In that moment, her mom walked in, carrying a bowl of oranges and a tray with tea cups.
Mia got up and rushed toward her. “Here, let me help you with that,” she said, grabbing the bowl from her.
“Thanks, sweetie,” her mom told her, and Mia breathed a sigh of relief that at least one parent seemed to have recovered her composure.
Setting the cups filled with hot tea around the table, Ella asked Korum, “Would you like some cream or sugar? We have coconut cream, almond cream, soy cream . . .”
“No, thank you,” Korum replied politely, giving her a dazzling smile. “I prefer my tea plain.”
“So do we,” her mom admitted, blushing again. Mia barely stopped herself from snickering – her parent appeared to have developed a little crush on her lover.
“Ella,” Mia’s dad said slowly, “Korum here is apparently much older than we thought . . .”
“Oh?” her mom inquired, sitting down and reaching for an orange. Methodically peeling the fruit, she gave her husband a questioning look.
“He’s two thousand years old . . .” Her dad seemed awed by that fact.
“What?” The orange dropped on the table, landing with a soft plop.
“Mom, you knew the Ks are long-lived,” Mia said, getting exasperated with their reactions. “You and I watched that program together a couple of years ago, remember? It was one of those Nova documentaries about the invasion.”
“I remember,” her mom said, still looking like she’d been hit with a hammer. “But I didn’t realize that meant thousands of years . . .”
“How exactly does something like that work if you’re in a relationship with a human?” Her dad was back to being his blunt self. “Because Mia can’t possibly live that long –”
“That’s between me and your daughter, Dan,” Korum said gently, but there was a steely note in his voice that warned against pushing in this direction. “We’ll figure everything out in due time.” And picking up an orange, he calmly peeled it, his fingers moving faster and more efficiently than her mom’s had been.
“By the way,” he added, biting into the orange, “Mia mentioned that you tend to get frequent headaches, and I couldn’t help but notice that you’ve been rubbing your temples. Are you suffering from one now?”
Caught off-guard, her dad nodded.
At the affirmative gesture, Korum reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a tiny capsule. Handing it to Mia’s dad, he said, “This is something that should take care of the issue. One of our top human biology experts developed it specifically for cases such as yours.”
“What is it? A painkiller?” Her dad studied the little capsule with no small measure of distrust.
“Yes, it works immediately as such. But it should also prevent any future occurrences.”
“A migraine cure?” her mom asked, and there was a desperate look of hope in her eyes.
“Exactly,” Korum confirmed, and Ella Stalis’s eyes lit up.
Her dad frowned. “Are there side effects? How do I know it’s safe?”
“Dad, their medicine is wonderful,” Mia told him sincerely. “Truly, you have nothing to be afraid of.”
“Mia is right. There are no side effects when it comes to our medications. And, Dan, the last thing I would want is to hurt the people Mia loves the most. I know you have very little reason to trust me yet, and I hope that changes in the future. If you don’t want to take the medicine, it’s entirely up to you. I just wanted you to have it in case you are in pain.”
“Just take it, Dan. Right now,” Ella ordered, giving her husband a determined look. “I don’t think Mia’s boyfriend would give you something bad for you. If there’s even a small chance that it can really cure you, then you owe it to yourself and to your family to try it – particularly if Korum says there are no side effects.”
Her dad hesitated, studying Korum’s face for a few seconds. Whatever he saw there seemed to reassure him. “Do I just swallow it?”
“Squeeze it into a cup of water, and then drink it,” Korum said. “It works quicker that way.”
Mia’s mom was already on her feet and pouring her dad a cup of water from a pitcher sitting on the table. “Here,” she said, thrusting it at him.
Dan Stalis took the cup slowly and pinched the capsule between his fingers, squeezing out two drops of liquid into the water. “Is this it?” he asked, looking up at Korum.