Page 63 of Breathless Recruiter

“You’ve raised a go-getter. Rumor is, he’s knocking it out of the park at work.” Dustin raised the cocoa to his lips, blowing at the steam. “They’re going to change?—”

“Not boring enough,” she chimed in.

Dustin glanced at me from the corner of his eye. Earth Mom had a tone that could stop the boldest of men in their tracks. Her lips pursed, but made no move to tell us what she wanted. Her attention turned to Dustin, as if he had the answer she wanted. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I felt like I had walked into one of those situations that only humans understood.

“Our first date was horrible,” Dustin said.

“There we go!” She took a sip from her mug.

“I made the mistake of trying to impress him with a fancy restaurant.” Dustin laughed. “I don’t know about you, but I was so uncomfortable.”

“I couldn’t read the menu.”

“It was French… I think? I realized I botched our first date.”

“He fixed it,” I added.

Earth Mom rested her elbows on the table, gently blowing at the steam rising from her mug. The more Dustin spoke, the bigger the smile. I understood the effect. Every time he chuckled, I had to fight the urge to plant a kiss on his cheek.

“We wound up playing mini golf.”

“Good man!” Normally an even-tempered woman, it was rare to see her this excited. “How did that go?” She stared directly into my eyes.

“The first ball is somewhere in orbit.” She snickered at the comment. “For a first-timer, he played pretty good. Though…” He turned to me. “I forgot to ask. What is your issue with clowns?”

“Evil,” Earth Mom and I said in unison.

Dustin blinked in disbelief. A moment later, he laughed hard enough that his belly shook the table. I couldn’t help but join in, and when I spotted Earth Mom doing the same, something felt… right.

“I see where he gets it from,” Dustin said.

It might have been taboo to introduce Dustin to Earth Mom. Customs be damned. Two of my favorite people enjoyed the other’s company. I couldn’t have asked for more. If I wanted Dustin in my life, and I wanted him there all the time, I needed to make sure I had approval. As she wiped the tears from her eyes, I got just that.

“Has he told you about the time a bat got into the house?”

No. I had run from the shower in a panic. The night rodent had attacked. There was no fighting back. The only option was to abandon the cabin and start a new life far, far away.

“This I’ve got to hear…”

“You still have it?”

I pulled open the doors to the woodshed. Once upon a time, it was used to store tools and enough split wood to survive the harshest of winters. Now, it had become where Earth Mom hid her gardening tools. In the back, a blue tarp hid my origin.

“Earth Mom says we can’t throw it away.”

Dustin followed me in. “True. Not sure a scrap yard would know what to do with an alien spaceship.”

I pulled the tarp off. It wasn’t a giant spaceship like in the movies. It had enough room for me to lie down. I had spent hours staring at it, hoping it might spark a memory. I remember it in the forest after I crash landed, but I couldn’t recall much before the moment the door hissed open.

“It’s a stasis pod,” he said.

“When I landed, it wasn’t far from a city. I met a man.”

“Your Earth dad?”

I shook my head. “A scientist.” I didn’t like thinking about the men in white coats. He spoke in a soft tone and appeared harmless. I regretted trusting him. “He took me to his… work. They did experiments on me.”

“I’m so sorry.” His hand rested in the middle of my back. “I see why you don’t like them.”

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