Visitor (Normila / Laurmani)

Chapter 20

"I've always wondered...is Nif your middle name or is it part of your last name?" Normani asked Camila. They were eating about Big Lou's Pizza.

Camila answered, "Uh. Well, our name order is different from the western name order on Earth. Holotaxt is my last name, but it's not my family name. It's the equivalent of a middle name because it's given. Nif is my surname."

"Oh! That's interesting," Normani responded.

"Mmmm. This pizza is so good," Camila hummed.

"You do realize that this is the fifth straight day we've eaten pizza for lunch or dinner," Normani pointed out.

Camila replied, "Normani, pizza is the best food on Earth. It might even be the best food in this galaxy. I need to cherish it now. I may never get to eat it again."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Normani questioned.

"What is what supposed to mean?" asked Camila.

"That you may never get to eat it again," answered Normani.

Camila shrugged her shoulders. "You just never know what tomorrow brings."

Normani ripped the bib out of her shirt and threw it on the table. She then got up and walked out of the restaurant. Camila jumped up from her seat and shouted out to her. "Where are you going?"

Camila also took off her bib and waved down a waiter to ask for a to-go box. Once she had their leftover pizza packed up, she walked out to the parking lot and found Normani sitting in her car looking extremely upset. The petite woman tapped on the window to get her girlfriend's attention. Normani glanced her way, but quickly looked away and didn't bother to unlock the passenger door for Camila to get in.

"Normani, are you going to let me in?"

The model finally reached over to pull up the passenger side lock, but didn't look Camila's way as she got in the car. Camila didn't know how to explain herself, so she didn't try. She knew she messed up by letting out her deepest fears. For the first few weeks after seeing Dr. Reid, she tried spending the night in her ship three nights a week, but she was still waking up with pains when she slept at their apartment. She increased her overnight stays to four nights a week, which helped a little. Normani was optimistic because Camila put on the façade of feeling well. The truth was, however, that she was experiencing low to medium of levels of pain throughout the day, but she had gotten good at hiding it.

Spending four nights a week was putting strain on their relationship. They were spending less than half of their time in their own home. Camila didn't want to have an argument with Normani when they got home from Big Lou's. She didn't even want to have to deal with being given the cold shoulder. To escape the tension, she hopped right in her car and drove to a sleepy bar nearby. They had alcoholic drinks on Orgcan, but she hadn't tried any until she started dating Normani and swore she would never drink again after being turned off by the taste. But, on this night, she felt she needed something to help her relax.

Being a weeknight and the bar's location being in a low-traffic area, there weren't many patrons inside. Camila took a seat on one of the stools and tried to figure out what to order. She saw someone bent down doing something behind the bar.

"What would you recommend to someone who hates the taste of alcohol?" she asked the bartender.

"Don't drink," quipped the bartender still bent down restocking her shelves.

"I really need something to drink. Trust me," Camila assured her.

The bartender then stood up, and her eyes widened when she saw who she was talking to. Camila also had a surprised look on her face when she saw who the bartender was. "Oh. Hi," said Camila.