Page 3

Chapter 3

Lynn

M arietta’s party is actually lunch at Red Lobster. Marietta’s husband, George, had gone into work earlier for some minor emergency or another, so they’d arrived in separate cars. Thus, none of us was surprised when Marietta opted for a mocktail instead of her usual boozy treat. That didn’t stop Mama, however, from giving her a wink and saying, “You know when you finally get around to giving me a grandbaby, that’s all you’ll drink until it’s weaned.”

Marietta gave a funny sort of laugh, her eyes seeking out George’s in supplication.

“We know, Mama. If Marietta’s ever pregnant, she won’t be drinking.”

“If?” Mama pounced onto his word choice hard. “Surely it’s more of a when! She’s twenty-six now, so if she gets pregnant right away, she’ll be nearly twenty-seven before that baby’s born! Then a year in between like they recommend, so she’d be twenty nine the next time or there abouts, meaning she’d be over thirty when their next baby’s born if you decide to have three.”

“Mama,” Marietta interjected. “Did I tell you about my new manager? She’s awfully nice, but when she said my name, I almost didn’t realize she was talking to me. She called me ‘Mary-etta’ and I had to explain to her that it's said ‘Marie-ta’. She apologized and laughed and said she’d remember because it kinda sounded like her favorite drink, a margarita. All this talk about cocktails made me think of it.” Marietta gave a shaky laugh.

Mama was like a dog with a new bone - she was not to be deterred. “Oh! Is that what’s happening? Is that why you were saying how absolutely cute those little dresses were that we bought for your cousin Nicole? You can go ahead and tell us if you are. You don’t need to wait until they say it’s safe or whatever.”

George let out a deep, suffering sigh, and I felt for him, I really did. Mama was a lovely woman, but she could be relentless. He picked his phone up off the table and brought up a photo, which he held out for Mama to see.

“What is that?” Mama asked, her voice sharp.

“That’s our new furbaby, Mama, Penny. We pick her up tomorrow.”

“A puppy? What does that have to do with baby clothes?”

Sam burst out laughing. “For putting on the dog, Mama!”

Marietta’s cheeks reddened. “Yep.”

“Marietta, it would be better to get a puppy after you’ve had your baby.”

“Mama, you know I love you very much. But you need to stop and remember that when the other girls were all babysitting for spending money, I was working weekends at Miss Bessie’s yarn store. Do you remember why?”

“Roberta,” Daddy’s voice called her name gently. “She never played with any of them dolls you bought her, except for those Barbies. I think they’re trying to let us down gently.”

“Let us down gently?” Mama stared wild-eyed at Marietta. “Are you telling me,” her chin wobbled, “that dog is the only grandbaby I’m ever going to have?”

“From me, yes,” Marietta replied, also tearing up. “I’ve tried telling you for years, Mama. I’m not a kid sort of person. I just want a couple of dogs and maybe a cat to spoil, and I’m good.”

Mama looked as if tears were going to spill down her cheeks for a second before a calculating expression crossed her face, and she turned her attention to me.

“You played with all her old baby dolls,” she reminded me, her voice now syrupy sweet.

“Oh, shit,” Sam muttered.

“No swearing, young man!” she barked at him without breaking stride before her tone reverted back to sweetness and light.”You’re going to the Scholarship Center real soon, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” I admitted. “I was hoping to go this afternoon, but the soonest I could get was tomorrow morning.” I gave a nervous laugh. “I’m just wanting to get it over with, you know. Not that I’m trying to escape or anything.”

Mama's smile turned absolutely predatory. “You know, that’s fine,” she said, turning to Marietta. “I love dogs! And those Mylos are all about family. They certainly adore children. It has to be fate.” She beamed. “Be sure to bring my sweet grandpuppy to see me as soon as you can.”

“After her second parvo booster,” George promised. “We’ll stop by on our way home from the vet’s.”

“Please pass me the biscuits. I can never get enough of them,” she replied as we’d all been discussing our meal this entire time.

Sam leaned over to whisper in my ear. “She’s decided you’re going to get matched and knocked up.”

I swallowed. Oh, boy. I wanted to be a mama someday, I really did. Just not too soon. I wanted to finish my degree and settle into a job first. Besides, having a baby after thirty wasn’t the end of the world, thanks to advances in medicine. The risks were even lower now, thanks to the Mylos.

“Least if you do get matched, it’ll be easier to not deal with her being baby crazy while you’re all the way up there,” Sam muttered, and I nodded as he was right.

“Are you really going to apply for a Bride Scholarship?” Marietta asked me, cracking open a crab leg.

“I am.”

“Wow. A girl at work did that, but she didn’t get matched. She was able to quit, though, as they pay for everything while you’re at school, not just tuition and books. She’s studying now in Berlin, can you imagine? They have classes in English too! She said she always wanted to study abroad, and now she is. I couldn’t do it. I’d be too scared of getting matched and having to go live in outer space.”

“Yes, well, Lynn has always loved the stars, hasn’t she?”

“And she was always watching those space shows,” Mama added. “She’ll be fine.”

“I don’t think watching Farscape, Babylon 5, and Battlestar Galactica is the same thing as living on a ship with all those Mylos,” Marietta replied.

“What will you do if you get matched?” George asked me, looking solemn. “Will you really be okay with that? You’re instantly married for all legal intents and purposes if that happens.”

Mama decided to answer for me. “She’s always wanted to find her soul mate, just like me and Daddy have in each other. If she’s matched, it’ll be because they are perfectly suited, two halves of one whole.”

“Boy, she’s suddenly changed her tune,” Sam whispered, and I bit my lower lip to keep from laughing.

“I did say that, didn’t I, Mama?” I finally got out. “So, yeah, I’ll be fine if it happens. A hunky alien warrior mate and to get to live among the stars while studying them? Yeah, buddy!” I laughed.

Mama made a small, satisfied humming noise before saying, “I was looking for a new book to read last night, and did you know there’s a whole lot of alien romance books? Not just ones with Mylos in, either. Like, made up aliens. I bought one where they crash landed on a prison planet!”

We were saved from having to reply by our server returning. “Is everything alright?” she asked. “Can I get you anything else?”