I shift so I’m more comfortable and can see him a little better, but I don’t go far. I can’t. I need to be near him, convince myself this is real.
“It’s okay,” I tell him.
“No,” he says. “I shouldn’t have gone. I should have stayed. I—” His gaze flicks to me, and a tear slips down his cheek. “I’m sorry I left you.”
I hold his face in both of my hands, looking him right in the eyes.
“You’re here now. You came back to me. I knew you would. That’s why I’m here.”
He takes a deep breath and lets it out. “I don’t deserve you.”
“Don’t talk like that. Of course you do. Just… tell me where you’ve been.”
“In the ocean,” he says. “With my colony. It’s all… very confusing.”
“Why?”
“It just doesn’t feel real. After being here for so long, going back there was like a bad dream.”
I nod, then lean down to rest my head on his shoulder. “We don’t need to talk about it now. Are you hungry?” I sit up again. “I can make you food. I—”
Aliko pulls me closer to him when I try to get up. “I just need you to stay with me.”
I smile and settle against him. “I can do that. I want to do that.”
Aliko and I haven’t let go of each other, but we have shifted to lie down. I want to suggest we go to the bed where we have more room, but I sort of like that we’re squished together like this. The room is dark, the sun long having set, and the TV sleep timer going off. I’ve drifted in and out of sleep, but no matter what time I wake, I can tell Aliko hasn’t slept a wink.
“Are you okay?” I whisper, running my hand along his human arm until I find his hand. I link our fingers.
“I don’t think so,” is what he says back, his voice shaky.
“How can I help?”
“Just stay with me.”
“I will. Always.”
It falls silent again, and I drift into sleep. When I wake the next time, the sun is coming up and Aliko is finally asleep. I don’t want to leave him, but I have to pee and he needs to eat. So I untangle myself from his limbs, careful not to wake him. Once on my feet, I cover him with the blanket, make sure the curtains are drawn tight so the light doesn’t disturb him, then I go into the kitchen that is thankfully on the other side of the house.
There isn’t much food here, but we have pancake mix and eggs, so that’s what I make. I’m in the middle of cooking everything when I realize that in order for him to eat, I’ll have to wake him up and maybe he needs sleep more than food. I sigh, running the back of my hand across my forehead.
“What the hell am I doing?” I whisper to myself.
“Looks like you’re making me breakfast,” Aliko says from behind me.
I whirl around, and there he is. Standing in the kitchen. I’ve waited for this for weeks now. And here he is. Just so simply. Just like that.
“I am.” I smile. “Pancakes and scrambled eggs. It’s all we have right now.”
“It’s perfect. How can I help?”
“You can make coffee?”
“I’ll try my best.”
I huff a laugh as he walks to the cabinets, pulling them open one by one until he finds the canister of coffee and filters.
The kitchen is spacious with more cabinet space than we need, and there is a large arch that leads directly to the dining room, and another door that leads into the hall that leads to the sunroom. Seeing the layout in photos is different than being here. This house is perfect.
