Page 7 of A Layperry's Heart
Quickly checking my reflection one last time, I head outside my apartment to the door beside my own. I give it a knock and wait. A moment passes. And then another. Finally, Gendry opens the door.
His eyes widen as he looks down at me. His eyes land on my hair, staying there for a long time. I wish I could read him, but I don’t know him well enough to piece together the emotions playing across his face.
“Hi,” I say, lifting up my free hand and waving at him.
“Hi,” he says back, smiling at me. He holds up a finger before turning around and darting back inside his house. I’m assuming the gesture was meant to mean wait a moment, so that’s exactly what I do.
It only takes a few minutes before Gendry is back, looking awkward and shy, which is really at war with his stature. He’s large and in charge, yet so timid and shy. I’m surprised by how into it I am.
Gendry hands me a little device. I turn it over in my hand before realization dawns on me. I carefully put it into my right ear. Gendry reaches over, pressing something and his large finger crushes against the outside of my ear. A shiver runs down my spine at the simple touch.
“There,” he says, “can you understand me now?”
I blink a few times, trying to understand what’s happening. The ear with the device somehow understands what he’s saying but the ear that’s open still hears his low, guttural language. It leaves my head spinning.
My free hand goes to my ear, covering it as tightly as I can. “Try again?”
“Can you understand me?”
My face lights up with delight and my insides spark with warmth. “Oh my god! I can understand you!”
Gendry smiles so wide that his little fangs show. They are just as adorable as the first time I saw them. I can’t stop looking at his face, taking him in, checking out every detail.
“The device,” Gendry explains. “I brought it from my home planet.”
“That’s fascinating. I didn’t realize you had such technology!”
“We have much, but we choose to live simple lives as much as possible.”
“I would love to hear about it,” I tell him. I hold up the brownies. “Can I come inside? You can tell me stories of your home planet and in exchange, you can have some of my homemade brownies.”
“Brownies?”
I point at my plate. “They’re a chocolate dessert. Some of them have nuts and some of them have more chocolate. Would you like to try them?”
Gendry looks at the plate before nodding. “I would like to try them. Thank you, Aldo.” He opens the door and I follow him inside. His apartment is scarce, but that’s not entirely surprising. I’m sure he wasn’t allowed to bring all his belongings when he came to Earth.
“You need some more color, Gendry,” I comment, looking around. “Some paintings or something.”
“I was told I was not allowed to add color,” he says, his brows wrinkled. We walk over to his breakfast island in his kitchen. He pulls out two little plates, setting one in front of me and one across from me.
“You’re not allowed to paint the walls, but you’re allowed to have decorations.”
Gendry shakes his head. “I do not want to get too many things. I’m leaving soon and can only take the bags I brought.”
“How soon is soon?”
“About a year. It already feels like it will be too soon. There are so many things I still wish to do.”
I carefully place two brownies on his plate, one with nuts and one with chocolate chips. He smiles at me before taking a bite. I watch as his face morphs into surprise and then delight before he’s eating the entire thing in three bites. I really shouldn’t find that so adorable.
“Oh,” he breathes out, looking back at me. “That was wonderful! You made these?”
“Yeah. It’s my mother’s recipe!”
“She is a genius. These are delicious.”
“Thank you.” Gendry eats the other one just as quickly, eyeing the plate. I roll my eyes and place two more in front of him. “What other things are you hoping to experience while you’re here?”
