Granny's SETI Goblin

Exile

Luna was inconsolable. "I want Dromie! Mama, you made 'im leave!"

"I didn't make 'im leave, he left under his own power!" Gwen walked outside.

We followed. The house had a nice garden under a blue sky with a yellow sun. It's light?

I felt okay, so I took Luna's hand. "C'mon, Honey. Let's take a walk. At least we have a nice place to live. I wonder if we got neighbors. Wanna see?" It felt funny, to look at my arms and not see fat. My upper arms didn't have flab now! Felt light.

She waved up a pink dress and a bunch of fake jewelry. I replaced my brown dress with a pretty brown patterned one. Designs had red, yellow, orange and lots of shades of brown and black. Soft material, too. The porch and swings were still until Luna swung 'em. Poor little thing sobbed like she lost her bestie. But, she walked with me. "I wish Dromie could walk with us, Granny. I really do!"

"I know you do, Luna." Down the steps and walk, pretty flowers bloomed. On the right was our huge garden with blueberry bushes, strawberry plants, watermelon vines and a line of fruit trees with ripe fruit. An apricot tree, a peach tree, a pear tree, and an apple tree ended the front yard. Beyond that, gray rocks and sand that stretched on forever.

We didn't have a fence. Nice grass, but no insects. It was warm, not too warm, maybe mid-70s. A gentle breeze blew as we reached the end of the walkway.

Gwen walked behind us, takin' it all in. Sidewalk to the right ended where the rock began. On my left as we reached it, our yard ended pretty quickly, then the house that was Atlanta Alliance Embassy stood, front door still open. Luna ran up there and pulled it shut.

Gwen ran behind her. "Don't close it! What if it locks?"

Luna opened it again. "See, Mama, I can open it."

I kept walkin' but the yard just went past a big magnolia tree in full bloom, and that bare rock was the rest of the street as far as I could see. Sidewalk ended, grass ended, and a line of rosebushes marked the yard. There was a pine tree, well, five of them in the back corner of the black iron fence and a low rock wall. Breeze carried their fresh scent, and the sweet smell of the magnolias and roses to me. Sidewalk went all the way back. We turned left and walked it, and the back yard ended in gray rock, too. Behind our house to that line of fruit trees, and there wasn't a sidewalk on that side of our house, either. Our house and the Embassy was a little island on bare, gray rock, filled in with sand.

We walked a little way on that but my feet got sore in my sandals.

As the sun sank lower, it got cool. So quiet. Just the tapping of our feet. Gwen took Luna to the porch and they swung. The walk did calm her down. Tears still dripped off her chin. Gwen waved and got a white cloth to wipe her face with.

I got tired and came up on the porch to sit in the other swing. Soft cushions. "I guess we really are alone. But we have each other. Let's carve up that turkey. You started it cookin', didn't you, Gwen?"

She sniffed the air. "Is that what I'm smellin'? I think I feel like eatin' now." Gwen had tears in her eyes, too.

We went in and that turkey was perfect. Gwen carved it and I boiled collards with bacon, and all my spices were in a pretty spice rack.

Supper was tasty but really quiet. "I don' know why I'm bein' quiet." Gwen cut another bite of turkey. "Guess I'm expectin' sorry Bubba to come outa one o' the rooms t' fuss."

"You know that's right! We can be loud an' proud all we want, can't we?" I laughed. "How long has it been we had food this good an' no one to tell us to shut up?"