. Knocking on the door, he could feel more than a dozen pairs of eyes on his back. He waved them off without turning. When Ruby opened the door, she greeted him with a small smile and then a wide wave to everyone staring from the pool. "We have an audience."
"They're nosy. Just ignore them. I do."
"How many of them are family?"
"Bout half."
"How many know why you're over here?"
"Quarter of that half… maybe. I don't tell them much but um… they're a smart bunch and they've probably figured it out." He peered into the room around her. "You live in the hotel?"
"Yeah. No need for a car to get to work… but also no car to get away from this hell hole." Ruby didn't invite him or shut the door in his face. She just crossed her arms and leaned in the doorway. "I was miserable for two whole weeks after you took off."
"Sorry. Couldn't have been helped." Rik accepted that she had drawn him a line and leaned against the railing along the sidewalk. "You wouldn't have liked me back then anyway. I just found out my best friend stole my girlfriend. My dad comes back into my life. I find out I've got actual family in the world. Then that my dad knocked up my mom first thing back… bad days."
"Oh yeah? Which one is he? The guy with the kiddies in the pool or the guy with the babies in the pool? They both look pretty nice to me." She peered out into the bright summer day. "Look at all them kids."
"Yeah… that's a fertile bunch over there." He shrugged and watched her watching his family. "What do you do for fun out here?"
"You misunderstand." She stepped out to lean on the railing next to him. "No one has fun out here. You work in the diner, you eat in the diner, you hang out in the diner. Sometimes, you hang out in the hotel. On slow days, you maybe catch some rays by the pool." She caught his look of confusion as to why only on slow days she could sun. "If I wear my bikini out there when there are guests of the male persuasion, I get bothered. They're very rarely the kind I'd give a flip about." She leaned against a column and looked him over for the millionth time. "Didn't you have a bunch of holes in your head?"
"Prep school got fed up. I had to take them out. Never got around to putting them back in." He reached up and fingered the bumps along the length of his ear where the holes had grown over but the cartilage still bore the trace. "Didn't you use to… wear less?"
She blushed and tried not to smile. "Yeah. I was a slut-in-training, wasn't I?"
"No, you were trying but…"
"You didn't bite." She swatted him, sliding onto the railing to sit. "You know, you promised to write me."
"I had a lot on my mind. Sorry, I didn't." Settling in for the long haul, Rik shucked his damp jacket and tossed it over the rail. "You get a travelin' soldier to give it up?"
"Unfortunately. You were right. I should have done it in a bed."
"Oh, not in the woods."
"No, on the roof." She laughed, her face flaming red.
"I did it in the boiler room of my first high school." He lifted his hand to show her his thumb. "Got too close and burned my finger. Pleasant memories."
"I had shingle marks on my back for three days. I just prayed no one would see them before they went away." Her eyes darted around for a minute before she went back to watching the pool. Silence stretched between them for a long moment. "So… how's jailbait?"
"I made her cry. I didn't mean to."
"That happen a lot? You have to beat girls off with a stick?"
"Not in a while, actually. Been five years since I made a girl cry." He caught her glancing back at her open doorway. "You hidin' a husband in there or something?"
"No. I'm babysitting and my charges are napping. My baby sister's kids." She shrugged. "Brats."
"You know you love them."
"I do."
--
Liz wrapped herself in a towel and took the chair next to Erika's so she could watch the couple chatting in the shade. "What do you think?"
"He's not puttin' the moves on her but he is talkin' an awful lot for someone who forgets to call his mother since he moved out." Erika shielded her eyes to see better. "She's pretty, though. He know her or somethin'?"
"You didn't see her last time we were here but that's why we hardly saw him." Liz popped open a bottle of water. "He was in so much pain when we were here and she helped him to forget for a little while."
"Ruby." Erika blurted out. She vaguely remembered the conversation but she did remember all the Ruby talk in the van.
"She's 24. She's the assistant manager at the diner. She's only had one serious boyfriend before. When she was 17, she dyed all her hair red velvet and ran away for a week. She came back and let it grow out. It's pretty now though, huh?"
"Yeah. Brown but red. I like it." The blonde nodded, her eyes watching her son's face light up with laughter. "You know a lot about her for someone who's neglected to say if she met her."
"I know a lot more. Her younger sister died last summer and she's been raising her niece and nephew, who are napping just now. Their father is supposed to come get them soon and then she'll have nothing left to stay here for."
"Where are her parents?"
"Around. Her dad owns the diner and her mom runs the hotel but they've barely spoken in years." Liz reached for some left over fries and shook her head. "Her parents don't even sleep in the same room anymore."
"She's a nice girl?"
"She's tries to be. They spark though, don't they?"
"They do." Erika agreed and watched them interact. There was nothing overtly intimate about the way they conversed but there was an easiness about them. "How long have you known about her? I mean… about this?"
"Since we were here the first time. I hinted to him when he asked me but he thought I was messing with his mind." Liz laughed aloud and waved when Rik looked at her.
"You're good at that. If I had that, I wouldn't be able to keep my mouth shut." She glanced at her watch and waved to Zan. "Bring them in. They need more sun-block."
"Bree is so cute. That dark hair… oh… I wish Hannah would have had darker hair."
"No. Hannah is cute as a button." The three little ones were brought in from the pool by a particularly tan Zan. Erika laughed and handed him the bottle. "Be lucky you won't burn."
"Hey Zan! Don't let my boy back in the water, he's got a nap comin'." Ava called over.
"Aight." He waved her off and set about drying off the little boy.
Lucas climbed into his mother's lap while she slathered another coat of sunscreen on him. Bree hopped up and down, full of unspent energy, her dark hair bouncing behind her. Liz watched her go. "She looks like a handful."
"We don't give her sugar, at all." Erika rolled her eyes. "With Kelly, I had to eat sweet stuff all the time and she needs tons of sugar to be normal. This one… I just load her up with Tabasco and she's good to go. No sugar, no caffeine. She'll give him a heart attack, just watch."
Zan tuned them out, while he tried to dry off his younger daughter. His eyes wandered to where Rik and Ruby were seated on the railing, much closer than they had started off. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he called out, "I ain't ready to be a Grandpa yet!"
Rik's only response was to lift his arm behind Ruby's back and extend his middle finger. That sent everyone watching into reels of laughter.
TBC
Part 41
Part 41
Zan watched the proceedings from the window of the lobby with Ava and Isabel behind him. Michael leaned on the outside wall next to the window, his eyes sweeping the area every once in a while. Nothing was going to happen but old habits died hard. Max, Rik and Darin continued the discussions with the other summit leaders. Isabel was bored. "Ava, are you happy in Roswell?"
"It's cornball as I remember but… Kyle loves it there." She cleared her throat. "He's trying to get onto the city council or somethin'. He… feels like he's got to clear his name, you know? People talk about the Valentis like they all nut jobs. I never really met his dad but…"
"Yeah." Isabel nodded that she understood. "He was a really, really great man. The best and… these days, Kyle talks about him a lot."
"And… every time he looks at Jimmy, he starts with the stories."
"James does look like the Sheriff." Isabel nodded again. "Kyle Jr. must look like his mother. He almost doesn't look like Kyle."
"Cow." Ava scoffed and shook her head, motioned for Isabel not to ask.
"His kids think you're gonna pop another one out." Zan shot his childhood friend a look and the one he got back made him want to run and hide.
"You gotta be kiddin' me. I won't do that again. Ten months of mood swings and power failures and then gettin' him out? No. I'm good." Ava fell back on a couch and let out a breath. "I suck at this mommy thing. Jimmy walks all over me and I'm always doin' somethin' wrong and Kyle is always fixin' it."
"I'm sure you're fine."
"I'm too old to be messin' stuff up."
"You'll be fine." Isabel reassured her. "It could have been worse. You could have cut and run like the last one did."
"And that's what keeps my feet in one place. I could cut and run and the kid would be fine with Kyle but… I can't do that. I promised. He knows I get frustrated and he's too good to me." She sighed loudly but smiled. "I'm glad I stick around though. Those kids… You can be feelin' like the biggest mistake on the planet and then they'll come in with a story or they'll do somethin' you ain't ask 'em to do and I… can't believe for a second I thought of missin' it."
"Funny how they do that, huh. You think they hate you and then they come to you for stuff." Zan watched his son explaining to the aliens how things were going to work on Earth. "You know, he came in last night… pretty late. Asked me if it was stupid to risk everythin' on maybe."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Isabel furrowed her brow at the alien staring out the large patio window.
"That's what I said. He ain't explain nothin' to me… but he was smilin'. He ain't really done that since what's her name…"
"The trust fund baby." Isabel nodded that she remembered.
"She was such a pushover." Ava rolled her eyes. "I could've told 'im it wasn't gonna last."
"He knew, too. Most of the time, anyway. Said he wouldn't have missed it just cause it wouldn't work out."
"That's sweet." Isabel nodded and then narrowed her eyes. "Was that before or after he slept with her?"
"Didn't ever come up." Zan turned to her with his face screwed up in disgust. "He don't talk to me bout that stuff."
"I'll bet it was before and he just wanted to sleep with her."
"Now who's bein' crude?"
--
Liz and Maria flipped through the notebook, looking at the sketches. "You sure these are the ones?"
"I'm almost positive." Maria nodded as she tilted her head at the pages. "He keeps everything in here." Then her eyes bugged out as she quickly turned the page. "Even ones I feel he should keep locked up."
"You posed for that?"
"No. I was asleep." She cleared her throat. "I think. Moving on."
"Hot mama." Kyle leaned over their shoulders. "You didn't go to sleep like that, you slut."
"Shut up." Maria smacked him and kept flipping for the sketches Liz needed. "Do you really need to see them?"
"Yes. I can't remember what I told Michael these guys were going to look like. He said he'd do something that would be race-appeasing." Liz caught bits and pieces while Maria rapidly thumbed through the pages to find the alien drawings.
"I'm gonna kill him… He… He had better lock this thing up when we get home." Maria muttered under her breath.
"If that was my talent and I had a willing model…" Kyle tilted his head at a flashing page. "I'd have more kids."
"It's called birth control. Mandy was nearly ten pounds and risking that pain again… no thank you." Maria finally found the alien sketches and handed it to Liz. "I'd appreciate you handing that back in person and not showing it to anyone else."
Kyle stopped Maria before she got up. "The reason I came in here is this. I have two daughters of dating age and one swiftly coming up the ranks. I've done my very best to keep the boys away but you saw what happened yesterday. How do I keep it from happening again without locking them in the house permanently?"
"My experience is in boys." Liz told him while studying Michael's drawings. "Hannah won't date for years still and she's got two older brothers to help me out."
"Mandy and I have a don't-ask-don't-tell policy. We also have one where we don't tell Michael anything about what she does tell me." Maria snorted and pushed off the couch.
Kyle stood there for a while before he called for help. "Jesse!" The two listened for a moment before another explosion erupted. "You! Your shirt is too short. And you! Your skirt is not regulation and you… no make-up until you're 14. I made that rule for a reason."
--
Kal shook his head at Erika's plans. "No. My guy doesn't eat… squishy things. I don't know. Everything has to be crunchy or crispy."
"Nothin' squishy." Erika rolled her eyes and ran through her catering index for a list of possibilities. "Creamy?"
"No."
"I'm gonna kill the guy and get famous myself and then I can make insane requests." She blew out a breath. "And the music?"
"If it's loud, he won't care." Kal flipped open a container on the desk next to her. "What in the hell is that?"
"Lemon-Tabasco bar with chocolate chips." She answered without looking. "Zan invented them with Kelly."
"How much lemon?"
"Don't know. I can't eat them. They make me sick."
"Are they tart?"
"Don't know. Eat one. Find out." She brushed him off while she started rearranging her plans. Then she dialed quickly and waited for the pick up. "Mere, honey, is Steve awake? … aw… give her a kiss for me… Stevie, sweetie, I need you to do some scoutin' for me… No, it's for a client… Then consider yourself promoted… You can handle this… What happened to my Steve? Huh?… Those babies meltin' your brain? … Can you do this? … Good." She quickly rattled off a list of things to check up on for her. "Then call me and let me know what they say. If you have questions, call me."
"You're letting that kid handle this?" Kal asked as she said her goodbyes.
"Yes. Unless you're going to watch my kids while I run back to the city to ask a caterer if they can plan a non-squishy menu for the VIP room." She flashed a smile at him and rose from the desk. "We're done. I'd like to go greet my husband now."
"Do you trust that kid to handle this?"
"Kal, he'll call us tonight and we'll still have time to fix it if he can't… but I think he can." She rushed outside, scooping a child as she went. When she got to the van, Liz was already there, grilling the aliens
"Well?" Liz demanded.
Rik was the one who stepped forward to answer the question. "It went well. The summit leaders met with the primary representatives of the colonies. They want time to broach the subject with their respective colonies. Two days and we'll have an answer from each of the five colonies."
"Two days, still?" Liz groaned and grabbed Max by his shirt collar. "You said today."
"I said maybe today." He corrected, ruefully. "This is a big deal. We can't expect them to have an answer right away.
"Fine… we'll just… enjoy the atmosphere some more." Liz shrugged but she was very much annoyed. "Tag, you're it."
Max nodded while Liz dragged Michael off, asking questions about his sketches all the way back to the room. Max popped Lucas up on his hip and went in search of his other children. "I'm assuming I'm responsible for the meal as well."
"Matoes and cheese." Lucas grinned.
"I'll see what I can do." Max shook his head. If Lucas had his way, every meal would be tomatoes and cheese.
"Story time!" Hannah screeched and launched herself at Darin.
"I don't know guys, I'm pretty wiped." Darin groaned.
"Please!" Kelly joined in.
"I'll help." Valerie shrugged, still a little stung by the day before.
"How many did we do last time?" He asked, struggling to remember.
"A bunch but this time it's just the medium age kids." She gripped her youngest brother's hand to guide the kids into a room for the story and light show. "I think only five or six will want to see it anyway."
"We can do that no problem."
"Let's get them lunch first, guys." Max jerked his head back to the rooms.
"Rik! Where're you goin?" Erika called out to him when she saw him getting his bike ready.
"For a ride." He smiled when he felt Ruby climb on behind him with a basket. "We won't be gone all day, promise!"
"Young love… it's enough to make you want to gag." Isabel announced before joining the group heading back to the rooms.
--
The blanket barely concealed the fact they were laying on the hard forest ground but they ignored it for the moment while they picked at their lunch spread. Ruby shook her head and her hair cascaded down her bare back. "You introduced yourself as Ronald but your mother called you Rik. Which is it?"
"She's always called me Rik, I guess." He thought about it and couldn't remember when it had started. "Maybe it was my dad who started it, though. My initials."
"Well, why do you go by Ron, now?"
"School. My prep academy always called me 'Mr. Kasey' and in college, I was introduced as Ronald… Ron just kind of stuck. The firm I'm joining when I go back… they call me Ron." He shrugged a little and popped a grape into his mouth. "My parents and my old friends still call me Rik."
"Your firm? What is that?"
"Law firm. I'm a lawyer… or I will be. I just passed my L-SATs and I got hired."
"Listen to you, acting modest. I don't know any lawyers that just wander around the woods with their families. Hell, I don't think I ever met a lawyer before and here I was thinking I just slept with a businessman or something. Like maybe you worked for somebody on Wall Street or something."
"Entertainment Law." He shrugged. "I didn't pick it."
"Then why are you there?"
"Guy paid for what I couldn't cover and he said, 'join these guys and work there and we'll call it even.' So I am." Rik scooted closer. "Hey, he's my first client. I'm not complaining. He'll make me a rich man even if he's the only guy I get for myself." She only nodded and picked at a container of sliced fruit. "What about you? What are you going to do?"
"Probably die in this hellhole." She sighed, her eyes on her fruit. "Those kids… I got my dad watching them right now. They… they're going home with their dad this weekend and I'll probably never see them again. My niece and nephew."
"It can't be that bad, right? You're the assistant manager…."
Her eyes turned on him, finally. "I'll be here for the rest of my life… and I won't even get to see those kids grow up."
"Where is he taking them?"
"I don't know."
"Then how do you know you won't?"
"Okay, just cause you nailed me in the woods, don't mean you know me." She sat up and reached for her blouse.
"Come on. I didn't mean anything by it."
"I'll walk back."
"Ruby, come on." Rik grabbed her by the hips to keep her from moving far. "I didn't mean anything by it. I just…" He took a breath. "Can you tell the future?"
"No one can."
"Then you don't know is all I'm saying. Maybe someday you'll see them again. Maybe someday you'll leave the motel." His vision threatened to cloud with shadows of the future but he shoved them away. "I didn't agree to a picnic to get in your pants. That just happened."
"You're leaving at the end of the week. We both got what we wanted. We should just leave it at that." She stared straight ahead, her eyes not seeing the forest but they weren't looking down into his eyes that had first caught her attention. "How do I know you don't have a girl in every town along the route from the city?"
"I don't… and you can't know that but I really don't."
"You're just some rich guy, slumming in the boondocks."
"Now, that ain't true." He pressed a kiss to her belly. "Do you want to hear my story? I'll tell you. My mom was sixteen when she got pregnant by a guy who never even told her his last name. I almost died when I was born. Then Dad took off when I was two. My grandpa died when I was three and there was just me and Mom all those years, her waitressing to pay the bills and me studying my ass off and trying not to get into too much trouble. I didn't see my dad again until the day before I met you the first time. Then I got baby sisters and we's all livin' in that little apartment together, scrapin' by and doin' okay. His family wundn't doin' too much better until recently. The suit is new, darlin'."
"You can't give a poor girl hope, Rik… it just makes the fall that much harder."
"Then don't stay here. Come with me. I'll take you back with me and you can crash with me until you find a job."
"And then what? We shack up until you get tired of me and then I'm in a city full of strangers, where I don't know my way and no way to get back home."
"Maybe we don't shack up. Maybe you take my bed and I take the couch until you decide what you want to do?" He nuzzled the skin below her navel. "What did I tell you the last time we met?" He snaked his tongue out to run a line down her abdomen. "I don't fuck and run. Never have and never will."
"I can't know that." She whispered, her fingers running through his hair.
"Maybe… Maybe I'll go home alone and send you a ticket… maybe you use it, maybe you don't."
"You would do that? You don't know me." Her legs were turning to jelly but she was determined to stay on her feet.
"Maybe I feel like I do… like maybe I don't want to end this when I go back."
"I'm going to need a little more convincing than that. You are asking a lot of me."
"And I want to ask a lot more."
TBC
Zan watched the proceedings from the window of the lobby with Ava and Isabel behind him. Michael leaned on the outside wall next to the window, his eyes sweeping the area every once in a while. Nothing was going to happen but old habits died hard. Max, Rik and Darin continued the discussions with the other summit leaders. Isabel was bored. "Ava, are you happy in Roswell?"
"It's cornball as I remember but… Kyle loves it there." She cleared her throat. "He's trying to get onto the city council or somethin'. He… feels like he's got to clear his name, you know? People talk about the Valentis like they all nut jobs. I never really met his dad but…"
"Yeah." Isabel nodded that she understood. "He was a really, really great man. The best and… these days, Kyle talks about him a lot."
"And… every time he looks at Jimmy, he starts with the stories."
"James does look like the Sheriff." Isabel nodded again. "Kyle Jr. must look like his mother. He almost doesn't look like Kyle."
"Cow." Ava scoffed and shook her head, motioned for Isabel not to ask.
"His kids think you're gonna pop another one out." Zan shot his childhood friend a look and the one he got back made him want to run and hide.
"You gotta be kiddin' me. I won't do that again. Ten months of mood swings and power failures and then gettin' him out? No. I'm good." Ava fell back on a couch and let out a breath. "I suck at this mommy thing. Jimmy walks all over me and I'm always doin' somethin' wrong and Kyle is always fixin' it."
"I'm sure you're fine."
"I'm too old to be messin' stuff up."
"You'll be fine." Isabel reassured her. "It could have been worse. You could have cut and run like the last one did."
"And that's what keeps my feet in one place. I could cut and run and the kid would be fine with Kyle but… I can't do that. I promised. He knows I get frustrated and he's too good to me." She sighed loudly but smiled. "I'm glad I stick around though. Those kids… You can be feelin' like the biggest mistake on the planet and then they'll come in with a story or they'll do somethin' you ain't ask 'em to do and I… can't believe for a second I thought of missin' it."
"Funny how they do that, huh. You think they hate you and then they come to you for stuff." Zan watched his son explaining to the aliens how things were going to work on Earth. "You know, he came in last night… pretty late. Asked me if it was stupid to risk everythin' on maybe."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Isabel furrowed her brow at the alien staring out the large patio window.
"That's what I said. He ain't explain nothin' to me… but he was smilin'. He ain't really done that since what's her name…"
"The trust fund baby." Isabel nodded that she remembered.
"She was such a pushover." Ava rolled her eyes. "I could've told 'im it wasn't gonna last."
"He knew, too. Most of the time, anyway. Said he wouldn't have missed it just cause it wouldn't work out."
"That's sweet." Isabel nodded and then narrowed her eyes. "Was that before or after he slept with her?"
"Didn't ever come up." Zan turned to her with his face screwed up in disgust. "He don't talk to me bout that stuff."
"I'll bet it was before and he just wanted to sleep with her."
"Now who's bein' crude?"
--
Liz and Maria flipped through the notebook, looking at the sketches. "You sure these are the ones?"
"I'm almost positive." Maria nodded as she tilted her head at the pages. "He keeps everything in here." Then her eyes bugged out as she quickly turned the page. "Even ones I feel he should keep locked up."
"You posed for that?"
"No. I was asleep." She cleared her throat. "I think. Moving on."
"Hot mama." Kyle leaned over their shoulders. "You didn't go to sleep like that, you slut."
"Shut up." Maria smacked him and kept flipping for the sketches Liz needed. "Do you really need to see them?"
"Yes. I can't remember what I told Michael these guys were going to look like. He said he'd do something that would be race-appeasing." Liz caught bits and pieces while Maria rapidly thumbed through the pages to find the alien drawings.
"I'm gonna kill him… He… He had better lock this thing up when we get home." Maria muttered under her breath.
"If that was my talent and I had a willing model…" Kyle tilted his head at a flashing page. "I'd have more kids."
"It's called birth control. Mandy was nearly ten pounds and risking that pain again… no thank you." Maria finally found the alien sketches and handed it to Liz. "I'd appreciate you handing that back in person and not showing it to anyone else."
Kyle stopped Maria before she got up. "The reason I came in here is this. I have two daughters of dating age and one swiftly coming up the ranks. I've done my very best to keep the boys away but you saw what happened yesterday. How do I keep it from happening again without locking them in the house permanently?"
"My experience is in boys." Liz told him while studying Michael's drawings. "Hannah won't date for years still and she's got two older brothers to help me out."
"Mandy and I have a don't-ask-don't-tell policy. We also have one where we don't tell Michael anything about what she does tell me." Maria snorted and pushed off the couch.
Kyle stood there for a while before he called for help. "Jesse!" The two listened for a moment before another explosion erupted. "You! Your shirt is too short. And you! Your skirt is not regulation and you… no make-up until you're 14. I made that rule for a reason."
--
Kal shook his head at Erika's plans. "No. My guy doesn't eat… squishy things. I don't know. Everything has to be crunchy or crispy."
"Nothin' squishy." Erika rolled her eyes and ran through her catering index for a list of possibilities. "Creamy?"
"No."
"I'm gonna kill the guy and get famous myself and then I can make insane requests." She blew out a breath. "And the music?"
"If it's loud, he won't care." Kal flipped open a container on the desk next to her. "What in the hell is that?"
"Lemon-Tabasco bar with chocolate chips." She answered without looking. "Zan invented them with Kelly."
"How much lemon?"
"Don't know. I can't eat them. They make me sick."
"Are they tart?"
"Don't know. Eat one. Find out." She brushed him off while she started rearranging her plans. Then she dialed quickly and waited for the pick up. "Mere, honey, is Steve awake? … aw… give her a kiss for me… Stevie, sweetie, I need you to do some scoutin' for me… No, it's for a client… Then consider yourself promoted… You can handle this… What happened to my Steve? Huh?… Those babies meltin' your brain? … Can you do this? … Good." She quickly rattled off a list of things to check up on for her. "Then call me and let me know what they say. If you have questions, call me."
"You're letting that kid handle this?" Kal asked as she said her goodbyes.
"Yes. Unless you're going to watch my kids while I run back to the city to ask a caterer if they can plan a non-squishy menu for the VIP room." She flashed a smile at him and rose from the desk. "We're done. I'd like to go greet my husband now."
"Do you trust that kid to handle this?"
"Kal, he'll call us tonight and we'll still have time to fix it if he can't… but I think he can." She rushed outside, scooping a child as she went. When she got to the van, Liz was already there, grilling the aliens
"Well?" Liz demanded.
Rik was the one who stepped forward to answer the question. "It went well. The summit leaders met with the primary representatives of the colonies. They want time to broach the subject with their respective colonies. Two days and we'll have an answer from each of the five colonies."
"Two days, still?" Liz groaned and grabbed Max by his shirt collar. "You said today."
"I said maybe today." He corrected, ruefully. "This is a big deal. We can't expect them to have an answer right away.
"Fine… we'll just… enjoy the atmosphere some more." Liz shrugged but she was very much annoyed. "Tag, you're it."
Max nodded while Liz dragged Michael off, asking questions about his sketches all the way back to the room. Max popped Lucas up on his hip and went in search of his other children. "I'm assuming I'm responsible for the meal as well."
"Matoes and cheese." Lucas grinned.
"I'll see what I can do." Max shook his head. If Lucas had his way, every meal would be tomatoes and cheese.
"Story time!" Hannah screeched and launched herself at Darin.
"I don't know guys, I'm pretty wiped." Darin groaned.
"Please!" Kelly joined in.
"I'll help." Valerie shrugged, still a little stung by the day before.
"How many did we do last time?" He asked, struggling to remember.
"A bunch but this time it's just the medium age kids." She gripped her youngest brother's hand to guide the kids into a room for the story and light show. "I think only five or six will want to see it anyway."
"We can do that no problem."
"Let's get them lunch first, guys." Max jerked his head back to the rooms.
"Rik! Where're you goin?" Erika called out to him when she saw him getting his bike ready.
"For a ride." He smiled when he felt Ruby climb on behind him with a basket. "We won't be gone all day, promise!"
"Young love… it's enough to make you want to gag." Isabel announced before joining the group heading back to the rooms.
--
The blanket barely concealed the fact they were laying on the hard forest ground but they ignored it for the moment while they picked at their lunch spread. Ruby shook her head and her hair cascaded down her bare back. "You introduced yourself as Ronald but your mother called you Rik. Which is it?"
"She's always called me Rik, I guess." He thought about it and couldn't remember when it had started. "Maybe it was my dad who started it, though. My initials."
"Well, why do you go by Ron, now?"
"School. My prep academy always called me 'Mr. Kasey' and in college, I was introduced as Ronald… Ron just kind of stuck. The firm I'm joining when I go back… they call me Ron." He shrugged a little and popped a grape into his mouth. "My parents and my old friends still call me Rik."
"Your firm? What is that?"
"Law firm. I'm a lawyer… or I will be. I just passed my L-SATs and I got hired."
"Listen to you, acting modest. I don't know any lawyers that just wander around the woods with their families. Hell, I don't think I ever met a lawyer before and here I was thinking I just slept with a businessman or something. Like maybe you worked for somebody on Wall Street or something."
"Entertainment Law." He shrugged. "I didn't pick it."
"Then why are you there?"
"Guy paid for what I couldn't cover and he said, 'join these guys and work there and we'll call it even.' So I am." Rik scooted closer. "Hey, he's my first client. I'm not complaining. He'll make me a rich man even if he's the only guy I get for myself." She only nodded and picked at a container of sliced fruit. "What about you? What are you going to do?"
"Probably die in this hellhole." She sighed, her eyes on her fruit. "Those kids… I got my dad watching them right now. They… they're going home with their dad this weekend and I'll probably never see them again. My niece and nephew."
"It can't be that bad, right? You're the assistant manager…."
Her eyes turned on him, finally. "I'll be here for the rest of my life… and I won't even get to see those kids grow up."
"Where is he taking them?"
"I don't know."
"Then how do you know you won't?"
"Okay, just cause you nailed me in the woods, don't mean you know me." She sat up and reached for her blouse.
"Come on. I didn't mean anything by it."
"I'll walk back."
"Ruby, come on." Rik grabbed her by the hips to keep her from moving far. "I didn't mean anything by it. I just…" He took a breath. "Can you tell the future?"
"No one can."
"Then you don't know is all I'm saying. Maybe someday you'll see them again. Maybe someday you'll leave the motel." His vision threatened to cloud with shadows of the future but he shoved them away. "I didn't agree to a picnic to get in your pants. That just happened."
"You're leaving at the end of the week. We both got what we wanted. We should just leave it at that." She stared straight ahead, her eyes not seeing the forest but they weren't looking down into his eyes that had first caught her attention. "How do I know you don't have a girl in every town along the route from the city?"
"I don't… and you can't know that but I really don't."
"You're just some rich guy, slumming in the boondocks."
"Now, that ain't true." He pressed a kiss to her belly. "Do you want to hear my story? I'll tell you. My mom was sixteen when she got pregnant by a guy who never even told her his last name. I almost died when I was born. Then Dad took off when I was two. My grandpa died when I was three and there was just me and Mom all those years, her waitressing to pay the bills and me studying my ass off and trying not to get into too much trouble. I didn't see my dad again until the day before I met you the first time. Then I got baby sisters and we's all livin' in that little apartment together, scrapin' by and doin' okay. His family wundn't doin' too much better until recently. The suit is new, darlin'."
"You can't give a poor girl hope, Rik… it just makes the fall that much harder."
"Then don't stay here. Come with me. I'll take you back with me and you can crash with me until you find a job."
"And then what? We shack up until you get tired of me and then I'm in a city full of strangers, where I don't know my way and no way to get back home."
"Maybe we don't shack up. Maybe you take my bed and I take the couch until you decide what you want to do?" He nuzzled the skin below her navel. "What did I tell you the last time we met?" He snaked his tongue out to run a line down her abdomen. "I don't fuck and run. Never have and never will."
"I can't know that." She whispered, her fingers running through his hair.
"Maybe… Maybe I'll go home alone and send you a ticket… maybe you use it, maybe you don't."
"You would do that? You don't know me." Her legs were turning to jelly but she was determined to stay on her feet.
"Maybe I feel like I do… like maybe I don't want to end this when I go back."
"I'm going to need a little more convincing than that. You are asking a lot of me."
"And I want to ask a lot more."
TBC
Part 42
Part 42
Erika looked up when the door opened. She had Bree napping beside her and her notes for the club in her lap. "Sh… the baby's sleepin'."
"Hey Mom." Rik eased into the room. "I want you to come out here and meet someone."
"Ok, give me a minute to wash up." Erika got off the bed and washed her face in the bathroom sink before brushing her teeth and searching for a clean blouse. She'd have to have Zan do laundry if they were going to be in the woods much longer. When she opened the door, she found her son whispering to his girl wrapped in his arms. "Hello, I'm Erika. Rik's mother."
"I'm Ruby." The girl held out her hand.
"So… you're the infamous Ruby."
"Mom." Rik hissed and shook his head.
"I'm just sayin'. You distracted him just when he needed it and now… you're back. What're my son's intentions? He'll never tell me." Erika attempted to draw the girl out.
"Mom!"
"Actually, I'm in for short term and he's in for the long haul. We're… still in negotiations." She gave Rik a sideways glance that told Erika more than her son ever would.
"Zan!" Erika called over. "Come meet his girl!"
"Mom." Rik groaned and sank into a patio chair. He should have known this would turn into an ordeal.
Zan jogged up with Kelly running beside him. "What do we got here?"
"Ruby, Zan. Zan, Ruby." Rik made the half-hearted introductions.
"She's pretty. Too good for you. Give her to your cousin." Zan cleared his throat.
"Fuck you." Rik growled and reached for Ruby's hand. "We're going."
"No." Erika pulled Ruby out of Rik's grasp. "You just got here… and watch your mouth around your sister. Ruby, this is Kelly. Kelly, this is Ruby."
"Hi." Kelly waved and stepped closer to her father.
"Hey there, sweetie." Ruby knelt to shake hands with the shy girl. "How old are you?"
"Seven." Kelly whispered before hiding her face in Zan's leg.
"Since when are you shy?" Zan hissed down at her. "Come on, K-K. Let's get somethin' to drink for everyone." Then he grabbed Rik. "Help me."
Erika watched the girl while the men disappeared around the corner. "It is nice to finally meet you. He never brings girls for me to meet."
"So, I guess I'm special huh." Ruby shifted uncomfortably. "He wants me to go to the city to be with him but… my life is mostly out here."
"Let me tell you somethin' 'bout my son. I've never seen him act like this. The first girl of his that I met, he thought he was in love but she wasn't. He let her break him to a hundred pieces but he didn't budge an inch for her. Not one. Not after all the pleadin' for forgiveness. The next girl he let in a little more but when she ran, he didn't give chase. He didn't ask her to stay and he didn't go when she asked. The others he's dated, I never got to meet no matter how serious he claimed it was. Meetin' me was a last resort."
"What are you saying?"
"We've been here two days and he brought you over here and not only is he spendin' time with his father right now, which he hates doin', he's tryin' to move heaven and earth not to leave you behind. If you begged him, he'd stay here but I want to make sure that you won't. I can't have him out here after we struggled so hard to get him where he is now. We're doin' okay now but his whole life, we pinched and saved so that he could have it now." Erika met the girl's eyes. "If you aren't willin' to try, to risk it, then tell him. Break him now, before it's too late. He's my child. My first born and he thinks he's grown up but he'll always be my baby."
"I'll take your advice into consideration." Ruby nodded and took a seat to wait for Rik to return and then a car pulled into the lot. "No. No!" She shot out of her seat and raced across the parking lot
--
Darin walked with Max to the tiny grocery store half a mile down the road. Sometimes it was a stretch to find conversation and other times it just flowed. "How weird is it that you've got a child in grad-school and a child in pre-school at the same time?"
"A little weird." Max admitted but smiled. "It's probably weirder for you to have a half-brother in pre-K while in grad-school yourself."
"I kind of feel I have to explain to people when it comes up but I'm never quite sure how I should broach it." Darin kicked a rock out of their path. "I talked to the mayor last week."
"You just… talk to the mayor whenever you feel like it?"
"He was at an alumni thing at Adarma." The younger man explained quickly with a quick shrug of his shoulders. "I was asking him what it took to start a town. Property and all that. He thought I was crazy."
"There's always Canada, right?" Max snickered to himself. "I'd like to stay in New York but… New Mexico might be better. Plenty of space and they don't really need a lot of the resources that other towns would. It would probably be best if we did this in another country but…"
"I know. The thought of living in another country is daunting… and we're not leaving the planet. Just think about how all those people up there feel. Their planet has been abused and misused and they were forced off by a severe lack of livable conditions, asked to seek shelter with those who could be enemies and then asked to either continue on as they are or to reclaim allegiance to a king who won't leave the planet he is now occupying alone. To move yet again, not to another city or state or country but another planet in a whole other system in a whole other galaxy."
"How did you get so insightful?" Max teased lightly and opened the door of the grocer for his son. "What are you? Adopted?"
"I'm getting better at it. Getting attuned to other people's situations and their needs and their paths." He took a deep breath and stood looking at the cereal options in the first aisle. "I can't do it the way Rik does or the way Liz does. They just come to me. Leap out at me and I can't ignore it and I can't really channel it."
"Yet." Max promised and put his hands on either shoulder to steer the young man to another aisle. "You'll get better. You were forced into your abilities, I grew up with mine. I imagine you still have some techniques and lessons to learn. I wasn't nearly finished at your age."
--
Rik threw on his suit, smoothing out the wrinkles with his powers as he grabbed his briefcase. With Kal in tow, they strode into Ruby's apartment and into the midst of a fiery argument.
"Dammit, Ruby. They're my kids and I'll send them where I want. If you wanted them so bad, you shouldn't have begged me to take them."
"I thought you'd be raising them, you asshole. You're early. I was counting on those two days to say my goodbyes. You can't just come in here and tell me you were coming all this way to get them only to shove them into an orphanage." Ruby shouted back, blocking the way to the children's room. "If I had known, I would have never told you she had died. What'd you do? Sell them?"
"Ms. Urquiza." Rik set the briefcase down on the desk and pulled out the chair for Kal. "We're ready to begin the negotiation."
"Negotiation. What's this guy talking about?"
"I am Ronald Kasey, attorney on behalf of Rubeena Urquiza and I represent the best interests of her niece and nephew." Rik pulled a pen and a pad of paper from his briefcase and took a seat on the nearest chair. "There will have to be a transfer of custody after a blood test confirms that you are the biological father."
"Of course I'm the biological father, we were married."
"You are?"
"Peter Ensen."
"Mr. Ensen, you were divorced from the children's mother at the time of her death, correct?" Kal jumped in, hands clasped on his stomach.
"What's that have to do with anything?"
"Your ex-wife, did she have full custody of the children?"
"Yes but…"
"The state of New York does not like to break up families and so you will be considered as a caregiver after we assess what is best for the children. Where would you live?" Rik began making notes. "Do you have a house? A job? What are the school systems like in your town?"
"I don't know. I can't keep kids."
"Then what are you doing here?" Rik got to his feet to look Peter in the eye. The man was older but fidgety and knew something wasn't going his way. "It was my understanding that when I drew up these transfer of custody papers that the children would be placed with their biological father permanently." He shuffled through a stack of papers. "I was never given the name of the father so I will require a blood test to confirm biology before I can let you keep them… or even, take them from this property."
"I don't follow."
"The Ensen children own this motel, inherited from their mother who is deceased. They live here. Mr. and Mrs. Urquiza have retained the property until the children are of age to take over but as Mr. and Mrs. Urquiza hardly have the energy to keep up with small children, temporary custody was granted to Rubeena Urquiza, the sister. Our understanding was their future home would be a warm and loving home with a full-time father." Rik's eyes flicked to Ruby, who had sunk, dumbfounded, onto the couch.
"She called me and told me I had to come get my kids. She didn't say nothing about no tests or lawyers. I was gonna get the kids and sell the hotel. I don't have time for this."
"The conditions according the last will and testament of the deceased state that the children are to be kept within the family and the motel cannot be sold from under them."
"I've had about enough out of you. Speak English!"
"What my young assistant is trying to convey is this…" Kal cleared his throat but didn't rise from his seat. "Your ex-wife laid out plans for her children. Power of attorney was granted to Ms. Urquiza with regard to this property. As an unwed woman, she is not the ideal placement for the children on a full-time basis. First choice was their father, presumably you. You have the option of either taking the children and raising them well or walking out the door and signing away your rights, which, I have gathered from your outburst, was something you had planned to do anyway."
"If you take your children, they will live with you full-time and Ms. Urquiza must be allowed visitation. Where is it that you live, Mr. Ensen?"
"New York, temporarily."
"You will need to file any relocations with me so long as the children are underage." Rik began scribbling on the notepad furiously. "I can have papers drawn up by tomorrow morning. Which will it be? Signing over custody now or stepping up?"
"I need to talk to you." Peter pointed to Ruby and pulled her out of her seat and into the kitchen where Rik had to strain to hear their conversation. "What the hell are you thinking dragging lawyers into this?"
"You heard him. Julia knew what she wanted for the kids."
"I can't take them."
"Then walk out, Peter. Sign over custody to me and walk out."
"Oh no. These are my kids."
"Make up your mind. Are you going to be their father or are you going to throw them away?"
"I only have a year in my contract and then I'm out of work. You expect me to risk being homeless with kids?"
"What is really going on, Peter?"
"The renovations on the contract are almost done. The subways are fully active and I have to go where the work is. The work is in Windfall. You want me to take those kids to Windfall? Play me for the jerk if you want but I'm just thinking of them. They're better off in a state home or with foster parents or some shit. I work long days. I'm gonna have to pay for sitters and groceries and I can't afford all that and move."
"And if we sell the motel? What's that going to give you? You aren't going to keep them either way."
"Why couldn't you keep them?"
"I'm running the diner practically by myself since dad's been sick. I'm having to pay Peg overtime for covering my shifts. Now I have to work shifts at the motel, too because Julia's gone. Mom and Dad are too old to take care of this place and I can't do both at once and still take care of them and the kids. I figured at the very least, they'd have their father. I know she made you leave but they're your kids and you know it."
"They don't even know me."
"Because you never tried to contest the custody decision." Ruby turned to look at Rik for a moment before turning back to her ex-brother-in-law. "I need help at the very least. These guys are just looking out for the kids. I don't want to give them away or lose track of them. I want them to have the family that our parents didn't give us. Between you and me, I'd rather keep them but I can't. Not when I'm working double duty. We are all the family they have. Mom and Dad don't give a shit about them, not anymore than they gave about me and Julia." She took a deep breath. "I was expecting to have two days to say goodbye to those kids. You know I love them and I just… I need them to be happy and to have a normal childhood. Work with me. If we sell the motel… it'll be for practically nothing and I'd still have to put mom somewhere and Dad will probably vanish. It could take years to unload this place."
Peter stared at his shoes while he considered her words. "You think I wanted to give them up? I took every angle I could on this. This was the best option."
Ruby glanced back at Rik, who was waiting patiently with his pen and pad. "Look. Maybe we could work something out. I got an invitation to go to New York but I only have a couch in my immediate future. I have to tie up some loose ends here before I go. I have to find someone to take over the shifts. There's a lot to do and I can't do it and take care of them."
"I know someone who could watch them for me while I’m at work." He admitted. "But not forever. When the work goes, I'm moving."
"If you take them, keep them. I'll be there and then I can watch them while you work and you can watch them while I work. Alright? While we unload this place, figure something out when you get a new contract. Windfall's not all that far from here. Maybe we could get mom and dad something there so they could see the kids. So… maybe they can… I don't know… You work in Windfall and you could still see them. They got that subway now, right?"
"Yeah. Goes all the way out there. Long trip though."
"Have we reached amenable terms?" Kal called over to them.
--
Max shifted the bags in his hands on the trek back to the motel. "So, Valerie's something else."
"That she is." Darin cleared his throat. "Every time I see her, she gets prettier."
"Girls do that."
"She's young. She's okay. I like her, I mean. I just… have trouble wrapping my mind around the fact she's the little girl I met when I met you. The age difference isn't huge but it's there. Four years. I'm her second choice. That doesn't do much for my confidence levels." He stared out at all the trees. "Kyle would kill me."
"Probably."
"It's a little weird that her step-mother is my mother's clone."
"Do what you do with me and Zan. Instead of clone, use sibling. So it's more like she's an aunt than your genetic predecessor."
"Do you think it's a good idea? I mean… Liz isn't on the train with us, you know. She told me to keep my hands to myself and to keep my eyes on other girls."
"Liz views us all as this family but the truth is… Kyle's always distanced himself from us. He rarely considers himself one of us. His powers are primarily complements to ours. Boosting. His unique abilities are rather limited but lethal. He… can't see himself as alien because he isn't. He's a changed human. I hardly saw him at all before that whole Kivar thing when we found you. I've hardly seen him since and that's because when I'm in Roswell, I'm busy with my parents and he's busy with his kids. We try to touch base but living scattered…"
"You wouldn't say we're at all like family."
"We're a community. Scattered but united in focus." Max handed off a bag to Michael when they hit the rooms. "I'm going to tell you to examine your motives and feelings carefully before you attempt to form any sort of romantic relationship. The things you've done with other girls aren't going to fly in this particular situation."
"I hear you." Darin nodded and busied himself pulling items out of the bags for lunch.
"Hey, man. Liz said the center called. They can't find the paperwork on the exterminator or a check or something." Michael dealt out paper plates like they were cards."
"I'll give them a call soon." Max nodded to himself and looked up to his son's face. "I'd hate to give up the center."
"It would still be yours but someone else would run it while you're organizing alien refugees." Darin pointed out. "We've got some time to figure out the details on how we're doing that."
"Maybe we find an island somewhere. Then once it's populated, apply for annexation."
"Good luck finding an island big enough or one void of current government of any kind." Michael snorted and used his powers to slice some tomatoes for sandwiches.
"Dad!" Isaiah rushed in. "Tell Mom you said my hair is fine. It's my head. I can grow a short 'fro if I want one."
"So long as it's neat. You can do the funky college 'fro when you get to college." Max didn't even look up from the assembly line they had started. "Some help, huh?"
"What do you need?"
"Fishsticks in the microwave." Darin pointed to the box.
--
Ruby slid onto the couch next to Rik while he scribbled a draft of the custody agreement. "How did you know to come in like that? Half of what you said barely made any sense and I suspect that most of it wasn't even law."
"I'm good at puzzles." He shrugged with a smile.
"You weren't just trying to coerce me into your bed, right?"
"If that's what I wanted, I could think of much more fun ways to convey that message. I still mean it. If you want to come with me but you don't want me… I'll still let you sleep at my place." Rik tossed the pad in his briefcase. He was just doodling anyway. He could wave his hand over a stack of paper and create a contract. "I like you. I really like you. I think we've got something."
"How could you know that? We just met… again or whatever. You don't know me."
"I knew the second I laid eyes on you this time that I had to get to know you better and I am tired of being afraid to live my life. I want to be with you. I want to know what you're like and I want to share my life with you."
"You're an amazing guy, you know that right? You're charming and handsome and apparently successful but you come on strong. You might want to work on that."
"I've backed off on everything in my life. Tried as hard as possible to be as normal as possible and it never got me anywhere. When I leap into something new and I let it happen, it usually works out for me. I don't go chasing after girls like this all the time, Ruby." Rik took her hand in his. "I'm not going to cry love at first sight but I have never had the tickle of feeling that I've had with you. Places that make me a little scared of what I'm feeling."
"Yeah. I know what you mean."
"And I could help you with the legalities on all that stuff you have to do with this place and your parents and those kids. Free of charge. Free legal advice. Do you want to pass that up?"
"I guess not. You scare me, Rik. I feel like I can relax with you and honestly, it's so frightening that I close up. I've never wanted to open up before… and especially not some guy I hooked up with while he was on vacation with his family. That's usually a no-no."
"Then why did you? If it's against your rules to hook up with guests, why did you come with me? Why did you let me?"
"I didn't want to wonder 'if'."
TBC
Erika looked up when the door opened. She had Bree napping beside her and her notes for the club in her lap. "Sh… the baby's sleepin'."
"Hey Mom." Rik eased into the room. "I want you to come out here and meet someone."
"Ok, give me a minute to wash up." Erika got off the bed and washed her face in the bathroom sink before brushing her teeth and searching for a clean blouse. She'd have to have Zan do laundry if they were going to be in the woods much longer. When she opened the door, she found her son whispering to his girl wrapped in his arms. "Hello, I'm Erika. Rik's mother."
"I'm Ruby." The girl held out her hand.
"So… you're the infamous Ruby."
"Mom." Rik hissed and shook his head.
"I'm just sayin'. You distracted him just when he needed it and now… you're back. What're my son's intentions? He'll never tell me." Erika attempted to draw the girl out.
"Mom!"
"Actually, I'm in for short term and he's in for the long haul. We're… still in negotiations." She gave Rik a sideways glance that told Erika more than her son ever would.
"Zan!" Erika called over. "Come meet his girl!"
"Mom." Rik groaned and sank into a patio chair. He should have known this would turn into an ordeal.
Zan jogged up with Kelly running beside him. "What do we got here?"
"Ruby, Zan. Zan, Ruby." Rik made the half-hearted introductions.
"She's pretty. Too good for you. Give her to your cousin." Zan cleared his throat.
"Fuck you." Rik growled and reached for Ruby's hand. "We're going."
"No." Erika pulled Ruby out of Rik's grasp. "You just got here… and watch your mouth around your sister. Ruby, this is Kelly. Kelly, this is Ruby."
"Hi." Kelly waved and stepped closer to her father.
"Hey there, sweetie." Ruby knelt to shake hands with the shy girl. "How old are you?"
"Seven." Kelly whispered before hiding her face in Zan's leg.
"Since when are you shy?" Zan hissed down at her. "Come on, K-K. Let's get somethin' to drink for everyone." Then he grabbed Rik. "Help me."
Erika watched the girl while the men disappeared around the corner. "It is nice to finally meet you. He never brings girls for me to meet."
"So, I guess I'm special huh." Ruby shifted uncomfortably. "He wants me to go to the city to be with him but… my life is mostly out here."
"Let me tell you somethin' 'bout my son. I've never seen him act like this. The first girl of his that I met, he thought he was in love but she wasn't. He let her break him to a hundred pieces but he didn't budge an inch for her. Not one. Not after all the pleadin' for forgiveness. The next girl he let in a little more but when she ran, he didn't give chase. He didn't ask her to stay and he didn't go when she asked. The others he's dated, I never got to meet no matter how serious he claimed it was. Meetin' me was a last resort."
"What are you saying?"
"We've been here two days and he brought you over here and not only is he spendin' time with his father right now, which he hates doin', he's tryin' to move heaven and earth not to leave you behind. If you begged him, he'd stay here but I want to make sure that you won't. I can't have him out here after we struggled so hard to get him where he is now. We're doin' okay now but his whole life, we pinched and saved so that he could have it now." Erika met the girl's eyes. "If you aren't willin' to try, to risk it, then tell him. Break him now, before it's too late. He's my child. My first born and he thinks he's grown up but he'll always be my baby."
"I'll take your advice into consideration." Ruby nodded and took a seat to wait for Rik to return and then a car pulled into the lot. "No. No!" She shot out of her seat and raced across the parking lot
--
Darin walked with Max to the tiny grocery store half a mile down the road. Sometimes it was a stretch to find conversation and other times it just flowed. "How weird is it that you've got a child in grad-school and a child in pre-school at the same time?"
"A little weird." Max admitted but smiled. "It's probably weirder for you to have a half-brother in pre-K while in grad-school yourself."
"I kind of feel I have to explain to people when it comes up but I'm never quite sure how I should broach it." Darin kicked a rock out of their path. "I talked to the mayor last week."
"You just… talk to the mayor whenever you feel like it?"
"He was at an alumni thing at Adarma." The younger man explained quickly with a quick shrug of his shoulders. "I was asking him what it took to start a town. Property and all that. He thought I was crazy."
"There's always Canada, right?" Max snickered to himself. "I'd like to stay in New York but… New Mexico might be better. Plenty of space and they don't really need a lot of the resources that other towns would. It would probably be best if we did this in another country but…"
"I know. The thought of living in another country is daunting… and we're not leaving the planet. Just think about how all those people up there feel. Their planet has been abused and misused and they were forced off by a severe lack of livable conditions, asked to seek shelter with those who could be enemies and then asked to either continue on as they are or to reclaim allegiance to a king who won't leave the planet he is now occupying alone. To move yet again, not to another city or state or country but another planet in a whole other system in a whole other galaxy."
"How did you get so insightful?" Max teased lightly and opened the door of the grocer for his son. "What are you? Adopted?"
"I'm getting better at it. Getting attuned to other people's situations and their needs and their paths." He took a deep breath and stood looking at the cereal options in the first aisle. "I can't do it the way Rik does or the way Liz does. They just come to me. Leap out at me and I can't ignore it and I can't really channel it."
"Yet." Max promised and put his hands on either shoulder to steer the young man to another aisle. "You'll get better. You were forced into your abilities, I grew up with mine. I imagine you still have some techniques and lessons to learn. I wasn't nearly finished at your age."
--
Rik threw on his suit, smoothing out the wrinkles with his powers as he grabbed his briefcase. With Kal in tow, they strode into Ruby's apartment and into the midst of a fiery argument.
"Dammit, Ruby. They're my kids and I'll send them where I want. If you wanted them so bad, you shouldn't have begged me to take them."
"I thought you'd be raising them, you asshole. You're early. I was counting on those two days to say my goodbyes. You can't just come in here and tell me you were coming all this way to get them only to shove them into an orphanage." Ruby shouted back, blocking the way to the children's room. "If I had known, I would have never told you she had died. What'd you do? Sell them?"
"Ms. Urquiza." Rik set the briefcase down on the desk and pulled out the chair for Kal. "We're ready to begin the negotiation."
"Negotiation. What's this guy talking about?"
"I am Ronald Kasey, attorney on behalf of Rubeena Urquiza and I represent the best interests of her niece and nephew." Rik pulled a pen and a pad of paper from his briefcase and took a seat on the nearest chair. "There will have to be a transfer of custody after a blood test confirms that you are the biological father."
"Of course I'm the biological father, we were married."
"You are?"
"Peter Ensen."
"Mr. Ensen, you were divorced from the children's mother at the time of her death, correct?" Kal jumped in, hands clasped on his stomach.
"What's that have to do with anything?"
"Your ex-wife, did she have full custody of the children?"
"Yes but…"
"The state of New York does not like to break up families and so you will be considered as a caregiver after we assess what is best for the children. Where would you live?" Rik began making notes. "Do you have a house? A job? What are the school systems like in your town?"
"I don't know. I can't keep kids."
"Then what are you doing here?" Rik got to his feet to look Peter in the eye. The man was older but fidgety and knew something wasn't going his way. "It was my understanding that when I drew up these transfer of custody papers that the children would be placed with their biological father permanently." He shuffled through a stack of papers. "I was never given the name of the father so I will require a blood test to confirm biology before I can let you keep them… or even, take them from this property."
"I don't follow."
"The Ensen children own this motel, inherited from their mother who is deceased. They live here. Mr. and Mrs. Urquiza have retained the property until the children are of age to take over but as Mr. and Mrs. Urquiza hardly have the energy to keep up with small children, temporary custody was granted to Rubeena Urquiza, the sister. Our understanding was their future home would be a warm and loving home with a full-time father." Rik's eyes flicked to Ruby, who had sunk, dumbfounded, onto the couch.
"She called me and told me I had to come get my kids. She didn't say nothing about no tests or lawyers. I was gonna get the kids and sell the hotel. I don't have time for this."
"The conditions according the last will and testament of the deceased state that the children are to be kept within the family and the motel cannot be sold from under them."
"I've had about enough out of you. Speak English!"
"What my young assistant is trying to convey is this…" Kal cleared his throat but didn't rise from his seat. "Your ex-wife laid out plans for her children. Power of attorney was granted to Ms. Urquiza with regard to this property. As an unwed woman, she is not the ideal placement for the children on a full-time basis. First choice was their father, presumably you. You have the option of either taking the children and raising them well or walking out the door and signing away your rights, which, I have gathered from your outburst, was something you had planned to do anyway."
"If you take your children, they will live with you full-time and Ms. Urquiza must be allowed visitation. Where is it that you live, Mr. Ensen?"
"New York, temporarily."
"You will need to file any relocations with me so long as the children are underage." Rik began scribbling on the notepad furiously. "I can have papers drawn up by tomorrow morning. Which will it be? Signing over custody now or stepping up?"
"I need to talk to you." Peter pointed to Ruby and pulled her out of her seat and into the kitchen where Rik had to strain to hear their conversation. "What the hell are you thinking dragging lawyers into this?"
"You heard him. Julia knew what she wanted for the kids."
"I can't take them."
"Then walk out, Peter. Sign over custody to me and walk out."
"Oh no. These are my kids."
"Make up your mind. Are you going to be their father or are you going to throw them away?"
"I only have a year in my contract and then I'm out of work. You expect me to risk being homeless with kids?"
"What is really going on, Peter?"
"The renovations on the contract are almost done. The subways are fully active and I have to go where the work is. The work is in Windfall. You want me to take those kids to Windfall? Play me for the jerk if you want but I'm just thinking of them. They're better off in a state home or with foster parents or some shit. I work long days. I'm gonna have to pay for sitters and groceries and I can't afford all that and move."
"And if we sell the motel? What's that going to give you? You aren't going to keep them either way."
"Why couldn't you keep them?"
"I'm running the diner practically by myself since dad's been sick. I'm having to pay Peg overtime for covering my shifts. Now I have to work shifts at the motel, too because Julia's gone. Mom and Dad are too old to take care of this place and I can't do both at once and still take care of them and the kids. I figured at the very least, they'd have their father. I know she made you leave but they're your kids and you know it."
"They don't even know me."
"Because you never tried to contest the custody decision." Ruby turned to look at Rik for a moment before turning back to her ex-brother-in-law. "I need help at the very least. These guys are just looking out for the kids. I don't want to give them away or lose track of them. I want them to have the family that our parents didn't give us. Between you and me, I'd rather keep them but I can't. Not when I'm working double duty. We are all the family they have. Mom and Dad don't give a shit about them, not anymore than they gave about me and Julia." She took a deep breath. "I was expecting to have two days to say goodbye to those kids. You know I love them and I just… I need them to be happy and to have a normal childhood. Work with me. If we sell the motel… it'll be for practically nothing and I'd still have to put mom somewhere and Dad will probably vanish. It could take years to unload this place."
Peter stared at his shoes while he considered her words. "You think I wanted to give them up? I took every angle I could on this. This was the best option."
Ruby glanced back at Rik, who was waiting patiently with his pen and pad. "Look. Maybe we could work something out. I got an invitation to go to New York but I only have a couch in my immediate future. I have to tie up some loose ends here before I go. I have to find someone to take over the shifts. There's a lot to do and I can't do it and take care of them."
"I know someone who could watch them for me while I’m at work." He admitted. "But not forever. When the work goes, I'm moving."
"If you take them, keep them. I'll be there and then I can watch them while you work and you can watch them while I work. Alright? While we unload this place, figure something out when you get a new contract. Windfall's not all that far from here. Maybe we could get mom and dad something there so they could see the kids. So… maybe they can… I don't know… You work in Windfall and you could still see them. They got that subway now, right?"
"Yeah. Goes all the way out there. Long trip though."
"Have we reached amenable terms?" Kal called over to them.
--
Max shifted the bags in his hands on the trek back to the motel. "So, Valerie's something else."
"That she is." Darin cleared his throat. "Every time I see her, she gets prettier."
"Girls do that."
"She's young. She's okay. I like her, I mean. I just… have trouble wrapping my mind around the fact she's the little girl I met when I met you. The age difference isn't huge but it's there. Four years. I'm her second choice. That doesn't do much for my confidence levels." He stared out at all the trees. "Kyle would kill me."
"Probably."
"It's a little weird that her step-mother is my mother's clone."
"Do what you do with me and Zan. Instead of clone, use sibling. So it's more like she's an aunt than your genetic predecessor."
"Do you think it's a good idea? I mean… Liz isn't on the train with us, you know. She told me to keep my hands to myself and to keep my eyes on other girls."
"Liz views us all as this family but the truth is… Kyle's always distanced himself from us. He rarely considers himself one of us. His powers are primarily complements to ours. Boosting. His unique abilities are rather limited but lethal. He… can't see himself as alien because he isn't. He's a changed human. I hardly saw him at all before that whole Kivar thing when we found you. I've hardly seen him since and that's because when I'm in Roswell, I'm busy with my parents and he's busy with his kids. We try to touch base but living scattered…"
"You wouldn't say we're at all like family."
"We're a community. Scattered but united in focus." Max handed off a bag to Michael when they hit the rooms. "I'm going to tell you to examine your motives and feelings carefully before you attempt to form any sort of romantic relationship. The things you've done with other girls aren't going to fly in this particular situation."
"I hear you." Darin nodded and busied himself pulling items out of the bags for lunch.
"Hey, man. Liz said the center called. They can't find the paperwork on the exterminator or a check or something." Michael dealt out paper plates like they were cards."
"I'll give them a call soon." Max nodded to himself and looked up to his son's face. "I'd hate to give up the center."
"It would still be yours but someone else would run it while you're organizing alien refugees." Darin pointed out. "We've got some time to figure out the details on how we're doing that."
"Maybe we find an island somewhere. Then once it's populated, apply for annexation."
"Good luck finding an island big enough or one void of current government of any kind." Michael snorted and used his powers to slice some tomatoes for sandwiches.
"Dad!" Isaiah rushed in. "Tell Mom you said my hair is fine. It's my head. I can grow a short 'fro if I want one."
"So long as it's neat. You can do the funky college 'fro when you get to college." Max didn't even look up from the assembly line they had started. "Some help, huh?"
"What do you need?"
"Fishsticks in the microwave." Darin pointed to the box.
--
Ruby slid onto the couch next to Rik while he scribbled a draft of the custody agreement. "How did you know to come in like that? Half of what you said barely made any sense and I suspect that most of it wasn't even law."
"I'm good at puzzles." He shrugged with a smile.
"You weren't just trying to coerce me into your bed, right?"
"If that's what I wanted, I could think of much more fun ways to convey that message. I still mean it. If you want to come with me but you don't want me… I'll still let you sleep at my place." Rik tossed the pad in his briefcase. He was just doodling anyway. He could wave his hand over a stack of paper and create a contract. "I like you. I really like you. I think we've got something."
"How could you know that? We just met… again or whatever. You don't know me."
"I knew the second I laid eyes on you this time that I had to get to know you better and I am tired of being afraid to live my life. I want to be with you. I want to know what you're like and I want to share my life with you."
"You're an amazing guy, you know that right? You're charming and handsome and apparently successful but you come on strong. You might want to work on that."
"I've backed off on everything in my life. Tried as hard as possible to be as normal as possible and it never got me anywhere. When I leap into something new and I let it happen, it usually works out for me. I don't go chasing after girls like this all the time, Ruby." Rik took her hand in his. "I'm not going to cry love at first sight but I have never had the tickle of feeling that I've had with you. Places that make me a little scared of what I'm feeling."
"Yeah. I know what you mean."
"And I could help you with the legalities on all that stuff you have to do with this place and your parents and those kids. Free of charge. Free legal advice. Do you want to pass that up?"
"I guess not. You scare me, Rik. I feel like I can relax with you and honestly, it's so frightening that I close up. I've never wanted to open up before… and especially not some guy I hooked up with while he was on vacation with his family. That's usually a no-no."
"Then why did you? If it's against your rules to hook up with guests, why did you come with me? Why did you let me?"
"I didn't want to wonder 'if'."
TBC
Part 43
Part 43
Larek was the only leader to return to the summit. Rik and Darin shifted uncomfortably in their seats while they waited for him to speak. Max could feel this wasn't going to be good news in the strictest sense. The puppet got up and traveled around the pool to join them at the table. "I regret to say a number of things have happened. Hanar made an announcement that all Antarians loyal to the Royals had the option of leaving the planet. That Antar's kingdom was moving to Earth because of Kivar's failure. There was a riot. Those who openly supported Kivar were massacred as well as those who were suspected. Many others, innocents and non-innocents alike, were caught in the crossfire. Those detained for those crimes are scheduled to be executed by Hanar's will. There is nothing that can be done about it. I doubt you would want those murderers on Earth in any case. The remainder of your people were transported back to Antar for their own safety as Hanar has reported to me."
"He was never acquiescent to the situation." Max shook his head in mourning for his people who lost their lives.
"Kathana phrased your decree just as you spoke it. Though a spy reported to the Antarian official what role Kathana played in the death of your mother. There was an assassination. Kathana's heir washed her hands of the matter, sending your people back to Antar… and executing the hundred or so who were involved in Kathana's murder."
"What's her name?"
"Yari. She has locked up the transportation technology, which may be a good thing as your mother's death was hardly a pleasant one and Kivar's treason almost cost us the entire prospect of peace."
"What of Sero?"
"Sero gave the Antarians their three options. He won't renege on his word. He craves peace the most. Loyals will be transported soon. It may take two decades for them to reach you with Sero's craft." Larek clasped his hands together. "Kivar's followers were returned to Antar… and were murdered on arrival as were all Kivar's followers on Antar since the massacre on Hanar's planet."
"The numbers dwindle." Max sighed heavily. "What of your planet?"
"I will send your loyal people to you in spurts. A family or six at a time. Our resources are limited and I have your people building their own crafts. They may choose not to follow the longer the wait but my home is not as rich as it once was."
"I understand."
Darin looked to Rik, who sat up. "How many from each planet will come to Earth?"
"Hanar sent 100,000 back to Antar. Yari sent 180,000 back to Antar. Sero has planned to send 50,000 to Earth. Another seventy-five back to Antar. I sent sixty myself. I'm waiting on reports to estimate how many escaped the madness. Current numbers are… 300,000 remaining on Antar. Expect 150,000 from Sero and I. Antar has yet to give us an answer. I don't know that they would be able to safely leave the planet even if they wanted to. If they don't apply for aid, they will slowly die off… unless they can revive more than just the one city remaining. If they have the technicians, they can scavenge the remains of other cities for repairs but… as of three hours before I came to you, they have cut off communication with us."
"Only 150,000 of one million." Max breathed out. "Out of how many estimated citizens on Antar before Kivar left?"
"Two billion."
"How many before my first death?"
"Almost five billion…. Seven at the height of your father's reign. I understand how it must look but your people have made their decision. They've abandoned you and not the other way around. I… am proud of the man you've become, Max."
"If every one of those do arrive on Earth, it will hardly be a city we form." Max breathed. "A large city but a single city."
"I realize that. I am working with some scientists on other methods but we are all still rebuilding from the wars. I cannot promise much."
"I suppose it will have to do. I do thank you for working with us on this."
"Young Ronald. I do look forward to further communications. You strike me as a sound man with many ideas."
"Yes." Rik shook his head. "If you could report to us about Antar, we'd appreciate it."
"Antar will be missed." Larek nodded and rose from the table to return the body to its hotel room.
"Well, shit." Max shook his head and a huge weight settled on his shoulders. "I suppose 150,000 is a better number to work with than one million but it's still a large number."
"We'll do our research. We'll be prepared when the first of them arrive." Darien nodded to them, his mind reeling with all the information.
"Maybe we should just move to Mars." Rik cleared his throat.
"Because we'd still need an oxygen generator and how are WE going to get there?"
"Right…"
--
Zan kept his eyes on the road while he absorbed what had happened at the sad excuse for a summit. Hanar was a coward for not attending. Yari had abandoned this cause, who knew what kind of leader she would be. Sero and Larek were the only ones trying to make this work to keep more people from dying. "I told her peace would return to Antar… I just didn't think it would be because everyone was dead."
"Yeah." Max crossed his arms and pushed passed the morbid numbers he could not change. "I'm thinking that maybe we need to invest in some property. Apartment buildings cheap and get to work fixing them so we'll have places to put them when they show up."
"And what country are we going to claim our emigrants are from?"
"I'm still working on that. Starting up a new town is going to be an ordeal and I'd rather have the path firmly paved before we announce to any official that we're importing refugee citizens from Antar."
"Darin will find a way… right?"
"We're hoping. We need to get some land somewhere… we need to buy a ranch."
"Like cowboys and shit?"
"That's not a bad idea." Rik called up.
"No one's talkin' to you." Zan called back. "If I can't talk to you then you can't talk to me."
"Fine." Rik sat back and looked out the window.
Isabel rolled her eyes at Ava. "Can you believe them? They act like they don't love each other which is the furthest thing from the truth. Which ever of them goes first, the other is throwing himself on the casket."
"What's your point?" Zan spat at her. "Can't a man relate to his son in the way which is the most comfortable? Do I critique your parentin'?"
"On what grounds?" Isabel demanded.
"I was dead. You were traipsin' around the country while Jesse did all the work."
"Hold on."
"I was dead." Zan cleared his throat and turned his eyes back to the road. "You were traipsin'. I was dead. Remember that."
"I was fighting evil aliens. You were becoming one. Me good. You Bad." Isabel countered and sat back, satisfied that she had ripped Zan's high horse out from under him.
"She has a point." Max agreed and raised his hands against an impending dog-pile on him. "I gave up my kid and kidnapped someone else's orphaned child. I know."
Ava snorted and looked to Michael. "You got somethin' to confess?"
"I never married my child's mother and… I think I dropped her once." Michael winced. "I caught her with my powers."
"I forgot to put Tabasco in his formula and he threw up everything all day." Ava admitted. "Now I know. Always put Tabasco in the alien baby's bottle."
"Don't forget the sugar." Isabel cautioned.
"Not in my kids. I'll do that." Zan spoke up. "Confer with me before you feed my child anythin', please. Bree is on an all natural diet."
--
Darin felt like everyone was moving around him. Everyone was discussing the outcome of the summit and plotting their return routes home. Rik and Ruby were playing with her niece and nephew and his little sisters while Zan and Max had cornered that Peter guy to ask some questions.
Liz, Michael and Kal were talking about something to do with her book series. Erika was on the phone with Steve. Isabel and Jesse were checking their watches and looking at each other like they wanted to get out of there before nightfall. Kyle and Ava were the only ones not rushing or gabbing like crazy. They were wrapped up in each other since Valerie had taken control of the troops for lunch. Maria and her child were arguing over something. Their pitches had reached so high, they had stopped being comprehensible to anyone but dogs.
The weather had turned muggy as clouds came in to stop summer activities. The clouds didn't force Darin inside the way the others had been. Not even when the first of the big, fat drops landed on his nose.
"Darin!" Max called out. "Get inside!" Max soon lost interest when he lost sight of his son, thinking he had gone inside but in reality Darin was sitting still in the rain with his eyes closed in concentration. He stayed that way until Kal sat next to him. "So, what's your problem, kid?"
"A lot of our people died and I seem to be the only one who remembers hearing that." Darin croaked out. "I could have met some of those people. Some of them might have known me before I came back."
"Doubtful. Chances are that everyone who met you while you were up there… they came here and died here." Kal did look sad though. "I heard Lord Larek said one million citizens. He never said anything about the slaves, did he?"
"Slaves?" Darin looked to the alien and for the first time realized he still didn't have all the pieces to this Antarian puzzle. "You mean… Antarians like you."
"There are no Antarians like me, Kid. Not anymore." Kal lit a cigar and stared off into the woods. "I am probably the last of my kind. I will be supremely surprised if any of my kind make it down here. If one of the other Lords hasn't already claimed my people, Kivar's people probably murdered them long ago. He'd get rid of the ones whose will he couldn't change… The ones who could kill him and had it in their DNA to protect the royal family no matter where their allegiances lay. Those who wouldn't fight back if a royal ordered them not to fight."
Darin stared at the alien hard. "Don't make me go back there." He tilted his head and heard the entire conversation. "I don't want to go." Tears in Kal's voice? "After tonight, I'll never stop hating you." Darin squeezed his eyes shut against the vision but it came and he relived it all. His father's arrogance and Kal's pleading and the tears in both their eyes in the end. The young man couldn't stop the tears that finally broke through the wall he'd kept them behind since that morning.
More visions filled his mind and he knew they weren't from anyone who had only lived on Earth. Shapeshifters frozen in their minds while their loved ones were killed. The Princess Vilandra's voice echoing in their ears as the guard was taken out by inferior soldiers. Unable to fight. Unable to defend. Unable to warn. By the time Queen Bada had ordered her guard to take orders only from her, it was too late to keep Kivar's men from the throne room where her son and his bride were at court.
"You don't know how good it feels to see one of you can still care." Kal set his jaw and set his eyes on the sun where it was dipping toward the earth in the west. "I don’t know or care if Max cares at all. Your stepmother at least thinks about it. None of them would let me see it if they cared."
"Why are you still here? You could go." Darin pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes.
"Max told me to help where I could. He didn't ask me."
"He didn't realize it came out as a command."
"Maybe. My DNA says it was a command."
"Can't you go? Just… go like you did before?"
"No. I can't. Her majesty saw fit a few years back to remind me of my duties. I owe her." Kal pulled a chocolate-chip-lemon-Tabasco bar from a napkin in his pocket and took a bite. "This time it didn't take so long to get my taste back. Some kind of memory in my muscle tissue. Maybe I can't taste it but I only think I can. I love Earth, Kid. I can live here. Coming here all those years ago, saved my life. I was… maybe your age when your grandmother told me I was leaving the planet and I didn't want to go. I didn't want to leave my planet. While we were running to the ship at the last moment, I passed the mass grave yard outside the gates. My parents, my cousins, my sisters… all dead. All dead because your father's former self didn't think it was necessary to specify that my people should only serve the crown. Serving all royals because he trusted his staff that much. They were struck down like dummies because of their orders from that princess."
"All those people are going to be stuck on Antar whether they want to or not." Darin whispered almost to himself. "We'll be a kingdom of four cities. Antar will be one bitter city until it fades away. Sero and Larek will absorb the other two and the rest will be here. Will they hate us when they find out they're the superior life form and they'll be confined to a single city for their own protection.?"
"They can't breathe here, Kid. I don't think they'll have enough time to think about that." Kal polished off the bar and licked his fingers. "Maybe they'll grow skins the way Kivar's men did. Maybe they'll do the therapy that her majesty did. Maybe they're hoping to die."
"Could we create an artificial environment here?"
"Maybe. It's a DNA differential of about .5 percent and if we set up a compound, say underground, for the therapy underneath this city your father wants to build, we could conceal it just fine. It wouldn't take long."
"It can't be that easy."
"Just being able to breathe. They don't look like you, though. They're not shapeshifters."
"They can't just walk among us."
"No… but what other choice do they have?"
"He's not just asking them to come and blend… he's asking them to come and protect him when everyone finds out what we are." Darin turned his head to find his father staring blankly out the rainy window with Lucas on his chest. "To love him now as much as they did then."
TBC
Larek was the only leader to return to the summit. Rik and Darin shifted uncomfortably in their seats while they waited for him to speak. Max could feel this wasn't going to be good news in the strictest sense. The puppet got up and traveled around the pool to join them at the table. "I regret to say a number of things have happened. Hanar made an announcement that all Antarians loyal to the Royals had the option of leaving the planet. That Antar's kingdom was moving to Earth because of Kivar's failure. There was a riot. Those who openly supported Kivar were massacred as well as those who were suspected. Many others, innocents and non-innocents alike, were caught in the crossfire. Those detained for those crimes are scheduled to be executed by Hanar's will. There is nothing that can be done about it. I doubt you would want those murderers on Earth in any case. The remainder of your people were transported back to Antar for their own safety as Hanar has reported to me."
"He was never acquiescent to the situation." Max shook his head in mourning for his people who lost their lives.
"Kathana phrased your decree just as you spoke it. Though a spy reported to the Antarian official what role Kathana played in the death of your mother. There was an assassination. Kathana's heir washed her hands of the matter, sending your people back to Antar… and executing the hundred or so who were involved in Kathana's murder."
"What's her name?"
"Yari. She has locked up the transportation technology, which may be a good thing as your mother's death was hardly a pleasant one and Kivar's treason almost cost us the entire prospect of peace."
"What of Sero?"
"Sero gave the Antarians their three options. He won't renege on his word. He craves peace the most. Loyals will be transported soon. It may take two decades for them to reach you with Sero's craft." Larek clasped his hands together. "Kivar's followers were returned to Antar… and were murdered on arrival as were all Kivar's followers on Antar since the massacre on Hanar's planet."
"The numbers dwindle." Max sighed heavily. "What of your planet?"
"I will send your loyal people to you in spurts. A family or six at a time. Our resources are limited and I have your people building their own crafts. They may choose not to follow the longer the wait but my home is not as rich as it once was."
"I understand."
Darin looked to Rik, who sat up. "How many from each planet will come to Earth?"
"Hanar sent 100,000 back to Antar. Yari sent 180,000 back to Antar. Sero has planned to send 50,000 to Earth. Another seventy-five back to Antar. I sent sixty myself. I'm waiting on reports to estimate how many escaped the madness. Current numbers are… 300,000 remaining on Antar. Expect 150,000 from Sero and I. Antar has yet to give us an answer. I don't know that they would be able to safely leave the planet even if they wanted to. If they don't apply for aid, they will slowly die off… unless they can revive more than just the one city remaining. If they have the technicians, they can scavenge the remains of other cities for repairs but… as of three hours before I came to you, they have cut off communication with us."
"Only 150,000 of one million." Max breathed out. "Out of how many estimated citizens on Antar before Kivar left?"
"Two billion."
"How many before my first death?"
"Almost five billion…. Seven at the height of your father's reign. I understand how it must look but your people have made their decision. They've abandoned you and not the other way around. I… am proud of the man you've become, Max."
"If every one of those do arrive on Earth, it will hardly be a city we form." Max breathed. "A large city but a single city."
"I realize that. I am working with some scientists on other methods but we are all still rebuilding from the wars. I cannot promise much."
"I suppose it will have to do. I do thank you for working with us on this."
"Young Ronald. I do look forward to further communications. You strike me as a sound man with many ideas."
"Yes." Rik shook his head. "If you could report to us about Antar, we'd appreciate it."
"Antar will be missed." Larek nodded and rose from the table to return the body to its hotel room.
"Well, shit." Max shook his head and a huge weight settled on his shoulders. "I suppose 150,000 is a better number to work with than one million but it's still a large number."
"We'll do our research. We'll be prepared when the first of them arrive." Darien nodded to them, his mind reeling with all the information.
"Maybe we should just move to Mars." Rik cleared his throat.
"Because we'd still need an oxygen generator and how are WE going to get there?"
"Right…"
--
Zan kept his eyes on the road while he absorbed what had happened at the sad excuse for a summit. Hanar was a coward for not attending. Yari had abandoned this cause, who knew what kind of leader she would be. Sero and Larek were the only ones trying to make this work to keep more people from dying. "I told her peace would return to Antar… I just didn't think it would be because everyone was dead."
"Yeah." Max crossed his arms and pushed passed the morbid numbers he could not change. "I'm thinking that maybe we need to invest in some property. Apartment buildings cheap and get to work fixing them so we'll have places to put them when they show up."
"And what country are we going to claim our emigrants are from?"
"I'm still working on that. Starting up a new town is going to be an ordeal and I'd rather have the path firmly paved before we announce to any official that we're importing refugee citizens from Antar."
"Darin will find a way… right?"
"We're hoping. We need to get some land somewhere… we need to buy a ranch."
"Like cowboys and shit?"
"That's not a bad idea." Rik called up.
"No one's talkin' to you." Zan called back. "If I can't talk to you then you can't talk to me."
"Fine." Rik sat back and looked out the window.
Isabel rolled her eyes at Ava. "Can you believe them? They act like they don't love each other which is the furthest thing from the truth. Which ever of them goes first, the other is throwing himself on the casket."
"What's your point?" Zan spat at her. "Can't a man relate to his son in the way which is the most comfortable? Do I critique your parentin'?"
"On what grounds?" Isabel demanded.
"I was dead. You were traipsin' around the country while Jesse did all the work."
"Hold on."
"I was dead." Zan cleared his throat and turned his eyes back to the road. "You were traipsin'. I was dead. Remember that."
"I was fighting evil aliens. You were becoming one. Me good. You Bad." Isabel countered and sat back, satisfied that she had ripped Zan's high horse out from under him.
"She has a point." Max agreed and raised his hands against an impending dog-pile on him. "I gave up my kid and kidnapped someone else's orphaned child. I know."
Ava snorted and looked to Michael. "You got somethin' to confess?"
"I never married my child's mother and… I think I dropped her once." Michael winced. "I caught her with my powers."
"I forgot to put Tabasco in his formula and he threw up everything all day." Ava admitted. "Now I know. Always put Tabasco in the alien baby's bottle."
"Don't forget the sugar." Isabel cautioned.
"Not in my kids. I'll do that." Zan spoke up. "Confer with me before you feed my child anythin', please. Bree is on an all natural diet."
--
Darin felt like everyone was moving around him. Everyone was discussing the outcome of the summit and plotting their return routes home. Rik and Ruby were playing with her niece and nephew and his little sisters while Zan and Max had cornered that Peter guy to ask some questions.
Liz, Michael and Kal were talking about something to do with her book series. Erika was on the phone with Steve. Isabel and Jesse were checking their watches and looking at each other like they wanted to get out of there before nightfall. Kyle and Ava were the only ones not rushing or gabbing like crazy. They were wrapped up in each other since Valerie had taken control of the troops for lunch. Maria and her child were arguing over something. Their pitches had reached so high, they had stopped being comprehensible to anyone but dogs.
The weather had turned muggy as clouds came in to stop summer activities. The clouds didn't force Darin inside the way the others had been. Not even when the first of the big, fat drops landed on his nose.
"Darin!" Max called out. "Get inside!" Max soon lost interest when he lost sight of his son, thinking he had gone inside but in reality Darin was sitting still in the rain with his eyes closed in concentration. He stayed that way until Kal sat next to him. "So, what's your problem, kid?"
"A lot of our people died and I seem to be the only one who remembers hearing that." Darin croaked out. "I could have met some of those people. Some of them might have known me before I came back."
"Doubtful. Chances are that everyone who met you while you were up there… they came here and died here." Kal did look sad though. "I heard Lord Larek said one million citizens. He never said anything about the slaves, did he?"
"Slaves?" Darin looked to the alien and for the first time realized he still didn't have all the pieces to this Antarian puzzle. "You mean… Antarians like you."
"There are no Antarians like me, Kid. Not anymore." Kal lit a cigar and stared off into the woods. "I am probably the last of my kind. I will be supremely surprised if any of my kind make it down here. If one of the other Lords hasn't already claimed my people, Kivar's people probably murdered them long ago. He'd get rid of the ones whose will he couldn't change… The ones who could kill him and had it in their DNA to protect the royal family no matter where their allegiances lay. Those who wouldn't fight back if a royal ordered them not to fight."
Darin stared at the alien hard. "Don't make me go back there." He tilted his head and heard the entire conversation. "I don't want to go." Tears in Kal's voice? "After tonight, I'll never stop hating you." Darin squeezed his eyes shut against the vision but it came and he relived it all. His father's arrogance and Kal's pleading and the tears in both their eyes in the end. The young man couldn't stop the tears that finally broke through the wall he'd kept them behind since that morning.
More visions filled his mind and he knew they weren't from anyone who had only lived on Earth. Shapeshifters frozen in their minds while their loved ones were killed. The Princess Vilandra's voice echoing in their ears as the guard was taken out by inferior soldiers. Unable to fight. Unable to defend. Unable to warn. By the time Queen Bada had ordered her guard to take orders only from her, it was too late to keep Kivar's men from the throne room where her son and his bride were at court.
"You don't know how good it feels to see one of you can still care." Kal set his jaw and set his eyes on the sun where it was dipping toward the earth in the west. "I don’t know or care if Max cares at all. Your stepmother at least thinks about it. None of them would let me see it if they cared."
"Why are you still here? You could go." Darin pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes.
"Max told me to help where I could. He didn't ask me."
"He didn't realize it came out as a command."
"Maybe. My DNA says it was a command."
"Can't you go? Just… go like you did before?"
"No. I can't. Her majesty saw fit a few years back to remind me of my duties. I owe her." Kal pulled a chocolate-chip-lemon-Tabasco bar from a napkin in his pocket and took a bite. "This time it didn't take so long to get my taste back. Some kind of memory in my muscle tissue. Maybe I can't taste it but I only think I can. I love Earth, Kid. I can live here. Coming here all those years ago, saved my life. I was… maybe your age when your grandmother told me I was leaving the planet and I didn't want to go. I didn't want to leave my planet. While we were running to the ship at the last moment, I passed the mass grave yard outside the gates. My parents, my cousins, my sisters… all dead. All dead because your father's former self didn't think it was necessary to specify that my people should only serve the crown. Serving all royals because he trusted his staff that much. They were struck down like dummies because of their orders from that princess."
"All those people are going to be stuck on Antar whether they want to or not." Darin whispered almost to himself. "We'll be a kingdom of four cities. Antar will be one bitter city until it fades away. Sero and Larek will absorb the other two and the rest will be here. Will they hate us when they find out they're the superior life form and they'll be confined to a single city for their own protection.?"
"They can't breathe here, Kid. I don't think they'll have enough time to think about that." Kal polished off the bar and licked his fingers. "Maybe they'll grow skins the way Kivar's men did. Maybe they'll do the therapy that her majesty did. Maybe they're hoping to die."
"Could we create an artificial environment here?"
"Maybe. It's a DNA differential of about .5 percent and if we set up a compound, say underground, for the therapy underneath this city your father wants to build, we could conceal it just fine. It wouldn't take long."
"It can't be that easy."
"Just being able to breathe. They don't look like you, though. They're not shapeshifters."
"They can't just walk among us."
"No… but what other choice do they have?"
"He's not just asking them to come and blend… he's asking them to come and protect him when everyone finds out what we are." Darin turned his head to find his father staring blankly out the rainy window with Lucas on his chest. "To love him now as much as they did then."
TBC
Part 44
Part 44
Max had just put Lucas down to sleep for the night when the door burst open and a soaked Darin stood there, accusing him with his red-rimmed eyes. "Tell me they'll be safe."
"Darin?" Liz tilted her head at the young man and reached to take his hand but Darin yanked his arm out of reach.
Isaiah sat up where he'd been stretched out on the bed reading his book to Hannah, whose brown eyes had widened considerably.
"Tell me they aren't going to come here, looking to us for help, only to die because they can't breathe or because they don't look like us… or will be hunted down by people who won't understand. Just tell me if you've given a thought about it. Just one thought about the safety of these people. A moment in your head for all those dead people, murdered in your name. All those slaves who don't have voices to speak for them anymore… none but one who was barely 20 years old when he was forced off his planet to serve the King who got his family killed. Tell me something!"
Max's face never changed, not even as he cleared his throat and gestured to the Evans children nearby. "Darin, apologize to your brother and sister for scaring them. And apologize to Liz for being rude while you're at it. You and I need to go to your room and have a long talk."
Darin turned his eyes to his frightened siblings and mumbled an apology, he glanced at Liz who had been stung at his rebuff. She only waved him off and watched them disappear out into the storm.
They reached Darin's door but didn't go in. Max took a deep breath and faced his first born. "It's frustrating. It's hard to comprehend, I know… but I can't help them. That is a fact. I'm on Earth with no authority on Antar or on any other host planet. I am here and I am powerless. A powerless king."
Darin felt ashamed of his outburst. He could feel his father's sorrow radiating off him in deep waves. "I—"
"Let me talk, now. It's my turn." Max put his hands on the young man's shoulders. "You still don't know me as well as you'd like to think you do. I think we're pretty close considering but I'm still little more than a stranger to you. I'm just a guy who had to give you up so you could have the kind of life I could not give you. How long has it been? Eight years? We're not able to read each other's minds, Darin. It's just something that we cannot do."
"I—"
"I'm not done. It took me a long time to reconcile the fact that I am powerless to prevent anything that happens to my people. The one thing I can do, is get them here where I can have some sort of say in how it all goes. I am risking that they will murder me for being defiled, for being weak, for any reason they see fit. I am not worried that they can't survive here. Larek and Sero would not send them if they didn't have provisions of some sort. Some temporary arrangement for their health until a long-term solution can be found. I am saddened and outraged that my attempt at a solution has cost so many their lives, no matter where their allegiances lie." Max hugged his son to him. "I am sad about Kal in more ways than you can ever know. I didn't approach him the right way. If I could do it all differently I would but I was distraught. I was desperate and I needed to get to you. I only saw someone standing in my way. I didn't see his pleading eyes. I didn't hear his begging. I only felt your terror and I had to fix that. If Kal could kill me, he would. I don't doubt that and frankly, I wouldn't blame him after what I did to him. I know that if he ever finds a way out of his programming that my days are numbered."
"He saw his parents' and his sisters' dead bodies right before he boarded the ship to come here. He's had to carry that as his last memory on Antar."
"What?" Max stood back and turned to find the alien, who was conveniently on the phone, in his room. "No he didn't. He didn't have a family. He was a test tube baby." He swore under his breath and turned back to his son. "Kal was brought up in a clinical environment. He didn't have parents or siblings. He had teachers and slave-handlers."
"But--"
"Kal is an asshole. How many times do I have to tell you that? It's true that he's the last of his kind and that does sadden me in a way but do we really want more than one of him?" He gestured to the alien. "Shapeshifters with chips on their shoulders, lying to impressionable princes just to make themselves feel better. I really don't want to be king of a society that uses slaves. I'm sad they lost their lives but to sentence them to live as slaves…"
--
"So who was that guy? Kal whatever?" Ruby ran her fingers over his arm where it was slung across her chest. "You keep him around in case of a legal emergency?"
"He's my client. The rich one who will keep us in Spam and Ramen until I get more clients." Rik kissed her shoulder lightly. "I just brought him along in case Peter thought I was putting him on."
"But you were putting him on. The hotel is still my mother's."
"Whatever, it'll work out."
"I miss them already."
"They've only been gone two hours."
"I know but… I got used to having them around. When I saw him show up for them… I panicked." She rolled into his arms and lifted a hand to his face. "If you hadn't've showed up… I don't know what I would have done… When are you leaving?"
"We finished up our business this morning."
"Good news?"
"Kind of." He shrugged, not wanting to think about it just then. "It's done with. My aunt and her husband took off already. The rest of them will probably leave tomorrow."
She stared at him in absolute silence for five minutes, her thumb running along his cheekbone. "Why me?"
"I just knew. The moment I laid eyes on you, I knew even if I didn't know it yet."
"That's a cheesy come on."
"All the men in my family are love at first sight kind of people."
"You're joking."
"Uncle Max knew the second he stepped off the school bus when he was eight." Rik cleared his throat. "Dad is a little slow but after he hooked up with my mom, there was never anyone else for him."
"What about you?"
"I didn't know it yet because I had just gotten my heart broken but I knew something when I first met you. I never really forgot you. I thought about you for weeks after I left. My cousin Darin… he likes that girl who came in bothering me the other day… but-"
"She's jailbait." Ruby nodded. "That's only two generations. I don't think you can make a broad statement like 'all the men in my family' based on just two generations."
"We only have two generations."
"What about your grandfathers?"
"Dad's dad died a long time ago. He had an arranged marriage. Mom's Dad… he died when I was a baby. She never talks about her mother. Ran off when she was little."
"I can barely remember when my parents were good together. Julia was a baby still. It's this town, I think. It's so small and… it's claustrophobic. They stopped sleeping in the same bed when I was pretty young. Then they were sleeping in separate rooms and… now on opposite sides of the hotel. Mom is… fragile, especially since Julia died. Dad… hasn't come out of his room more than once a day since it happened." She closed her eyes and she could still hear the screeching brakes. "She was almost home but the road was slicked over… and the railing gave way."
"How long had she been back?"
"A year, I guess. It was okay. She was helping out at the hotel since Mom got so… listless and vacant… I… try to talk to her but she's not in there. I don't think she's been in there for a very long time."
"Your dad doesn't talk to her?"
"I think he gave up trying to help her a long time ago but… he hasn't ever moved on. He thinks that the minute she dies, he'll go the next."
"He really loves her then."
"I guess. I hate to leave them here but they're adults…"
"Is she really bad off?"
"I baby her, I think." She sighed heavily and snuggled closer. "I don't want to talk about it right now."
"Okay."
"Why did your dad leave? I mean… the age difference is huge so… I'm curious."
"That's a long and involved story but maybe I'll tell you someday."
--
Darin sat in the diner sipping at a bowl of broth and staring out at the rain. He just couldn't abide the weather after Kal's trick. He had reheated the broth twice since he'd been seated and that's when the reinforcements came. A shapely shadow fell over him for a minute before Valerie slid in next to him and lay her head on his shoulder. "Want to talk?"
"Not really."
"It's cool."
They sat for a while, Darin idling spooning broth into his mouth. Then Valerie put her hand over the bowl to heat it again. "Thanks."
"Are you okay?"
"Did everyone see?"
"Just us looking out the window."
"I'm such a gullible asshole."
"You don't know Kal the way the adults do. Dad told me some stories. He's the asshole."
"Everyone knows?"
"Of course. Small gossip ring."
"God…" Darin dropped his spoon and sank low onto the bench.
"Hey Darin?"
"Yeah?"
"It's midnight." She whispered and it took him a few moments to collect himself to wonder what she was talking about.
"Oh! Happy Birthday." Darin sat up and straightened himself out. He waved to the waitress. "Could we get a birthday donut over here?"
"Excuse me?" The woman scoffed at him.
"Anything with frosting or sprinkles." He rolled his eyes and turned to the celebratory gal. "So, Ms. Valenti, what are your plans for his auspicious day?"
"I don't know." She shrugged and leaned on the table to look at him. "Dad usually does a big birthday breakfast but… that's just a morning thing. I had wanted to spend it with my friends but then… Big Cheeses called on the Big Phone."
Darin let himself smile. That felt good. "Yeah. You thought about your colleges?"
"RU. Dad said he's paying so he gets to pick." They both sat up when the donut with frosting and sprinkles was set down. They picked at it together, neither really hungry. "Are you leaving with your dad?"
"Yeah… but I'll see you in Roswell, gonna spend the summer with my grandparents."
"That's cool." She grabbed the Tabasco sauce and drowned the doughnut.
"I thought humans didn't like that."
"Yeah, well, my dad isn't exactly fully human anymore… and you know… genetics." She took her time cutting the soggy mess into chunks she speared with a fork.
"You're hiding something." Darin narrowed his eyes at her, accepting a spicy-sweet chunk. "Are you in trouble or something?"
"Nope. Everyone's asleep and I'm not sleepy."
--
"How is he?" Liz whispered over Lucas's head between them.
"Embarrassed. He believed every word Kal had to say and Kal is unapologetic about it." Max nodded and rolled onto his back. "I just wish… I knew what he wanted from me. I'm not cutting it right now, though."
"He's just worried about this whole deal and his powers are still developing. He wants to be a good man but he doesn't know what that is. He doesn't want to be his father. He doesn't want to be you. He wants to be president." Liz sat up and rubbed her forehead. "Max, I think you better go check on him."
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know… Go."
Max jumped out of bed and raced out the door, not even stopping for his shoes. When he got to Darin's room, the door was open and Valerie was clasping a shirt to her chest while Darin curled up in pain on the bed. Kyle's eyes read murder in them. "Kyle! Let him go."
"This… this…" Kyle was so angry he couldn't form words.
"You're going to kill him. Let him go."
"We were just making out and Dad just runs in here and starts squeezing blood vessels." Valerie blurted out while trying to put her shirt back on.
"Kyle!" Max shouted and finally, Darin stopped gasping for air.
Kyle glared at the prince and grabbed his daughter by the arm and headed for the door. "You keep your hands off my child."
"Dad, you're being ridiculous." Valerie complained as she was escorted to their rooms.
Max sank into a chair and looked at his son, face bright red from lack of oxygen, chest heaving, lying limp amongst the sheets and pillows. "Didn't we already have a talk about this?"
"We were just going to watch a movie." Darin blew out a breath. "It's her birthday and she didn't want to go to bed yet. She kissed me, first."
"That's not a good reason."
"For what? Following through?" He groaned as he sat up. "I… saw her when I kissed her."
"Oh." Max slumped in his chair. "Like… saw into her."
"Yeah. I've never had that happen before and I couldn't stop kissing her. I wasn't gonna…" Darin motioned. "And I really wouldn't have but Kyle burst in and… it's mostly black until now."
"Maybe this is why Liz was so dead set against this… She's the one that told me to get in here."
"I'm okay now."
"Okay." Max got to his feet. "Get some rest. You'll heal better if you do." He walked in a daze back to his room where Liz was waiting, her eyes wide. "Darin's in love."
TBC
Max had just put Lucas down to sleep for the night when the door burst open and a soaked Darin stood there, accusing him with his red-rimmed eyes. "Tell me they'll be safe."
"Darin?" Liz tilted her head at the young man and reached to take his hand but Darin yanked his arm out of reach.
Isaiah sat up where he'd been stretched out on the bed reading his book to Hannah, whose brown eyes had widened considerably.
"Tell me they aren't going to come here, looking to us for help, only to die because they can't breathe or because they don't look like us… or will be hunted down by people who won't understand. Just tell me if you've given a thought about it. Just one thought about the safety of these people. A moment in your head for all those dead people, murdered in your name. All those slaves who don't have voices to speak for them anymore… none but one who was barely 20 years old when he was forced off his planet to serve the King who got his family killed. Tell me something!"
Max's face never changed, not even as he cleared his throat and gestured to the Evans children nearby. "Darin, apologize to your brother and sister for scaring them. And apologize to Liz for being rude while you're at it. You and I need to go to your room and have a long talk."
Darin turned his eyes to his frightened siblings and mumbled an apology, he glanced at Liz who had been stung at his rebuff. She only waved him off and watched them disappear out into the storm.
They reached Darin's door but didn't go in. Max took a deep breath and faced his first born. "It's frustrating. It's hard to comprehend, I know… but I can't help them. That is a fact. I'm on Earth with no authority on Antar or on any other host planet. I am here and I am powerless. A powerless king."
Darin felt ashamed of his outburst. He could feel his father's sorrow radiating off him in deep waves. "I—"
"Let me talk, now. It's my turn." Max put his hands on the young man's shoulders. "You still don't know me as well as you'd like to think you do. I think we're pretty close considering but I'm still little more than a stranger to you. I'm just a guy who had to give you up so you could have the kind of life I could not give you. How long has it been? Eight years? We're not able to read each other's minds, Darin. It's just something that we cannot do."
"I—"
"I'm not done. It took me a long time to reconcile the fact that I am powerless to prevent anything that happens to my people. The one thing I can do, is get them here where I can have some sort of say in how it all goes. I am risking that they will murder me for being defiled, for being weak, for any reason they see fit. I am not worried that they can't survive here. Larek and Sero would not send them if they didn't have provisions of some sort. Some temporary arrangement for their health until a long-term solution can be found. I am saddened and outraged that my attempt at a solution has cost so many their lives, no matter where their allegiances lie." Max hugged his son to him. "I am sad about Kal in more ways than you can ever know. I didn't approach him the right way. If I could do it all differently I would but I was distraught. I was desperate and I needed to get to you. I only saw someone standing in my way. I didn't see his pleading eyes. I didn't hear his begging. I only felt your terror and I had to fix that. If Kal could kill me, he would. I don't doubt that and frankly, I wouldn't blame him after what I did to him. I know that if he ever finds a way out of his programming that my days are numbered."
"He saw his parents' and his sisters' dead bodies right before he boarded the ship to come here. He's had to carry that as his last memory on Antar."
"What?" Max stood back and turned to find the alien, who was conveniently on the phone, in his room. "No he didn't. He didn't have a family. He was a test tube baby." He swore under his breath and turned back to his son. "Kal was brought up in a clinical environment. He didn't have parents or siblings. He had teachers and slave-handlers."
"But--"
"Kal is an asshole. How many times do I have to tell you that? It's true that he's the last of his kind and that does sadden me in a way but do we really want more than one of him?" He gestured to the alien. "Shapeshifters with chips on their shoulders, lying to impressionable princes just to make themselves feel better. I really don't want to be king of a society that uses slaves. I'm sad they lost their lives but to sentence them to live as slaves…"
--
"So who was that guy? Kal whatever?" Ruby ran her fingers over his arm where it was slung across her chest. "You keep him around in case of a legal emergency?"
"He's my client. The rich one who will keep us in Spam and Ramen until I get more clients." Rik kissed her shoulder lightly. "I just brought him along in case Peter thought I was putting him on."
"But you were putting him on. The hotel is still my mother's."
"Whatever, it'll work out."
"I miss them already."
"They've only been gone two hours."
"I know but… I got used to having them around. When I saw him show up for them… I panicked." She rolled into his arms and lifted a hand to his face. "If you hadn't've showed up… I don't know what I would have done… When are you leaving?"
"We finished up our business this morning."
"Good news?"
"Kind of." He shrugged, not wanting to think about it just then. "It's done with. My aunt and her husband took off already. The rest of them will probably leave tomorrow."
She stared at him in absolute silence for five minutes, her thumb running along his cheekbone. "Why me?"
"I just knew. The moment I laid eyes on you, I knew even if I didn't know it yet."
"That's a cheesy come on."
"All the men in my family are love at first sight kind of people."
"You're joking."
"Uncle Max knew the second he stepped off the school bus when he was eight." Rik cleared his throat. "Dad is a little slow but after he hooked up with my mom, there was never anyone else for him."
"What about you?"
"I didn't know it yet because I had just gotten my heart broken but I knew something when I first met you. I never really forgot you. I thought about you for weeks after I left. My cousin Darin… he likes that girl who came in bothering me the other day… but-"
"She's jailbait." Ruby nodded. "That's only two generations. I don't think you can make a broad statement like 'all the men in my family' based on just two generations."
"We only have two generations."
"What about your grandfathers?"
"Dad's dad died a long time ago. He had an arranged marriage. Mom's Dad… he died when I was a baby. She never talks about her mother. Ran off when she was little."
"I can barely remember when my parents were good together. Julia was a baby still. It's this town, I think. It's so small and… it's claustrophobic. They stopped sleeping in the same bed when I was pretty young. Then they were sleeping in separate rooms and… now on opposite sides of the hotel. Mom is… fragile, especially since Julia died. Dad… hasn't come out of his room more than once a day since it happened." She closed her eyes and she could still hear the screeching brakes. "She was almost home but the road was slicked over… and the railing gave way."
"How long had she been back?"
"A year, I guess. It was okay. She was helping out at the hotel since Mom got so… listless and vacant… I… try to talk to her but she's not in there. I don't think she's been in there for a very long time."
"Your dad doesn't talk to her?"
"I think he gave up trying to help her a long time ago but… he hasn't ever moved on. He thinks that the minute she dies, he'll go the next."
"He really loves her then."
"I guess. I hate to leave them here but they're adults…"
"Is she really bad off?"
"I baby her, I think." She sighed heavily and snuggled closer. "I don't want to talk about it right now."
"Okay."
"Why did your dad leave? I mean… the age difference is huge so… I'm curious."
"That's a long and involved story but maybe I'll tell you someday."
--
Darin sat in the diner sipping at a bowl of broth and staring out at the rain. He just couldn't abide the weather after Kal's trick. He had reheated the broth twice since he'd been seated and that's when the reinforcements came. A shapely shadow fell over him for a minute before Valerie slid in next to him and lay her head on his shoulder. "Want to talk?"
"Not really."
"It's cool."
They sat for a while, Darin idling spooning broth into his mouth. Then Valerie put her hand over the bowl to heat it again. "Thanks."
"Are you okay?"
"Did everyone see?"
"Just us looking out the window."
"I'm such a gullible asshole."
"You don't know Kal the way the adults do. Dad told me some stories. He's the asshole."
"Everyone knows?"
"Of course. Small gossip ring."
"God…" Darin dropped his spoon and sank low onto the bench.
"Hey Darin?"
"Yeah?"
"It's midnight." She whispered and it took him a few moments to collect himself to wonder what she was talking about.
"Oh! Happy Birthday." Darin sat up and straightened himself out. He waved to the waitress. "Could we get a birthday donut over here?"
"Excuse me?" The woman scoffed at him.
"Anything with frosting or sprinkles." He rolled his eyes and turned to the celebratory gal. "So, Ms. Valenti, what are your plans for his auspicious day?"
"I don't know." She shrugged and leaned on the table to look at him. "Dad usually does a big birthday breakfast but… that's just a morning thing. I had wanted to spend it with my friends but then… Big Cheeses called on the Big Phone."
Darin let himself smile. That felt good. "Yeah. You thought about your colleges?"
"RU. Dad said he's paying so he gets to pick." They both sat up when the donut with frosting and sprinkles was set down. They picked at it together, neither really hungry. "Are you leaving with your dad?"
"Yeah… but I'll see you in Roswell, gonna spend the summer with my grandparents."
"That's cool." She grabbed the Tabasco sauce and drowned the doughnut.
"I thought humans didn't like that."
"Yeah, well, my dad isn't exactly fully human anymore… and you know… genetics." She took her time cutting the soggy mess into chunks she speared with a fork.
"You're hiding something." Darin narrowed his eyes at her, accepting a spicy-sweet chunk. "Are you in trouble or something?"
"Nope. Everyone's asleep and I'm not sleepy."
--
"How is he?" Liz whispered over Lucas's head between them.
"Embarrassed. He believed every word Kal had to say and Kal is unapologetic about it." Max nodded and rolled onto his back. "I just wish… I knew what he wanted from me. I'm not cutting it right now, though."
"He's just worried about this whole deal and his powers are still developing. He wants to be a good man but he doesn't know what that is. He doesn't want to be his father. He doesn't want to be you. He wants to be president." Liz sat up and rubbed her forehead. "Max, I think you better go check on him."
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know… Go."
Max jumped out of bed and raced out the door, not even stopping for his shoes. When he got to Darin's room, the door was open and Valerie was clasping a shirt to her chest while Darin curled up in pain on the bed. Kyle's eyes read murder in them. "Kyle! Let him go."
"This… this…" Kyle was so angry he couldn't form words.
"You're going to kill him. Let him go."
"We were just making out and Dad just runs in here and starts squeezing blood vessels." Valerie blurted out while trying to put her shirt back on.
"Kyle!" Max shouted and finally, Darin stopped gasping for air.
Kyle glared at the prince and grabbed his daughter by the arm and headed for the door. "You keep your hands off my child."
"Dad, you're being ridiculous." Valerie complained as she was escorted to their rooms.
Max sank into a chair and looked at his son, face bright red from lack of oxygen, chest heaving, lying limp amongst the sheets and pillows. "Didn't we already have a talk about this?"
"We were just going to watch a movie." Darin blew out a breath. "It's her birthday and she didn't want to go to bed yet. She kissed me, first."
"That's not a good reason."
"For what? Following through?" He groaned as he sat up. "I… saw her when I kissed her."
"Oh." Max slumped in his chair. "Like… saw into her."
"Yeah. I've never had that happen before and I couldn't stop kissing her. I wasn't gonna…" Darin motioned. "And I really wouldn't have but Kyle burst in and… it's mostly black until now."
"Maybe this is why Liz was so dead set against this… She's the one that told me to get in here."
"I'm okay now."
"Okay." Max got to his feet. "Get some rest. You'll heal better if you do." He walked in a daze back to his room where Liz was waiting, her eyes wide. "Darin's in love."
TBC