Mia laughed, Marisa’s words startling her out of her gloomy mood. “Oh, please, I’m sure you’re exaggerating. We just have good chemistry, that’s all –”
“No, Mia,” Marisa shook her head, looking serious. “What you guys have is way more than that. I don’t even know how to describe it. He watches your every move. It’s kind of uncanny, actually. And he can’t seem to go more than a couple of minutes without touching you . . .”
Mia flushed a little, wondering if her sister had overheard their earlier conversation. If so, then Ellet definitively did; the Krinar tended to have a sharper sense of hearing than most humans.
“How did you end up getting involved with him, anyway?” Marisa asked with unconcealed curiosity. “You never really told me the full story, just that BS about your lover from Dubai . . . You’ve always been so cautious and by the rules – I can’t quite picture you jumping into an affair with a K.”
Mia hesitated. She didn’t want to lie to her sister anymore, but she also wasn’t up to telling her family the full story. “It wasn’t easy for me,” she admitted. “I was pretty scared in the beginning, and Korum can be . . . intimidating at times. But I was very attracted to him, obviously, and he was very persistent . . . and, well, you know the rest of the story.”
Marisa regarded her intentl
y. “I see. I’m sure there’s more to it, but you can tell me when you’re ready.”
“Thanks, Marisa. You’re the best sister a girl can ask for,” Mia told her sincerely.
“I know – and very modest, too.” Her sister grinned as she said this, and Mia smiled back at her.
They walked some more, each occupied with her own thoughts, until Marisa spoke again. “Is there any way things could work out for you guys?” she asked, her face serious again. “Any way at all?”
Mia shook her head. “No, I don’t see how. We are literally different species – with very different lifespans. He will ultimately leave me . . . and I don’t know how I will survive that at this point.”
“Oh Mia . . . Baby, I don’t even know what to say . . .” There was a look of intense pity on Marisa’s pretty face.
“You don’t have to say anything,” Mia told her calmly. “It’s my own fault for falling in love with him. I could’ve found myself a nice, normal guy – someone like Connor – but no, I had to get involved with an alien. I’m sure I will ultimately recover . . . and maybe even meet a human man that I will grow to care about.”
“Have you talked to him about any of this?”
“Not, I haven’t,” Mia told her honestly. “I’m too happy right now to bring this up quite yet. For once, I’m trying to seize the moment – to enjoy something without worrying about the consequences . . .”
Marisa smiled, but there was still a shadow of worry on her face. “You go, baby girl. Carpe diem and all that.”
* * *
The Krinar watched the two girls walking slowly along the beach. They were both pretty, but only one held his interest.
There was no point in observing her now, rationally he knew that. He should be concentrating on his enemy, not some little human who couldn’t possibly be a threat to his plans.
Yet he couldn’t look away.
She laughed, turning her face up toward the sun, and he zoomed in, pausing the recording for a second. Her lips were parted, showing even white teeth, and her pale skin appeared luminous, almost glowing.
She looked happy, and he almost regretted what he had to do. If it worked tomorrow, she would be upset for a while.
At least until he had a chance to take her pain away.
* * *
That evening, Korum took the whole family out to dinner, bringing them to a gourmet restaurant that had recently opened in Hammock Beach, an exclusive private community not too far from Ormond.
To Connor’s happy surprise, there was actual seafood on the menu, as well as steak and caviar. The prices for animal products were astronomical, of course, with some of the dishes costing close to what some teachers made in a week. Her parents gaped at the menu, stunned, until Korum told them firmly that the dinner was his treat and that he would not hear any protests in that regard. Initially hesitant, her family ultimately gave in, with Connor ordering himself a prime rib and her parents sharing a shrimp cocktail as an appetizer and lobster as the main course. Mia got noodles made from real egg, while Marisa had some Russian-style blinis with caviar. Korum, as usual, stuck to mostly plant-based fare, although he did allow a little butter in his hibachi vegetables. “One of the tastier human inventions,” he explained wryly.
The first part of the dinner passed uneventfully, with Korum politely asking her parents about their jobs and how they came to this country as children. He seemed particularly interested in the immigrant experience and the acclimation process for humans. Her parents were more than happy to talk about that, and the conversation flowed smoothly and easily.
A few glasses of wine later, however, her brother-in-law began to venture into some less comfortable territory. “So why did you guys come to Earth, anyway?” Connor asked, looking at Korum with unconcealed curiosity.
Mia froze, remembering her lover’s rather low opinion of the human race and its treatment of Earth – the planet the Ks regarded as their future home.
But she needn’t have worried. Korum’s parent-pleasing façade was firmly in place. “Our solar system is much older than yours,” he explained casually. “And our star will begin to die long before your sun. So it made sense for us to begin preparing for that eventuality. Also, it’s good to be diversified in terms of locations: if some kind of a cosmic disaster were to befall Krina or our home galaxy, at least some of the Krinar would survive.”