Alien in the House

in?”
    “No. If the com’s on, you can hear that little white noise sound, and eavesdropping is
not
Walter’s thing.” Walter was the youngest A-C agent to ever get assigned to be Head of Security for any facility. As such, he was incredibly dedicated, and eavesdropping was frowned upon when we weren’t in emergency situations. I looked at my watch. Sure enough, Jamie’s dinnertime was in thirty minutes. “Denise has Walter do these reminders when we’re busy, so I don’t forget.”
    “It’s redundant,” Jeff said. Of course, Jeff never, ever forgot Jamie’s dinner time, lunch time, or breakfast time. Or anything else related to our daughter. He was the best daddy in the world. He insisted I was the best mommy, but Denise was quite aware that I got distracted, at least occasionally.
    “Whatever. So, what do we tell everyone about this powwow? Because I can guarantee they’re going to ask what we were talking about.”
    “Wedding plans,” Chuckie replied. “Discussing the wedding party.”
    “Still?”
    He rubbed the back of his neck again. “Yeah, well, our wedding party isn’t set yet, and every delay means things move around even more, so it works as a cover.”
    “Yeah, well, I can relate. Sort of.”
    “We went in the opposite direction, baby,” Jeff reminded me.
    This was true enough. We’d had to move our wedding up by several weeks in order to foil one of the many Bad Guy du Jour plans. However, the delays Chuckie and Naomi were going through weren’t anything any of us could avoid.
    What with all the invasion drama and whatnot, the powers that be—which included the President and many other major countries’ leaders, including Australia’s, where Chuckie normally lived half the year—all felt that what would help solve many issues was a good ol’ Royal Wedding Extravaganza.
    Jeff and I having already done said Extravaganza was good, because the
World Weekly News
had the pictures—courtesy of our favorite paparazzo, Mister Joel Oliver—and was re-running them regularly. But Christopher and Amy having had the nerve to forego a big wedding meant that Chuckie and Naomi, being the next in line to get married, were now the “It” couple for the big to-do. I didn’t envy them. At all.
    A large part of my lack of envy was that they were probably the least involved bride and groom ever, in terms of what kind of say they were getting in regard to their own nuptials. I mean, I’d been uninvolved, in that sense, but Reader had handled everything, and done it well, and I’d actually had veto power.
    Every decision Chuckie and Naomi made had to go up through both the A-C and U.S. governments. And then, and only then, could they actually run said decisions by their families. And then any changes the families wanted went right back up the chain. Needless to say, this took time, which added to the overall frustration factor.
    Wedding By Committee was no one’s idea of a fun time. That neither one of them had killed anyone yet was a magnificent testament to the fact that they were, apparently, the most patient couple on the planet.
    “So, what’s the issue Jeff and I are helping you solve, wedding party-wise?”
    Chuckie sighed and looked slightly embarrassed. “I still don’t have my side chosen, and that includes the best man.”
    “Paul’s performing the ceremony, right?” Jeff asked. It was sad that we actually had to ask, but who was marrying Chuckie and Naomi had changed at least six times so far by my count.
    “Yes. That’s been finally and officially approved and, God willing, nothing’s going to change it. And Reader, as his husband, is a groomsman, and so is Michael.” Michael was the fourth Gower sibling. He was younger than Gower, though like his older brother he was big, black, bald, and gorgeous. Michael was older than Naomi, with Abigail holding down the baby of the family slot.
    Michael was also an astronaut and the A-C Player of the Year, Every Year. “Having Michael must be kind of like a double for whoever’s making demands, right? I mean, an astronaut has to be a decent draw or coup or whatever it is they’re looking for.”
    “True enough. And while Reader’s joyfully taken over the role of Reynolds Hater that your husband here held so happily for so long, I don’t have any objection to him being in the wedding party.”
    Jeff laughed. “Just took getting to know the real you.”
    Chuckie snorted. “Whatever spin makes you happy.”
    “So, you