by Julia Sexton
Vicky turned around. When she faced Kroido again she saw he was smiling.
"I can see it now."
"See what?" Vicky asked puzzled. She'd heard so many times that she looked like the goddess, she knew that couldn't be it.
"The bump, the place where the little one is growing. There's just a small bulge out from your already pleasing roundness." His smile grew. "I'm going to be a father." He laughed. "It's hard to imagine me like Zostug."
"Come on, little one," he said, putting his hand on Vicky's belly. "It's time for your first public appearance."
At the big doors to the balcony, women dressed in red carried big baskets filled with flower petals. Zostug gave Vicky a big un-regal hug.
"I am so proud of you, Vicky," he said. "When you first came here I saw, at once, that you looked like a living Neani. Now, I see that you have the true qualities of a woman.
Somehow you have tamed my son. He has taken pride in his duties in a way I've never seen before. Plus, he tells me you have decided to stay." He patted her arm. "I am very happy. Leka is your home."
Vicky realized she could still blush and she felt her face flush. "Thank you, Zostug. I will do my best not to disappoint. I have prepared a very short speech in your language with Kroido's help."
The big doors opened and they all went out on the balcony. The crowd was just as large as it had been at their wedding. Vicky felt tears come to her eyes as she gazed out at the people cheering.
Zostug started speaking. Vicky could not understand most of it. She did hear "Veeckee" several times. The all at once the crowd sent up a roar. He must have announced the new heir. The crowd started chanting but this time it was a new chant, Veeckee. Veeckee.
Kroido whispered in her ear. "My love, you are restoring the future of Leka. You've brought the gift of true womanhood...and an heir." He took her hand and the stepped up to the front to replace Zostug.
Kroido raised his hand. Slowly the crowd ceased chanting and became quiet. Kroido spoke to the people. Vicky noticed how proud he was, standing at his full height. The light gleamed in his silvery blond hair. His blue eyes moved to take in the entire crowd. He stopped speaking but there was no cheering, just silence.
"They are waiting for you," Kroido whispered.
Although Vicky had memorized her short speech, she took out her notes, just in case. She took a deep breath. The baby kicked. She smiled. Then she signaled Kroido to translate as she spoke.
"Leka! Our child will be born here, from my body, and become the heir to the throne of Leka. At our wedding I heard the prophecy of Neani, but I didn't understand. Now I ask my husband, Kroido, to tell me the story over and over."
The crowd applauded.
Vicky continued. "At our child's birth my husband, Kroido, and I will work to sustain our future, the future Neani prophesied for Leka. Prosperity and fruitfulness. Our child is the symbol of Leka’s abundance. Thank you for welcoming me to your planet."
Kroido joined his hand with hers and lifted them into the air high above their heads. The crowd burst out with chants, “Veeckee. Veeckee.”
With his other hand Kroido smoothed out her red dress over her belly until everyone could see the tiny bulge. They stood like this for many minutes as the people continued to cheer.
Kroido brought down their joined hands. He turned and swept her into his arms and kissed her with pride and pleasure. He placed his hand on her belly. The baby kicked.
<<<<>>>>
CARESSED BY THE SAVAGE ALIEN
JULIA SEXTON
Copyright 2015 by Julia Sexton
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced
in any way whatsoever, without written permission
from the author, except in case of brief
quotations embodied in critical reviews
and articles.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any
person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
First edition, 2015
Chapter 1
Natasha had to get ready for the wedding. Her alarm had not gone off (or maybe it had and she was just too knocked out to wake up from it) and time was running out. She quickly got up from the bed and first thing she did was open the curtains to let the light in. It was too dark to move around. Immediately, the room was bathed in natural lighting and a whole city appeared on the window, like a movie starting on a cinema screen.
The loud noises from the streets were really not what Natasha needed at this moment. She was navigating her way through the mess that was her room. It looked as if the police had ransacked the whole place and when found nothing of use; they had trashed it just out of frustration. But Natasha knew the room intimately, even in its messed up state.
Her phone rang just as she had entered the bathroom. Coming out quickly, her shirt halfway over her head, she looked at the caller ID. It was Mike.
“Hey,” Natasha said, more positively then her current condition dictated, so as not to give any hint to Mike of her tardiness.
“Where are you?” he said, restless as always.
“Morning to you too, big brother,” Natasha said sarcastically.
“Don’t play cute with me,” Mike said in that voice of his that dripped with the knowledge that he knew exactly what Natasha had done wrong. “You just woke up, didn’t you?”
“What? No,” she said, laying out her dress on the bed. “I will be there soon.”
There was silence on the other end, which led Natasha to believe that maybe Mike had dropped the call, but this wasn’t her lucky day.
“Nat,” he said. “This is an important day for me and I want you to be here, on time, by my side.”
“I know,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“It’s that with Jack coming in at the last moment, you are the one I want to share these moments with.”
“I know,” Natasha said, feeling a little shitty. “Don’t go all sentimental on my ass, big brother.”
He laughed, though Natasha could feel a certain choking in his laugh. It made her feel worse.
“I will be there,” she said and hung up the phone. She sat down for a moment to gather her thoughts. Without paying much attention to what she was doing, she looked at the clock by the bedside table and jumped at least three feet in the air.
She was about to break a promise to her brother on his wedding day. Not an ideal scenario by any means.
Chapter 2
“Do you, Michael Reynolds, take Rebecca Winters to be your lawfully wedded wife?” The minister put the question to Mike, who couldn’t say yes quickly enough.
“I do,” he said.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the minister said. “You may now kiss the bride.”
Mike and Becca kissed for the first time as husband and wife. Natasha’s eyes lingered on their happy faces and she felt elation, followed by a few moments of melancholy. The fact that she didn’t have a date on this wedding was a red sign, for her family and herself too.
No matter how much she kept telling herself that she was not ready for a relationship or that she didn’t need a man right now, the thing was that she sorely missed that sort of thing. She wanted someone to share her happiness and sorrows with.
She had just turned twenty-four and graduated from college. She was entering that important phase of life, the first steps into the practical life. She was figuring things out and she wanted a companion with her to do that. Wilderness wasn’t so scary when accompanied by a loved one.
Becca and Mike passed along the aisle with flowers and confetti thrown on them. She followed them, hearing the joyous cheers of their friends and family. She was happy for Mike, happier than she had been in a long time but there was certain incompleteness to her jubilation.
The wedding party drove to the reception area and Natasha made her way to the bar. She wasn’t a huge drinker but this was a special occasion.
“What’s your poison?” t
he bartender asked her.
“Bloody Mary,” she said.
“Ouch,” he said and poured her one. She took the drink and turned to face the crowd.
Wherever she looked, there were happy faces, faces of people she loved and cherished. She ought to be mingling with them, ought to be celebrating. Then she caught Mike’s eye that was looking at her in a concerned way.
She quickly faked a smile and she must have done a convincing job because Mike smiled back and diverted his gaze. Her eyes then landed on Jack, their eldest brother who had flown in from New York at the last moment.
It was typical of Jack, always working, never taking a day off. It was a mark of his incessant working that he would have missed his brother’s wedding had Natasha not called him and asked him to come. Jack could never say no to his sister. Natasha might use this influence of hers over Jack sometimes for her benefit, but she loved Jack very much and she knew that he loved her too.
Jack was here with his wife, Jenna, and their son, Lloyd. Jenna was the only woman other than Natasha who seemed to have any influence over Jack. If it had not been for Jenna, Jack surely would have worked himself to death. After marrying Jenna, he rarely worked after five.
“A girl as beautiful as you ought not to be drinking alone,” a voice said from close by.
Natasha turned to her right to see a young pretty blonde face split in smile. It was Todd. They had dated briefly in high school but even that was pushing it. It had been years since they had seen each other.
“I did not expect you here,” Natasha said, without thinking.
“Well, I assume you’re glad,” Todd said.
“Always glad to see old faces,” Natasha said cryptically.
The truth was that things had not ended particularly well with Todd. He was the typical asshole high school jock who believed he was above everybody else. That did not sit well by Natasha, not one bit, least of all when he started doing his shtick with her in public.
“So, what have you been up to?” Todd said. “Last I heard you were graduating from college.”
“And that is the last interesting thing that happened to me, yeah,” Natasha said. “I’ve been figuring things out since then.”
“Maybe it’s time you return to your roots,” Todd said, mysteriously.
“What do you mean?” she asked him.
“Just that, maybe this big city thing ain’t for you. Maybe your comfort zone is smaller. Maybe you are better off where you were raised.”
“Todd,” sighed Natasha. “Not the best thing to say to a girl on a wedding.”
He laughed and Natasha saw in his laugh, the boyish charm that she had found alluring during high school. Shame the novelty had worn off.
“It’s sincere advice,” he said, raising his hands. “Scout’s honor.”
“Todd and honor,” smirked Natasha, “Why am I skeptical?”
“Stop holding on to the past, baby,” he said.
“Don’t call me baby, baby,” she snapped.
“You still got the fire, I like that,” he said.
“Don’t come too close or you will get burnt,” she said.
“Maybe I would like to get burned, for proper this time around.”
Natasha looked at him for a long time. There seemed to be certain wistfulness in Todd’s eyes. He seemed to have a look that said missed chances. Natasha did not know if she felt the same way or not.
“Are you seeing anybody?” Todd said, looking away, realizing that he had perhaps said too much.
Natasha also felt uncomfortable and an air of formality seemed to have come between them. She sipped her drink and found the glass empty.
“Not at the moment,” she said, not meeting his eyes.
“Hey, can I get refill here,” Todd said, looking at her empty glass.
“What about you?” Natasha said, not wanting to dwell on her non-existent love life.
“I just broke up with a girl I was seeing for the past three years,” he said.
“Sorry to hear that,” Natasha said and meant it.
She could very well understand the misery of heartbreak. Endless hours listening to music and wondering what it really meant when someone asked the question: what came first, the music or the misery?
Natasha noticed that Jack was beckoning her to come to him. She excused herself to Todd and went to see her elder brother.
“Hey, Natasha,” he said when she was within earshot. “I want you to meet Jim. He works with Mike and we have met a couple of times over the past few months.”
“Hi,” Natasha said not knowing why she was being asked to meet this stranger, though there was an instinctual feeling creeping up inside her.
“Hi,” said Jim, who seemed a little shy. Perhaps, he was pushed into this scenario as well.
“You guys chat up,” Jack said, looking at the two of them like a matchmaker. Natasha gave him a look that clearly said I know what you are doing.
Jack shrugged in a way that said so what?
Natasha talked to Jim for a few minutes, but both of them felt that the conversation was going nowhere. They both seemed to be forced into it and they were just not clicking. After a couple of minutes of painful back and forth, Natasha decided that enough was enough.
“I know what happened here,” she said.
“What’s that?” he said.
“My brother tried to hook me up to one of his friends. It is a classic trope and I don’t blame him.”
Jim laughed. “I knew you’d figure it out. To tell you the truth, he pushed me into this as well. Your brother doesn’t take no for an answer.”
“That’s him,” she said. “So, why don’t we just cut the bullshit and admit that this is not working and we smile and shake hands and go our separate ways.”
“Sounds about fine to me,” he said, looking relieved and shook her hand.
Natasha turned to the bar; purposefully avoiding Jack’s questioning gaze and saw that Todd was talking to a man she had never seen before. He was tall and extremely handsome. He was so handsome, that Todd, inarguably the hottest guy of her high school and even still someone who made girls look twice when he entered the room, looked positively plain in front of him.
He towered over Todd, with his beefed up frame and confident demeanor. He had jet black hair, a strand of which fell over his forehead. It looked natural but Natasha thought maybe he did that on purpose. He looked sharp in a black suit.
Just as Natasha was admiring the stranger, he averted his eyes from Todd and they landed straight at Natasha. They didn’t linger on anyone, but came directly towards her. She could feel herself blushing. But she didn’t want to seem affected by his looks. She started walking towards the bar but the stranger left and soon was out of the room. Natasha was perplexed.
She reached the bar where Todd was holding a drink of his own and looked a little fidgety.
“Who was he?” Natasha said.
Todd looked at her in a strange way.
“Look here, Natasha,” he said. “It was great seeing you. It is getting late and I have to go back. I hope we meet again.”
He said that and left so abruptly that Natasha could not say anything other than goodbye. She was baffled. What happened suddenly? Who was the tall sexy stranger?
She picked up her drink and took a swig. Just then she saw Jack get up for his best man speech.
Chapter 3
All the Reynolds’ were gathered at Mike and Becca’s place a week after the weeding. They were due to leave for their honeymoon in a few days and this was a catch up with close family before they all went their different ways.
Natasha looked around at her two brothers and their contentment. It was infectious. It was hard not to bask in the glory of their fulfilment and come out anything but happy; only if that was the case. Natasha, though inarguably happy for her brothers, could not ignore that there was something lacking in her life.
“I want to make a toast,” Jack said, from the couch and stood up.
> Natasha who had been thoroughly occupied in her thoughts and had hardly said a word, woke up from her reverie and held up her glass.
“Mike,” Jack began. “To all that has to come and all that has passed; may you have countless happy hours with this new life of yours: To new lives.”
“To new lives,” everybody chimed in, Natasha a second later than everybody else.
Later Jack and Natasha were standing in the kitchen, doing the dishes. Jenna was outside with Mike and Becca, having a cigarette. Jack also smoked but he didn’t want to leave Natasha alone inside the house. He didn’t say that, but Natasha knew this was the reason. Jack wasn’t always vocal with his affections, but they were there nonetheless.
“So, what’s wrong?” Jack said, out of the blue.
“What?” Natasha said, taken aback. “Nothing’s wrong.”
Even to her own ears the answer seemed dubious. She had been too quick to say no, and her voice had lost its naturalness.
“Come on, Natasha,” Jack said. “It’s me.”
Natasha remained quiet and busied herself with the dishes. She thought if she pretended that there wasn’t any question, Jack might give up. But if Jack was one thing, it was persistent.
“You know, I can’t help you unless you tell me what’s wrong,” Jack said, his voice full of concern.
“Who says I need your help?” Natasha snapped and regretted it immediately, though she did not say so.
“Nevertheless,” Jack continued, pretending that he was not hurt by his sister’s snap. “I can tell that something is bothering you and I want to know.”
“It’s Mike and Becca’s moment, let’s not take it away from them,” she said.
“Mike and Becca are happy. I am not worried about them. I am worried about you. I have been so busy lately, hell, I have always been so busy that I could not stay in touch with you,” Jack said.
“Are you apologizing for lost time, Jack? Because you don’t have to. I don’t blame you for anything. You are the best brother a sister could ask for and I understand that you have your own life to live.”