Page 17 of Manny for the Alien
“Huh?”
“You go relax,” he said softly, his hands landing on my arms and stroking them gently. “Have a bath, or take a nap, or watch a movie...”
“I told him to take a walk,” Azalea piped up.
“Great idea,” Hyacinth agreed.
“Oh.” Right. This was for my mental health and nothing more. He was kind and comforting. It was kind of his thing.
I chuckled, looking away.
“I guess being thrown into the childcare life is a bit much all at once,” I admitted.
“Of course,” Hyacinth agreed sympathetically.
“Maybe I will go take that walk,” I said, forcing myself to move away now before I moved closer without intending to.
“Take your time,” he said, and that was that.
He let me go and I walked away, nearly in a daze, half sure that he had done something to me. Something gentle and soft and lovely.
The outside air cleared my senses a little bit and I strolled down as far as the park where I took a seat in front of the water, thinking about nothing in particular. The feeling of hyacinth’s large hands on my arms still lingered, making me shiver.
How had I gone from feeling so stressed to now feeling almost like my brain had taken a short vacation? I couldn’t even bring myself to think about all the stuff that had been on my mind.
I was absently watching a duck drift by when I remembered that same peaceful feeling upon entering the house that first time and now that I thought of it,everytime.
Holy shit.
Was Hyacinth actually doing something to calm me down? Wasthatwhat he did at the hospital too?
Why hadn’t I thought about how odd it was that an alien from a different planet was working in a human hospital so soon after his arrival? Surely he hadn’t had time to finish getting his equivalency in a human college in the year he’d been here.
I stood, suddenly filled with irritation and eager for answers as I began to head back.
By the time I arrived, the sun was dipping low over the horizon and the house was quiet.
I entered, feeling the calm rush as I did and even my annoyance faded a little. Not completely, but a little.
I went by the dark living room and then to the kitchen, because I had skipped dinner.
When I turned on the light, I froze.
The table was set, not for the kids, but for two adults, with plates and silverware already out on each side and the high chairs pushed against the wall. There was even a bottle of wine sitting chilling in the middle of the table.
“I thought we could eat together,” Hyacinth said behind me, making me jump. “We’ve barely had any time to get to know each other.”
I swallowed and nodded, stepping into the room to allow him to enter behind me.
“Sit down,” he said.
I went to one of the seats and lowered nervously into it, watching as he began to warm up the food.
“God, now I wish I made something fancier than fish fingers, fries, and coleslaw,” I said nervously.
“It’s perfect,” he said nonchalantly.
It wasn’t. He liked fancy flavors, extra spices, things like that. He just didn’t know how to cook, that was all—or at least, he didn’t know what to do with human ingredients.
