Alien Tango

involved—Dad and the dogs came in, and I was buried under the tide of canines for a while.
    Dogs appeased, I got a hug and kiss from Dad. “You getting enough to eat? Exercise?”
    “Yes, Dad. Plenty of both.”
    “Sol, I forgot to get the Martinelli’s. Would you get a few bottles?” A-Cs weren’t allowed alcohol, supposedly for religious reasons. We’d discovered, however, that the real reason was that they were deadly allergic to the stuff. I hadn’t had an alcoholic drink for months. This was a celebration, so since champagne was out, we were making do with what the kiddies drink on New Year’s Eve.
    “Sure.” Dad gave Mom a kiss and a knowing look and headed for the garage.
    I considered this. Mom wasn’t given to forgetting anything, let alone that she’d need some nonalcoholic bubbly for tonight. I gave her a long look. “What will I find if I open the pantry or the fridge?”
    Mom grinned. “You’re getting good at this. Yes, I wanted to speak with you when your father wasn’t here. And when Jeff wasn’t here. Your father and I are going to Washington tomorrow, and this opportunity appeared sooner than I thought it would, so why pass it up?”
    “So, what’s the big deal that requires girls only-ness?”
    Mom shrugged. “You and Jeff are getting closer.” I nodded. This wasn’t exactly news. “I just want you to be sure that you’ve . . . considered all your options.”
    “Mom, for God’s sake, Christopher and I would not work out on any kind of long-term basis.”
    “I don’t mean just Christopher.” Mom gave me a look I was familiar with—her “you’re so dense” look.
    “Then who? I don’t recall a lot of other options I’ve been excited about for anything long term.”
    Mom sighed. “Are you going to your high school reunion?”
    “Did the reunion committee send a desperate plea I missed? Chuckie asked me that today, too. And Jeff’s been whining about going. And, no, even with all that, I’m still not planning on it.”
    “I think you should go.”
    I stared at her, trying to see if she was making a joke. She sure looked serious. “Um, why, exactly? I don’t think Amy or Sheila are planning to go, and Chuckie said he’d only consider it if I was going. High school was fine, but I don’t feel some strong urge to reminisce with people I don’t see or speak to at all anymore.”
    “You might enjoy it.”
    “Or I might not.” I considered all the potential reasons she was suggesting this. “You want me to show Jeff off or something?” That had real possibilities. There was no way in the world anyone else had landed someone that gorgeous, unless they were dating a male model or an A-C.
    “Or something.” Mom sighed again. “What else did you and Charles talk about?”
    “How do you know we talked?”
    Her eyes rolled. “You told me he’d said he’d go to the reunion if you would.” She shook her head. “He’d do anything you wanted, you know that, right?”
    “Yeah.” My turn to sigh. “He sounded worried but okay.”
    “Have you seen him recently?”
    “No.”
    Mom glared. “So, you’ve abandoned the man who’s always been there for you?”
    Where was this coming from? “No. Mom, Chuckie’s still one of my two best guy friends. It’s just . . . I can’t tell him about my life now. And he knows when I lie. I just . . . I don’t want to lie to his face, okay?”
    Mom’s expression softened. “I understand. But maybe you should see him anyway. The reunion would be neutral ground.”
    “Neutral ground? You mean we’d be joined together against the forces trying to kill us, at least if it’s anything like high school was. We haven’t had a fight or anything, it’s not like we need to kiss and make up.”
    I got another shot of the “dense” look. “Kitten, I just want you to be sure you’ve considered all your options.”
    “Mom, I’m in a serious relationship with, last time I checked, a guy you and Dad both like. What’s wrong with Jeff that you don’t want me with him suddenly?”
    “Nothing’s wrong with Jeff .”
    I considered this. “But . . . ?”
    “But . . . what does his family think of you?”
    Ah. This suddenly made sense. My turn to sigh. “No idea. He won’t let me meet them. And, it doesn’t matter, right? Because there’s no interspecies mating allowed. That’s what this is about, right?”
    “For the most part, yes. Mixing families is hard enough when both sides are enthusiastic about it. When