Page 7 of So I Married an Alien
I cut myself off there with a sigh.Been a long time since I had a Halloween that ended in making out.But maybe that will change.
Roth’kar cocks his head, his antennae bobbing.“What is this, ‘make out’?”
Oh, boy.“Well, it’s, uh…” I fumble for the right words.“We’ll get to that later.Hopefully.Maybe?”God, what am I saying?
His frown grows deeper as my words confuse him.“I cannot help you with that question unless I know what it is.”
I try to keep my eyes on the road as my face heats.“Advanced topic!Let’s stick to the basics.”
It’s another twenty minutes to the apartment, during which time Roth’kar stares out the window.He touches the glass again, like he’s trying to reach out beyond it into the trees.
We approach the city limits and wind deeper into town until we’ve reached my building, where I head down into the parking garage.
Finally, we’re ready for Roth’kar to see my place.Rather,ourplace.
I go to unload his bags, but he already has it in his hand.
“That’s all you’ve got?”I ask, rooting around the trunk.Why didn’t I notice sooner that he had no belongings?“Just the one bag?”
“It has all I need.”
“Huh.”So, no wardrobe.Got it.I don’t know where I’m going to find more clothes for an alien with four arms, though.He can’t very well wear the same odd outfit he’s wearing now every day here on Earth.It’ll get dirty, and he attracts enough attention with four arms and purple skin.
There are other aliens living here now, of course, ever since the Frahma arrived.A few of them settled, as have other species, but off-worlders are still few and far between.And even fewer are those who have come here through the Matching Program.
Maybe I can order a wardrobe for him online.If I can find a giant unicorn head, which I wore for Fiona’s birthday last year, I can find clothes for someone with four arms.
I lead Roth’kar into the elevator, and his eyes get a bit bigger as I press the button for my floor and the doors close.He reaches out to hang on to the railing as the elevator jerks into motion.He mutters something, glancing around us like the elevator might fall apart.
“What’s wrong?”I offer what I hope is a tame but friendly smile.He doesn’t seem to react well when I give him a bigger one, as if he’s being blinded by a bright light, so I’m toning it down.
“This elevator,” he says.“Our elevators are much faster.And not quite so… rickety.”
That doesn’t surprise me.The elevator dings as it stops, and the doors open.“Tell me more about your home planet?”I ask him as we step out.
“Oh.I don’t have one.”
“What?Where did you come from?”How could he not have a home planet?
“I lived on a spaceship.New Dro’thar II.It’s where my people relocated once our planet, Dro’thar, became uninhabitable.”
I stop as we near my door and stare at him.“What happened to it?”
“Well, we destroyed it.”
This catches me off-guard.“How?”
He sighs as I fit my key into my doorknob.“With negligence.Abuse.Mistreatment.Greed.”His teeth grind together.“My ancestors were fools.”
Roth’kar feels so passionately about this.I want to comfort him and tell him that his new home won’t suffer the same fate, but it’s hard not to look around us and wonder.
“Well, you have a planet now,” I say, pausing to put a hand on his arm.He stares down at where I’m touching him, then lifts his eyes to mine again, but he doesn’t shake me off.“And maybe you can help protect this one from the same fate.”
His brows rise.
“It has its flaws, but I think Earth is all right.We have blobfish and Taco Tuesdays.”I pat him once more and open the front door to show him inside.
“Taco Tuesdays,” he echoes.“Is this related to that ‘Mexican food’ the little Frahma mentioned?”
