Polly’s eyes widened. “Wait, you were a soldier?”
“Yep.”
“What made you leave?”
Addy’s expression turned reflective. “Choices.”
Polly understood. Some experiences were shared, while others remained unspoken. She let the topic drop, respecting Addy’s privacy.
Changing the subject, Addy glanced around the apartment. “So, how are things with Erzo?”
Polly hesitated, her cheeks flushing a soft pink. “It’s fine, I guess.”
“Just ‘fine’?” Addy probed, a playful twinkle in her eye. “No sparks flying? No cosmic lust?”
Polly fidgeted, a little flustered. “I don’t know. It’s complicated. I didn’t expect any of this to happen, but now that I’m here, I’m not sure what I want.”
Addy’s smile grew wider. “Ah, there it is. You do like him.”
Polly gave a slight, reluctant nod. “He’s a good kisser.”
Addy chuckled. “That’s always a good sign.”
Polly’s gaze fell to the floor. “But can this really work out?”
Addy’s expression softened. “Nothing’s ever perfect, but we do our best to ensure compatibility.”
“And out of everyone in the universe, you picked us three,” Polly said, mortified when her voice wavered a little.
“Yeah,” Addy admitted. “To be honest, I’m not sure why we could connect with your world. There aren’t supposed to be any portals to pre-hyperspace systems. We even have some worlds with offices on the worlds and everything.”
She lifted her eyebrows. “If there was on Earth, I bet there’d be a line of women ready to jump through.”
“Is it really that hard to find love on your planet?”
“It’s not just about finding love,” Polly explained. “It’s about finding someone who won’t hurt you and who respects you. That’s what we’re all looking for, men and women alike.”
“That sounds like a lot of potential mates right there,” Addy said thoughtfully.
“Yeah,” Polly agreed, “if we could just get past the whole ‘aliens aren’t real and we’re not alone in the universe’ thing.”
“Well, that’s a job for the diplomats,” Addy pointed out.
Polly held up a strange, alien vegetable with skepticism. “So, these are the infamous mega-veggies you mentioned?”
Addy chuckled. “Exactly. They’re like little culinary balloons. Just remember, keep them cool until you’re ready to cook. Heat’s their trigger.”
“Got it. Alien veggies: handle with care,” Polly quipped, making a mental note of the cooking instructions. With a friendly wave, Addy left, leaving Polly to her culinary adventure.
After triple-checking the locks—because one could never be too cautious—Polly tied on her apron, her trusty bat hanging at her hip like a futuristic gunslinger. Despite the weapon’s reassuring presence, a sense of unease lingered. Her eyes darted around the apartment as she prepped the meal.
Cooking had never been her forte, even on Earth. Now, faced with ingredients that seemed to have come straight out of a sci-fi movie, it was like Polly was competing in an intergalactic cooking show without a clue.
She hadn’t seen any more shadowy figures since the restaurant incident, which was a relief. But a nagging thought kept prodding her—maybe she really was suffering from space sickness. Maybe those figures were just hallucinations. It was a thought that frayed her nerves.
“I just hate this,” she muttered, more to herself than anyone else.
Erzo’s voice suddenly broke the silence. “Then why are you making it?”
