Page 11 of Her Alien Matchmaker
“Okay, little guy.Let’s get you in your booster seat and take off.”I opened the door and lifted him inside.
“Did you know crocodiles have fourthousandteeth, Mommy?”
The seat buckle clicked, and I kissed his cheek.“I didnotknow that.How do they all fit in their mouth?”I shut the door, returning to the driver’s seat.
“They don’t use them all at once.The teeth you can see sit on new teeth waiting to pop up if they lose or break the ones on top.”
“Sounds scary.”
Through the rearview mirror, I watched as he pulled out his latest copy ofKid Science!and flipped to a certain page.I pushed the ignition switch, and the car came to life.Since I had no way of contacting Jet, I’d have to drive back to the thrift store.
I could take off with Aaron and try to disappear.
The temptation, though strong, felt like a knee-jerk reaction, though.Aaron and I wouldn’t get very far without an untraceable cash flow.
Sighing, I made a U-turn and coasted to the thrift store, then parked in front.Through the window, I watched Jetarin checking out.To the cashier, he probably appeared as a very tall, handsome man.
She grinned at him, all teeth and googly eyes.
Jetarin returned the smile and took a bag from her.
My heart jumped.I’d never seen him smile before.Even though it wasn’t his real face, the gesture transformed him into something transcendent, breathtaking even.How can he stand to be near me, knowing the things I did to him, the blatant disregard for his health?
The woman held up a finger, then quickly wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it to him.
He nodded and stuffed it into a pocket of his fake jeans, then stomped to the car and opened it.When he saw me sitting in the car, the smile broadened.
My stomach flipped and a bout of dizziness spun my head around.
He opened the car door and slid inside, his humongous form bunched up so his legs would fit.“I found exactly what I needed, and a few other things.”
I cleared my throat.“That’s good, I guess?”
“It is excellent.”
“Hi.You speak funny.Are you from England?”Aaron’s little voice jerked my attention to the back seat.
“You must be Aaron,” Jet said, twisting around to extend a hand to my son.
Aaron’s grin, devoid of one front tooth, met Jetarin’s.“I am.Are you one of Mommy’s friends?”
Jet shook Aaron’s hand and turned to me.“IthinkI am her friend, if she wants meas a friend.”
Swallowing, I fixed my attention on the parking lot.We were the only car at the store, so the fewer people who saw us, the better.“Where do we go now?”
Jetarin’s attention riveted to my mouth for two seconds, then he dragged his stare to the navigation system.“Back to the arroyo.”
“What?”I said, my voice louder than usual.“Seriously?You want us to head back toward the base?That place is less than a mile from the facility.They’ll catch us for sure.”
“Trust me.”He opened the plastic bag and dug around, pulling out a laptop that looked at least twenty years old.
“That’swhat you needed to fix your lifecord?An ancient computer?”I shook my head, leaving the parking lot and backtracking our way out of town, toward the desert.
“It is what it has in it that counts.”He started prying at the edges of the laptop.“Between this and the old speaker, I will have enough magnetite to get us away before they figure out we doubled back.”
Hoping he knew what he was doing, the rest of the ride consisted of Aaron asking a hundred questions and Jetarin answering every one of them while he worked, never seeming to lose his patience or becoming annoyed.
The tiny part of anxiety coursing through my veins relaxed.Maybe everything will be okay.and this is my second chance.I’ve been wrong about everything…about him.
