Alien in the Family

Couldn’t remember where. Went to hang my clothes up and discovered a cute shortie nightgown hanging there. Wasn’t mine, but I assumed Reader had left it for me. Didn’t argue; put it on, and crawled into bed.
    I was almost asleep when I heard some soft mewling. “Come on.” I had Poofs on me immediately. Harlie and Poofikins, but there was a third one. “Are you Fluffy?” No reaction. “Fuzzball?” Again, nothing. “Gatita?” Nada. Called Christopher on the house phone. “Is your Poof with me?”
    “Yeah. Jeff’s got the jealousy thing, you might remember? Wanted it there just in case Reynolds tried to slip past seven women, including the Amazon Queen, in order to steal you away in the night.”
    I snorted. “Sweet. So, what’s your Poof’s name?”
    Silence.
    “Christopher, I know everyone else’s, and I don’t want to say, ‘hey you,’ to it.”
    More silence.
    “How bad could it be? Chuckie’s is named Fluffy, for God’s sake.”
    “Fine. Toby.” I heard Martini start laughing in the background.
    “Toby?”
    “Yes, Toby.” Christopher sounded really annoyed and I was worried Martini was going to die, he was laughing so hard.
    “Why is Toby such a funny name to Jeff?” I heard some mumbling, but no answer. “What? Speak up.”
    He heaved a sigh. “It was the name of my stuffed toy when I was little, okay?”
    “Awww, that’s sweet.”
    “Yeah, thanks.” He didn’t sound thankful. Martini was still laughing.
    “Did Jeff have a stuffed toy when he was little, too?”
    “Yes, he did,” Christopher shouted this. Didn’t slow down Martini’s laughter. “His was named Murphy.”
    “Also sweet. There’s nothing embarrassing about naming your Poof Toby, you know. I think it’s cute.”
    “Wonderful. Jeff’s Poof came named. Have I mentioned that we look like idiots with those things?”
    “Oh, no! Toby! Don’t touch that!”
    “What? Is it hurt? What happened?” He sounded totally freaked.
    “Toby’s fine. I think you can stop pretending you don’t like it now.”
    “I hate you.”
    “Yeah, yeah, just stop trying to be all Mister Macho about them. They’re adorable, and you know it.”
    “Fine. Can we hang up now?”
    “Sure, I’m tired. See you in the morning.”
    “Doubt it. Our drill sergeant has views on when any of us will see you again.”
    I yawned. “Fine. Well, whenever. Night, Christopher. Love to Jeff.”
    “Goodnight, Kitty. Enjoy your last night as a single woman.”
    We hung up, and I snuggled into the bed. It seemed huge without Martini in it. The three Poofs cuddled up around my head and started purring quietly. Heard the girls out in the other room—they were still wide awake and having fun. Me, all I wanted was to be cuddled up next to Martini. I wondered if I should get up and work on the enjoying some more but realized I didn’t want to. Maybe marriage wasn’t going to be all that different, after all. Possibly Martini’s jealousy might abate somewhat, that would be a good thing. Of course, maybe he’d want me to cook, too. Then again, maybe he would just want things the way they’d been. On the other hand, I knew he wanted kids, and as soon as possible, though he had said when I was ready. What if I was never ready? What if we couldn’t get pregnant? What if he got bored with me?
    My cell phone rang. My purse was by the side of the bed, so didn’t take too long for me to dig it out. “Jeff, what’s wrong?”
    “I will not get bored with you. I am not going to force you to cook. My jealousy is never going to go away, get used to it. Yes, I want kids, I’m sure we won’t have a problem, and from what my father’s said, you’re never really ready to have them, you just think you are. Stop worrying or else I’ll have to hurt James in order to get up there with you. I love you, go to sleep.”
    “I miss you.”
    “Me too. Last night like this, okay? I think that’s James’ sadistic point.”
    “Yeah. Would you have named your Poof Murphy if it hadn’t been named Harlie?”
    “No idea. Happy I don’t have to worry about it. Go to sleep, baby. Tomorrow’s a big day.”
    “Do you like your tux?”
    He laughed. “Yes. I just hope you like it. Reynolds insinuated I’d love your dress.”
    “I hope so.” I was starting to get sleepy, but I didn’t want to get off the phone.
    “You want me to talk you to sleep?” He sounded amused, not upset.
    “Sort of. The Poofs aren’t the same as being with you, you