“What was your sister talking about?” he asked Susanna. “She didn’t want to come to Aldrai?”
She set aside her tablet and chewed on her bottom lip while playing with the pieces of the broken spoon.
“Mara tried to talk me into switching places with her,” she said finally.
“Why?” he asked, mostly out of curiosity. It made no difference to him whether Mara was here on Aldrai or back on Earth. “Why did she apply for the marriage program, then?”
“She wanted to come here at first, but then she changed her mind later. Since we look so alike, she tried to convince me to come instead of her, under her name.”
That also didn’t matter much. Either as his wife or his nanny, Susanna would be living in his home. Either way, he’d struggle to have a professional relationship with her while nursing an erection the size of an axe handle in his pants.
His children would have been better off, though. With Susanna as his wife, they would’ve had a stepmom who actually cared for them.
He’d watched Susanna with his children. He saw how much closer they’d gotten with her in just a few days. Even Ene, who had never been affectionate with strangers, had warmed up to Susanna, letting her brush and style her short hair every morning now.
“Why didn’t you switch with Mara?” he asked.
“I didn’t want to pretend to be someone else,” she said, somewhat sheepishly. “I didn’t want to lie.”
A blush spread on her cheeks as she cast her eyes down. A sudden desire to grab her in his arms and kiss her face rushed over him.
What was he going to do with this woman?
Instead, he cleared his throat and said as calmly as he could, “I’m glad you didn’t. I’ve had enough lies in my life.”
She stared at him, as if waiting for him to elaborate. But what could he possibly tell her? After over a decade, some things from his past still hurt even to think about, let alone speak.
“Well.” He lifted the new spoon. “Let’s mix it then, shall we?”
For a while, they worked quietly. Everything felt comfortable in Susanna’s presence, even the silence.
Then, Mara burst through the gate to the kitchen, marching in.
“Well, guess whom I met on my walk?” She paused, probably more for drama than actually expecting an answer. “An assistant from the mayor’s office. He said there’s a party in the town hall tomorrow night. Apparently, the entire town has been invited. The ambassador from the planet Tragul is the guest of honor! How come I didn't know about the invitation?” she demanded.
He stretched his neck. The easy feeling he’d enjoyed before her sudden arrival slipped away, replaced by tension in his shoulders. “I don’t go to parties.”
She scoffed. “Maybe you shouldn’t be thinking only about yourself. How about me? I’ve been sitting here, dying of boredom. And you hide party invitations from me?”
He didn’t hide anything. The open invitation could be easily viewed on the local network. But he didn’t bring her attention to it, either. After years of ignoring the invites, it didn’t even occur to him to consider this one.
“You can go.” He shrugged.
“Oh, I will!” She stomped her foot. “You can bet your hard alien ass I will go and have fun. Anything is better than sitting here day after day.”
“Mara, come on!” Susanna got off her seat. But her sister had stormed out, not sparing her a glance. “Sorry.” She turned to him.
“No, she’s right,” he agreed. “She’s been spending days just sitting in her room. It couldn’t possibly be fun.”
“But whose fault is that? There’s plenty to do around here if she wanted to do anything other than party.”
“I want her to be happy.” He felt responsible for the wellbeing of both women he’d brought to Aldrai. After all, he’d taken them away from the only life they knew.
“Good luck with that,” Susanna said under her breath. “Many men have tried making Mara happy. All failed miserably in the end.”
No matter what, Mara was here because of him. Legally, she was his wife. He had to find a way to make her happy.
“You say she likes shopping. Maybe I should arrange a trip to Arqa for her to visit some stores. Would that please her?”
Susanna hiked up a shoulder. “It may. Temporarily.”
And now he wondered what would make Susanna happy. The idea of pleasing her filled him with real excitement.
“Would you like to go to the party, too?” he found himself asking.
She tilted her head, considering his question. “It would be nice to meet the town people, wouldn’t it?”
“Do you like dancing?” Maybe going to the party wouldn’t be that bad after all. It’d be a good way to say goodbye before he left for work.
A spark of interest flashed in her eyes. “It depends. What kind of dancing? I took ballroom dance lessons for years. So, if it’s anything like a waltz or foxtrot, I'm in. But what else do people at parties do here? Beside dancing?”
“Everything people on other planets do, I imagine. We dance, eat food, talk...”
The talking part was what he’d been trying to avoid all these years. But if Susanna wished to go, he would come along. Maybe it was time to get out and into the world a little.
“Sounds like fun. Can kids come, too?” Her voice lifted with excitement.
“Of course.” He chuckled. “There’s no way they’d let us leave them behind.”