In the Arms of an Android
Page 15
“I’m good, just really looking forward to actually looking pregnant,” Holly beams.
“Yes!” Gile agrees. “I look forward to seeing you with a fat belly.”
“Gile!” she says shrilly.
“Will that not be something? Little Holly with a big round belly. Do you think there is more than one baby in there?” he asks.
“Jeez, Gile. Lord help the woman you end up with,” Holly reprimands good-naturedly, shaking her head.
“You can imagine me with a mate?” he asks, his smile growing wide. And while Gile puffs out his chest with pride, I bristle at the suggestion. “Who in this village would you choose for me, little sister?” Something about the way he asks makes me think that this is not the first time he has considered such a thing.
Holly laughs at the thought, but I can see her mind working to puzzle out who would make the best mate for my brother.
“Is that why you wish to remain here?” I growl the question low, so that only Gile may hear. While the idea of having a mate is foreign, I still find that the image of one human in particular comes to mind. Melanie, or Mel as the other humans call her. I was secretly her Santa during the human Christmas. I don’t know her well, but since the moment we rescued her from the rogue UPC vessel I have felt a certain interest in her.
At first, I attributed my fascination to her coloring. She has a golden tone to her hair and skin that makes her look vaguely Sovolian. But it is her eyes that have ensnared me. They are pools of crystal blue. There is not a Sovolian in all the galaxy with such eyes. No, those are uniquely Mel. And though her eyes are bright in color, there is something in them that makes me feel a kinship with the woman—a certain strength…and a certain sadness.
Gile shrugs. “We are free men. We can live our lives any way we choose.” I notice his answer is noncommittal and I wonder if there is a female he has already staked out. I frown at the thought, but Gile must sense my discomfort because he is quick to turn the conversation. “Besides, you already know why I wish to remain here.”
Safety for the humans. Protection. Loyalty. Those are the reasons we have discussed. Not mates.
“Have you guys made any new friends lately?” Holly asks, looking protective in her own way. I know she thinks we are lonely, living out in the shipyard by ourselves. “Not necessarily prospective mates, but have you spent any time talking with the others?”
This is not a new topic. Holly frets over our isolation and I know she agrees with Gile on the topic of our place here. Holly believes Beacon should be our home, not just our current job. But I wonder if Sovolians can ever have a home after what our people have been through? I don’t answer her and instead focus on adding more stray branches and wilting palm fronds to the pile in our cart. Still, I can feel Gile’s eyes on me.
“You may talk to the humans, my permission is not a requirement,” I say without looking at my friends.
“We should talk to the humans,” he urges. “These are our people now, Mire, our family.”
“The fact that I haven’t made friends doesn’t mean I don’t recognize this. Do what pleases you and allow me to do the same. Talk to them, make friends. I do not care.”
“Perhaps I will today then, after we are done here in the fields.”
“Oh, today might not be good timing,” Holly points out.
“Dashing my hopes so soon, little sister?” Gile teases.
“It’s just that today is the weekly support group,” she explains apologetically.
“What is a support group?”
“It’s a gathering where everyone can discuss the things that trouble them—their struggles and stuff. I don’t really know too much about it. It’s new. Still, I’m kind of ashamed to say I haven’t been to any of the meetings. I’ve just been so happy because of Gorrard and the baby, I don’t feel like I need it like the others do.”
“Perhaps I will go to this support group,” Gile suggests thoughtfully.
“Oh, I don’t know, Gile. It’s really for people who have issues to work through.” Holly’s tone is cautious.
“I understand this,” Gile is quick to say.
Still, Holly looks unsure. “A support group is a serious thing, you’d offend people if you didn’t treat it that way,” she presses.
“Holly, you wound me! I am giving you the truth when I say I would like to go. I am a member of this community, am I not? I have just as much right to be there as the others and likely just as many issues,” Gile says with a sly smile and a wink.
“I won’t argue with that,” she laughs.
“Then it is settled. I will go to this support group,” he announces proudly.
“Cool.” She nods appreciatively, looking impressed with my brother. “I didn’t know you’d be into that kind of thing, but I’m glad to hear you are. If you feel like you need it, you should definitely go.”
“Perhaps you should go too, brother?” Gile suggests.
I groan in response.
“What do you have against humans anyway?” Holly demands, hands on her hips.
“My mate looks angry—which one of you is bothering her?” Gorrard growls sternly as he approaches us. Though his words sound harsh, his eyes are mirthful and he keeps them locked onto his Holly.
“You have it backwards, brother. It is Holly and Gile who are bothering me,” I tell him.
“Everyone bothers you, Mire,” Gorrard points out, still focused on Holly. He wraps his arms around her still-small human waist and whispers something into her ear, causing her smile to widen and her cheeks to flush.
“That is not true,” I say under my breath, moving farther along the field. Holly and Gorrard are too lost in their intimate whispers to notice my distance, but Gile follows close behind, tethered to me by some instinctual force. But his mind is elsewhere…on his own troubles perhaps.
It is not that the humans bother me. None of them bother me. Hell, I have bound myself to them. They are my family. I simply do not like to be close to so many people. Opening up…it leaves you vulnerable. It makes it so you have more to lose. And I just don’t think I can take any more loss. So I keep my distance and focus on protecting the people here and the home we are working to build. That way, if it all comes crumbling down, it won’t take me with it.