Day Five ∞ Tuesday

MICKMI WAITED until Gina had finished eating her salad before she slid the map over to her.

Gina raised her brows. "What's this?" She picked up the paper and studied it. "Did you draw this?"

"Aye. Daniel helped me to remember."

Gina's eyes grew bigger. "This is a world map. But this isn't quite what our world map looks like. I mean, at least not now—"

"It is my world map."

Gina's eyes flew up to meet Mickmi's. "Your...?"

"My Earth."

"What on Earth—" Gina stared at Mickmi. She had difficulties processing the implications of what had just been said. "Your Earth? You mean... you come from a different planet?"

"A different Earth." Mickmi watched her with a slightly worried expression.

Gina exhaled sharply. "I... I knew that you were different but... I never went as far as thinking extraterrestrial..."

"I know not whether I am from a different planet. I am from Earth... You see the similarities. But I am from a different time, a distant future." Mickmi pointed to the number she'd written on the map. "That is the year I am from. I came here by accident." She picked up the Tribune and handed it to Gina. "Look at the headline, and the story on page six."

Gina swallowed her shock and scanned through the main news story. "So that crash was you?"

"Aye."

She turned to the story about the freak storm. Her mouth opened slowly. "So that's..."

"That is how I got here. I can not go back. But..."

Gina looked up at Mickmi. She could see the pain on her face, and she felt for her. "But?"

"But even if it were possible... for me to go back—" Mickmi turned her eyes to the trees bordering the yard "—I wish to stay here, in your time." She closed her eyes for a moment, then looked back at Gina who was staring at her, shaking her head slowly.

"I can't – believe it." Gina had to give herself a pinch to confirm that she was not dreaming something fantastic. She winced, feeling it loud and clear. She took a deep breath and picked up the map again. "So this is where you're from?"

Mickmi nodded once.

"Where exactly?" Gina said before she could stop herself. "No... Don't tell me. Don't tell me anything more, Mickmi; I know too much already." She met Mickmi's questioning gaze and reached over to grab her hand. "Believe me, the less I know, the better. Just count yourself lucky that Danny found you and no one else. Just be careful, okay?"

Mickmi nodded gratefully.

∞

"Here she comes," Nathan said.

Danny was servicing an Oldsmobile after lunch when he heard the familiar sound of a VW bug engine approaching. But he remained focused on unscrewing the drain plug on the engine. Then he positioned the pan so that it would also catch spills from the oil filter, before rolling out from underneath the car.

"Hi guys!" a chirpy voice rang out.

Danny looked up and nodded in greeting as he straightened himself and used the back of his wrist to wipe his forehead. Debbie swiveled to show off the flair of her short skirt and shut the door to her pink-trimmed white bug. Danny shook his head in amusement and turned back to the Olds, leaning into the engine compartment to remove the oil filter.

"Debs, come here a sec," Aaron said. "I wanna talk with you."

"I don't wanna talk with you; I see you every evening. You can talk to me later."

Danny had carefully wrapped a piece of plastic around the base of the filter and started turning it counter-clockwise when an arm slipped in around his shoulder. "Where were you Friday, Danny? I came by to share the good news with you and you weren't here."

He straightened himself, shrugging her off him. "I was under the weather. What was so important you had to come all the way through that rain?"

She stepped back unfazed and, satisfied that she had his attention, flicked her sandy blonde hair over her shoulder and struck a pose. "I'm entering the Miss Eufaula Pageant. What d'you think? You think I have a chance?"

He raised his brows. "Sure. Why not?" She had looks to kill. But they'd never affected him.

She beamed at him and grabbed him by the arm. "So, are you taking me to the Summer Spectacular next weekend?"

"No," he chuckled, pulling his arm out of her grip, trying not let his greasy hand catch her.

"Why not? Aren't you going?"

"Maybe."

"But not with you," said Nathan as he came up to them and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Mind your own business, Nate; I'm talking to Danny. Danny, you're taking me to the Spectacular, aren't you?"

Sorry, kiddo, Danny was about to say but stopped himself. Mickmi couldn't be much older than her, though definitely more mature. "No, I'm not. You're gonna have to find somebody else to take you." He reached for the rag and rubbed his hands.

Debbie frowned dramatically. "Why?"

"It's—I..." Danny didn't want to hurt her feelings, and he couldn't be annoyed at her—he was feeling too good today. He already knew exactly what he was going to do after leaving work.

"Debs, last time was a favor," Nathan said as Aaron came over. "He's got a girlfriend now."

Girlfriend? Danny hadn't even thought of Mickmi like that.

"Nate is right," Aaron said, putting his arm around her shoulders, but Debbie was not in the mood for comforting. She shrugged him off and pursed her lips, looking from one to the other, and then at Danny.

Danny shook his head. "Sorry, Debbie. They're right. I won't be taking you." He turned back to the car; he couldn't take that look of disappointment on her face.

She pushed her brothers away. "I don't believe you."

"Get it into your head, Debs. You've never been his girlfriend," Aaron said. "He's just been a good friend, that's it. And—"

"I don't want to hear it from you, Ron—I want to hear it from him. Danny?" She stepped in front of Danny, looking at him pleadingly.

Danny took a deep breath and turned to her. "Listen to your brothers, Debbie. I like you but not in that way. I like you as a sister." He studied her for her reaction.

She grimaced. "Ugh! I don't want another brother!" She huffed and pouted her lips for a moment, then seemed to make up her mind about something. She patted him on the chest before turning on her heel with a deliberate swing of her hair.

Danny sighed and shook his head, looking skyward.

Aaron stepped in front of her. "We won't allow it, you know. Whatever you're planning."

Nathan came up beside him. "You'll find somebody else, Debs. Closer to your own age. We'll help you."

She pushed her brothers aside and came up on Jason. "You'll be wasting your time, you know. He's not gonna change his mind," he said.

She huffed. "I hate it when you three gang up on me. Leave me alone!" She strode to her car, got in and drove away, revving the bug engine demonstratively.

∞

Jagg entered the house with a large grocery bag under his arm and caught sight of Sleek and Toni. "Hey, you guys are back!"

Sleek met him with a hand slap. "Yeah man! Wussup?"

Toni stood in the middle of the front room, arms akimbo, looking rather pissed. "Who's that in your bed, Jagg? I turn my back for one second and you've already got another girl in the house! And she's white!"

"So? Ain't we all a mixed bunch here?" Jagg smirked, strode up to her small frame and chucked the groceries at her. "Here, take care of this."

She didn't budge. "Well? I wanna know."

"Her name is Lora and she seriously needed a place to crash."

"That's it?"

"That's it, babes."

"Hm!" She grabbed the bag and went to the kitchen.

"She been sleeping now for like eighteen hours, man," TJ said. "She hasn't moved an inch."

"Ain't eighteen hours too long?" Pace said, spinning around on the edge of the couch to look at Jagg. "We don't even know if she still alive. Heck, we don't want a fucking dead girl in the house!"

"Hell no!" Sleek said.

"She's breathing. I checked," Ramiro said over his shoulder with his eyes glued to the TV.

Jagg looked thoughtfully at the guys. "Give her till morning. If she not up by then, then we wake her."

∞

As soon as Danny reached home, Gina rushed out to welcome him. Mickmi held back and sat down on the porch step, watching with a smile. Zorro sat down beside her, and she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Dan! I'm so glad to see you!" Gina gave her brother a big squeeze.

"It's only been a few days." Danny's grin was lopsided, but his eyes were on Mickmi. Hi, he mouthed at her.

Hi. She dipped her head in return.

Gina stepped back, reaching for a lock on his forehead and flicked it. "I do believe you need a haircut soon; isn't that getting a bit long?"

He glanced at his sister before looking back at Mickmi. "Maybe."

Gina scrutinized him, then looked at Mickmi and back again, her heart sinking, Please tell me I'm wrong. "Would you excuse us for a moment?" she said to Mickmi and grabbed her brother by the arm. "Come with me, Dan." She pulled him with her inside the house into the living room.

"What?"

"She's from a different world, Dan." Gina pointed over her shoulder.

"She told you?"

"Yes, and don't tell me you fell for her," she continued in a hushed tone.

Danny looked back at her steadily, a corner of his mouth lifting. He'd been through it all today—this couldn't be any worse.

"You didn't."

"I'm afraid I did."

"Seriously, Dan? I trusted you not to do anything stupid while I was away just for a few days and now I come back home to hear that you've fallen for her? I can't believe it!"

"Stupid? What? Are you my mother now?" He felt like rolling his eyes at her.

She grimaced. "Sometimes I think I am, yeah. Why did you let that happen? What did she do to you?"

"Nothing. I just..." All this time he'd been holding back, he knew. Keeping the 'L' word at arm's length, pussyfooting around it. But he was through with denying it. "To tell you the truth, I can't quite believe it myself. You've no idea how much I've been debating with myself, trying to make sense of it. It's... I've never felt this way about anybody before in my life."

"Oh?" She studied him. "Not even for Marilyn?"

Marilyn. Sis just had to throw her at him. The mention of that name used to make him wince at the pain she'd caused him. But not this time. Not anymore. "Not even for Marilyn," he replied without hesitation, smiling.

Gina gazed at him incredulously, a smile slowly forming on her face. She could see that glow in his expression. "Are you in love with Mickmi?"

"I love Mickmi." There. He finally said it. He should've said it to Mickmi first, though, he thought on reflection. I wonder if she heard me. "We're... connected somehow and she feels it too. I've no idea how or why, or where it will lead us; where her situation will lead us. All I know is that I'll be there for her as long as she needs me. And... I haven't told her yet, so please don't say anything to her, Sis. I don't want to put that kind of pressure on her."

Gina shook her head slowly, looking at him admiringly. "Okay... Wow... I don't believe this. My little brother is growing up." She gave him a quick hug, stepped back and patted him on the cheek. He gave her an amused grimace. "It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, they say."

"I'm starting to understand that now."

"I can tell; I hear you. And I'm with you, Dan. I'll be behind you one hundred and ten percent when Mom gets home. She's gonna throw a fit."

"Right... Mom... You know, we can't tell her where she's from—"

"No, that won't go down well. Actually, that would go down worse."

"She needs a cover story. I'll try to come up with something, and work it out with her."

"Make sure it's something plausible, and as close to the truth as you can without telling the truth. You've got your job cut out for you there. But enough of this, I have to get back to the kitchen."

She turned to leave but turned back to her brother. "I don't blame you, you know. I've only started to get to know her today and she's a beautiful person."

"It's more than that. Much more." He had a wistful look in his eyes.

She studied him. She knew her brother so well, she could often read him like a book. But what she was seeing in him today made her feel slightly envious. "You think... you may have found your soulmate?"

That was the second time in two days he'd heard that word. He closed his eyes for a moment, replaying the word in his mind. Soulmate. It had a better feel than 'girlfriend'. It rang true. He had no doubt of that. That must've been what the guide meant when she said they were already connected somehow. "Yeah... She's my soulmate," he said quietly as he looked back at his sister. 

Sis. She had a way of forcing him to admit the truth to himself. He should be thankful for that.

At the same time, he wanted to get back at her for putting him on the spot. After all that he had to go through today? Let her have it. "You know, I slept in her room last night."

"What?" Gina's jaw dropped. "Noo... You didn't. Don't tell me you both—"

Danny couldn't keep a straight face. Her expression was priceless. "Got you there! You should see your face."

She clamped her mouth shut and shook her head in exasperation. "Daniel Antonio McGahn... That was not funny!"

"I know, I'm sorry... Sorry, but I'm not sorry. I enjoyed that look on your face." He was still grinning. "Seriously speaking, though, I have the job of watching over her... I'll tell you more about that later," he added as Gina looked at him quizzically. "The thing is, both of us felt like we were being watched last night. And you know there'll be people looking for her. So I slept on the floor in her room."

She studied him thoughtfully and nodded. "Okay, I understand. You did the right thing."

∞

Danny went out on the porch. "Hey," he said and sat down on the step next to Mickmi. He turned toward her, leaning his back against the post.

She met his gaze and smiled.

"Did you hear any of that?" He pointed sideways with his head.

"I tried not to." She lowered her head slightly without breaking eye contact.

"That was just my sister being my surrogate mother."

She smiled again and they sat silent for a while, gazing at each other. Danny still wondered if she'd heard him—she made no indication either way. Eventually he decided it was better left unsaid. He got up. "I've got something for you."

She rose with him.

"Wait right here." He went to the truck and returned with some shopping bags. He placed two big plastic bags on the floor next to the door, then turned to Mickmi with a paper bag. "For you."

She looked at the bag and then at him, before receiving it and opening it to look inside. Then she met his gaze again, questioningly.

"Scarves. I didn't know what color you like so I got a half-dozen so you can match with whatever you're wearing. To cover your collar," he added. "You know, to minimize attention?"

She smiled broadly but said nothing.

"May I?"

She nodded once.

He reached into the bag and pulled out a beige silk scarf with a brown and white abstract pattern to go with her cream top. Stepping closer to her, he placed the scarf around her neck, tying a loose knot to the side and adjusting the width to conceal her collar. She watched his movements below her chin, then looked back up as he lowered his hands. He inspected his handiwork, then met the green glow of her gaze and smiled. Lifting a hand to her chin, he held it gently and leaned forward, brushing his lips against her cheek—and she closed her eyes. 

"I know what you want to say, Mickmi," he murmured. "You're welcome." He could feel her smiling in response.

She placed her hand on his chest as he pulled back a few inches, locking his eyes with hers; they were burning back at him now. They smiled at each other as he stroked her cheek and slid his hand behind her head into her hair. Then he aimed for her lips and savored her.

Gina turned away from the screen door, embarrassed to be spying on her brother at such a tender moment. She had stepped out of the kitchen to ask him something but witnessed him placing something around Mickmi's neck. Curious, she'd remained standing in the hallway, watching the interaction between her brother and Mickmi, realizing that indeed there were mutual feelings between them. Now, with any remaining doubts out the window, she was determined to help her brother—and by extension, Mickmi—in any way she could.

∞

In a hangar about eighty miles west, Walters slowly circled the cocoon vessel, studying its sleek hull in restrained awe. It was mounted on heavy-duty trestles three feet off the floor, glistening gray with a pearlescent finish that revealed not one crack or seam. The first time he touched its surface there was a brief shift in its gray hue that rippled outward from his hand—beyond that there was nothing. Just a cold impregnable surface that defied description.

Nothing.

It had been in their possession for one day and all they had been able to learn so far was what didn't work. Ultrasound, infrared and X-ray imaging from various angles had yielded no information. Readings from various measuring instruments were inconclusive. He still awaited test results from the numerous swab samplings of its surface. Tomorrow, teams would come and attempt to breach the hull. He was looking forward to discovering what secrets it was hiding. Right now, nothing else mattered.

— ∞ —

Thanks to  IngaMorgan for helping me develop the scene with Debbie!

*The quote about love comes from Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892).

©2016 by kemorgan65

*Banner image of Mickmi and Danny created in Daz Studio and Photoshopped with background from Wikimedia Commons.