My eyes widened in surprise. “I…thought you didn’t want to know anything about my dating habits.” I caught a glare from Marge. Now wasn’t the time to stress him out.
His head shook with a sudden wave of tremors, and he looked at me as though he was annoyed. “I just…want to know if you’re happy,” he said, his words deliberate.
“I am. She makes me very happy.” I smiled down at him. “I’m glad to see Marge makes you happy, too.”
“Roy…Rogers…too.” His head still shook, but he smiled widely. His grin was rather goofy-looking—all gums—but I was glad to see it. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d seen him grin.
His gaze started to glaze over again. The tremors stopped, and he began to close his eyes. His breathing became easier, relaxed.
“I think he needs to rest,” Marge whispered.
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” I looked down at his pale features through the candlelight. Kisana returned outside the tent. She set down her lit lantern, lighting up the entrance, but remained outside to give us privacy.
“Thank you so much for the movie,” Marge said, as she began tucking in blankets around Bruce and straightening the pillows behind his back. “I enjoyed it, and I know he did as well.”
I nodded and watched my father’s features become peaceful as his eyes fully closed. His breaths became slower and slower. I let go of his hand, and bent down over his face, kissing his forehead in the muted light of the tiny candle and our camping lanterns. His chest rose and fell once more, then stopped. Marge stopped fussing with his blankets. We stared at his chest together, waiting for him to take another breath, as we held our own. That breath never came.
I didn’t know what to say. I simply stared. A couple seconds of silence passed, and I let out a deep breath then stepped toward Marge and held out my arms. She embraced me as she burst into tears, warm drops falling down her face and onto my sweatshirt. I felt like I should join her in crying, but I couldn’t. My mind and body felt like they were stuck in slow motion. My brain wanted me to think I was still watching the colt named Trigger prance along on the TV screen.
“Oh, Bruce,” Marge murmured. “Why didn’t we meet in some other place, some other time, when we were younger…”
“I think you’ll meet each other again,” I whispered. “Someday.”
She lifted herself off my chest and stared at me, her face tear-struck. She sniffled. “I thought you didn’t believe in the afterlife?”
“I don’t know what’s out there. No one does. But it might be true, right? Isn’t that enough?”
Marge nodded and then grabbed a tissue from the Kleenex box on the TV tray, wiping her eyes. She went to Bruce’s side, where she bent down and kissed his lips softly. “Did you hear that, dear? Dear Bruce. One day, we’ll meet again.” An exhausted smile appeared on her face for a single moment, her soft blue eyes twinkling with a flicker of hope.
My voice was hushed when I spoke again. “Let me find out what the next step is.”
“Would you mind if I say a few prayers in private first? I have my bible here.” She pointed to Bruce’s pile of books.
“No, feel free. I’ll get someone to help us with him when you’re ready.” I walked to the tent’s entrance then stopped, gazing back at my father’s frame and Marge’s sad face. “Will you be okay?”
“Yes,” Marge replied, her voice barely above a whisper. Another tear trickled down her cheek toward her smudged lipstick. “Are you sure you’ve said your goodbyes?”
I nodded slowly. “I’m sorry. I’m not very good with this.”
“It’s okay, dear. You showed him you love him—that’s what matters.” She started fussing with the blankets around Bruce’s body again, smoothing them into place. “Thank you again, Sam.”
“Thank you, for being so wonderful,” I whispered.
I left the candle glowing in his tent and met Kisana outside, carefully closing the tent flaps after me. David and Naomi waited outside with Kisana, and all three faces were solemn. The rest of the gym was quiet. Everyone else must have gone to bed early since it was so dark tonight. It was storming outside, so our light sources—the single window and the light streaming in from the door—were useless.
Kisana held up her lantern and reached out for my hand. I gave it to her, and she squeezed it tight. “Thanks,” I whispered. She must have realized what had happened and fetched David and Naomi.
“Marge will let us know when she’s ready,” I said quietly, turning to Naomi as I spoke. “She’s saying her goodbyes. What’re we doing with the…body?”
“This morning we told our alien representative that we’d need his assistance in a couple of days. We asked him to cremate the body, if possible, and return the ashes, so you can do as you please with them. I hope that’s fine.”
I nodded. “What’d it say?”
“Not much. But it agreed.”
“Okay.” I opened my mouth, searching for words, but none came. Kisana squeezed my hand again.
“Go ahead, Sam, we got this,” Naomi whispered, giving me a quick hug. “Get some rest.”
Kisana led me out of the quiet gym, through the dark corridor, and into my cardboard gate. She closed the gate behind us, and we climbed atop our table. She wrapped her arms around me. I let myself fall into her embrace, closing my eyes tightly. I was grateful for her warmth and familiar scent as both enveloped me like a freshly-washed down comforter.
“You okay, babe?” she asked softly, speaking into my hair. Her breath tickled my scalp. A loose strand of my hair plopped onto my forehead. My hair was starting to go all over the place again. I needed a trim. I hated my hair and the way it randomly curled, which was part of the reason I kept it cropped short. Kisana pushed the loose strand back into place.
I kept my eyes closed, focusing only on the warmth of her body as it spread through me. I shook my head. I needed to say something, but I didn’t have the energy to track down the words.
The rain poured over our heads now that we were directly beneath the dome. The drops collided against the hard surface of the dome noisily. It almost sounded like thunder.
“The rain,” I whispered. “It reminds me of when I was little girl. I used to take empty cat food cans and place them outside along the house’s eaves. We didn’t have rain gutters, so when it rained, the rain would just cascade off the eaves of the house and onto the cans. It created a noisy symphony that reminded me of those Jamaican steel drum bands.”
Kisana wrapped her arms tighter around me. She leaned her head against mine. “You were a strange kid,” she said.
I tossed her a fragment of a smile. “It used to piss my mom off.”
“Rain is beautiful. Why not enjoy its melody? It’s kind of like…wind chimes.”
“I love wind chimes.”
“Me too. I could have a whole yard full.”
“Sounds good. Let’s buy a wind chime and cat-food-can-band house one day.”
Kisana’s laughter harmonized with the sound of the storm. “Feel like trying to sleep?”
“Will you…sleep with me?” I asked, opening my eyes and pulling away from her chest just far enough, so I could gaze into her soft, green eyes. I could barely see them in the dim lantern light.
“Of course, you cat food can master. Come on.” She helped me off the table, and led me into my tent. Before I zipped the flaps shut, I glimpsed up at the blackened dome. The huge water drops plopped off the top, rolling down the curved side, their bellies tumbling over and over. In our own little world inside this dome, Kisana and I were safe from the individual water droplets, but not from reality’s downpour.
Exhaustion hit me like a freight train as I stepped inside my tent. I gazed down at Kisana. I knew she was nervous by the way she sat. She perched herself at the end of my sleeping bag, looking as though she was ready to stand up again at any moment. I couldn’t help but grin at her. “Don’t worry, Kisana, I’m not gonna seduce you…yet. I just need you close to me toni
ght. I hope you understand.”
She relaxed. “I do, Sam. I do. Lie down; get some rest. I’m here for you.” She sat the lantern above the head of my sleeping bag.
I collapsed onto the sleeping bag, kicking off my shoes. Luckily I had the sleeping bag spread out like a comforter, rather than a single-sized sleeping bag, on top of a foam mattress. I had a wad of blankets to the side of the tent I used for when it was cold. I dragged them out, setting them between us. I slid off my jeans and sweatshirt, wiggled out of my sports bra, and flung the discarded clothes aside. All I had on now were my T-shirt and underwear.
I tossed Kisana a teasing smile as I turned to face her. She had stripped down to her T-shirt and panties too. Her panties had little red hearts on them. She grabbed a blanket and tossed it over my face as I lay there, watching her. I grinned at her from under the blanket. She smoothed the blankets around us and then joined me beneath them, uncovering my head.
She caught me watching her again. “You’re such a goof,” she noted, smiling.
I wrapped my arms around her and then scooted closer, so my head was on her chest. I could hear her heartbeat. “You’re so warm,” I murmured.
She kissed my lips softly, and I burrowed deeper into her chest. Her breasts were soft under my head.
Simon climbed into the tent through the hole I had left open for him at the bottom. He gave Kisana a challenging stare for being on his side of the bed. He crawled up to both of us, finding a place to curl up behind the small of my back.
“I know you’re not religious,” Kisana whispered, stroking my forearm, “but your dad’s in a place now where he knows no pain.”
I closed my eyes tightly, and tears formed behind my eyelids. I wanted to say something but, again, couldn’t find the words. I struggled to search for them as we listened to the rain.
She kissed my forehead. “You did everything you could for him. He lived a good life because of you. Don’t ever think otherwise.”
I sniffled loudly as the tears couldn’t be controlled any longer. “You always know just what I’m thinking,” I said. “How do you…do that?”
She shushed me with another gentle kiss. “It’s my secret.” She reached above her head, clicked off the lantern, and then wrapped both of her arms around me again. “One day I’ll tell you all about it. For now, just know that you are…loved.”
She smiled against my forehead. Tears began to flow freely down my face as I sobbed into Kisana’s chest. She held me close and didn’t say anything else to me. She didn’t need to. Eventually, we fell asleep as the rain continued its symphony above our heads.
Chapter 17
The next morning, I awoke to Kisana’s head pillowed on my chest and the rain still pinging overhead. I liked where her head was. She was sound asleep, and I kissed her forehead softly, not wishing to disturb her. I studied the movements in her face as she breathed deep, slumbery breaths. Her cheeks were the color of bronze chestnuts, with a tint of hazy red. I longed to caress them. I could get used to waking up like this.
I popped my head up to see if she was fully covered in blankets. Part of her rear end was uncovered. Her panty line, a couple of red hearts, and some tasty-looking skin were peeking out from beneath the edge of the blankets.
A lazy smile snuck onto my face as Kisana stirred beside me. Her eyes fluttered open. I scooted back, gazing into her sleepy face. She blushed.
I smiled down at her, brushing her cheek with my hand. “Morning beautiful,” I whispered, my voice husky.
She returned the smile through rose-tinted cheeks. “Morning. You make a good pillow apparently.”
“So do you.” I grinned at her. “See, this gay thing has its perks. Waking up on a soft chest is way more comfortable than waking up to some guy wanting a blow job before you’ve brushed your teeth.”
She laughed. “That is pretty awful.”
I cleared my throat and gave her the theatrical boyfriend impersonation, complete with a goofy, high-pitched voice. “‘Good morning! You’re up! Oh, look who else is up! I know what would make this a perfect morning!’ Oh man. Talk about wanting to shove a dick down someone’s throat.”
Kisana laughed again. “I can picture you doing that. That is, if you were straight.”
“I used to think I was,” I said. “Pretty stupid in hindsight. I was also pretty tame back then, so I wouldn’t have considered dick-cramming. I sure thought about it though.” My grin slipped from my face. “It makes me kinda sad to think about how timid I used to be. But I guess that’s part of growing up.”
“Changing?”
“Mmhm.” I shifted so I was laying on my back, facing the tent’s ceiling. Kisana snuggled up against me, resting her head on my stomach. I rubbed her back lazily.
“How’s it hitting you today?” she asked, peering up at my face.
I shrugged. “I’m still pretty numb. I’m glad I cried though. Thank you for that.” I sat up just enough to run my fingers through her silky locks of hair.
“It’s okay to be numb, you know. Considering your relationship with him.”
“My mother’s death was a lot harder on me, especially considering how much of an ass my father was about it afterward.”
“Oh yeah?”
“He’d just been diagnosed with cancer before she died and was starting chemo and shit. He was feeling pretty terrible, but the day she died he wouldn’t even drive down to see me. I didn’t see him until the funeral which was two weeks later. He lived an hour away.” I played with a loose strand of Kisana’s hair.
“The real thing that pissed me off, though, was the fact that at her fucking funeral, while we were waiting for it to start, he was nagging me about selling her house already.”
Kisana shook her head. “He was a strange man,” she said. “And an ass. Even though he never thought himself to be one.”
“Pretty much.” We lounged in a comfortable silence as I continued stroking her hair.
“How did your mother die?”
I let the silence between us rest a bit more. “Heart attack,” I finally said. “She was all alone. I don’t remember much…except that I didn’t get there in time.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“It’s okay. I just don’t remember much. Funny how stuff gets pushed out of your mind sometimes.”
“Yeah.” The silence settled in once again. “Want something to eat, Sam?”
“I’m not sure. I guess we should get up. I need to find out how Marge is and what they did with his body.” I sighed. She gave me a tight squeeze and we sat up together.
I shuffled through my random piles in the corner of my tent for clean clothes while she put on hers from yesterday. Simon was sprawled out in my dirty clothes pile, still sound asleep and snoring. By the time I’d picked out a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, Kisana was completely dressed. “Going for a speed record in throwing clothes on?”
“Sorry,” she said, a soft blush highlighting the corners of her lopsided smile.
I grinned at her. “You’re pretty damn cute when you play shy.”
That caused her blush to deepen. I leaned forward and kissed her.
After our lips parted, she tousled my messy hair, and then stood up. “I’ll go find some clean clothes.”
“Okay. Meet you by the food station once I’m done blabbing to people?”
She nodded, exiting my tent. She turned her face toward the sky. “Still pouring,” she murmured. “It’s not any lighter out here than it was last night.”
I grimaced. I liked the rain, but sunlight was useful for important things like seeing. She wandered off, her gaze still averted toward the dome’s ceiling, and I continued fishing around for clothes and my comb.
An hour later, Kisana and I sat on our usual table with a pile of dried fruit and granola bars between us. Simon munched on cat food beneath us. We were starting to run out of options for food. All the tuna, canned chicken, and dried meat from the local stores were gone, along with the powder
ed juices, milk, and cheese products. I had a hard time believing the stores were out of tuna and powdered juice. It seemed mathematically impossible. It made me think back to my dream from the other night. The aliens must be feeding some of the other captives besides us. There was no way we could eat an entire city’s worth of canned tuna and Kool-Aid packets, even if we had been here for over two months now.
“Did you get your dad’s ashes?” Kisana asked as she picked through the pile of fruit.
“Yeah,” I said, gesturing toward the cardboard box laying just inside the entrance to my tent. “Naomi said they delivered it half an hour after picking up his body last night.”
“A cardboard box? I’m surprised she didn’t ask for an urn.”
I opened the wrapper of a chocolate chip granola bar. “Didn’t think of it probably.” I shrugged. “It’s okay. The box doesn’t matter.”
“What’re you doing with the ashes when we get out of here?”
“He has a plot paid for at Rose Hills, down south. My mom and both of his parents are buried there already. He’ll be next to them.” I took a big bite, and then stared up at the rain drops above us. The rain was still plummeting down in its combative rhythm, and the darkness of the day was our mediator.
Kisana looked impressed. “He was on top of things.”
“He tried.” My eyes were glued to the dome looming above us still. “Naomi said that Marge is taking it pretty hard. She couldn’t sleep last night.”
“Damn.”
“I feel like I should do something for her, but I don’t know what.”
“You’ve got yourself to worry about, Sam,” Kisana reminded me. “You don’t have to take care of anyone anymore.”
I met her soft gaze and took another bite of my granola bar. “I know. I just keep thinking that if they had met earlier in life, she might have been my stepmother.”
“And that makes you obligated now, when she isn’t? They’ve only known each other for the time we’ve been trapped here.”
“So? She was important to him.”
Captive by the Fog Page 14
