Aliens Are Real: Part 2 (14 page)

Honorio asked, “Grace, sir?”

“Yes, please,” her dad said.

After a moment
and a brief glance at Jasmine
, Honorio folded his arms
and bowed his head. “Benevolent Creator, we thank you for the bounty of your earth, the company we share and the blessings you shower upon us. Bless this food an all in this house. Amen.”

“What a beautiful prayer,” said Emma who looked at Jasmine and smiled.

“Thank you Honorio,” Dad said.

T
hey began passing food.

Yumi, did you help Honorio with the prayer?

A little. I explained what grace was then
gave
him a few suggestions. Was the prayer acceptable
?

Jasmine considered for a moment then nodded her head.
Yes. He did very well.

I must admit, I have not studied religion as much as I probably should. Understanding the order of the governments and human interpersonal relations has taken up much of my time.

Well, you guys did fine. He passed my dad’s test.

There was a test?

Well, dad asking him to pray was
obviously
a test.

Oh. Will there be further tests at this meal?

Yup. Lots of them. Keep your fingers crossed.

Why would I cross my fingers?

For luck.

Crossing your fingers brings luck?

Realizing that Yumi probably would keep her fingers crossed the whole time, Jasmine explained,
It’s just a saying. It means hope for the best.

Ah. I can do that.

Dad
interrupted Jasmine’s thoughts
as the mashed potatoes came to him. “So, Honorio, where are your parents?”

Honorio was digging into the platter of
Turkey
. “They are...” He cleared his throat before correcting his mannerisms. “
They’re
in
Nigeria
, sir.” He placed a decadent slab of white meat on his plate.

Dad paused as he was spooning mashed potatoes onto his plate. “
Nigeria
?”

“Yes, sir.” Honorio nodded.

“Why are they in
Nigeria
?”

“They are ...
they’re
in Doctors Without Borders.”

“Really?”

“Yes, sir. They believe deeply that giving back to the less fortunate is a primary purpose of existence.”

Emma interjected.
“That is very noble.”

Dad nodded
. “How long will they be there?”

“They have another year before they return.”

Dad’s eyebrows rose. “Who are you staying with while they are out of the country?”

“I live with friends whose parents are also in Doctors Without Borders.”

Jasmine nodded. This was a good cover story for why teenagers would live in a house together. The Doctors Without Borders angle was an especially nice touch. Who can’t respect someone who donates so much time and effort to help others?

Her father’s eyebrows furrowed
. “What about adult supervision?”

“It is not a concern to our parents. We are
...
we’re
responsible, of adequate age to take care of ourselves, and manage quite well.”

Jasmine watched her father’s face to gauge
his
reactions. Even though Honorio and Malika angered her, she still desperately wanted her dad open to the idea of her staying in
Omaha
when he was inevitably transferred again. She could see the concern and incredulousness on his face.

“What do you do if there is an emergency you do not know how to handle?”
her father inquired.

“We all have our first aid, driver’s license and an insured car with roadside assistance. Nothing has happened, so far, that required an adult. However, if such an unlikely problem were ever to arise, the grandfather of one of my roommates lives three houses away. Help is readily available if we ever could not...” He coughed again before correcting himself. “
Couldn’t
handle a situation.”

Jasmine saw her dad relax. A small speck of hope glimmered inside her. When the time came, she could at least broach the subject without dad’s head spinning. The ruse of a grandparent living a few houses down was a brilliant touch she was sure Yumi had created.

After a moment of silence, Emma chimed in. “So, how did you two meet?”

“School
,
”
Jasmine quickly answered.

“Do you have classes together?”
Emma asked.

Jasmine opened her mouth to speak but Honorio cut her off.

“We have Family Development together.” Honorio looked at Emma, and smiled. “She glided into class like an angel, and stole my heart . I found myself quite fortunate that she was assigned to sit next to me.” He reached over, and put his arm around Jasmine’s shoulders.

Jasmine wanted to gag at h
is duplicity,
and pick his arm up with two fingers, like a piece of moldy bread, to place it back on his side
.
But she managed to smile, instead.

Emma’s eyes glistened and she leaned in as though she couldn’t miss a single word. “
Was the concert your first date?”

“Yes,
”
Jasmine blurted.

“No.”
Honorio said at the same time.

Jasmine looked at him in surprise. She started to sweat, her mind desperately searching for a way to fix their
differing answers
.

Honorio spoke first. “Jasmine, remember when we went to the park?” He looked at her intently.

She nodded, playing along. She was clueless as to where he was going with his story.

“Sir, I knew that a young lady of Jasmine’s caliber had to be courted properly. I invited her to join me in a picnic. We went to a local park, and enjoyed a lunch I had prepared for her. She may not have thought it a date, as we were only just friends at the time.”

He smiled lovingly at her. Then he looked at Emma, and grinned. “Full disclosure
,
my roommates helped me prepare the meal. Yumi and Malika were amazing, and put the proper feminine finishing touches to the picnic.”

Dad started coughing, and they all looked at him. He took a drink of
soda
a
nd recovered quickly. “Yo
u live with girls? Unsupervised
?
”

“Yes, sir. Two of my roommates
are girls,
”
Honorio answered.
“I can understand your concern, but we all have no interest in relationships with each other. We recognize it would complicate our living situation, and we abide by the house rule, established by our parents, to avoid internal relationships without question, sir.”

Dad shook his head. “Well, I suppose your parents trust you a great deal.”

“They do, sir. It helps that we have joined them, for the past two summers, overseas. We know what it means to be responsible, and we have seen the consequences wrought by those who ...” Once again, Honorio coughed. “
Don’t.”
He took a sip of his water.

Dad grimaced. “How did they ever come to the conclusion that you were all ready to be on your own, even if you all live together, that is?”

Honorio threw his head back and chuckled at Dad’s silly concerns. “Before we were old enough, our parents would take turns watching us, while the others were overseas. They finally concluded that we had reached the stage whereat we could be trusted on our own, and they saw an opportunity to let us become accustomed to self-reliance before we get into college. So, you might say it is educational.”

Absolutely dumbfounded, and not sure what to think, Jasmine’s father just stared at Honorio, while silently chewing his most recent morsel.

Emma took over the conversation. “Tell us more about your picnic.”

Grudgingly grateful to Emma, Jasmine looked at Honorio, and waited for him to continue.

“We spread out a blanket on the grass, and unpacked the basket I had brought. We listened to a small radio as we ate our meal. The light shone off Jasm
ine’s hair, and it seemed like
golden silk.” He brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Jasmine fought inner turmoil. She knew that it was all a lie. They had never eaten at a park. They barely spoke, and he hated her guts, treated her as a child. However, the look in his eyes as he spoke was admiring
and
enchanting. The gentle way he brushed her cheek sent shivers down her spine. His voice held such conviction that she struggled to remember reality. He looked up, and smiled at Emma who sighed, and leaned forward, drinking in every word coming from Honorio.

“I’m afraid that I was rather clumsy. I was so nervous, I dropped food all over myself. I was sure she would never see me again, thinking I was a mess and a fool. For some reason, she keeps me around.” He pulled Jasmine to him, and squeezed her lightly.

He looked at her father, “Sir, I am indebted to you for allowing me to have Jasmine’s company, and for having me as a guest in your home for such a special occasion.”

Jasmine’s stomach was queasy. She liked Mark. She wanted to be at his house in his family’s chaos of people and events. Instead, she was in her house being wooed by an alien, who was only using her as a cover, while her father watched. Guilt followed by anger, chased by confusion flowed through her. She knew this was fake, and she was reacting to it anyways. She was angry with herself, as well as Honorio.

“Enough about us.” Jasmine removed Honorio’s arm from her shoulders. “Tell us more about yourself Emma.” Jasmine pretended that she had dropped something, and leaned underneath the table for a quick breath as Emma began talking.

“Well
, I’m not nearly as interesting,
”
Emma demurred.

“Nonsense, Emma. Please share some of your past with us
,
”
Honorio
said.

“Okay,
I was raised all over the world. My father is a Brigadier General in the Air Force, and our family traveled to all sorts of countries. Growing up, I learned the basics of many languages, and learned about many different societies. I decided to go to college under a
n
ROTC  scholarship, and carry on the family tradition. Now I’m in
Omaha
,
Nebraska
overseeing several projects on the base.”

“The kind that I can’t discuss with you, unless you have a Level 3 sec
urity clearance,
”
Emma replied.

Emma laughed, and Jasmine’s father joined in. Unfortunately, her forced laugh made the atmosphere in the room awkward. Honorio shot her a look with raised eyebrows. She slumped in her chair and attempted to blend in with the upholstery.

“What about you, sir? What do you do?”

“Like Emma, it’s all classified. It is fascinating work though.”

Jasmine felt a flush of anger. Again, she knew nothing about what he did. The secrets grated on her nerves.

“I am extremely interested in the armed services, especially the Air Force. I am working for an
Air
ROTC scholarship at the moment.”

Jasmine gazed at Honorio in surprise.
Where did that come from?

“The armed forces require a lot of sacrifices.”

“Understood, sir. However, I would like the honor of serving my country, and being an asset to our society.”

Honorio sounded like a recruitment commercial that Jasmine had seen on television. She could picture him in full regalia, saluting the camera, and talking about honor and duty. She looked at her dad, who smiled with approval. She fought the urge to roll her eyes.

“Have you toured Offutt Air Force Base?”
her dad asked.

“No, sir. I have not had the privilege
,
”
Honorio replied.

“Tomorrow should be a quiet day on b
ase. Would you like to come by
? I can sneak off for an
hour or so, and show you around,
”
her dad said.

“That would be an honor, sir!”

“
Then it’s settled,
”
Dad put down his fork. “I’ll write you in as my guest, and you come by around lunch hour.
”

“Thank you, sir! Could I bring my roommates as well? I would like them to see why I am so interested in the service.”

“
You can certainly bring them along.
How many are there total?”

“I have four roommates,” she replied.