She was worth the effort.
By the time I’d set my resolve, the sun began to rise over the horizon. A beast screamed repeatedly as the Earth’s star lit the farm. I got up and made my way to the farmhouse. I had agreed to stay away for the night, but I made no such promises about the morning. I wanted more of Leigh’s delicious breakfast, and I wanted to begin my courtship as soon as possible.
Remembering some of the Earth courtship programs I had seen on Xalan, I stopped on my way and collected an assortment of flora for Leigh. For some reason, it seemed human women enjoyed receiving gifts of severed plant life, with a preference for variety in the color of the plants. I gathered as many different colors of plants as I could find until my arms were overladen with greens, golds, whites, pinks, blues, and reds.
Having acquired a sufficient assortment of plant colors, I burst into the kitchen. “Leigh! I have brought you a gift!”
Leigh turned from the cooking box, which I had since learned was called a stove, and dropped her utensil when she saw me. I could not quite read the expression on her face, but I hoped the wide eyes and gaping mouth were signs of happiness at my offering.
“T’raat,I—I appreciate the gesture, but …” She whipped around when a door slammed upstairs and dropped her voice to a whisper. “Where did you get the roses from?”
“Which ones are roses?” I asked, inspecting my haul.
Without further explanation, Leigh grabbed my arm and dragged me outside. “The red and pink ones! Where did you get those?”
“Are they more desirable than the other plants? If so, I will get more for you.”
“What’s all the ruckus?” Harrison’s voice bellowed from inside.
Leigh clamped a hand over my mouth and pushed me up against the wall of the house, out of sight from the kitchen door. “Nothing, Dad! T’raat was just saying good morning.”
Her body trembled violently, and her expression seemed … fearful? Why would she be frightened of dying foliage? I shifted my hold on the plants and removed her hand from my mouth. “What is wrong, Leigh? Are the roses frightening you?”
“It’s not the roses I’m scared of!” she hissed. “It’s what Dad will do to us if he finds out you stole them.”
I did not understand. I had taken the red and pink plants from some trellises along the side of the house. They appeared to be growing freely, there for the taking. Besides, the plants were alive. How can I steal a living thing? Do humans consider plants to be possessions? If so, this courtship ritual was most perplexing.
Tears filled Leigh’s eyes. “I’m sorry, T’raat. It’s not your fault—you didn’t know, but … the rosebushes were Mom’s.”
Leigh’s mother? I had not yet met the woman, but hearing this made me regret plucking them. I was already disliked by her father; courting Leigh would be infinitely more difficult if her mother disliked me as well.
“Do you wish me to return them?”
A sob escaped her lips. “Oh, T’raat … You can’t just return flowers after you’ve pulled them, especially not like this. You’ve ripped them to pieces. There’s no replanting them when they’ve been yanked out like that.”
My hearts sank at her rejection of my gift. It had not been my intention to sadden her.
“Leigh? Leigh Ann! Where are you? You know better than to leave the stove unattended like this while it’s on.”
“Be right there, Dad!” She wiped her eyes and pushed me towards the path back to the barn. “Go! Hide the flowers. I’ll distract Dad and finish breakfast. When it’s done, I’ll bring aplate back to the barn for you. And if Dad asks—this is very important, T’raat—if he asks about the roses, you have to lie. Do you understand?”
I gave my nanites time to translate the multiple meanings of the word, then sorted her intent from the context. “You wish me to tell an untruth.”
“Yes. Lie. Can your people do that?”
I shrugged. “Of course. I will lie.”
Leigh sighed with relief. “Good. Now hurry back to the barn. Hide the flowers.”
I did as I was instructed, burying the rejected gift in the hay bales in the barn loft and covering the evidence with some blankets. To draw less attention to my error, I went to my ship and began working on repairs. For whatever reason, the flowers would anger Harrison. Best to act as though I had been fixing the ship all morning.
Several time units later, a loud keening sounded from the direction of the house. The voice was male, so I presumed it was Harrison. He appeared at the entrance to the barn moments later, confirming my supposition. His face had taken on a shade of pink so dark as to be almost true red, and his hands clenched into fists at his sides. A muscle in his jaw twitched as he fumed in the doorway.
“You! Alien! Did you touch my wife’s rosebushes?”
I tried to keep my expression even as I answered. I did not know how well Harrison could read Xalanite expressions, but given that many of the human facial expressions were similar to Xalanite ones, I wagered he would see the guilt on my face if I was not careful. “What are rosebushes?”
Harrison’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t try to bullshit me, boy.”
