EPILOGUE Lois
“So he’s convincing everyone that it was all planned? That you and both teams agreed to it? The fight, the bite, and the public kiss, everything?” Niska asks, her face floating in mid-air as I talk to her over video comms.
“Yeah,” I say, holding various dresses up to my body, trying to decide which I want to wear on this very special day.
“Like some kind of entertainment stunt to highlight the plight of humans. He’s even telling everyone that Pax wasn’t the real Pax, and that it was his Permission that Az beat the shit out of.
Had to pay some of the hospital workers to keep quiet, too.
It’s all lies, and who knows if the public will buy into it?
But at least he’s backing us now. Which one do you think suits me better?
The blue or the pink?” I ask, showing her the dresses.
Niska narrows her eyes. “You never ask my opinion on what to wear. What’s going on?”
I whip the frocks of flowing silk and chiffon away from my body and shove them back in the wardrobe. “Nothing! Never mind.”
She doesn’t buy it, but doesn’t probe further. “So you and Az, huh? The real deal?” I nod my head, grinning. “So do you guys…” she shifts in her seat, “do you let him…”
“There are too many variables to how you could possibly end that sentence, Nis – choose wisely, because you know I don’t believe in TMI.”
She laughs lightly but shakes her head before leaning close to her comms camera and tugging down her silk collar – a silk collar covering a very fresh Xaviann-looking bite mark.
I smirk and mirror her, revealing my own.
Niska giggles. “Girl.”
“Girl.”
The knowing look we give each other devolves into fits of laughter.
“No, but really,” Niska says. “I’m so proud of you for getting the help we need. It’s really going to make a difference if we can get those laws changed. And I’m particularly proud of you for getting out of your own way, and seeing how perfect you and Az could be together.”
Her words warm my heart, but make me blush. I’m all for praise in theory, but this directly? This sincerely? And not in a kinky way? Yeah, I’m going to need to change the subject.
We talk a little longer. Catching up, discussing Jaya and her new shadow, as well as how badly Zann seems to be coping on a non-partying planet, before we wrap up the call.
Which is good for me, because I need to make a completely different one – to someone who definitely will have an opinion on which dress I should wear.
I push the buttons and tweak the settings just how Rykor had showed me two nights ago.
The connection takes a little while, and I have to try a few different device channels, but eventually the screen flickers to life.
And there she is.
This illegal hacking business turned out not to be so hard after all.
“Mom!”
“Jesus-Mary-and-Joseph!”
In the shock of my seemingly sudden appearance, my mom manages to throw a glass of orange juice all over herself.
Wiping the juice from her eyes, she blinks back at me. “Lois, love, can you warn me next time you’re going to appear on my smart-fridge screen?”
Oh, so that’s what I connect to?
“Sorry, Mom,” I grin at her. “Since when did you get a smart-fridge?”
She’s still mopping up orange juice from her hand-knitted sweater when she answers.
“Oh, Kenny bought it for us,” she answers.
“He thought the more possible connections for you to… you know… beam down on, the better.” She makes this crazy little gesture with her fingers wiggling near her head, like she thinks I’m connecting to her fridge through some kind of telepathy or something.
“He’s got me a smart-toaster, a smart-oven, a smart-doorbell, and even a smart-toilet! ”
I grimace at the thought.
“Well, I hope I don’t ever surprise you on that one, Mom.”
Mom rolls her eyes before softening. “How are you, Lo-lo?”
I smile. “I’m good, mama… but I wanted your opinion on something.”
Suddenly, Ken Callahan appears next to my mother, wearing a hand-knit sweater vest that matches hers. “Well, you’ve come to the right place for opinions,” he chuckles. “We’ve got those flying around all over the place here.”
“Kenny!” Mom lightly chastises, nudging him with her arm.
“They’re all correct, of course, my love,” he coos in return.
I think I’m going to be sick.
It’s cute.
But still.
“Mom, this is important,” I say, interrupting their chuckling in case they start rubbing noses together or something. I hold up both dress options. “Which suits me better?”
Mom’s face lights up at both of them. “They’re both beautiful, Lo-lo. What’s the occasion?”
Taking a breath, I decide to just say it. “I’m going to propose to Az.”
There’s a beat or two of silence, and I genuinely consider the possibility that we lost connection and the screen froze, because I swear Mom doesn’t even blink for a good twenty seconds.
When she does finally talk, it’s a whisper from the side of her mouth to Mr Callahan. “Kenny, did my daughter just say she’s going to marry an alien?”
“I believe she did, dear, yes. Congratulations, Lois,” he says brightly, and I genuinely think he means it.
“Well, he hasn’t said yes, yet.”
“Honey,” Mom starts before pausing, her eyes flitting around like she’s sifting through a million different thoughts before landing on the one she’ll finally allow herself to speak into existence. She sighs. “Do you know his heart?”
I exhale and smile, clutching the frothy dresses to my chest when I say, “Yes, mama, I do.”
“Well, then. The baby blue dress is kind of like the one you wore to prom – the one you were so scared of getting dirty, you refused to dance with your dream guy at the time, you remember?”
I chuckle and look down at the light blue dress.
“Yeah, I remember, Mom.”
When I look back up at the projection of her, Mom has glassy eyes and a beaming smile. “Wear the blue dress, my love… and go get your actual dream guy.”
There’s a lump in my throat, but I manage to push a few words past it. “I love you, mama.”
“Love you, too, Lo-lo.”
Kenny pushes back into view, with a big thumbs-up close to the camera. “Knock his socks off, kid!”
Suddenly, there’s a new voice – someone letting themselves in through their front door. “Coo-ee! Kenny? Joan? We’re here!”
My mom starts to furiously swipe her tears away. “Oh! Oh, it’s Crochet Club! I gotta go, sweetie. If they catch me bawling at the fridge like this, they’ll think I’m unraveling faster than cheap yarn!”
“Okay, Mom! Bye!” I say, pushing the necessary buttons to end the illegal video call to Earth. “Bye, Mr Callahan!”
Mr Callahan manages to get out, “Now, you can call me Kenny, Lois. Your mother and I-” before the screen cuts out, and the connection is lost.
I blink at the now-blank area where the projected image of my mom had been. Taking a deep breath, I turn, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
I look like I’ve lost a fight with a tornado.
I’m still in crumpled sleepwear, my eyes are puffy, and my hair looks as though it’s declared independence from the rest of me.
“DJ,” I say, striding toward the wardrobe to hang my chosen blue dress back up. “I need a makeover before I can even think about getting dressed. Can you play one of those montage soundtracks? Like from an 80s movie?”
She spins for a while, obviously thinking.
The unmistakable theme song from Rocky starts blasting throughout the room.
I stare at the ceiling.
“DJ…”
I’m trying to look pretty so I can propose to him, not knock him out in the ring.
“You know what? Never mind.”
The music stops, and I decide the best place to start would be my hair. Glancing around, I realize I must have left my comb in Az’s room last night.
I know he and the guys went out earlier this morning, so I can just-
I open the door to my room and freeze.
Because Az may have gone out this morning, but apparently he’s back now.
And waiting for me.
All dressed up, in front of my bedroom door.
Down on one knee, holding out that huge, sparkly ring again.
“Lois,” he says before nervously clearing his throat. “Lois, I-”
“Yes.”
His expression brightens. A slow smile blossoming across his face. “Yes?”
Furiously nodding, I launch myself at him, knowing he’ll catch me. Knowing he’ll pull me close. Knowing that the best thing in the world is that I can always count on Az to be Az.
“Yes.”
THE END