Chapter Six
Imuna Parker
Out of nowhere, the one called Lieutenant Draxel came into the living quarters that I had made my home for almost three days now on the mothership. He didn't say anything except, follow me. I was surprised. I didn't know what was happening. I followed him out of the room and down the familiar hallway. But then we took a turn down a smaller hallway, one that I did not see on my way in. Then before I knew it, we were walking toward a small transport, almost like the one I came in, only smaller.
“What is happening?”
“I am to take you home. To Earth,” he said as he opened the door to the transport. I looked at him with wide eyes. I looked around. I did not see Evex. I was expecting him to be there, was he not even going to say goodbye? Was this a trick?
“Really? Just like that? I am able to go back to Earth?”
“It is my orders to take you back to your home on Earth, from where you were taken. That is all I know. I mean to follow my orders quickly and efficiently. Now get in, or I will have to pick you up and drop you in,” he said.
I took one last look around. Was Evex watching me from somewhere? I couldn't see him anywhere. I climbed into the transport, not wanting to miss this chance to return home. But a part of me eight to say words to him. I didn't know why, but I felt the need to tell him goodbye. Perhaps even give him a goodbye kiss, something to remember. But he was nowhere to be found. I grew angry as I realized I was being thrown away like trash. I strapped myself into the seat and waited. Lieutenant Draxel went through the series of launching the ship and then we were out in space. After an hour, and realizing we were headed back in the direction of Earth, I curled up in my seat and fell asleep.
Almost ten hours later, I was being quietly dropped off in the middle of the night on my terrace. I couldn't believe this was really happening.
“Tell Leader Ein that I said thank you,” I said to Lieutenant Draxel as I climbed out of the flying vehicle that we had taken from a landing port and flew to my building. He nodded in acknowledgment but said nothing else. As soon as I was on my feet and steady, he flew away. I watched him fly into the night. Had all of that really happened? I walked into my penthouse apartment, the sliding glass was still open, from when I had stepped out onto the terrace that fateful day.
I closed it behind me and locked it. I turned on all the lights and looked around. It was home. But it didn't feel like home anymore. For some reason, it felt foreign after having a grand adventure in space and not having my husband living there any longer. I went to my bathroom and took a long hot bath. I needed to relax and pretend that none of this had ever happened. I definitely had a new lease on life, and I had to thank Evex for that.
The next day was Tuesday; I had spent a long weekend away from my work at The Intergalactic Bank. Which meant I missed Monday without calling in because I wasn't even on the planet, but they didn't know that. As soon as I walked in, I felt my co-workers looking at me. I felt like they could all see it. I felt like they could see that I had slept with an alien, a forbidden Ition. I looked down at the ground not wanting to make eye contact.
“Imuna? Mr. Gregory would like to see you.”
“Thank you; I will be right in,” I told Mr. Gregory's assistant. I straightened up and went to his office one floor above the floor that my office was on. Mr. Gregory was my boss.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Yes, Imuna, please sit down. Can I get you anything? Some water or hot tea?” he said looking at me with pity. I had seen this look before, right after my husband died. I knew what was coming.
“No, I am fine. Thank you”
“I was told that you did not make it into work yesterday. Nor did you call in?” he said.
“Yes, I apologize. I could not sleep all weekend, and my doctor gave me something to sleep, and I slept right on through the day. I woke up late in the evening, too late to call. But I am here now,” I said.
“I know that you are still in mourning. You have extreme grief. Are you sure that you should be back at work already? Maybe you should take more time off?” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned on the desk.
“No. I'm fine. Every day is a little easier. I will get there, I am sure. Work is good for me. My work has not suffered, if you have not noticed, other than the unexplained absence yesterday,” I said.
“That is true. Your work is remarkable. Almost perfect. I just wanted to make sure that you knew the option was there,” he said.
“Thank you again. I do appreciate it. But I am ready and available for work here at the bank. I do not want to lose this job; it is very important to me.”
“I understand. Then please return to your work and let us know if you do need time off at any time; we just need to know ahead of time,” he said.
“Yes, I understand.”
He put out his hand for me to shake it. I shook his hand and then let myself out of his office. I walked downstairs and kept my head in my work the rest of the day.
This was how I spent the next two weeks. Keeping my head down, doing my work to perfection, and lying in bed alone at night with thoughts that went from my husband to Evex, and back again. I could not get the strong and attractive alien out of my mind no matter how much I wanted to.
I think it was the way we left things unsaid. There was no closure. He wasn't even the one that took me back to Earth, nor did he say goodbye.
But it really did get a little easier every day. More and more the grief was starting to become easier to cope with and being in mourning wasn't as hard as it was in the beginning. I knew that I had Evex to thank for that, but I didn't want to admit that to myself. I didn't want to admit that having sex with someone else had given me the release that I needed. It felt wrong, and yet it was so right.
On a Saturday night, I decided to treat myself to something I had not done in a long time. I was going to have some alone time with actual enjoyment. I was ordering in, I had a list of movies to watch, and I was going to take a nice relaxing bath. I ordered Chinese food and laid it out on the living room rug to eat picnic style while I watched a comedy. It was the first time I had laughed and enjoyed myself since Sion had left. I had been keeping myself busy with work, coming home eating a quick meal and going to bed just to rise early again the next day and do the same thing over and over again. But it being the weekend, I decided that I needed to break out of my routine. It wasn't exactly wild girls’ night out, but I wasn't ready for that yet. I was taking baby steps to come back into the woman that I was.
After eating way too many egg rolls and servings of orange chicken, I filled the tub for a nice warm bath after watching a movie that made me laugh to tears. I lit some candles in the bathroom and then took off my clothes to sink into the water. I laid down in the tub, allowing my muscles to relax. I grabbed a sponge and began to wash my body slowly. It was then that I noticed something strange about my belly. It looked darker; maybe it was just the candlelight. But then it wasn't changing as I moved out of the shadow. I stood up from the tub and wrapped a towel around me. I carefully went to the light switch and turned it on. I stood in front of the mirror and looked down at my belly. I gasped. It was a light blue color, barely a tint to it. I could see how it escaped my attention before when changing clothes, but now that I was really looking at it, it was obvious.
I ran to my living room and called a close friend, Gina. I had not spoken to her regularly in the last few months, since Sion's death. But I needed her. She was a doctor, and she could help me figure out what the hell was wrong with me. Could this be food poisoning?
“Gina, it is Imuna. Could you come over? It is important,” I asked her. She only lived five blocks away, so it wasn't a strange request, especially because it was only seven in the evening.
“Imuna? It is so good to hear from you. I have been worried. I have left you messages, but I thought you needed time. What's going on?” Gina responded.
“I will tell you when you get here. Can you come over?”
“Yes, of course. I will be there in half an hour.”
I hung up and got dressed. I paced back and forth in my living room. I didn't know what was wrong with me and looked at my body in the mirror to see if there were any other blue patches. I could not see any unless they were in areas that I could not see, like the back of my neck. I opened my mouth and stuck out my tongue, pink. There was nothing unusual about me and I didn't feel sick.
Finally, the bell rang. I went to the door and answered it. Gina gave me a warm long hug.
“It is so good to see you, Imuna. I have been worried. But I know you are going through a trying time,” she said as she walked in. I closed the door behind her.
“Thank you; I am sorry that I haven't called you back. I just needed some alone time, as you know.”
“I know. Take all the time you need.”
“Gina, I called you here as a friend and as a doctor. There is something wrong with me, and I don't know what it is. I am a little freaked out.”
“Okay, what is it?” she said looking concerned.
“There is something on my skin: a tint. I don't know if it is dye from clothing rubbing against me. I was in the bath so it should have come off.”
I grabbed her hand and led her into the bathroom where the light was much brighter. I stood in front of her and pulled up my shirt rubbing my hand over my belly. She gasped.
“What? Am I sick?”
She suddenly looked at me as though I was a monster standing in front of her. She didn't say anything, but I knew by the look on her face that she knew I had been with an Ition. It all hit me at once; I was pregnant. This was a sign.
“You are pregnant, Imuna,” she finally said.
My eyes were open wide with fright. I shook my head from side-to-side know. I put my hand on the wall and held myself up. My husband and I had been trying to have kids for years, and I never could get pregnant. I had a one-night stand with a forbidden alien, and I got pregnant. This couldn't be happening.
“A blue belly is a sign of a pregnancy with an Ition alien. Imuna? How? What the hell…” She could not finish her sentence.
“It is a long story.”
“Well, you better start talking! Do you know how dangerous this is? I only know about this because I have attended a few human pregnancies by the Itions; those women are in jail because of it! You know that the Itions are forbidden!”
“I didn't do this on purpose! I was abducted against my will,” I said and felt the lie as soon as I said it. Yes, I had been abducted against my will, but sleeping with Evex was something that I had welcomed at the time.
Gina ran out into the living room and walked back and forth in a panic. She was freaking out.
“This can't be happening. I wish you wouldn't have called me over, Imuna. I could lose my license just for knowing about this. I could be put in jail along with you! Why didn't you think of that?”
I realized that I had made a mistake by calling my friend to confide in her. I could see just how panicked she was in that she might not be able to hold this secret. But she had to.
“I am sorry, Gina. I did not know what was wrong. I didn't know a blue belly was the sign of pregnancy! How could I possibly have known that? Everything is so secret when it comes to the Itions. I would not wish trouble on you of course. I would never wish that for you. If I had known that's what it meant, I wouldn't have brought you into this mess. And it is not your mess to deal with; it is mine. But you must promise me to keep this secret.”
She stopped and looked at me. There was something on her face, something that said I couldn't trust her. But I had to.
She sighed. “I promise. I will keep it a secret. But don’t call me anymore, Imuna. Promise me that,” she said.
“I promise. Thank you for coming. I won’t keep you any longer.”
She grabbed her purse and then gave me a long hug. I knew that it was a goodbye hug. Possibly forever. Then she left me.