Page 32 of So I Married an Alien
“Alien!”Her mouth forms an O.“Incredible!I’ve never seen an alien before.”
“I cannot say you’re my first human,” I respond, gesturing at all the other humans around us.
The woman guffaws.“How’d you end up on Earth?”
“I married an Earthling.”
Her brows go up.“Are you one of those mail-order husbands?”She fishes around in a bucket of hot water and pulls out a brown tube, which she then puts on a hot grill top.
“Mail-order?”
“Yeah.You came with the Galactic Matching Program?”
Ah, that’s what she means.“That is how I got here, yes.”
The woman turns the tube—which smells marvelous—to even out the grill marks.“Do you like it on Earth?”
“I believe so.It is… a vast improvement over where I come from.”
Fresh sky, warm sun, and a cool breeze?I will never, ever take these gifts for granted.
“Hmm.”The woman behind the cart pulls out some white bread and tosses it on the grill, too.“And your wife?”
How do I feel about Amara?I certainly like her.“She is a good woman.Works hard but likes to have fun.”The more I talk about her, the more enthused I feel.“She is very generous and kind.To a fault, perhaps.”
The woman cocks her head.“You sound smitten.”
I become aware of just how much I’ve said, and I bite my lip.The woman opens up the bread bun and drops the brown tube inside, then hands it to me.I take it, unsure of what it is or when I ordered it.
“Five bucks,” she says.
“Bucks?”My translator supplies an image of a four-legged beast with horns.
“Dollars?”she clarifies.
“Oh, yes.”Right—money.“Here you are.”I pull out the bill marked with a five and pass it over to her, though I am fairly certain I never asked for… whatever this is.
“Enjoy,” she says.“Be good to that wife of yours.”
I give a nod to show I understand, then continue on my way, peering down at the food in my hands.
Well, it smells good.Might as well try it.
After my revelation of a lunch, I check out more of the neighborhood and try not to accidentally buy anything else.Then I head back to the apartment to watch some more television before Amara returns home.
It is strange, I must admit, not working all day long.I’m used to constantly being busy, unless there’s a dry spell in odd jobs, in which case we tended to play a lot of chip games.It is a welcome relief to rest, but after so much of it, I’m not sure what to do with myself here.
Finally, Amara appears, and I’m overjoyed.I didn’t expect what a rush I’d feel seeing her after being on my own all day, but I give her space as she comes in the door and sets down her jacket and purse.Once she’s inside, I swoop down to kiss her.
“Oh!”She smiles against my mouth, and so I kiss her deeper, until she’s falling into my arms.
I sure do like this kissing business.In fact, I get lost in it, my hands holding her soft body against mine, our lips tasting each other and our tongues playing between us.I can’t get enough of her.She is far better than the brown tube in the bun.
At last, Amara giggles and pulls away.
“I’m happy to see you, too,” she says with a wink, and I think just how charming she is as she swirls off to make dinner.“It’s taco night.I hope you’re ready!”
“Ah, yes, of the Taco Tuesdays?”
