Invited

Five - Timber

Chevelle had dinner cooked by the time I was back from taking care of Vance for the day. She had worked from home that day. Her job was easy and portable. She'd joined the censorship committee and was tasked with listening to music, watching movies, reading books, and playing games all day to see if they met the Achlivans' standards. Because of this, I got to see plenty of otherwise banned media, and on occasion I read the books that she didn't find all too appealing. The goal was to get as much "appropriate" content as possible. I believe art should never be censored or banned from the general public. Discretion was important, sure. It would be bad to take a young child to a graphic movie. That didn't mean the rest of us couldn't enjoy it. I didn't make the rules, though.

Something stung my nostrils as I walked into the kitchen. "Smells
...what did you make?"

"Pizza," she said, her head inside of the refrigerator.

Not what I would have guessed. "Oh."

She pulled the pizza out of the oven and set it on the stove top. The cheese was burned and near black. I couldn't even identify the toppings. "Want some? Pepperoni and mushrooms."

"Did you start it on fire?" I teased.

"No, I happen to like it like this. Okay? Adds a little something." She put her hands on her hips. I noticed the bump finally starting to grow where her stomach was. She'd always been curvy and proportioned – normal. It was slight, and could have been passed off as nothing more than a little extra fat. Since I knew what was really going on, I suppose it made it a bit more obvious even though she was only between ten and twelve weeks along. The more noticeable change was her more perky chest. Not to sound like a pervert, but it was pretty blatant those were different. I'd have to be blind to not see it.

I shrugged, moving my gaze from the bump to her face. "All right, if you say so."

"Do you want some?" she repeated.

"Nah, not hungry. Had a pretty big lunch, so I might just eat a salad or something later."

"You sound like a girl."

I rolled my eyes. "Do you want me to get sick? I ate a lot of carbs."

"No, but it doesn't sound any less feminine. Talking about carbs isn't helping your case much. Just saying."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I mumbled.

Chevelle was one of the few people on the ship who knew about my medical issues. Basically, hypoglycemia is the opposite of diabetes. Instead of too much blood sugar, I don't have enough of it. I've had it my whole life. For the most part, I kept it well-maintained and could tell when my blood sugar was off. Sometimes Chevelle tended to forget. I had to be careful. Being on the ship messed with my routine a lot.

She walked over to me and gave my shoulder a squeeze. "If you're not hungry because you're nervous, I feel the same way."

"That's also part of it. I've been trying to not think about seeing my family tomorrow. When I do, I kind of want to puke."

"That's a nice thing to say."

I rolled my eyes. "Me and nerves usually result in an upchuck. Believe it or not, I let my nerves get the better of me."

"Wow, and I thought I was bad," she said and started to cut her pizza into squares. "So you puke before all those big events?"

I laughed. "Only the important ones. Mostly auditions, and then things you'll think are weird."

"Like?"

"Like seeing my parents again."

She frowned. "What are you so nervous about anyway? They're your parents. Do you guys not get along or something?"

"We do, for the most part." I sat down at the kitchen table and waited for her to join me. For the time being, I'd watch her eat.

"Okay, so what's the deal?"

I sighed. "They can be overly critical of what I'm doing. Don't get me wrong, they support my career, but if I make a movie with too much swearing, or nudity, or something else considered controversial or risque, I get an earful."

"Your movies are pretty tame from what I've seen."

"That's what I thought too, but my Mom and Dad are kind of old-fashioned in that department. Then of course there's the tabloids. They're pretty bad at stalking those. You know how much bad stuff the press likes to invent and print." I rolled my eyes.

She gasped, sitting across from me in her usual chair. "Don't tell me they buy into that crap? Everyone knows you don't take anything seriously. It's just a bunch of stupid gossip to make money."

"They don't believe it." I shook my head. "But I still hear about it, and how I need to be more careful with myself. Blah, blah, blah, lecture. I get it, they just want to make sure I'm safe. The paparazzi are aggressive. Fans are unpredictable. So are some of my peers. They worry. If it's not me selling my soul and selling out, then it's me putting myself into a vulnerable situation where I might get hurt either physically or emotionally."

"Overprotective, then."

"Exactly! Which is fine. What I'm nervous about is...what are they going to think about all of this? Remember how you were all pissed off at me for deciding to work for Paul because you thought it was betraying our species? What if they think something similar?" I gave her a weak smile. "If there's one thing I hate doing, it's disappointing my parents."

She nodded, taking a bite of pizza. "I get that, but I'm pretty sure you're worried over nothing."

"I do know my mom is going to love you," I said. "You're everything she's always said she wanted in a daughter if she ever had one."

"Can't wait to meet her when I get back. This is going to be so weird. Going back home and spending a few days there. You'll be going to California, and I'll be back in Minnesota. Normally, I'd be jealous because I think it's around negative thirty degrees outside at home, but I kind of miss the snow." She took another bite, this time chewing more slowly, clearly thinking deeply about everything.

I smiled, thinking about home. "I need to make sure I see the ocean again. That's one thing I miss. And I want to give my car one last spin. Oh, and my dog and cat! Man, they're going to freak out."

"I'll miss you," she whispered. "And your nagging me about what I'm eating."

"It's only going to be a couple of days. Try not to get too sad about it. I know I make an awesome bed companion, but I'm sure you'll manage without me somehow." I had to tease her a little bit.

She threw a pepperoni at my head. "Yeah, I'm totally going to miss you rolling into Lara and squishing me in the middle of the night."

"What's going to happen with her?" I paused. "Where is she?"

"Slumber party with a friend for a few days," Chevelle said. "Paul will bring her by tomorrow morning, don't worry. I know you both are going to want to hug and stuff."

Tomorrow. The big day. It was coming too fast, and yet not fast enough.