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“You’re the best neighbor!” Jessie said.
“I’m happy to take care of him anytime. He’s no trouble at all. I think he might be in the bedroom.” She disappeared into the other room.
A collection of photos crowding a wall shelf drew me closer. In one image, I recognized a much younger Mrs. Abercrombie with a man—her husband, I surmised—and a little girl. Most of the photos featured the girl, in ages ranging from infancy to adulthood. Jessie came up beside me and pointed to a picture of the young woman. In laughter, she appeared happy and carefree. “That’s Mrs. Abercrombie’s daughter—”
“That’s the last photo taken of her before she went missing.” Mrs. Abercrombie entered the room. “It’s been a long time, now. But I haven’t given up hope that she’s still alive, and she’ll walk through that door.” She handed James Bond to Jessie.
“I’m sorry…for your loss.” I sounded—and felt—inadequate. Damn the LOP for its secrecy and cover-ups. Damn myself. I had the power to ease her pain.
Jessie squeezed the cat and kissed him. I scratched him behind the ears. He seemed to like that.
Mrs. Abercrombie turned her scrutiny on me. “Are you Jessie’s young man?”
“I’d like to be,” I said.
Jessie widened her eyes, and her lips parted. “You would?”
Had I taken too much for granted? We’d both been making assumptions that hadn’t served us well. Just because we’d been physically intimate didn’t necessarily mean she had feelings for me, and I’d never spoken of a future, believing there couldn’t be one. But after Imana had captured her, priorities reshuffled and snapped into place. I hadn’t fought to save her just so I could walk away from her and never see her again.
“Good. Everybody needs somebody,” Mrs. Abercrombie said.
I glanced at the photo of the laughing young woman. Everybody did need someone, especially a widow whose child vanished. Fuck the LOP and its arbitrary rules. “We don’t want to keep you up. It’s late. I’d like to come visit, maybe tomorrow, if I may?”
A pleased smile spread across her face. “That would be lovely.”
Hugging James Bond tighter, Jessie’s eyes narrowed as her gaze shifted between me and her neighbor.
“We’ll be going, now,” I said.
“Yes, thank you again for watching James,” Jessie said.
I caught her arm outside the apartment. “Prepare yourself. It’s a mess inside.”
James Bond squirmed.
“I was abducted by aliens twice.” She hung on to the cat and punched in her access code. “I can handle a messy apartment.”
She pushed open the door.
“Holy shit!” she cried.
“I tried to warn you.”
“You said messy. They tore up my sofa!” Cottony stuffing burst out of the overturned, slashed couch. She set James down, and he hightailed it into the bedroom. Hands on her hips, a scowling Jessie surveyed the vandalized room. Tables had been knocked over. Pictures had been smashed. Sofa stuffing and other detritus covered the floor.
Then she sighed and shrugged. “It’s just stuff. It doesn’t matter.” She lifted her chin and fixed a probing gaze on my face. “So, when were you going to tell me Mrs. Abercrombie is your grandmother?”
“Oh, I guess, right about now. How long have you known?”
“It hit me when I saw the photographs. Something about you always struck me as familiar. Take away the horns and fur, and you’re the spitting image of her daughter. That’s why you’re going back to talk to her? You’re going to tell her?”
I nodded. “It’s time. Well past time. But, it’s not a conversation to get into this late at night. Telling her the truth will violate directives, but Jovi told me in confidence he believes the embargo will be lifted soon, and New Terrans and nonhumans will be able to freely associate. I don’t want to wait. She’s lived decades with the uncertainty of her daughter’s disappearance, fearing she was dead but never knowing the truth.”
“Never knowing she had a grandson,” she added softly.
“That, too. Everybody needs somebody,” I repeated my grandmother’s words and moved closer. “I need you. We’ve only known each other a few days, but I’ve fallen hard. I don’t want the completion of this mission to mean the end of us. I hope there’s an us.”
The pleased smile touching her lips lit my heart with hope. She slid her hands up my chest. “Fallen hard, huh?”
