Alien Holiday by Tracy Lauren
Chapter 12
Lo
I think my singing might have spooked Resa a bit. Which I find oddly charming. So I push it and sing “Navidad Sin Ti,”which is about spending Christmas without the one you love. Now that makes my Grinchy friend squirm.
Eventually, the pozole is ready and the cave almost smells like home—which gives me all the feels. Still, I’ve complained no less than ten thousand times about the lack of hominy, regardless of the fact that my words fall on uncomprehending ears. “There’s this other stuff I have—I nabbed it from the pantry. It’s the wrong color and size, but it’s the consistency I’m really worried about,” I explain as I ladle soup into bowls for Resa and me. I top his with my best alien replacements for onion, cabbage, and cilantro. Luckily the cabbage stuff we have here is almost exactly like cabbage back home, even if it is bright pink.
Instead of taking a bite, I watch for Resa’s reaction. Resa hesitates, though, watching me. “Okay…I guess I should try it first.”
I take a deep breath and stare into my bowl. There’s green, and pink, and white surrounded by a rich broth. The meat came out perfectly. It even looks festive, just like something a family might serve on Christmas Eve. Carefully, I scoop a little bit of everything into my spoon. Resa follows suit and it’s together that we dig in.
I’m so nervous when the flavors hit my tongue. It’s not mi abuelita’s pozole. It’s a strange amalgam of old and new. Tears fill my eyes. It’s almost perfect. The problem is, my taste buds have adjusted to Elysian cuisine and…and I think this might be better than the pozole at home. I hang my head and start sobbing.
“I’m a traitor!”
Resa hurries to set his bowl aside, but does nothing beyond looking around the cave frantically as if he might find some kind of tool to make my emotions stop flowing. I swear to God if he pokes me with a stick right now I’ll kill him. So, I cut to the chase and pull him in for a hug. I need one, damn it.
“I miss them! I miss home. We aren’t meant to be without familia, Resa. It’s not natural!”
The alien is utterly stiff. Ugh, I have to do everything around here. I heft his heavy arms around me, showing him that I need a hug. And, Resa allows it—albeit with complete reluctance, wings twitching, like it’s all he can do to stop himself from running out of the cave.
“Okay, fine. That’s enough. You’ve done your duty.” I pull away, wiping tears from my cheeks. “Food is a trigger. Family meals were always such a big deal.”
Silence lingers between us as I stare into the fire, family on my mind. And Resa does something that surprises me. He reaches over and links his fingers with mine. Our eyes meet. Bless his heart, he looks so confused—like he wants to be helpful but has no idea how. The language barrier certainly doesn’t make it any easier either. But his hand in mine? That’s enough. That means something to me. I beam a smile at him and squeeze his hand, hopefully conveying to him that I’m okay.
“It’s been a long time since you’ve had a dinner companion and I suppose I’m being a poor one. Here I am trying my best to entice you to join the village and instead, you’re going to walk away thinking we’re all cuckoo.
I lean over and pass his bowl back to him and I pick up my own. “Eat, Resa.”
“Sorry.” I offer a sheepish smile and, for the second time, Resa comforts me—cautiously reaching over to pat my back. Wow. This is a far cry from his Grinchy beginnings. And…I actually find it…sexy.
“I think you and I are officially friends,” I tell him, giving his knee a squeeze. It’s flirty and perhaps a little too bold, because Resa’s eyes go wide and suddenly I worry that I’m sexually harassing him. Whoops. I pull my hand away, blushing.
After that we eat quietly. Or Resa does. I try to lighten the mood by telling stories of my family’s holiday tradiciones and eventually, the new ones we are creating in the village.
“Everyone values the communal dinner we have each night, which I’m grateful for. I think that was actually what convinced me to trust everyone—it made me feel like we were all in this together and I could have a place here.”
I ladle more soup into Resa’s bowl. It’s his fourth. I had two. Looks like I won’t be bringing any leftovers back to the temple. That’s how you know the recipe is a hit. It makes my smile go wide and Resa does a double-take, staring at my teeth.
“What? Do I have something…” I pick at my front teeth. Resa tries to point it out, but his eyes cut to a stick by the fire pit. Estúpido. I slap at his arm. “No! You nut, you aren’t poking my teeth with a stick.”
I grab his water pouch and take a sip, swooshing the cool fluid through my mouth. Then smile wide, showing him the results. “Good?”
He checks and gives me a nod. All clear. The guy looks embarrassed, which only makes me laugh. How silly? I don’t feel embarrassed at all. As a matter of fact, I feel completely comfortable around him. And I shouldn’t, right? He’s just some random alien that’s been living alone in a cave for years. And yet, I kind of wouldn’t mind putting my hand on his knee again, just to see the big guy squirm.
The thought makes me chuckle. Oh man, what he must think of me. Singing, taking over his cave, crying like a maniac. I probably had some imitation cilantro stuck between my front teeth while I was batting my eyes at him. Cute, Lorena, real cute.
Resa’s staring at me and I give him another bright smile. Hurriedly, he looks down into his bowl. Under his breath he makes a comment, seemingly about the pozole.
“Call me crazy, but that sounded like praise.” I bump him with my shoulder and he lets me settle in next to him without pulling away.
“I’m going to make you come home with me. Back to the village, that is. Not like withme, with me. I don’t want you to think I’m trying to lure you back to my place. I mean, unless you’re into that kind of thing?” I give him my flirtiest look and notice I’m actually playing with my hair. What the hell, Lo? Can you get any weirder?You probably shouldn’t be catching feelings for this guy. It’s like…unethical or something.
“Anyway, I should get going before someone sends a search party.” I rise to my feet and he rises too, looking every bit as awkward as I suddenly feel. There’s a weird tension—do we hug? So I give him a kiss on the cheek? No, that’s nuts. This isn’t a date. But it was such an intimate day, it feels like we should do something. My eyes land on the garland.
“Oh! Before I go! We’ve got to pull a ring off. Countdown to Christmas.” I smile, tugging one of the paper loops free and passing it to him.
“You can toss that in the fire or whatever. You don’t have to keep it.”
But Resa doesn’t toss it into the fire. He studies it for a moment before tucking it under one of his animal pelt blankets and then his gaze locks onto my eyes. He doesn’t seem shy right now, or put off by me. Instead, he looks kind of intense and that makes me feel…kind of giddy. Oh, this is so weird! Do I really find this cave-dwelling alien attractive? Wings, scales? Is that my thing?
“Okay, yeah. I should head out.” I point toward the cave exit and Resa hurries to gather my things.
“No, no.” I stop him. “You can keep the pot and the herbs and stuff. Consider it part of your Christmas gifts. Besides, we’ll use it again tomorrow.” Ugh, he doesn’t know what I’m saying.
“Tomorrow?” I pantomime the sun rising and Resa almost looks excited for a moment, but he collects himself and plasters that usual scowl onto his face. I roll my eyes and take a chance, standing on my tiptoes to press a chaste kiss to his cheek.
“You aren’t fooling anyone. We’re friends now, Resa, get used to it.” And for the first time since we met, both of us are smiling at the same time.
We head out of the cave and I remember to grab some nearly-poinsettias for April on the way down the mountain. Well, Resa grabs them for me—this time without complaint. He doesn’t even poke me with a stick. I’d call that progress.
Our walk is a fairly quiet one; I’m feeling oddly contemplative about this budding friendship and the feels associated with it. All too soon, we reach the spot between the mountain and the hill where we normally part ways, and I slow down, expecting to say our goodbyes for the night. But Resa keeps on walking.
My heart skips a beat and I grip onto his arm. “Are you coming with me? To the temple?” I point excitedly at the stone structure in the distance. “Resa, temple?”
Resa puts on his Grinch face. “No Resa, no temple.” He points up at the dark and cloudy sky, saying something in a gruff tone.
I grin. “You don’t want me walking home alone in the dark?” That’s actually super freaking sweet. But then I remember his wishes. “I don’t want you risking your privacy because you’re worried about me. I’ll be fine. The temple’s right there.”
A branch snaps somewhere nearby and I look cautiously into the shadowy forest. But it’s no big deal. I’m brave. A dumb little thing like that isn’t going to scare—
Something howls in the night and I yelp, jumping into Resa’s arms. “Okay, maybe just a little farther.”
And that’s the first time I hear Resa laugh—genuinely laugh. I look up at him, in the pale light of the early evening, and my heart kicks up a notch. I think it’s official. I have a crush on the Grinch.
“Oh, you think that’s funny?”
He answers in a low tone, and that deep voice of his sounds far more soothing than abrasive. More and more I think he’s showing me his true self and not this grumpy front that he puts on. That makes me happy. It makes me want to lean in for a kiss. But Resa extracts himself from my grip and reluctantly I continue down the trail toward home.
We say our goodbyes not far from the gate path, and though it’s hard to part ways, I’m walking with a little something extra in my step when I breach Beacon’s walls. Dinner is just about over and everyone is milling about, chatting or enjoying the last of the community meal. I search for Gabby, but she must be hiding in her room again. Which is lucky for me because I don’t want her to see me with these flowers. That would ruin the whole secret Santa surprise.
No one notices me at the gate, so I take a moment to enjoy the view. The fountains are decorated. There’s fern garland draped everywhere and long strings of Christmas lights make everything sparkle. But the most important thing is that all the humans and aliens here are… Happy. Sure, there’s a little bickering now and then—just like in any family. But when it comes down to it, everyone is happy. Everyone is safe. Everyone is part of a family. Resa should be here. He should be a part of this, not alone up on a mountain.
My eyes land on the ancient broken statue in the center fountain. Even that has lights and garland hung from it. And though some parts have crumpled and broken over the years, it’s still lovely—with its arms extended, and strong, stone wings. Yeah, Resa definitely belongs here.
Tired, I head for my room. Right away I notice something sitting outside the door. There’s a package. Something from my Secret Santa perhaps? Excited, I unfold a layer of white fabric, only to find three paper bags. I tear one open…it almost looks like a grainy flour? I tear open another. It’s the same thing but a different consistency. As is the last. It’s…it’s an attempt at masa! Someone made me masa!
I spin and look out at the group, wondering who could have done such a thing, but April is approaching and I don’t have the chance to contemplate who left me such a considerate gift. “Those mine?” she asks, pointing at the blooms in my arms. I hand over the flowers.
“Did you do this?” I hold up my gift for her to see and she peeks inside.
“What is that, cocaine?”
“Oh my God, what are you into?”
“I’m joking! No, that isn’t from me. I don’t even know what the fuck that is.”
“It’s masa, girl! I’m making some fucking tamales tomorrow!”
“Hell yeah. You going to be making them here? Or…?” April gives me a knowing smile.
“I have a spot.”
“Oh, I bet you do. Seems like you’ve been disappearing to ‘your spot’ a lot lately.”
I fumble over my words.
“You don’t have to tell me about it…yet. Just have fun and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” And with that she gives me a wink and takes her Christmassy flowers to her room to decorate.
Shit. What does April know about my friendship with Resa?