We Come In Peace

by Lillian Francken

  Jenny turned to Bobby and motioned to the two sitting at the table. “Do they have to watch me like that?”

  Bobby reached into a drawer and grabbed a crossword puzzle book and pen out of the drawer. He handed the items to John.

  “Here, this ought to keep you busy for a while,” he said and then turned back to Jenny. “Happy now?” He could have bit his tongue, as he did not mean it to sound so sarcastic.

  “How did they get here?” Jenny asked, looking at John. She truly wanted to know more about the two strangers who would be living under their roof for who knew how long.

  John was about to answer, but Bobby cut him off quickly. “Their vehicle broke down.”

  “Mechanical problems,” John said, nodding his head and then turned and gave an accusing look at Jane.

  John glanced down at the crossword book and opened it to a full-page crossword puzzle. He picked up the pen and started working the crossword puzzle. John quickly filled in the little blocks almost without thinking. In a few minutes, he had the majority of the puzzle complete.

  Jenny just watched him, wondering if he was putting in the correct answers. She turned to Bobby. He too was looking at John meticulously filling in the crossword puzzle.

  “I didn’t see any vehicle outside,” Jenny remarked as she turned to Bobby.

  “I’ve got to go out into the desert and pick it up tomorrow morning.”

  Jenny pointed to Bobby. “You’re going to school in the morning.

  Bobby raised his hands. “Okay. I’ll get Chet’s tow truck and get their car and drop it off here before school tomorrow.”

  “You’ve got to graduate,” Jenny said. “I promised your mother that if she let you stay with Dad and me, we would make sure you finished high school.

  “It’s so annoying,” Bobby argued.

  “Well, your mother had you transferred here so that you can get the diploma. I don’t care how you get it, just get it.”

  “It was all a misunderstanding, and you know it.”

  “Yeah, right! You didn’t mean to blow up the west wing of the school. Just a slight miscalculation,” Jenny said, trying not to laugh. “What’s the matter? Didn’t you read the Unabomber’s manual correctly?”

  John stood up and handed Bobby the crossword puzzle book with the page open to the puzzle he had just completed. Bobby and Jenny just stared at John in disbelief.

  “That was good,” Bobby said, glancing at the clock on the wall. “Took you all of two minutes.”

  “Where did you say they came from?” Jenny asked.

  “With that brain, certainly not Vegas.

  Jenny stared curiously at John and Jane as she put the spaghetti in a serving bowl and then set it on the table. She took the garlic bread out of the oven and put it on a platter. Bobby quickly walked over to the fridge, grabbed the pitcher of fresh lemonade, and set it on the table.

  Elmer picked up the bowl of spaghetti and then dished himself up a big helping. He passed the bowl to Bobby, who in turn handed it to John.

  John followed what Bobby had done with the food, and once the spaghetti was on his plate, he stared at the meatballs and long noodles. Bobby picked up his fork and slowly worked the noodles, with his spoon turning the fork. John mimicked him and then put the big ball of noodles into his mouth. His eyes bulged as his taste buds savored the food.

  Jane was a little more reluctant to eat the strange-looking food. She moved the meatball around her plate with her fork as if playing with her food.

  Bobby tapped her foot to get her attention and then he showed her how to cut the meatball with her fork and then stick the piece in her mouth.

  Jenny just watched the exchange with curiosity. She looked at Bobby and knew there was something he was not telling her but did not have it in her to pry it out of him just yet. Once they were alone, she would find out the truth about these strangers.

  * * *

  After dinner was finished, John and Jane walked back into the living room. Both sat down on the couch with hands on their knees. Even though they had just eaten, they both stared at the empty candy dish but said nothing.

  Jenny and Bobby finished cleaning up the kitchen and walked into the living room where their guests were sitting. Jenny turned to Bobby.

  “How long are they staying?” she asked.

  “Day or two,” Bobby said, shrugging. In all actuality, he wasn’t sure, and it all depended on what was wrong with their craft.

  “If it’s any longer, they get jobs,” Jenny snapped.

  “Doing what?”

  “We could always use another waitress down at the Little A’Lee’Inn.”

  “John could fly for Southwest Airlines,” Bobby quipped.

  Jenny laughed and then moved closer to Bobby and looked at his pupils.

  “Just checking. Where did you say the two broke down?”

  “I didn’t,” Bobby responded.

  “You get their vehicle in for repairs,” she said and then pointed to Bobby. “I want those two out of here.”

  The door suddenly opened, and in walked Misty Drews, Bobby’s mother. Bobby’s mouth dropped. This only complicated an already bad situation. She has reddish-blonde hair piled high on her head, giving new meaning to the term “big hair.” Misty tried to strut with five-inch stiletto heels. Her black spandex slacks bulged at the hips, and the pink angora sweater only exaggerated a body badly out of shape. Jenny and Bobby appeared surprised, as Misty had not attempted to visit Bobby since he moved in with Jenny months earlier.

  Misty strutted in with arms outstretched as she hurried over to Bobby. “No kiss for your dearest Mommy?”

  Bobby just rolled his eyes. “What are you doing here?” he asked in a snippy way that surprised Jenny.

  Misty quickly reached in her oversized shoulder purse and handed Bobby the stack of mail. “I thought you might want your mail. The SAT scores came in the mail last month.”

  “I’ve been calling you all month looking for it.”

  Misty tossed Bobby the envelope. He had been calling Misty almost every day and leaving messages to see if he had received his scores, and almost gave up on the idea of ever getting them. It angered him that she had been holding onto them for that long. Bobby quickly opened it and saw the score of 2400. Bobby raised his fist and then lowered it after looking at the perfect score.

  “Life is good.”

  “Maybe you can try to get into the community college,” Misty said as if trying to look as though she was saying something smart.

  Bobby just laughed. “With this score, I’m a shoe-in for one of those Ivy League schools.”

  “I always raised you to reach for the stars. But wouldn’t you learn more at a community college?”

  Jenny looked at Misty as if not believing what she had just said. She turned to Bobby and took the sheet from him. She stared at it a moment and then shook her head.

  “Answer me one thing. Did you guess at the answers or did you know the answers?”

  “The questions were all so lame. Honestly, Jenny, I knew the answers, and I never guessed at any of them.”

  “Then, now all you have to do is show up in high school so that you can graduate.”

  While Jenny and Bobby were discussing his SAT score, Misty noticed John sitting on the couch. She walked over to where John was sitting and plopped down next to him. Misty put her hand on John’s thigh as she looked up at him longingly.

  “And who do we have here?” she said as she wet her lips and twisted her shoulders as if to give John a better look at her heaving breast.

  Bobby noticed the interest that Misty was taking in John. He quickly stepped forward and looked down at Misty on the couch.

  “Back off, Mom. He’s a friend,” Bobby snapped.

  “I was just being sociable,” Misty argued as she turned to John and smiled.

  “We all know how sociable you can be.”

  Misty squeezed the inner part of John’s thigh. John’s eyes widened, as he was suddenly aroused.
Jane hit John on the back of the head.

  “Why did you do that,” John said looking puzzled for a moment.

  “Because of the look your facial muscles showed. It is unnatural.”

  John was embarrassed while Misty continued to cozy up to him. Bobby just reached down, grabbed his mother’s arm, and pulled her up. He motioned her to sit on the chair on the other side of the end table, a fair distance from where John was sitting.

  CHAPTER 7

  Misty walked into the kitchen while Mario Lanza was playing loudly on a CD player on the counter. Elmer was at the table playing solitaire. Jenny walked over to the sink and picked up the dishrag while Misty walked over to the cassette player and snapped it off. Elmer just looked up and then continued playing solitaire.

  “Aren’t we the picture of domesticity?” Misty snapped sarcastically.

  “I did what had to be done, so keep the sarcasm to yourself. Someone has to take care of Dad.”

  “He could have come to live with me.”

  “And what were we going to do with the ranch?”

  “Sell it. We certainly could use the money.”

  “Not now,” Jenny said, motioning to her father and then turned to Misty. “Why are you really here?”

  “I missed my boy,” Misty said while turning to the door. “Who are those two in the living room?”

  “Their vehicle broke down. Bobby brought them home.”

  “And you are letting them stay here!”

  “They hardly look like Bonnie and Clyde,” Jenny argued.

  “You never know.”

  Jenny started washing down the counter. “They seem harmless enough.”

  “The young man sure is, but that woman looks like she has a mean streak in her.”

  “You leave John alone,” Jenny snapped and then paused a moment. “I think Jane has a thing for him.”

  “Oh, they’re a couple?”

  Jenny looked at Misty. “Duh!” she laughed. “They’re traveling together.

  “Doesn’t mean anything. Besides, a girl has to keep her options open.”

  “You are almost twice his age. Why don’t you pick on someone closer to your age.”

  “I have no problem with having a boy toy.”

  Jenny just shook her head while Misty pulled her sweater down. She strutted over to the table where Elmer was sitting and then looked up at Jenny.

  “How’s Bobby doing in school?”

  Jenny avoided looking at Misty. “He’s doing fine. Graduation is next month.”

  Misty glanced over Elmer’s shoulder at his solitaire hand. He picked up a card when she reached over, pulled a card out of his hand, and laid it down.

  “What Ma saw in you, Pa, I’ll never know?” Misty said as she shook her head.

  Misty kissed the top of Elmer’s head. Jenny looked at her sternly. Misty just smiled while walking out of the room. Elmer got up slowly without saying a word and turned the cassette player back on.

  * * *

  The sky was a crimson shade of red mixed with yellows and oranges as the sun finally set on the horizon near the facility in Area 51. At dusk, the night vision goggles came out as standard equipment while sentries walked grounds in half-hour increments.

  The radar technician tapped lightly on Colonel Crimshaw’s office door. He had seen his lights on for hours now and knew the Colonel was planning their next day’s search.

  “Come in,” the Colonel barked.

  The technician slowly opened the door and—like a scolded child—walked up to the Colonel’s desk. He had the map hidden behind his back.

  “What is it? Can’t you see I’m busy?”

  “Well, it’s about the search area today,” the technician said in hardly above a whisper. He knew from experience that the Colonel did not like being corrected so he would have to tread lightly on the error they made today when searching for the unidentified spacecraft at Miller’s Mine.

  “Speak up, boy,” the Colonel commanded.

  The technician set the map on the desk in front of the Colonel. “We were way off course,” he said.

  “Yeah! You don’t have to tell me.”

  “We should have been going in the other direction.”

  “And whose fault was that?” the Colonel asked.

  “I ... I don’t know.”

  “It was that damn kid.”

  “But you had the coordinates. Why did you listen to him, then.”

  “You questioning me, boy?”

  “No. I’m just saying, why didn’t you look at the coordinates? You would have realized he was sending you off on a wild goose chase.”

  “I know that now.”

  The technician pointed to the map where it was triangulated where the craft possibly could have landed.

  “We should start at this point and then extend our search southward if nothing shows up.”

  The Colonel scratched his head. What the boy was saying made sense, but he wasn’t going to let a lowly radar technician show his superiority in map-reading skills over him. The Colonel took the map he was working on and put it on top of the technician’s map.

  “This is what I’ve decided we will be working on tomorrow.”

  The radar technician appeared puzzled. “But that’s still twenty miles south of the projected crash site.”

  “How can you be certain of that?”

  “The coordinates don’t lie.”

  The radar technician shoved the map under the Colonel’s nose. “Granted, Miller’s Mine was off in this direction, but what you are suggesting is still not in the right area,” he said, pointing to the spot on the map.”

  The Colonel tossed the map off the desk. “I don’t care, and it will not be mentioned in the log. You understand? The General doesn’t have to know.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “We’ll go out in the morning and see if there is any evidence of a landing, in the area I have indicated,” he said, tapping his finger on the desk. “I’ll get my promotion if we can come up with a craft.”

  “But, it’s still wrong.”

  The radar technician saw the determination on the Colonel’s face and realized it was useless to argue. He slowly picked up the map and saluted the Colonel, then turned and left. Once outside the office he crinkled up the map and tossed it in the garbage can.

  * * *

  The desert sun slowly rose over the mountains in the distance, calling a start to a new day. Jane had been out doing calisthenics in the nude for at least a half-hour already. In the distance, a military helicopter flew just under the radar to get a bird’s-eye view of the surrounding area.

  Jane finished her jumping jacks and then went to the clothesline pole and started doing chin-ups. Bobby came running out of the house with a blanket in hand. He hurried over to where Jane was doing her workout and quickly wrapped the blanket around her as the helicopter passed overhead.

  “We don’t run around without clothes on,” Bobby said, trying not to look at Jane’s partially exposed breast.

  “Why?”

  “It can be distracting for some people.

  Jane appeared puzzled as she looked down at her body and then shrugged.

  “I don’t understand,” she said, looking at the helicopter as it flew away.

  Jane took the blanket, positioned it around her body, and tucked the end under her armpit. She glanced at the five men hanging out of the helicopter to get a better look at her. It puzzled her, the interest they would have in observing her during her workout. She turned to Bobby with a curious look on her face.

  “Trust me. In a town like this, you want to keep your clothes on.”

  “Your species makes no sense the way your gender views mine.”

  “In your world, aren’t men attracted to a woman’s body?” Bobby asked. He was curious that a woman with Jane’s body would not cause a stir in her world. He saw it in the way John acted around Jane.

  “For what purpose?” she asked.

  “For sex,�
� he quickly added and found himself kind of embarrassed for the first time to be talking about this with a woman. Having Misty for a mother had made him immune to topics of sex when it came to a woman’s body, but discussing it with Jane was a little different.

  “Sex?”

  “Procreation,” Bobby reiterated.

  Jane walked over to the back door with the blanket still wrapped tightly around her body. Bobby just stood there watching her buttocks swaying with every step she took. She did not see her body as a distraction for the opposite sex. Jane turned to Bobby.

  “Procreation is done in a lab on our planet. There is no need for the two genders to bond for this purpose.” Jane relayed this fact coolly.

  This detail startled Bobby for a moment. Jane and John’s civilization seemed more advanced than the people on Earth, but to take away the pure pleasure of sex appeared to dehumanize its civilization. However, that was just his observation. Maybe that was the problem with Earth. They over thought the whole idea of procreation and sex.

  “What a waste. Not everybody who...” he hesitated a moment. “Who bonds, does it to procreate.”

  “Then what purpose would there be?” Jane asked curiously.

  It had always been taboo to discuss this with someone of the opposite sex. For that matter, it was forbidden to discuss this subject with anyone, and she wondered why now.

  “The joy of it,” Bobby said, shrugging his shoulders while looking away nervously.

  “Joy?”

  “Pleasure. From what I hear, it’s a most pleasant experience.”

  “And why then have you not experienced it?” Jane asked. It puzzled her. That Bobby talked about it as being a pleasant experience yet he had not experienced that pleasure yet.

  Bobby rolled his eyes. This conversation was more than he wanted to get into with someone of the opposite sex, but for some reason, Jane just would not give it up. Bobby was not a prude when it came to sex, and having Misty for a mother gave him a lot of insight into the opposite sex, that and her four marriages. He hadn’t enough experience in dealing with the opposite sex to his advantage. For some reason, he found it difficult to use this knowledge to his benefit now.