Finding (The Way) Home

The Party: Chapter 8

I'm hurriedly rushed inside, Maria keeping a large fluffy towel wrapped around me. When we reach the steps I'm surprised to see that there is a chair lift-like thing on the right side. Kinda like for people who can't go up and down stairs on Earth.

"We had this installed, hopefully, it will be easier for you to reach your room now," Maria explains and sits me in the chair.

She presses a button on the wall and up I go. It isn't particularly fast but that's good as Maria is walking beside me up the steps. I wait and twiddle my thumbs as the chair slowly ascends. I actually wish that I could be climbing the stairs instead of idly sitting in the chair as I wait to get to the top of the stairs.

Once the chair reaches the top, after scaring the wits out of me as it flouted past doorways without rails, I hop off. Maria leads the way down to my room and opens the door for me.

"How about you go take a shower while I get things ready?" Maria instructs and I nod, deciding to go along with it.

I go into the bathroom and proceed to take a shower, trying not to take too long but having to have a good deal of time washing my hair as it's nearly as long as my butt at this point. That's one thing I'll always hate about my hair, it's always a pain to wash.

"Are you finished?" Maria asks, speaking loud enough to be heard through the door and water.

"Yup! Let me just get out!" I yell back, shutting off the water.

I ring the water out of my hair before grabbing a towel and quickly wrapping it around me, not paying attention as my hair continues to drip onto the marble floors.

I take off the necklace I found in the pool and hide it in the cabinet with the rest of the shower stuff, afraid Maria might see it. While there, I grab a robe and put it on, now using to towel around my head, trying to at least get it a bit more dry. When I open the door, Maria is there waiting for me.

"Come sit down, I'll help you with getting ready," she says, pointing to where the vanity is.

I quickly cross the room and sit. Maria seems to be in some kind of mood and crossing her now is like asking for a death wish. She's behaving like Aunt Cass after the time I took the car and went on a road trip without telling her first. Not outright angry at me or the yelling, but the silence was worse.

"Did I do something to make you angry?" I ask, hesitant.

"What? No! Of course not. If you want to know, it's my husband. He decided that it would be a good idea to buy a bunch of random seeds so he could plant his own garden. However, he has no clue what they are as they didn't come with labels," Maria explains and I laugh.

Something didn't seem exactly right. I get the sense that she is lying to me but then again, she isn't required to tell me the truth. Still, I get a warning shiver up my spine

that tells me to pretend everything is fine.

"Yeah, but it's kinda fun, seeing what pops up when they're ready. Think of it as a long term surprise box," I say and see Maria smile in the mirror.

"I guess. Now, I have an idea of what to do but if you want anything specific, let me know," Maria says, unwrapping the towel on my head.

"Um, just something natural? I don't want to look over the top," I say and Maria grins.

"That shouldn't be a problem. You look so pretty that it would be a shame to hide you under a bunch of powder," Maria says and I get to thinking.

"Do you have makeup? On Epsilion I mean?" I ask, uncertain.

"Certainly! One of our main exports are pigments made out of plants that we grow," Maria says and goes about getting me ready.

First off, she takes some kind of a curved wand and waves it over my head and down my back. I nearly jump as I see my hair almost instantly dry in a second. I guess having alien tech is a bonus in the beauty department. She then picks up a curling iron and goes about giving me more pronounced waves in my hair. It takes her some time because of the sheer amount of hair on my head.