Oh, I knew that look well. And its meaning.
“So, you want me to do it for you? Is that why you came here?”
She clasped her hands, pressing them to her chest. “Could you please? It’d be a win-win solution. For everyone.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Would it, now?”
“Look...” She perked up, her tears drying up instantly. “What do you have to lose? A shitty job or two and an equally shitty apartment.”
My sister had never been to my apartment, but she was obviously familiar with the housing situation in New York. It was no secret one couldn’t afford much of a place working retail jobs, no matter how many of them one had.
“So, you think I'd do just fine as a farmer’s wife and raising four kids?” I asked skeptically.
She scooted closer to me along the bench. “We both know you have more patience than me. You’ve been working in that clothing store for months now. Personally, I would’ve scratched the eyes out of that old crone at the cash register long ago. But you keep taking every pissed-off look she gives you.”
“I need that job to pay my rent.”
“Exactly! That’s what I mean,” she exclaimed cheerfully. “You adapt easily. You accept the situation, no matter how shitty it is.”
“That’s not a compliment,” I noted, unimpressed.
She just waved her hand again. “You know what I mean. You’re also much better with kids. You wanted some of your own, remember? With Tom?”
Right. I had. Until I found out he’d had a vasectomy back in college and never bothered to tell me, even after we’d both agreed I would get off the pill and start trying for a family.
I heaved a sigh. There had been so many lies in my eleven-month marriage. Now it felt like there hadn’t been even a shred of truth.
“Oh, and you were always so nice to our little cousin Billy, too, when all I wanted was to rip the brat’s head off,” Mara continued. “Could you do it, please? For me?”
Her pleading tone brought up the memories of so many other times I’d taken her place before. Like every time she’d failed a school test I’d passed. She’d beg the teacher for a retake, then send me to take it for her. The dates she’d promise to go on but then change her mind. The group meetings in college she found too boring to attend.
We looked so much alike people could only tell us apart by the clothes we wore, and switching clothes was easy.
Sometimes, it’d been fun to pretend I was my twin, since my own social life wasn’t nearly as vibrant as Mara’s. Other times, she would manage to make me feel sorry for her.
Now...
“It’s not just a date, Mara. I’d have to live with that man as his wife.”
“But it’s only for a year, according to the contract,” she said quickly. “After that, you can say it’s not for you and come back. A lot can happen in a year, right? They may find Tom and Jim by then and recoup what they stole. Or Bolshoy could finally get it through his thick head that we don’t have his money and leave us alone. And don’t worry about the wife part.” She wiggled her eyebrows with added meaning in her eyes. “The alien dude doesn’t want sex.”
“What?” That was weird. “Did he just say it like that?”
She shrugged. “Pretty much. It states right in his application. That was one of the reasons I signed the contract in the first place. I mean, who would ever want to have sex with an Aldraian, right?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen one.”
“Lucky you.” She made a face as if she’d bitten into something sour. “Anyway, you can fuck him if you wish for all I care, but trust me, that no-sex clause is a blessing.”
I pondered everything she’d told me so far. The man’s situation started to intrigue me, bringing questions. “Why does he need a wife, then? If he doesn’t want sex? And what happened to the mother of his children?”
“She died. Years ago. His kids need a mother. He has two daughters...blah, blah, blah...” She took a drink from her water bottle. “Being a stepmom is so not my thing. I prefer the role of Cinderella with Prince Charming and the cool shoes.”
“How about the hard work and abuse part of Cinderella’s story?” I snorted, unable to picture Mara humble and industrious.
“Yeah, no,” she dismissed. “I don’t need any of that. I’ve had my struggles. I’m about to land my very own Prince Charming, who already buys me a lot of fancy shoes. I can’t leave Jason for some alien farmer-ogre with a bunch of bratty kids. Can’t you understand, Susanna? Please help me.”
I bit my lip, mulling over her proposal.
I held no illusions; Mara’s motives were purely self-serving. She didn’t care if I worked myself to death at as many jobs as twenty-four hours a day would allow me. She wouldn’t be here if there weren't benefits for her. But she was right. There were some advantages in her plan for me too.
I’d never worked with kids before, but it couldn’t be much harder than serving the cranky, well-to-do women with superiority complexes who were Aileen's customers.
A change could be good for me, considering the circumstances.
And yes, getting away from Bolshoy and his people would be a huge bonus.
“Maybe I should consider applying myself?” I wondered out loud.
Mara gasped. “Why would you do that? When I already found one for you?”
I shook my head. “I would go on my own, Mara. As myself. But I'm not going to pretend to be you.”
“Well, that can’t happen, Susanna.” She spread her arms, staring at me in disbelief. “The ship is leaving next week. I got the ticket for it this morning. All documents are done in my name. The papers are signed. What difference does it make whether you go as me or you? No one would know, anyway. We look so alike, our own mother couldn’t tell us apart.”
Maybe if our mother had spent more time with us instead of letting a bunch of nannies raise us, she would’ve found it easier to tell us apart. Instead, she made us wear color-coded clothes—pink for Mara, purple for me. Though, I’d always liked pink more.
“To aliens, humans all look the same already,” Mara insisted. “But with us, we could alternate sleeping with him, and the guy would still think he only has one wife.”
I kept shaking my head.
“Maybe, if you could bring me along—”
“Susanna!” She slapped her knees impatiently. “Are you really that dumb? Or are you just not listening to me? I don’t want to bring you along. I don’t want to bring anyone. I don’t want to go! I want you to go instead of me.”
“I’m afraid I can't help you with that, Mara.”
She groaned in frustration. “But why? What do you have to lose?”
Mara was right. I had nothing left other than the seventeen dollars in my account that had to last until my next paycheck.
I’d lied for Mara before. However, I’d also been lied to, a lot. Lately, it seemed my entire life had been nothing but lies. And I was tired of it.
“I’m not pretending anymore, Mara. I’m trying to give an honest life a shot, here.”
She gazed at me with so much disappointment, like she’d caught me committing a fashion crime. “Oh, you’re stupider than I thought.”
I was getting tired of her insults too.
“You know what? Maybe you should try to clean up your own mess, for once. Honor your commitments.”
“Great.” Mara scoffed. “Now, you’re talking about honor. How very grand of you.” She got up, hanging her overpriced and over-hyped bag on her arm. “I hope you enjoyed your gyro. Who knows where your next meal is going to come from?”
Watching her leave was a relief.
Maybe it was a mistake to turn down the opportunity to leave Earth and all my troubles behind. But I’d be going to another planet, pretending to be my sister, pretending to be interested in making a fake marriage work. I’d be living a lie. Again.
I couldn’t do that to the unsuspecting alien truck driver. But more importantly, I couldn't do it to myself. I had nothing left in this life but my integrity. Giving that up would truly leave me with nothing.
“Well,” I said to the pigeons that were scouring the pavement for crumbs, “maybe I should look into that marriage program myself. What do you think?”
However, the thought of putting myself out there in search of a romantic relationship made me sick to my stomach. I had given it my all with Tom, and I had nothing left to give to another man, either human or alien.