Page 67

Jennette

I guess weirdos do get happy endings after all.

It’s a struggle to keep from crying. He loves me. He fucking loves me . Jennette Hammond, the dork who refused to take her cousin to prom and then ended up not going at all. Tam’s eyes are deep and fathomless, shining with the swirl of countless stars.

“I love you too. So much. I’m not that great with words, but I can only think of one thing. If there are different universes, if there’s a me somewhere else, then I guarantee this. She’s got her eyes on the skies, watching and waiting for you.”

I am certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that no matter what life delivers, we are constant. We are eternal. In every universe, it’s us. I never thought I’d find love at all. A decent one, even, let alone a great one.

“Jen…” Tam aligns our bodies, and he feels cold, a hint at how long he was searching for me. “That reminds me of something. There is a sect, known as the Weavers. They hold that reality is woven from the threads of what must come to pass.”

I tilt my head, intrigued. It sounds like wizardry or religion or some amalgamation of the two. “Are you saying they can alter destiny?” I ask.

“Not quite. It’s more that they believe if something is meant to happen, it will find its way into being. They believe that energy has power, and thoughts are seeds planted in the ether of the cosmos.”

“Why are you telling me about them now, though?”

He smooths my back in a tender caress. “Because I want to believe that’s possible. If you didn’t exist, I would have imagined your essence until you did. Perhaps we were meant to be together, and the universe led me to you.”

“The idea of destiny is so romantic, but I prefer free will, I think.”

“We chose one another,” he agrees.

A hum of joy vibrates through my chest, and I lean closer, finding comfort in the way his body warms at close contact with mine. I sigh a little.

“The others must be waiting for us,” I say.

We return to the house with me feeling like a little kid who threw a fit to get attention. Poppy reaches me first, as soon as I step inside the door. She wraps me up in a tearful hug, and everyone else soon follows. Tad pats my back repeatedly, telling me silently that it’s okay.

I really have found my people.

“You can’t run off like that,” Poppy says.

“I didn’t mean to be gone for so long, but I dropped my phone somewhere and started looking for it. Then I got distracted when I found that path up the rise and the view was incredible. Sorry to worry you.” I glance around, offering the apology to everyone.

“I understand why you are experiencing an adverse emotional response,” Ravik says. “However—”

“I’m not going,” Tam cuts in. “I won’t attend the rendezvous.”

Everyone grasps the implications. How could they not?

Jaz speaks first. “Are you certain of your decision? It is likely that they will not be able to return anytime soon, as it seems they had difficulty orchestrating your retrieval.”

“I have no doubts,” he replies.

Unexpectedly, Ravik asks, “Then…may I take your place?”

The question hangs, stark and startling, like heat lightning in a clear night sky. Electrical anomalies have been reported in areas prior to UFO sightings, and that’s rather how I feel now, as if something unprecedented is about to happen. I thought I was losing Tam, not another of my friends.

“Are you unhappy?” Poppy wants to know. “You’ve been here the longest, right?”

Ravik gazes around the house that looks as if they bought it, furnished, from the last human family.

They even have old black-and-white photos of strangers on the walls.

While it lends the place a lived-in air, there’s also something uncanny about it, considering that they don’t interact with anyone but us.

They said that they’ve never had guests before.

“It has, indeed, been a long exile. It has been long enough that they may have forgotten that I survived. And at home, there are matters only I can settle.”

Home. That word still doesn’t apply to this place. Not for Ravik.

“Of course.” Tam provides the meeting time and the coordinates, adding, “It is atop a mountain, quite far from civilization. There is a lookout site; I recall the milepost. You will need to walk from there.”

“I will need your aid,” Ravik says in an unusually humble tone.

I’m about to volunteer to drive when Tad speaks. “I’ll take you.” He taps away on his phone. “We should leave in first thing in the morning to make sure you have plenty of time to hike up to the top.”

Ravik gazes around the place that sheltered them, then says, “This place is yours now. I ask only that you look after Kevin and Frances. I will miss them.”

“What about us?” Poppy demands.

“You as well,” they say gently.

Her eyes are really red and overbright. She swipes at them angrily, and I know how she feels. I’m fighting tears too at this unexpected farewell. But I can’t lie; it would be a thousand times worse if Tam was prepping to fly away from me forever.

“Ravik—” I begin.

They silence me with a gesture. “Please do not make this more difficult.”

“I have a favor to ask,” Tam says.

“You are providing me with recourse I had judged impossible and unfeasible. Ask,” Ravik replies.

“I have recorded a message for my family. I will transmit it to your device, along with a private communication code. Please transmit my greeting and explanation at your earliest convenience.”

Ravik holds out their phone, though that’s not necessary since Tam is already sending the message to our group chat. One last message for the Aliens Among Us group; after tonight, the chat simply won’t be the same.

“That is easily accomplished. Rest assured, I will assuage their fears.” Ravik checks the message to be sure it plays correctly.

And I hear Tam saying, “‘Oona. Arlan. Betau. Tivani and Morv. You must have despaired of me, wondering whether I have ventured to the spirit lands. Yet I am well. I have found my heart’s match where I least expected. I will not be returning, and it is difficult to send messages from here. But I am safe. I am happy. At long last, I am home.’”

I’m crying again. Everyone is. Well, all the humans are.

Tad swipes at his eyes, mumbling, “Damn. Warn a guy, you know?”

It seems impossible that we could sleep tonight.

And we don’t. Instead, we talk all night.

Tam warns us about the hunters, but Jaz doesn’t live anywhere near here and Ravik is leaving.

After nearly getting mauled by a bear, I hope they’ve learned their lesson and will stop pretending to be alien bounty hunters.

Now, the light is returning to the sky, glowing pink and pearl at the edges, sun peeking over the tops of the trees.

I gaze out the kitchen window at the sunrise. I could offer to make breakfast, but that would only delay the inevitable, and I don’t imagine anyone wants to eat.

Tad sighs softly. “That’s our cue.”

“Time to go,” Poppy agrees.

“I do not need witnesses.” Ravik seems as if they might forbid Poppy from going.

“Well, I need a ride to the bus station. You think we’re gonna sit around in your empty house, missing you? Get over yourself.” She turns to Tad. “It’ll save you a trip if you drop me off afterward.”

“There’s room in the rental car,” he says easily.

To my surprise, Poppy gives me a fierce hug. “Thank you for everything. You’re an amazing person and a better friend.”

She goes around snuggling everybody, like she’s the one leaving on an interstellar voyage, but then, she’s always been emotional. Ravik offers only judicious pats. Tad gives quick hugs, then positions himself by the door.

“Safe travels,” Tam says. He holds me close, my beloved alien who chose me above all others.

I pause before Ravik, considering. What should I say to a friend I will most likely never meet again? “I hope you finish what you need to. And I’m glad I met you.”

“Me too,” Jaz adds. “Take care, Ravik. Don’t take any foolish risks.”

Ravik pauses by the front door. “I only allow for calculated ones. If one of you cannot remain here to look after Kevin and Frances, please find them good homes. All the chickens, if possible. Until I met you, they were my sole companions.”

Suddenly, what they’re entrusting to us feels much weightier. Not a structure, but a refuge. Their world. Their home.

“You will be missed,” Jaz says softly.

With one last nod, Ravik leads Tad and Poppy through the door.

I hear the car engine start and I listen until the sound dies away before turning to scrutinize the house.

It’s homey and solid, full of other people’s treasures.

We can’t sell the place without Ravik, or someone pretending to be them, and that seems wrong on multiple levels.

“Looks like we have a vacation house,” I say.

“But someone will need to remain in residence,” Jaz points out.

Yeah. The goat and chickens won’t look after themselves. And it’s too far out of town to hire a pet sitter long-term. Not that I’m confident we could. I’m impressed Ravik found someone to do a few days while they went to Space Con. This isn’t like asking Nancy to give kibble to Scotty and Spock.

“We should talk about what comes next,” Tam murmurs.

“We need to move,” I say.

I didn’t realize I’d come to that decision until just now, but it’s the obvious solution. “And it should either be here…or maybe Rellows. That would give us a break from my family, and you’d only need to use the tech camo when they visit.”

“In Rellows, they probably wouldn’t comment if you went out in ‘costume’ year-round,” Jaz offers.

“And here, there is no one to judge,” Tam says.

“We don’t have to make up our minds now,” I say. “It’s been an intense few days.”

Jaz settles into the nearest chair, seeming as tired as I feel. “I’ll help however I can. But I can’t stay. Tad picked me up at the bus station in town, so I’ll need a ride later.”

“Do you want to go now?”

She pauses. “You probably want some time alone.”