Page 19 of The Monster's Mate

Sure enough, in a few moments the boxes appear. Probably more groceries than we need, but Mikhail is generous and probably included quite a bit of dry goods for her use later when I’m long gone.

Lucy gasps as the products appear.

“Mieka,I didn’t hear you gasp that much when our family disappeared into thin air.”

“Oh, that was magnificent too,” she assures me, not protesting when I call them ours. She heads over to the porch and sticks her head out the sliding doors before asking, “Is it safe to go outside?” she laughs softly. “Or will we get beamed up?”

A grin that curls my lips. “It’s safe. The boxes appeared because the pod lifted away, taking the cloak shield with it, and leaving the boxes visible.”

She slips out onto the back patio, lifts a box, and turns to bring it inside, but I take it from her arms at the open door. She goes back for another as I place the first box on a counter. I take the second box from her and place it on the table while she goes back for yet another. I like that we can work without words, with her knowing that it’s best for me to stay indoors even though I glanced around to make sure there was no one in the distant park or that any of her neighbors weren’t out and about watching or walking. But it never hurts to stay safe. When I take the last box from her arms, she locks the patio door and closes the blinds. Then together we start to unpack the boxes and put away her groceries. I can feel the tic in my jaw working as I realize how barren her cupboards are.

“We can have steak, salad, and baked potatoes today,” she says excitedly. “You’ll love it.”

“I’m sure I will.” I can’t help but lean in and press a kiss to her softly parted lips. “I want to learn everything about you during this short time that we have.”

“I wish we had more time,” she says.

“Maybe we can have another excursion one day, who knows? The future’s not set in stone.” I’m aware that I’m more optimistic than she feels because her expression just looks sad.

My goal in life is to never see that look on her face again. I want to bring everything to this female. Joy, happiness, wealth. I want her to experience life, not to remain locked in a darkened house pretending to be someone she’s not.

“What do you do when you’re not working?” I ask softly.

“I have a garden,” she says brightly. “But I guess I can’t show you since you can’t go outside. But Isabel and I… we came up with an idea to wall it in with shrubbery. That masks the view of one of us working in it and when we do, we usually have our hair pinned up anyway, with a big straw hat on so no one can really tell who we are. Plus, I only garden in the early morning hours, pulling the weeds and taking care of it. Days when I’m sure others aren’t out and about. After this many years, I know the neighbors’ schedules. I avoid Wednesdays because most people are off and they’re out early in the summer.”

“I’ll bet you have the best produce,” I say. “Completely weed free and organized.”

She laughs. “And too much for two people sometimes. A lot of it I can freeze or dry. But there’s also a lot that I leave on the doorsteps of houses around us. Isabel used to take some to the church to leave for River, but I don’t think she ever got any of it. It made her feel better, though.”

“I’m glad she found her. In a way, it was good that River had to come back to Earth to announce her choice. It enabled Isabel to find her and to make a quick decision to follow.”

She nods, her eyes drifting away as she remembers the day. “She was so excited. We have a system, you know. When she approached the house, she made a pattern of knocking sounds to let me know someone was with her. Dropped her keys a couple times.” She chuckles. “He probably thought she was the clumsiest human ever. I hid in my bedroom in a place we carved from the wall and hung a tapestry over. But I could hear everything. She’d entered with someone—I think it was your brother—and he helped her pack up some things. She spoke loudly enough so I could hear she was leaving for another planet and that she had to leave a ‘note’ for the housekeeper who would come, instructing her to clean out the fridge and check on the place once a week to make sure the appliances worked, water the plants, stuff like that. Said she wasn’t sure how long she would be gone but on that slip of paper, she left me all her account info, even signing her name a few times so I could practice forgery. Even left her ID tags in the kitchen drawer.”

I’m aghast at how detailed these females plan out their lives to protect each other.

“And she wrote that she would miss me and wished that she could at least hug me before she left, but that one day she’d be back and would give me the hug we’d missed.”

“You must’ve missed her dreadfully.”

She nods. “She was my best friend for years. Besides my cousin, Sam. But I lived with Isabel. We saw each other day in, day out. We shared clothes and food and ideas. We had the same job, knew of the same people, though from a distance. Although I lived with Sam when I turned eighteen, it was different because I was hidden in her basement while she lived upstairs with her parents, and I was a secret. I wasn’t with her every minute of the day, you know?”

“But you love Sam, also?”

“Oh, yes. I owe everything to her for getting me out of the children’s home, and for searching for a safe place. She found Isabel and it was absolutely a perfect fit. Plus, you know, Sam could have married and forgotten about me. She was high enough on the social ladder to make a good arrangement, but she didn’t. She turned down every offer, even to the point of her parents’ threatening to pick a male. So, Sam pretended she was having an affair, knowing they wouldn’t live with the scandal of marrying her off and her continuing the affair until she was caught.” She shrugs. “Better to be caught and single then caught while in a good match your parents made for you, I guess. Still, it was hard on her because she was so scrutinized that she couldn’t come here or have me go to her. Her parents were determined to find out who the man was.”

“So, she was also alone.”

“Just like me. But her priority was to make sure I was safe before her. She knew I was being hunted.”

“Why?”

Her expression freezes. “My father. A man I’ve never met. He’s climbed up the social ladder and is rich and powerful now. He wants to make sure ties to his past are cut, including all proof of indiscretions.”

“You’re not an indiscretion,” I growl. “You’re a strong, brave, beautiful female with a heart and soul of pure light. Just like Isabel. Just like River.”

Just like Isabel and River, I will make sure that Lucy finds her freedom.

“You know, your mother tried to tempt me with tomatoes?” She laughs as she sets a basket of the fruit on the counter.

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