“We don’t get many demons in these parts. Not that it’s an excuse. They are being impolite.”
“I want to go home,” they whimpered, and disappointment crashed over him. Like they could read it on his face, they blurted. “Not Envy. I mean, I want to go home to your house, with Nan and your parents. I do not want to be here in this airport anymore. I do not like it.”
Rubbing their shoulder, he guided them toward the exit. “I know, baby. We’re almost out. Just hang in there.”
They stopped at the restrooms so Bryce could pee, and he used the moment to text his family to let them know Zef was really agitated from the flight. Then he washed his hands and met back up with the Mantodea who was hovering near the entrance.
“Oh good, you are back,” they said in relief. “I am sorry for being so anxious. I cannot seem to regulate. I apologize.”
He cupped their face and pressed their foreheads together. “Hey, none of that. You got nothing to apologize for.”
“I wanted to make a good impression with your parents,” they said miserably.
“They already know and love you, so you don’t gotta worry about that. I told them you’re stressed from the flight, and if you need to just sit in the back of the truck quietly and zone out, that’s okay. They’ll understand.”
Their antennas dotted over his brow in little kisses. “I am still happy I am here with you.”
“Me too.” He booped the tiny, raised bump between their nostril slits with the tip of his nose. “Let’s get outta here.”
When they finally made it out of the main hub, the crowd thinned, and Bryce caught sight of his family. Nan and her pink curls and floral handbag. His mother in her work jeans and tank top. Dad in his overalls and John Deer ballcap.
Releasing Zef’s hand with a parting squeeze, he jogged ahead so they could all hug him without the risk of touching Zef.
“Oh, my baby,” his mother said, kissing his cheek again and again. “What do you even eat over there? You’re skin and bones.”
Since Bryce had never, in his life, been skin and bones, he snorted with an eyeroll and let her fret over him. His father clapped him on the shoulder, then pulled him into an embrace next.
“Missed you, kid.”
“You too, Pops. Is Trinket foaling?”
“Not yet, but she’s close. I think your beau will be around to see it.”
After hugging and kissing Nan, Bryce turned back to Zef, who stood a few feet away, top hands messing with their backpack straps as their lower hands fidgeted with their button-up.
“Mom, Dad, this is Zef. Zef, these are my parents.”
Stepping forward, Zef bowed deeply, their hair falling in two curtains on either side of their face. “Bernice, Daniel, it is my honor to make your acquaintance.”
“Hello, Zef,” his mother said, bowing awkwardly back. “We’re so happy you’re here.”
“Yeah, of course,” his dad said gruffly. “Any friend of Bryce’s, and all that.”
“Thank you. I am grateful for the hospitality.” Straightening from their bow, they smiled wanly at Nan. “Hello, Nan, I am happy to see you again.”
“You too, kiddo. You’re looking better than when I left you.”
“Yes, it is because I was about to undergo my fertility cycle, even though I did not know it at the time. It was very terrible. I stared at Bryce’s nipples, then I cried in the bathtub while I ate cake,” they said morosely. “But I didnot inseminate myself, so the outcome was as positive as one could hope for, I suppose.”
Nan guffawed as Bryce’s mom pressed a hand to her mouth to smother a shocked smile. His dad shifted his weight uncomfortably, and Bryce chuckled, brushing their hair off their shoulder to shower down their back.
“Forgive me, did I say something wrong?” they asked him, and he shook his head.
“Nope, you’re perfect.”
“I told you they were a hoot and a half,” Nan said, gesturing toward the exit. “Let’s get home.”
During the drive, Zef stared out the window in fascination, watching the trees and other cars. They barely spoke at all, only voicing a question now and then about an animal they saw or what kind of trees they drove through. Sitting between Nan and Zef in the back of the old Ford, Bryce updated them on his life in the Pentagram, then listened to the changes that happened in his hometown while he’d been away.
