Page 94 of What Makes an Alien a Dad?

“Either way, it’s all my fault, then? I should just replace this couch. With something far more durable. A metal bench maybe?”

He laughed again, gathering me into his arms.

“I love you, my flower. And I’ll wait for as long as it takes for you to say these words back to me.”

I caught a quick kiss from him on my lips.

“You don’t have to wait, Kear. I fell in love with your letters. I fell so hard, it broke my heart to learn the man behind them wasn’t real.”

“But I am real.” He pressed me closer to him. “I’ve never been more real than when I wrote those letters to you. And I will stay real and true to you, for as long as you choose to be with me.”

There was no dissonance this time. The person behind the words that I fell in love with merged with the man holding me in his arms, forming one and only Kear.

“I love you,” I said, feeling it with all my heart. “Ask me again how long I’m staying in Voran.”

He paused, then swallowed hard before asking quietly, “How long are you staying, Maya?”

“Indefinitely.” I met his eyes with a smile. “For as long as we both want. Or at least for as long as what we have feels right.”

Air rushed out of him in a gush of relief. He sat on the couch, cradling me in his lap.

“Sweetheart.” He kissed my hair. “I promise to make it feel right forever. And if at any time something feels wrong to you, please talk to me and I’ll do everything to right it all again.”

Epilogue. One year later

Kear

Anika giggled, running down the beach to the water, her tiny hooves leaving neat round dents in the luscious grass of the riverbank.

“Get back here, you little rascal!” Maya dashed after their daughter.

The baby tripped, still unsteady on her hooves since she’d been walking for just over a month now. She tumbled down the bank and splashed into the water.

Kear held his breath, even as he knew the river was shallow along the bank here. He trusted Maya could handle this. But his protective instincts made him stand to attention, ready to jump in if needed.

Anika’s purple bathing suit inflated on contact with the water, and she floated, splashing with her hands and giggling with glee.

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