Page 12 of Rescued By My Dragons

”Cars are very different where we come from,” Elliot said.

Nana softly smiled.“Cars and so many other things.Jenna told me how you have this energy that can cross the waybetween your world and this one, and how it runs everything in your world.”

”Yes, Ma’am,” said Elliot.“We call it the Ambience.”

”The Ambience,” Nana repeated.“A power that runs all the cars and all the lights and…everything.That’s extraordinary.”

”It’s just normal life to us,” Elliot said.“Normal life is pretty different on Tellus.Even with some of us being humans and dragons and others being just human, Tellus seems like it’s a more unified kind of society than Earth.There aren’t so many divisions between people.”

“And everyone just lives together that way—mostly.”

”Mostly,” said Elliot.“There are some problems, but yes, mostly.”

Nana had a faraway look in her eyes.“In your world,” she said, “cars and buses and trains don’t have wheels; they lift up and float and glide over the road and the airplanes, or whatever flying machines you have, just lift up into the sky and fly along as fast as you please.Everything is powered by this Ambience, and there’s no pollution and your world has found a way so that no one goes without anything and everything is shared with everyone.No one is ever poor or hungry or homeless.Everyone’s health and all your needs are always taken care of.”She laughed a funny little laugh.“There’s no talk of people pulling themselves up by their bootstraps because everyone has boots and half of you have wings!”

The guys and I smiled funny smiles to match her funny laugh.Nana didn’t seem to be shocked or frightened any more.Having spent this time and shared this meal with Elliot and my other friends in their human shapes, she seemed to have started to learn how human they really were.It did my heart good to see that she appeared to be starting to accept them.

“Our world could learn a thing or two from where you boys come from,” Nana said, a bit wistfully.

“That’s why Daddy and Uncle Neal went over there,” I said.“To see what Earth and Tellus could learn from each other.”

”Well, considering the way things are here, it sounds like the bigger lessons would come from Tellus,” Nana said.

“Your world doesn’t seem so bad,” said Elliot.

”Trust me, there are some things about this world that aren’t so good, either,” Nana replied.

“But there’s always something for someone to learn,” said Byron.“There’s no way to know—yet—what Tellus could learn from the differences between us and Earth.It’s all wide open.That’s why I think Jenna’s father’s mission, and her uncle’s, is such a good one.We don’t know what Earth could teach us about ourselves until the two worlds are in contact.”

“There’s one thing I know best about Earth,” Elliot said.“I know my favorite thing about it.”He looked right at me when he said it, and a warm look came over Nana.The glint in his eyes practically made my toes curl.

From across the table, Cade said, “Yeah—the food!”

All eyes went to Cade and his plate, cleaned of everything except the bones of a little chicken.Byron raised an eyebrow at him and Elliot made a mock frown.I just shook my shoulders in a silent chuckle.Nana looked at Cade as if she were looking at a long-lost grandson.

Grinning with mischief, Cade said, “Come on, you guys!You know what the best thing about Earth is!”

Byron raised his glass and agreed.“Jenna!”

Cade and Elliot raised their glasses with him.“Jenna!Jenna!”

From the way my face felt, I must have been wearing the most embarrassed, bashful expression I’d ever had in my life.“Oh, you guys…”

Nana just sat in her seat at the head of the table, watching us all.I could tell she still didn’t quite know what to think about the life I was telling her about.Or the guys with whom I was spending it.

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After dessert—Nana got out an apple pie that she had frozen just for an occasion like this— and after cleanup, I had the guys excuse us and go back out on the deck to watch the Pacific sunset, while I went with Nana up to her bedroom.After that unexpected bout of cooking for five instead of just for herself, she was ready to retire for the night.I knew, but discreetly didn’t say, that my own night hadn’t even gotten started.

In the upstairs hallway leading to the bedrooms, Nana let out a sigh.“Jenna,” she said.“Oh, Jenna, those three boys.They’re not even really boys, are they?Over twenty and halfway to thirty.But honestly, the three of them…”

”Yes, Nana,” I said, holding her by one arm and letting her walk at her own pace.She wasn’t exactly a doddering old lady, but a day like she’d just had was naturally enough to slow her down just a bit.“They’re really something, aren’t they?And they’re really very sweet.”

We reached Nana’s room.She got out of her clothes and into her nightgown and I got her over to her bed.She liked to sit up and read for a while before retiring, but I suspected that tonight my grandmother would fall right asleep with her book in her hand.I got her sitting up against her pillows and headboard, and sat with her a while, holding her hand.

“I’m sure they are very sweet,” she said.“And spending time with them the way we did today, I was spending time with just three nice, handsome young men.I could actually forget…what else they are.”

Patting her hand, I said, “Yes, Nana.I forget what else they are all the time.Most of the time that I’m with them, they’re just Elliot, Byron, and Cade.They don’t spend all their time the other way.”

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