Page 58 of Alien on the Moon

“After lunch? Why wait?”

“Because it’s lunchtime now.”

“I think I’ll skip today.”

“You can’t skip today, Elena.”

“Why not?”

“Because we have plans to meet your sisters. If just I showed up… again, I don’t think they’d be thrilled.”

“Right,” Elena said. She pursed her lips for a moment. “Maybe we can reschedule.”

“The royal scientists won’t stop being impressed with you if you go out to lunch one day. I love how dedicated you are to your work, and I am, too. But it’s okay to relax for a bit, even just one lunch.”

“Fine… fine… but I think we should stay late tonight. You know how long my sisters can chat.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Rylan said with a laugh.

The two of them strolled out of the lab, which was now empty since everyone else had already gone to lunch. They walked out of the building and down the path, off the palace grounds to a café in the nearest village.

The place was bustling with customers for the lunch rush. Luckily, Elena quickly spotted her sisters who’d already grabbed a table.

“Elena! Rylan!” Sofia called out as they approached. “You made it!”

“We were worried you’d get too caught up in work again to come!” said Carmen.

Both sisters hugged Elena. Then they hugged Rylan, too, which still always surprised him.

He’d spent a lot of time with the family since meeting Elena, but he was always stunned by how easily they welcomed him. Beyond the initial interrogation early on, they’d been nothing but kind toward him. It was almost like he was already a member of the family.

“Yeah, that wasn’t happening today. Elena has been very excited about this lunch,” Rylan said as he and Elena sat at the table.

Both of Elena’s sisters burst out in laughter.

“She forgot again. Didn’t she?” asked Carmen.

“Yes, of course, she did,” Rylan said as the three of them laughed.

“We have very important work! I was focusing on that!”

“Well,” Sofia said. “Tell us about it! We barely get to see you anymore. What are you two working on? What’s this big project that has all of our sister’s attention?”

“They have us working on finding a new fuel source,” Elena said quickly. “Something to make intergalactic travel faster and cheaper.”

“That sounds very interesting,” Sofia said.

Rylan leaned back in his seat. He knew he wouldn’t have to say much more at this lunch. They’d set Elena off. She could, and likely would, talk about the project for hours.

“You see, different cultures have used different fuel and different engine combinations for millennia.” Excitement could be heard in every syllable as she spoke. “So, the best one might be found somewhere in there. Or not all. It’s all about testing different fuel sources with different engines. Building new types of engines. Developing new fuels.”

“And how do you test for that?” Carmen asked.

From there, Rylan started to look at the menu. Elena’s sisters knew exactly how to keep her around. Any less interesting conversation and she’d be scarfing down her lunch to hurry back.

Eventually, Elena was done talking about what they did every day on the project. She finally turned her attention to the food Rylan had ordered for her ages ago.

“And what about you Rylan?” asked Sofia. “How are you enjoying your new position?”

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