3.12.
The embassy was beautiful. A six story building, with golden trim and walls as white as porcelain, the architecture was elegant and complex. It had six ballrooms, and Tonom spent the night dancing his way from one to the next.
The party lasted from a light dinner served at five pm until three in the morning, with drinks and dancing throughout the night. Tonom’s energy was without limit as he skittered around from group to group, encouraging everyone to drink the fine wine, champaign, and cocktails that the event organizers provided.
He danced with women. He danced with men, despite the initial reluctance of some of them to be seen in such an activity. He ate the hors d'oeuvre until his belly was extended.
He encouraged everyone to drink the traditional party drink of his people, a blue fruity juice that he insisted was a social lubricant despite being non-alcoholic. The ‘frumonas,’ as it was called, had cleared customs, so more than a few people were willing to give it a try.
He grew somber for only a moment, when he met with Lisa Desmond, The Widow of Earth. She called upon him to try to make the empire take a more drastic stance against the Rosanteans. He empathized with her plight and sympathized with the loss of her husband, ‘Captain’ Kirk Desmond, who had perished during the first battle between Earth and the empire.
But his stance on the war would not change from what he had told the reporters the day before.
She changed her tactics to asking for aid. In this area he was more accommodating, and he promised to meet with her at her home to discuss matters further.
Then, at about one thirty in the morning, he vanished, and nobody had any idea where he’d gone. The security team didn’t seem too worried about it, however, and everyone was having such a good time that nobody really cared.
~~~~~~~
Mike awoke late in the morning to a bed that was fuller than usual, and the arms wrapped around his chest were much more masculine than his wife, Laura. Abruptly the night before came back to him, and he recalled taking part in activities that he had not engaged in since college.
He felt a moment of mortification.
“Frumonas should be classified as a controlled substance,” he muttered to himself as he began the process of extracting himself from Tonom’s embrace. The man from space muttered in his sleep but quickly rolled over to embrace Laura instead, all without waking.
Well, at least he hadn’t cheated on his wife, he thought to himself. It wasn’t adultery if both spouses were willing participants, right?
He sighed and went downstairs. He tried to reflect on what had driven him to invite the alien diplomat to his private home, and for the life of him he couldn’t understand his motivations. He hadn’t had more than three glasses of wine and two glasses of frumonas.
He hadn’t felt drunk, and he hadn’t felt high. He hadn’t thought that his judgment was impaired in the slightest. Yet he had consented to … things.
He sighed. He had consented, and he had enjoyed himself. He was just … uncertain what this meant for the future.
Fortunately his constituents weren’t particularly hung up on these matters. If word of the night before got out he might actually score points with the liberal demographics. He’d prefer to keep things under wraps, however. And he’d also preferred that they didn’t happen again. It was just too complicated.
He put on some coffee and began mixing batter for pancakes. He wondered if the alien had ever had pancakes before.
His wife came down fifteen minutes later, poured herself a cup of coffee, slapped his ass playfully, then went to take a shower.
Tonom wandered into the kitchen a few minutes with wet hair and he realized that his wife hadn’t been alone in the shower. He sighed.
“Am still welcome at your beautiful home, Senator?” Tonom asked.
“Yes, you’re still welcome,” Mike said. He began pouring the pancakes and handed Tonom a cup of coffee. The man took it, sipped it, and made a face.
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“This is awful! You drink this?”
“It’s an acquired taste,” Mike admitted. “Laura likes it with cream and sugar. Here, I’ll show you where it is and you can mix it until it’s to your taste.”
Mike fulfilled his promise, and Tonom kept adding to his coffee until it was more cream and sugar than coffee. In the end he drank the entire cup, however. Then Mike introduced him to orange juice, and Tonom began making noises like he had the night before.
Mike, his face red, had the pancakes ready for everyone by the time his wife arrived. The sounds that Tonom made as he ate the pancakes did not help Mike’s embarrassment at all.
“Tonom, I have to ask. Are there any mind-altering substances in the frumonas?” Mike asked.
“Is social lubricant,” Tonom answered.
“So is that a yes?” Mike pressed.
“Yes. Lowers inhibitions and embarrassment,” Tonom explained, searching for the words for a moment. “You regret last night?”
“I didn’t say that, and I don’t think I will,” Mike said. “It’s just … I find it hard to believe that I agreed to it, to be honest. Knowing that there was a mind altering substance involved makes it easier for me to understand.”
“I tell everyone social lubricant,” Tonom pointed out.
“I’m not accusing you of slipping me a micky, Tonom,” Mike clarified. “I just think that I acted out of character and am processing why. But I don’t think I’ll be drinking frumonas in the future, and I think that last night isn’t going to happen again. Is it, Laura?”
“Speak for yourself,” Laura said, but Mike could tell that she was just teasing him. She was less put out by the events than he was, but she understood him completely. She, too, had been surprised at the lowering of his boundaries.
“Understood. No problem, no problem. We be friends and once-lovers, but no more. No problem,” Tonom assured him.
“Thank you for your understanding. I’ll call your security detail to bring you back to your embassy.”
“Yes yes, thank you,” Tonom agreed.
Thirty minutes later the alien man was gone.
~~~~~~~
Enedi decided that she definitely liked the Mokoari tribe. Just like the Yonohoans had tens of thousands of years ago, they had simply accepted her appearance and made her welcome. She wasn’t one of them yet, but they encouraged her to take part in their daily lives.
She helped them carry water, gather food, and tend their children. She helped clean the animals that the men hunted, curing their meat and their leather with the methods that the other women taught her.
She tried very hard to learn their language and was in the process of learning their customs.
They were a friendly, joyous people, and she was truly glad that the decision had come down that Earth was to be defended by the swarm. These little people were virtually extinct, with only a few other villages according to what Enedi had managed to learn. She found the idea of their way of life going out to be depressing, and she made a passionate plea to the project taskforce that had sent her to make efforts to preserve these people.
Towari remained suspicious of her, she noticed. She’d gathered that he hadn’t told anyone about his ‘supernatural experience,’ but it was impossible for the boy to have not noticed that she’d appeared the morning after he’d miraculously lost six hours and witnessed a glowing blue person.
Oh well. At least he didn’t seem to be turning the village against her. It was just hard for her to get any work done – any real work done – with him following her. She didn’t know what he’d think if he saw her using her abilities as she set up the valley’s defenses.
On the second week of her integration, she was surprised when one of the elders came to her and asked her if she wished to be initiated into the tribe. At least that’s what she thought he asked her. He spoke slowly to help her understand, but she was still mostly getting by with hand signals at this point.
She agreed regardless. The village gathered, and the elder began speaking rapidly.
The ceremony lasted the entire evening, with an impromptu feast being thrown. Everyone was in a joyous mood, and Enedi was enjoying herself immensely as couple after couple approached her, spoke rapidly in their bird-like tongue, and gave her gifts.
The only thing that spoiled her mood slightly was Towari, who for some reason was seated right next to her the entire time looking somewhat constipated.
The ceremony carried on late into the night, with the children of the village falling asleep out in the open and being carried back to their beds by their parents. Finally, she was shown to her new hut.
It was only when Towari entered with her and began kissing her that she realized that she had just gotten married. Her ‘husband’ was only slightly put off as she began laughing uproariously.