Part 7

Allison put together some leftovers, that would be “for Michael” when he “got back”. She also arranged and consolidated all the clothes Lissa had agreed to loan me into one big bag. At least Lissa hadn’t decided to take them back.

I waited for the cab on the front porch, staring at the trees across the street as the wind made them sway. Before long, winter would be a distant memory and, as was typical of this area, spring would fly by in about a week before the full brunt of early summer toasted everything. For the moment, it was pleasant to see a cool breeze even though it did little for my mood.

The door behind me clicked open. I turned. Not Allison. It was Linnea. She raised a hand but didn’t wave it. A blast of air fluttered her hair all over as she tried to control it. She made small steps towards me and asked, “Mind if I join you for a minute?”

I gestured a hand to the empty place beside me on the porch. She stepped cautiously over and lowered herself with her legs crossed. Sitting, she had one leg over the other as she smoothed out her skirt. I raised an eyebrow.

She glanced at me with her hands in her lap. She cleared her throat and said, “There’s something I need to tell you…”

For a moment, I wondered if this would be like one of those last act twists in bad movies where the villain takes off their kindly appearance while alone with the hero to reveal their secret, nefarious plans. Linnea didn’t do that. She took a deep breath and said, “Michael and I both think you look cute like that…looking like a Kinrae.” She turned away.

I couldn't help but laugh. This was the man I’d felt so intimidated by, like some old fear of teachers who loomed high above me and never seemed to smile when I was a child. And other memories, ones closer to pain. Linnea fussed and frowned cutely at my laugh.

I told her, “Thanks to both. Not sure what to say to that though.”

She brushed at her legs and told me, “It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything. It’s just…Michael definitely should’ve said more good things to you before.”

I leaned on my hands. looked over at Linnea, and asked her, “I was wondering a few things, if you don’t mind me asking…”

Linnea eagerly told me to “Ask away”.

First, I had to ask, “Are you and Linnea separate? Like personalities?” It was a lingering question, especially with how well Linnea kept “in character”.

She clenched the lines of her mouth in darkened shadow. It took her a moment to offer, “It’s difficult. As I said, it’s not a game but at the same time, I know Michael…I know me. But I’m also ashamed of that. I wish…I just wish…that I wasn’t who I was. That I could just wipe it all away and rewrite things. Right now, I am Linnea. And I…Linnea have…has only been out a few times and this was my first time around those I know. But it’s like…taking a mask off and putting on one at the same time with being a Kinrae, with being Linnea…does that help?”

I couldn’t say for sure. In some ways, I could understand what Linnea meant. And I felt many of the same things. But a feeling inside me fought against comparisons between the two of us. I glanced down and asked Linnea, “What is Lissa gonna think of the Kinrae now?”

She gave a snicker and offered, “I’m not the one to ask about what Lissa is thinking. If I was, then things would be so much different than they are. But…Michael knows Lissa is brilliant and wise in so many ways he never was. And he still feels the best he has inside for her…but he knows in his head that his time is used up. His only hope is that maybe some day she’ll understand and she won’t feel so bad. And….and….he…”

A grimace twisted along Linnea’s face before she finally murmured, “I know he…would wish you well with Lissa and want so very much not to make things so complicated.”

There were so many things I could say. I wanted to pry at Linnea’s calm exterior, make her take back the nice things and reveal some of the old Michael I expected. I wanted to feel angry at her about something, anything. Maybe the way she phrased things. But more and more, I could imagine Michael as a person. And it wasn’t just the sympathetic Kinrae exterior. That was just a filter.

Taking a deep breath, I turned and leaned towards Linnea. Cautiously, I gave her the one thing I never expected I would give Michael before this evening, a hug with my arms wrapped around her shoulders. She seemed a little rigid in my touch but soon settled to accept the hug.

The front door slid open and a soft, sudden gasp filled the air. We both looked back at Allison standing there with everything wrapped up for travel. Her eyes widened and she pouted with a scuff of her foot as she said, “Oooooooooo…you’re putting the moves on my man-girl-boy-woman!….Heh…I don’t mind. We could share him/her.”

I wasn’t quite sure which of us Allison was referring to but, considering it was Allison, it probably didn’t matter. Linnea gave a little laugh and got to her feet. I joined her.

Not long after that, the cab pulled up and beeped its horn. Lissa bolted through the front door with her purse around her shoulder and made sure our fare was paid. She paused on her way back and looked between Linnea and me standing side by side. Her expression went through a series of wild twists before she finally snorted and pointed to me.

“You…will receive a call before next class!” I raised my eyebrows.

Then her finger moved to Linnea, who looked back calmly.

“You…go back to playing with Quilla.”

Then her finger turned to herself.

“You…take a nap.”

She vanished back through the front door with something between a slam and a firm close.

Linnea stretched and advised, “We know not to dispute orders from Melissa.”

I leaned against the wall as Allison walked by, hauling everything. I offered to help but she declined, choosing instead to sail and twirl down the driveway until she zoomed right into the cab’s trunk and had everything stuffed inside. The driver, leaning on the door, spat over his shoulder and shrugged.

Softly, Linnea took a step closer to me and said, “I was just thinking I should use ‘I wish’ less. I will fix things as much as I can. I want and will see you and Melissa happy. I will be different in better ways as much as I can. Take care, Sean. Have a good evening.”

I bid her a good evening as well and made my way to the cab. Allison scooted close in the seat and stretched out her legs. The driver gave us each a long look and then confirmed our destination. That was all he said towards me, even though Allison engaged him in a bit of small talk about recent customers. He had a few stories about driving the mayor home when he got drunk.

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I rested my eyes and let Allison do the talking. Linnea and Lissa and all the concerns I felt drifted away, at least for a little while. But the notion I’d gotten from Linnea remained. I thought of the Kinrae I’d seen on the first day of class. She was a person too.

Not exactly the most monumental of notions. Yet it was something widely-debated when they first arrived. Were they the same as us? Should we see them as humans with a different kind of skin and form? For me, it felt alarming to denigrate them to our level. They were amazing.

But as I sat there with the body I had borrowed from a Kinrae I’d never met, I couldn’t shake the feeling of Linnea and how Michael, of all people I could imagine, could embody what I saw as quintessentially Kinrae.

I grappled with it. With Lissa it was easier to see Lissa with just a different skin. Allison was Allison no matter the cotton candy hair. But Michael. It was still a different skin. But it was also a revelation. And it wasn’t just Linnea’s appearance.

I rested my hand beside my eye. I thought I knew Michael. I managed to speak confidently against him. I didn’t expect this evening. I didn’t expect to be sitting next to him as he said all the things he said as Linnea. But it happened.

Allison smiled at me and asked, “Tickle for your thoughts?” She wiggled her fingers. I gave her a smile in return and said, “That wasn’t how I expected this evening to go…”

With an overly-dramatic expression of curiosity, Allison nodded back. “I expected a cuddle-fest. Along with karaoke, baking cookies, and Quilla learning a valuable lesson about the power of friendship from brightly-colored little ponies and using that lesson to kick salt monsters in their kneecaps, even if they don’t have any. Then something with root beer but that’s as far as I got.” The driver didn’t even glance back.

I watched Allison’s face as the flashes of street lights through the window excited her colors. I rested my hands in my lap and told her, “I want to go on that date with you this week.”

Her brilliant eyes seemed to shimmer a little more with each catch of light. “I’d love that! But there might be busy stuff most of tomorrow for me. Maybe I can give Lissa the thingie back for her class with you and then borrow it for a few hours afterwards?” She tapped her lips and glanced ahead.

I had other thoughts. I whispered them to Allison and she smirked, saying, “I like it. I’ll pack the picnic.” I jumped in, “And I want to cook it.”

Allison arched her faint eyebrows. It wasn’t as though I never cooked. My uncle had taught me plenty. Living with Allison meant that some of that skill had dwindled but it would be good practice. I held Allison’s hand and told her, “A picnic at the park on the edge of the city as soon as possible with the promise of a perfect date with pizza and books soon after that.”

I felt enthusiasm in my declaration and I didn’t care if the cab driver was listening. Allison’s eyes twinkled and she nodded eagerly. It would be tough for the next few days because he had classes which would go late. But I committed to it and it felt good to see Allison so happy.

Before long, we were home. I wanted to do like Allison did with carrying everything she’d brought in one trip but, despite the fact we weren’t too dissimilar in height and build, it was just too much. Allison winked as she lifted it all with one arm and we went inside.

I could tell at the doorway both Clayton and Malcolm were home from the slight sounds of welding from the way to the garage and footsteps in the kitchen. Allison hustled into the kitchen and dropped her bags in front of Malcolm, who was sitting in a chair and eating leftovers.

He gave us each a long look with his eyes flicking to Allison’s bust in particular. Allison winked and leaned forward, saying, “Hello there…”

Malcolm was rendered speechless for a long moment. I felt a strange pang of annoyance that he didn’t spend much time looking at me. When he finally spoke, he couldn’t keep his eyes from finding Allison’s most prominent feature again and again. He cleared his throat and said, “Hi…”

Allison snickered and leaned back. “Oh Malcolm, don’t recognize us?” She fluttered her vast eyes a bit as Malcolm found his glass of water to take a long drink. Allison was enjoying this. It would’ve been a little more fun if I was the one causing him to be flustered, if only a little bit.

When Malcolm found words, he immediately said, “Actually…Sean? I mean there’s that class but…Allison?” I felt a surge of intrigue. He didn’t know which of us was which. The pink hair probably should’ve been obvious for Allison. I seized the moment and said, “Did you like the meal I prepared?” Wait, had I prepared the meal or had Allison? It'd been a long day but never mind that. Project confidence.

I added a bit of what I heard as playful in Allison’s voice along with that slight smirk as I’d seen on her face. I hoped Allison would play along. She glanced at me and I thought she gave one of my expressions as a man. Hard to tell, especially with the way it was translated through a Kinrae’s features.

“You always cook the best, Allison. Did you want to have a bit of fun with him as well?”

My heart throbbed. He was still flicking his eyes to Allison’s body even though Allison told him that was me. I felt a weird sort of delight at that. I wasn’t good at posing though, but I emulated one of the game girls from his fighting games to compensate. He was starting to appear red in the face.

‘Sean’ sat down near Malcolm and folded her hands in front of her. She toyed with Malcolm a bit and then passed the game off to me. I tried to keep up all the little comments about how much we both missed Malcolm while he was away. But I reached a point where the comments got so suggestive….firm, big, hot, throbbing….that I was just one-upping it to ridiculousness. I cracked first and giggled.

Allison joined me a moment later and we both admitted to our real identities. He frowned. It didn’t seem like he completely trusted the truth. With a laugh, Allison said she was going to “check on Clayton”. I turned and watched her go. Only when she was gone did I remember the promise Allison told me she’d made to Clayton: Jumping each other’s bones.

She wouldn’t do that right then, would she? Malcolm had no qualms about being with his girlfriend when the rest of us were around but then he had a heavy door and I’d never heard anything.