Over the Moon (18 page)

"Andrew doesn't stand a chance." My dad laughed. "I'm not sure
I want to let you out of the house."

"Dad!" I rolled my eyes. The doorbell rang, saving me from any
more of my father's unwelcome teasing comments. I opened it, and
there stood my favorite, angelic alien. He looked fabulous as always
in gray Dockers and a red silk shirt. It took all of my self-control not
to jump into his tanned, muscled arms. One of these days, I might
just take that leap. I wondered if he would be surprised if I did. No,
he could probably see my intentions in my too-easy-to-read head.

"Are you sure you still want to go out with me now that you
know?" Worry lines appeared and creased his forehead. I threw my
arms around his neck and kissed them away.

"Read my mind," I said, narrowing my eyes and trying to look
mysterious. He grinned and pulled me out the door.

"Have her home by midnight, Andrew," Dad said in a stern
voice.

"Yes, sir!" he said, closing the door.

"You look radiant tonight," he said as he steered me to his car,
which had been recently washed and waxed. He opened the passenger
door, waited for me to get inside, and was sitting beside me in record
time. "How's your ankle? It looks like the swelling went down."

"It's all better. You did your magic thing on it, and it feels as good
as new. I can't even see the prints of the fangs. You are really good at
curing me. I may never need a doctor again, not even my dad. How
are you able to do this incredible healing thing? Is it magic?"

"Tiana, there are very specific laws that exist in the universe. If
you have the knowledge, you can use these laws to tap into intense
energy. The power comes from our creator or the Supreme Being
that you refer to as God. I can channel that power to heal others.
It's not magic. It just seems like it. Earth people sometimes call it
faith. As it says in the Bible, `If ye have faith as a grain of mustard
seed ... nothing shall be impossible unto you.' Faith is a very real
and true principal that makes things happen. What I do is like faith
multiplied about a thousand times."

"Okay, so why can't more people do it?" This was getting deep,
and I could feel the prickle of the tiny bumps forming on my arms.
The little hairs were sticking up, and a chill spread a faint tingling
sensation through my body.

"Most people don't have that much faith."

"So are all your superpowers tied to these mystical laws of the
universe that the rest of us average Earth people don't understand?"

"Some are, and some are tied to the adaptation of the human
species over eons of time. If you understand them, they aren't mystical," he explained.

"I still think you're a magic man."

"Believe what you want. I wouldn't want to disillusion you.
Everyone should believe in magic."

"I know. I love magic. No one should have to live without it. I'm
starving. Where are we going to eat?" I realized my stomach was
growling loudly. I had slept through lunch.

"Let's see if I can conjure up some food for you. I'm thinking
Chinese," he answered, placing his index fingers on his temples and
closing his eyes like he was concentrating and willing magical food
to appear. Then he gave me a mysterious look and started the car.

"Do they have Chinese food on your planet?" I knew I was being
facetious, but I couldn't help myself.

"Oh, you are on one tonight, aren't you?" He laughed.

"I can't help it. I feel wonderful, and I'm dating a magic spaceman. Do you know how crazy that sounds?"

"Tiana, you don't have to go out with me." He sounded worried
again.

"Are you kidding? I am absolutely over the moon about this!"
He drove to the Panda Garden Restaurant and stopped the car.

"Are you really okay with it?" His voice was pleading. For the
first time, I realized this was actually stressing him out.

"I love Chinese food." I grinned at him. I knew I shouldn't be
enjoying his discomfort. I just couldn't help it. It was all so fantastic.
I think making light of it was my way of coping, or maybe I had a
serious personality disorder.

"You know what I mean." He was painfully solemn.

"Can't you read my mind?" I wondered why he was so worried.
I was feeling like I was on top of the world, and I didn't intend to
come down anytime soon. As omnipotent as he was, why couldn't he
tap into my feelings? I thought they must be clear as glass.

"It doesn't work like that." He took both my hands in his, sending burning sparks that flamed out through my body and warmed
my insides.

"How does it work?"

"Sometimes it can be hard to read you. It's not an exact science.
If you are feeling intense emotions, it is harder to be sure. Emotions
can cloud your thought processes. It can be difficult to decipher," he
answered, pulling his eyebrows together into a deep scowl.

"I'm feeling very intense right now." I was a little relieved that
there were some limitations to his reading of my mental state. I
should be able to create a little mystery. Every girl deserves to keep
some secrets from her boyfriend. I most certainly didn't want him to
know every single silly thing I thought about. Would anyone want
that? "Is that why you thought I liked Jordan when I made the mistake of accepting his invitation to the dance? Couldn't you read my
mind then?"

"Yeah, there was a lot of emotional confusion in your head. I
had to get used to the way you think before I could understand what
was going on up there. Everyone thinks differently. Strong feelings
make it even more difficult. Sometimes I really need to hear you say
the words." He put his head in his hands. He was really worrying
about my reaction. I was surprised by his concern. I couldn't imagine
anyone not being completely enamored by his attention. How could
he doubt himself like this?

"I love you. I don't care where you are from." The words came
tumbling out before I could stop and think about them. I still wasn't
completely sure I should be revealing all my innermost feelings to
him. He had this unnatural way of pulling the truth right out of me
by its roots and that was truly frightening.

"Tiana, I was led to this town. I've been dreaming about you
for over a year. I saw your face. I saw your mind. Imagine how I felt
when I saw you sitting there in my history class. I loved you before I
ever met you. How crazy does that sound?"

"Pretty crazy," I admitted. "But I like it. Tell me more."

"Aren't you hungry?" He must have heard my stomach growling.
It was hard to ignore its persistent rumbling.

"Yes, but this discussion is not over, mister." I had a boatload of
questions that were still unanswered. I was determined to get the
whole truth, every single, tiny, juicy morsel of it.

We entered the restaurant, and he asked for a booth in the back.
I was trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I was in love with
a genuine, extraterrestrial, space alien, and he said he loved me too.
All these thoughts began spinning around inside my head, making
me dizzy. Suddenly, it all seemed like some kind of wacky, weird
dream. No one would believe this. If I were to even hint at this truth,
they might want to lock me up in some kind of mental institution or
get me some serious psychiatric help. At the very least, they would
think I was a complete nutcase, an eccentric lamebrain who had
left the building where the sane people lived and was way out there
scampering in the enchanted forest with all the other members of
Lunatic Fringe Club. I wouldn't blame them. It all bordered on the
bizarre, and it sounded positively preposterous. A few weeks ago, I
wouldn't have believed it myself. I guess it was time to come down
off the top of the world. I started thinking of the negative aspects of
dating a spaceman. That all but killed my euphoric buzz fast.

He ordered for us. I couldn't focus on the menu. It might as well
have been written in Chinese. He didn't say anything. He just sat
there, staring at me with those heavenly, blue, alien eyes. We sat in
silence for several minutes while I tried desperately to process all of
this madness. My reality was forever changed, drastically altered. I
would never be the same person again. This secret was all encompassing. Nothing would ever be quite the same. It was a lot of craziness to take in all at once. I needed time to adjust to and accept my
new awareness.

"How are you different from us, aside from the obvious, I mean?"
I finally broke the silence. I had to have some answers that would
help me reprogram my life.

"What is obvious to you?"

"You can read my thoughts, you are stronger, and you can heal
me with your hands." I knew those things were absolutely true
beyond any possible doubt. He made sure we were not going to be
overheard before he answered.

"I'm not susceptible to disease, I can see and hear much better,
and sometimes I can see the future."

"Is that all?" That was a lot, but I didn't think it was everything.
I suspected I had only scratched the surface. I was sure there had to
be more, much more.

"No, but I don't want to overwhelm you, and here comes our
food."

"Okay, we'll eat, and then I want to know everything."

"When do I get to ask the questions?" he grumbled.

"Why? You already know everything about me, don't you?"
Hello? I was sure he knew all my deepest and darkest secrets. What
more could he possibly want to know about me? My life was boring and average for an American, female Earth person. The greatest
thing that had ever happened to me was happening right here, right
now. I was experiencing the highlight of my short existence at this
very moment.

"How would I know everything about you?" he asked.

"Oh, you know the psychic thing and the seeing inside my mind
thing that you do so well, Mr. Magic Spaceman."

"That only tells me your character and the beauty of your soul. I
can only hear and see the things you are thinking about. I don't have
access to your memories unless you are remembering them right
now. I don't know your favorite color or food. I don't know your likes
and dislikes-"

I interrupted him. "Green. Pizza. I like you. I don't like Jordan."

"That's a start, but I want to know everything about you. I find
you absolutely fascinating." He actually sounded like he meant that.
Did we even live in the same galaxy?

"Oh yeah, next to the spaceman with superhuman powers, I'm
about as fascinating as a worn-out shoe! Have you graduated from
high school before?"

"Just once, and I do have a medical degree from Dartmouth.
They thought I was a teenage prodigy." He smirked.

"How can I compete with that?" The boy was brilliant, and I was
probably going fail my math class.

"It's not a competition." He was starting to look annoyed. I
admit sometimes I'm very good at being annoying. It's a hidden talent that I've allowed only a few people to discover.

"Why are you going through high school again?" I didn't think
anyone would want to live through that twice. I was enjoying it more
this year, but once was still quite enough for me.

"In small towns it's hard to keep everything on the down low.
Adam wants to stay here for as long as we can. By going through
high school again here, it gives our ages some credibility. I think we
will start aging normally soon. I'm pretty sure I'm just about done
being seventeen. Thank heavens!"

"Do you ever sleep?" I kept going. I was never going to run out
of questions.

"Yes." He sounded more irritated now. "Except when I can't sleep
because I'm worrying about you. " He folded his arms across his chest
and frowned at me. I couldn't read thoughts, but I could read his body
language, and I knew I was getting really close to the edge of his
patience. Of course, I wasn't about to let that shut me up.

"I'm sorry," I continued, trying to soften my approach so as not
to make him lose his temper. "I'm just feeling insignificant and ordinary compared to your perfection. I can't understand why you are
interested in me. Aren't there any nice space girls on this planet?"

"You're wrong. You are in no way ordinary. For your information, I've met every alien girl on Earth, and not one has a mind or
a spirit or a face as beautiful as yours. Now, eat your food and stop
overthinking this. I'm patient enough to watch you grow up. You can
even date Earth boys if you want to. In fact, you should."

"Will you stop being so mature?" Tears were pooling in my eyes.
I tried to blink them back, but they escaped and began to overflow. "I
don't want to date Earth boys. I'm trying to understand you. I don't
want to mess this up, and I really am seventeen." I found myself on an emotional roller coaster, and I couldn't seem to get off. These dizzying ups and downs were starting to make me nauseated.

He leaned across the table and wiped my tears with his napkin.

"We'll figure it out together. It's new to me too, and I'm far from
perfect." His patience had returned. Halleluiah!

"May I ask one more question?" I bit my lip.

"Of course," he said sweetly as he kissed my wet cheek and sat
back on the bench.

"Don't be mad, please," I pleaded. "I have to know. Are you
human?"

"What do you think?" He sighed and tried not to look bothered
by my question. I was annoying him again. I seemed to be incredibly
good at pushing his buttons tonight, especially the ones that aggravated him. Why don't I ever quit when I'm ahead?

"I think so, but I don't understand why you are so much better
than Earth humans." I chose my words very carefully as I tried to
stop upsetting him.

"I'll answer that question later." The waitress brought him the
check. He paid and escorted me out.

I didn't know if he was still angry with me. He wouldn't look at
me as we drove away from the restaurant. I wished I could read his
mind. He had the unfair advantage of invading my thoughts and
knowing what was going on inside my head. I was completely aware
that this advantage could prove to be potentially unpleasant. I would
have to learn to control my thoughts, and that would not be easy.
How old was he if he had graduated from high school once already
and then earned a medical degree from Dartmouth? I could see the
age thing might become problematic as well, but he did say he was
going to start looking older soon. What did that mean exactly? I'd
have to ask about this when he was in a better mood.