by Arthurs, Nia
Beautiful.
“Ready to go?” she swung her keys around her finger.
I nodded and followed her to her car.
My hands tapped against my thighs as she drove. I wound the window down to combat the sweat pouring down my face.
Tess glanced over. “You nervous?”
“Of course not,” I scoffed.
Yes, desperately.
If I expected Tess to be sympathetic and comforting, I was severely disappointed.
“You should be,” she said. “My dad can be very intimidating.”
I picked at a thread in the passenger seat and injected disinterest into my tone.
“How intimidating?”
With a grave face, Tess explained. “He has this machete that he saves for all my boyfriends. He likes to sharpen it in front of them.”
I swallowed. “A machete?”
I pictured a tall, broad-shouldered ogre brandishing a sharp-edged machete. This meeting seemed bleaker the more Tess spoke.
“Yup,” she continued. “I would try not to say too much, but don’t say too little either. And be respectful, but not too stiff. Be… just right.”
“Just right,” I memorized Tess’s advice.
For the next ten minutes, she guided me in the art of acquiring her parent’s approval.
I’d studied in nearly every Ivy League school and I was more nervous about this test than any other.
When Tess pulled into a charming neighborhood, I knew we had almost arrived. I felt a new wave of nerves.
“What did you say your dad did for a living?” I asked. I had to double check the facts, just to be sure.
“He’s a mechanic. He has his own shop.”
“Right.”
Tess had told me that before. Why had I forgotten? I didn’t have time to forget important facts like that.
“By the way,” Tess added, “my dad doesn’t like nail biting of any kind. When I was younger, he used to spank me for every nail I bit. If he even thinks you bite your nails, it’ll be a problem.”
I glanced at my hands. Did my nails look bitten? They were a little on the short-side. Did human fathers really care about things like that?
“And he doesn’t like lame jokes. Dad thinks lame jokes from my boyfriends show that they’re trying too hard. He likes a conversation to flow naturally.”
“Natural… jokes,” I recited.
Tess slowed down and parked the car in a smooth driveway. The house before us was modest but welcoming with white paint and a red roof.
Tess shut the engine off. The sweeping quiet allowed the harsh beating of my heart to echo in my ears.
I gripped my fingers together to hide the nails and faced the windshield. If I’d forgotten her father was a mechanic, what other pertinent information had slipped my mind.
“To reiterate, you have one sister. It was the young lady with the atrocious acting skills, am I correct?”
I recalled Dani’s British accent. I sincerely hoped that she was nowhere near the theatre arts.
Tess giggled, but I ignored her amusement and ticked the facts off with my fingers, trying to remember everything she had shared on the ride over.
“Your mother is a retired nurse. Your father’s a mechanic. They are not religious, but Kingdom citizens.” That one had been a little hard to understand but Tess promised that she would talk more about it later. “Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“You have eight uncles and aunts on both sides, no nieces or nephews, and your dad hates nail-biting and stilted conversation.”
“You got it. Now let’s go,” she pressed my fingers against the door handle.
I shot forward and placed my hands on the locks so she couldn’t leave.
“Just give me a minute,” I said.
“River, calm down. My parents won’t bite. Besides, it doesn’t matter if they like you or not. We’re not really dating so there’s no pressure.”
Her words cut me like a sword to the gut. I loved this woman. Didn’t she understand that her careless words could destroy me?
It was not real for Tess. I knew that, but it was my only opportunity to impress the people that had birthed and raised the woman I adored.
Why would this not be a big deal?
I shook my annoyance and breathed in deeply. I would need Tess on my side if I was to survive the night.
“Alright,” I said. “I’m ready.”
We climbed out of the car and headed up the pathway. The night was filled with the hum of toads and crickets.
A huge garden spread through the yard and blossoms filled the night air with sweet fragrances. I spotted a variety of Belizean flowers as I passed.
Tess led me to the front door. I glanced down at my knees which were knocking together like cymbals.
I subtly bent down and pressed my hands against them to quell the shaking. Tess pounded on the door and yelled for her parents.
She had done it so often while I stood on the other side of the door that it was quite enjoyable to watch her in action.
Immediately, the front door swung wide open. A tall woman with creamy skin and light brown hair stood next to a shorter man with a moustache and no machete.
I silently leaped for joy.
“Good evening!” the woman that I assumed to be Tess’s mother greeted.
Though Tess’s skin was darker than her mother’s, I saw several similarities. Both ladies had almond shaped eyes and ready smiles.
“Hi, Mom.” Tess stepped in.
I prepared to follow but my eyes caught on Mr. Hardey’s.
The man was several heads shorter, but his arms were massive. He could snap my neck in his sleep.
My legs quaked and I prepared to turn around and run for the hills when Tess grabbed my hand and pulled me inside. She bumped the door with her hip and released me.
“This must be your young man,” Mr. Hardey muttered. His dark brown eyes scanned me from head to toe.
I shifted uneasily, realizing that this man could judge me and find me wanting. I wanted his approval more than I could possibly say.
“S-sir?”
I stuttered. Why did I stutter? I had never stuttered, not once in my entire five-hundred years of life.
Mr. Hardey offered his hand. I shook it. Tess and her mother didn’t move a muscle as Mr. Hardey stared.
He was judging me with his labored gaze.
Would I be found wanting?
I was several hundred years his senior, but he had all the power here and we both knew it.
At last, Mr. Hardey spoke. I nearly toppled over with relief when he expressed his approval with a smile.
“Relax, kid,” he chuckled, “I like you already.”
I felt like jumping to the skies and shouting to the heavens. I contained my glee and simply dipped my head in acknowledgement and respect.
“Let’s head to the kitchen and start sharing out the food. I’m starving.” Mr. Hardey chatted up as a storm as he led me away. “You into mechanics?”
Was I? During the 1950’s, I worked in the factory that saw the first assembly line. My interest in cars was voracious.
When my eyes lit up at the topic, Mr. Hardey slapped my back.
“I like you,” he said again.
As the night progressed, I decided that I liked him too.
The older man was witty and intelligent. I enjoyed bantering about H2O engines and the improvements and amenities in the vehicle industry.
Everything was going smoothly until the topic of my past surfaced. Mr. Hardey and I were discussing the rising popularity of the electric car when Mrs. Hardey innocently inquired.
“Who are your parents, River? Are they from Belize?”
I froze. The answer to that question was not as cut-and-dry as humans believed. We didn’t have entities like ‘families’ back on the star.
I had no ‘parents’, but explaining anything further than that would reveal my secret and put the Hardey family in danger.
I cleared my throat and searched for a truthful reply.
“My parents are… no longer here.” It was the truth since they did not exist. “The rest of my people are somewhere far away, so I’ve been on my own for a while.”
“That’s terrible,” Mrs. Hardey gasped.
“I’m very sorry for your loss,” Mr. Hardey added.
I looked down, uncomfortable with the attention. I hadn’t meant to garner their sympathy. I was not an ‘orphan’ in the human sense.
“Thank you,” I said.
It was true that I had no parents and had never experienced the love I saw between a human parent and child.
I glanced at Tess. Her head was downturned and her expression was grim. No doubt she now pitied me.
I smiled. She was so amazing that it stole my breath and made it hard to think of anything else. I spoke with sincerity.
Yes I had no family, but for this brief moment, I had Tess.
“But I’m glad to have your daughter. She knows how to make one feel welcome.”
“What now?” Tess choked.
“That’s so sweet,” Mrs. Hardey sighed.
“Yes, Tess has always been our little homemaker,” Mr. Hardey informed me. “She’s always been so responsible. Ever since she was young. She listened to instruction, did well in school, gave no trouble.”
“Those are good things, Dad,” Tess argued, “why are you talking like I did something wrong?”
Mr. Hardey continued despite the light warning in Tess’s tone.
“Sometimes, I think she missed out on having some fun. When she turned eighteen, I thought she’d explore the world a bit, loosen up.”
“Dad––” Tess moaned.
It wasn’t hard for me to believe. Tess was a gem among rocks. I had seen her kindness and humility firsthand.
I considered it a privilege to be in her life in any respect. Whether she knew it or not, she had done more for me than I could ever do for her.
As for her world being small however…
“I can assure you, sir. When Tess met me, her world became a whole lot bigger.”
Mr. Hardey laughed and slapped me on the back. The man did that quite often and it was starting to hurt.
“I like you,” he said.
“Way to toot your own horn, honey,” Tess hissed.
Though the comment was lathered in sarcasm, I knew that she was teasing me. Mr. Hardey smiled and Mrs. Hardey snickered.
Apart from Jones and Leslie-Anne, I did not consider anyone to be family. I had never been interested in experiencing what it was to one.
But tonight, amidst these three warm, caring people, I felt… free. Free to let loose, if just for a moment.
I glanced at Tess and made a fist. Her eyes widened as she wondered what I was going to do.
If I had horns, I might as well blow them.
I brought my arm down twice and yelled for all I was worth. “Toot, toot!”
Chapter 23
“You stole my parents,” Tess grumbled as I drove home.
She sounded annoyed, but nothing could shake my good mood. I could sleep well tonight, despite all the uncertainties that awaited me.
My weakening powers, the secret alien-hunting organization, and even the dilemma of my ship’s return felt far away tonight.
And it was all because of her. She was adorable when she spouted nonsense.
“What are you talking about, Tess?” I noted her puckered brows and pouting lips.
“Are you some kind of famous Asian actor? Do you have multiple personalities? Or am I the only one who brings out the worst in you.”
I never knew what crazy topic Tess would jump to. What did stealing her parents have to do with Asian actors or multiple personalities?
I decided to tease her. “It’s definitely the last one.”
She didn’t laugh. Instead, her huffy expression grew even more pronounced.
“I’m not an actor. I don’t even like taking pictures. And no, I don’t have any mental disorders.”
“So it’s really just me then,” she folded her arms across her chest.
“Are you always this direct?”
“No,” she muttered. “Looks like you bring out the worst in me too.”
I chuckled. Tess had no idea what she really did to me. I found her ignorance delightfully endearing.
“Are you laughing right now?”
I ignored her question and asked the one that had been burning in my mind since her father mentioned it at dinner.
“Why were you so responsible growing up?”
I thought of the incident with her sister during our early acquaintance. Tess seemed to go along with the craziness easily enough. It didn’t quite add up.
“I wasn’t responsible. My dad said that because he didn’t know who I was outside of the house. I was good at keeping a double life.”
“Really?”
I wasn’t buying it but Tess continued anyway.
“I always went out with the cool kids. They begged me to hang out with them. People called me ‘DJ Party Life’ because I was the life of the party.”
“DJ Party Life?”
“Yup.”
“You really were this crazy girl back then?”
“Yes,” she said. “And don’t even ask me about the boys.”
I parked the car in front of her house. What boys? Exactly how many boys were we talking about?
Jealousy gripped me until I heard the rushed thumping of Tess’s heart. I hid my smile, glad that my hearing had kicked in just then.
The heightened pace of her pulse was a sign that she was lying. And trying very hard to convince me that she wasn’t.
I shifted toward her, eager to see how far she would go with her tall tale.
“Oh, do tell me about the boys.”
She lifted her chin. “I had guys begging to be with me. All of them. In just one minute, I looked into their eyes and they fell in love. It was very tiring breaking all those hearts.”
I was very glad to note that Tess’s heart was pounding like crazy. Lies. All of it. Thank God.
“In fact,” she added, “if I wanted to, I could seduce you right here, right now.”
“Right here, right now?” It was a very interesting proposition and one I doubted she would follow through with if her nervous heart was any indication.
“Yes, all I need is one minute.”
“Alright.”
“A-alright?”
“Should we test your theory?”
I climbed out of the car and waited for her to emerge. I knew Tess Hardey, at least a little bit.
There was no way she’d allow herself to be backed into a corner like this. I waited for her to come up with a decent excuse.
I didn’t have to wait long.
Tess got out of the car and stretched her arms to the sky. She yawned loudly and covered her mouth with a fist.
“I’m sorry, River. I’m just so tired tonight. I think I should go in and crash. Maybe we can test the theory another time.”
“Really? DJ Party Life is saying no to a dare?”
“What did you say to me?” Tess whirled around.
“Did I get that name right, DJ Party Life?”
Fire lit her eyes and burned a trail of excitement, encircling us in a game that was quickly turning from innocent fun to something far more serious.
Maybe this was a bad idea. I was already crazily attracted to my neighbor. Having all of her focused energies on convincing me to fall in love would be like beating a dead horse.
I was about to back out when Tess stood on the tips of her toes and grabbed my tie. My body followed her movement as she dragged me forward.
“Come on,” she said.
Tess led us up the steps to the verandah and slapped the key into the lock without releasing her hold on my tie.
Simply following behind her was beginning to stir up those strong human feelings. This was a very, very bad idea.
Though I had been
the one to tease her, it seemed Tess had turned the tables. Whether she knew it or not, I was at her mercy.
She pulled me into the house and shoved me into the sofa. I landed with my feet awkwardly in the air. I set my legs down and smoothed my tie, trying to hide my nervousness with banter.
“Has it started yet?”
“Be quiet and look at me.”
I gazed at the wall just beyond her head. My abilities were dead at the moment, but being around Tess always seemed to bring them out.
I’d prefer if she remained ignorant to the truth about me.
“I’m not––”
She grabbed my head and positioned it so that I could do nothing but stare at her lovely face. “Look at me.”
It was not a suggestion.
“I’ll set the time,” Tess tapped the screen of her phone and then set it on the sofa handle.
I did everything I could to keep from meeting her eyes, but Tess tilted her head in warning. I went still and answered her gaze unflinchingly.
I could handle this. What could a little eye-staring hurt? I’d looked countless people in the eyes without surrendering to my human side.
The count-down began.
At first I succeeded in keeping my thoughts away from the woman beside me, but soon the summery scent she wore overpowered my resolve.
I allowed myself to drink Tess in like a tall glass of water on a hot Belizean day.
5 seconds…
She had thick eyelashes spread across her almond shaped eyelids. I loved her eyes, how they wore emotions like women wore dresses.
Those eyes could change from fiery anger to gentle kindness to unwavering strength. They communicated everything or nothing, depending on her mood.
What was she saying now?
Tess was keeping her cards close to the chest. Pride formed a careful veil and shrouded her thoughts from view.
10 seconds…
Her chest ballooned on a sigh. She had beautiful… I dragged my gaze back to her face, avoiding all below-the-neck territory.
If I allowed my eyes to roam freely, the roof would probably blow off this house.
15 seconds…
I wondered about Tess’s coloring. Her brown skin was a mixture of earthy colors that only added to her appeal. The curly bounce of her hair looked soft to the touch.
20 seconds…
