her suggestion that he was anything but a gentleman or the fact that he was a complete and total gentleman.
“What happened?” Bethany asks.
“If you must know, he took me for lunch at a very nice restaurant overlooking the skyline of the city. The food was delicious. The conversation was congenial. Then we went back to his house, which is more like an estate, if I’m being honest. It’s on the beach and totally beautiful. We watched a movie together. It’s funny. That movie was just coming out in theaters when we left. Now it’s basically an archaeological relic here.”
Sophia starts to cry softly into her hands. And now Madeline is comforting her.
“They aren’t taking it very well,” Bobby informs me, as if that fact isn’t obvious.
“We are all missing home,” Bethany says. “But we’ve discussed this at length. There’s nothing we can do. Madeline, I’m grieving Abigail too. I wish it were different. We’ve all lost people who we left behind on Earth.”
“There has to be a way,” Madeline says.
Up until now, Madeline has been so strong. One of the strongest among us. But I guess that the reality of our predicament is finally sinking in, and she realizes that she will never see her sister again. I already miss my mom and my grandma.
And the thought of never seeing them again catches in my throat, and I gulp it down. I know that if I think about it too much, I’ll start crying too. I’m going to have to process these emotions eventually, but right now, I just can’t let myself.
With my new budding relationship with Jaxxo, the confusion and pain of losing my family, my planet, and everything I’ve ever known, would create a confusing mass of turmoil that I don’t know if I could ever climb out of.
Every time I’m near Jaxxo, my body responds so powerfully that it overpowers every other thought and emotion. But now that he is gone, I am left with the reality of the world I left behind and the sorrow of all my friends who have also lost so much.
“I’m sorry, Doris,” Sophia says. “Tell us more about your date.”
I suddenly feel so shallow. I know that there is something strange going on with me. The sexual arousal I feel in Jaxxo’s presence slowly subsides after he’s gone. And what I’m left with is the actual experience we have shared, which so far has only been a few encounters. As pleasant as his company may be, it doesn’t explain my overwhelming attraction to him.
Despite his obvious good looks and masculine presence, I have no real reason to be so head over heels for him. My response is extremely unnatural and out of character. I don’t know whether I should be angry or simply curious. But as I observe my friends and their responses to our predicament, it becomes clearer with each passing moment that my reaction is out of alignment with reality.
“After the movie, he brought me home. But he did ask me to come and live with him at his mansion.”
“Are you going to do it?” Bethany asks, her eyes glazing over with moisture. I reach out and grab her hand, giving her a sympathetic look.
“I don’t want to leave you,” I say with a laugh. “But he says we can visit each other any time.”
“Oh, he’ll allow you to leave. How generous of him,” Bobby says.
“If you must know, Bobby, the Martians are much more concerned about contagious diseases than they are about keeping us in line,” I say pointedly.
“I took their stupid test. I didn’t want to be stuck in quarantine anymore. The girls over there are worse than these two,” she says, motioning to Madeline and Sophia.
“And we’re all so glad to have you back,” Bethany says with fake sweetness.
Bobby rolls her eyes. “Without me around, how would the four of you ever stay objective?”
“You are the least objective person I know,” Madeline says. “What you really are is a dyed-in-the-wool pessimist. Which, honestly, isn’t helping any of us.”
“I’m a pessimist? You’re the one who’s sitting there blubbering about your sister.”
Madeline’s mouth drops, and she stares at Bobby. I know this conversation is going downhill fast, but I’m so distracted by my own problems that I don’t know how to dial it back.
I stand and go to the replicator to ask it for another glass of wine. It seems like the only rational option at this point.
The sound of Bobby and Madeline bickering behind me fades into