Chapter Fifteen
Diesel couldn’t speak for a moment, finding himself in one of the most horrifyingly uncomfortable situations of his life. And that was saying a lot, considering he’d faced down a malevolent being racing through town unchecked not too long ago, but the current free milk-and-cow discussion certainly surpassed that on the fear scale by an exponential factor. He absolutely did not want to discuss his love life with his crazy aunt or Juliana’s confused, nosy neighbor in a public place, or ever, really.
His aunt crossed her arms, impatiently tapping one foot on the porch as she waited for him to answer the question of whether he was going to buy a cow if he’d already gotten free milk, which every person standing here knew meant they wanted to know if he and Juliana had slept together.
It was no one else’s business, and time to end this ridiculous confrontation.
Behind him, Axel poked him in the shoulder and said in a low tone, “Bro, I’m totally on your side here, but you should really consider buying the cow. It’s the right thing to do. My two cents.”
Juliana gave Axel an incredulous look.
Diesel said in an equally low tone, “You’re not helping.”
Axel grinned. “Well, what can I do to help?”
Diesel pointed to his truck and said, “My keys are still in the ignition. Take Aunt Dixie back to the truck stop and help Juliana’s neighbor get back home to Doraydo, with more groceries if she needs them. That would be a big help.”
“Will do. And I won’t even expect a response to the free milk-and-cow questions that have gone unanswered, but don’t think I didn’t notice.”
“Whatever,” Diesel said under his breath. He made an announcement to the group. “Listen up. Axel is in charge of taking care of the two of you.” He pointed to both Miss Penny and Aunt Dixie. “Do what he says, or else.”
“Or else what?” Dixie said, her gaze narrowing suspiciously.
“Or else he’ll take away the all-you-can-eat-anytime-of-day-Jell-O policy at the Starlight Old Folks’ Home,” Axel said, winking at Diesel over one shoulder.
“He wouldn’t dare. That’s blasphemy.” Dixie uncrossed her arms to plant them firmly on her hips.
Axel stepped out onto the porch. “If you start talking about cows and free milk again he might, so let’s go, ladies.” Axel somehow managed to herd the two elderly women toward Diesel’s truck, loading them into the front seat before driving away.
“I don’t understand why Miss Penny came all the way here.”
Diesel squinted in the direction of the departing truck. “She said she was worried about you. Maybe she realized you didn’t come home last night and wanted to ensure you understood the whole free milk-and-cow theory she wanted to impart.”
“Yeah, about that—”
“You’re about to ask me if I want me to buy a cow, aren’t you?” Diesel didn’t have mixed feelings about Juliana. He wanted her. He expected her to be in his life from now on. There were hurdles, of course, but he wasn’t ready to discuss them yet. He’d marry her today if she knew he was an alien from another planet. However, it was too early to explain his true heritage and that to be together they’d possibly have to move to another galaxy.
“No. I don’t have a cow. You aren’t telling me that I am a cow, right?”
“That’s exactly right. You are not a cow and besides I don’t want to buy any livestock.”
Before she could respond, the grandfather clock in the hallway started chiming the tenth hour.
“Listen, why don’t we forget about elderly women trying to get into our business? Because it isn’t their business.
“Instead, we’ll spend the day together visiting wherever you want in town. I can even see if the mayor will let us inside the courthouse to look at the picture of Bonnie and Clyde at the speakeasy for your article.”
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“Okay. That sounds perfect, and if I never hear the words ‘free milk’ or ‘cow’ again in the same sentence, I’ll be deliriously happy.”
He raised his left hand. “I solemnly swear you won’t hear them from me.”
“Good.” Juliana also looked at the departing truck. “Are we going to walk around town?”
“We can, but I have another vehicle, sort of, if you want to take a look.” He grinned at her. “It’s fun, too.”
A smile shaped her lips. “What is it?”
Diesel led her to the garage, which was attached to the back of the house by a short screened-in walkway. He opened the door and led her inside a large three-car space. He pushed a button on the wall and the far door started to lift. The bright morning sun revealed a large red four-wheeler in the third stall.
“Is that even street legal?” she asked with a laugh.
“Are you kidding? In Arkansas? Does a bear,” he paused only slightly and finished with, “poop in the woods?”
She laughed. “My answer to that is yes, and also I’d love to ride your obviously street legal Arkansas four-wheeler all through town.”
“Then let’s ride.” He grabbed a set of keys off a hook by the door and they passed two empty stalls to reach his “fun” vehicle.
Snuggled up behind Diesel on a loud four-wheeler racing through Alienn was exactly how she enjoyed the rest of her day. The few townspeople they saw seemed surprised, but Diesel didn’t slow down or talk to anyone but her. He even gave them safety helmets wired with speakers and mics so they could talk and still hear over the throttle, going full blast, during the entire fun ride.
After crisscrossing several the streets in downtown Alienn where he pointed out various interesting town facts, Diesel then took her to the former bank with the basement speakeasy. They parked and he took her on a tour. There was not much left to see but a big empty building sporting a few broken pieces of glass and a dusty, dank space filled with cobwebs and dust. Still, Juliana reveled in spending the day with Diesel.
Diesel somehow convinced the mayor to open the courthouse for a special private visit. They toured the mini museum housed within the courthouse where the Bonnie and Clyde picture was on display behind glass, reading the bit of documentation available as to theories on what had happened back in the day.
Juliana also saw an old picture of Alienne Greenly, the founder of Alienn, Arkansas, a diorama of the Bauxite mine as it was back in 1963, and a picture of an empty mining town in the northwest, along with the legend and speculation of what happened to some former lost colony that all disappeared without a trace over 150 years ago.
Diesel pointed out other interesting things in the museum before they left and she even got a souvenir, replica copy of Bonnie and Clyde’s picture in the old speakeasy.
They talked about everything—their pasts, their present and what they wanted for their futures. He mentioned the “tradition” of dating locally, but that it wasn’t carved in stone. He didn’t dwell on it or make it seem like he was worried about it. He also didn’t mention the issue of someone throwing apples at her doorstep at all, for which she was grateful. She’d just as soon forget all about any threat.
Juliana wanted to only spend her time with this incredible man from now on. The article she needed to write practically wrote itself in her mind from the notes she’d taken at the speakeasy and the courthouse. Before the day ended, she could honestly say she was falling in love with Diesel. He was perfect. He made her heart swell with joy each moment they spent together.
Diesel was the one. Her one. She knew it. He’d even volunteered to go with her in search of her past because he didn’t want to miss a day with her. No one in her life had ever made her feel as special as Diesel did in a single weekend together.
Once back at his house, he gave her another nickel tour, but insisted on making her dinner before showing her the master bedroom, which she found very romantic.
He further romanced her, cooking a dinner that included ham steaks, baked potatoes, green beans and cornbread with honey butter that was so rich and tasty it could have served as dessert. And all of it was accompanied by strong sweet tea, a southern staple of many evening meals.
After supper they took their iced tea to the screened-in back porch, taking in the view as they sat together holding hands until dark, talking about everything and nothing.
Once they retired inside, and put their glasses in the sink, Diesel grabbed her close and kissed her like he never wanted their lip lock to end. She certainly didn’t intend to stop.
He danced her through the kitchen and down the hallway to his master bedroom, the one he didn’t show her until now. Opening the door, he broke the kiss long enough to usher her inside and close the door behind him.
Diesel’s master bedroom was beautiful. Simple, and yet the wood furniture and massive bed were all very inviting in a comfortable style. This was exactly where she wanted to spend the night.
Earlier, they’d taken the four-wheeler back to the Big Bang Truck Stop so she could retrieve her car. In the trunk she had that small overnight bag she’d packed, which she left on his living room sofa during the initial tour.
Diesel kissed her again, dancing her toward his large bed. He kissed her cheeks, he kissed her chin. He trailed kisses from her jawline to the tickly place on her neck right beneath her ear. He knew she liked being kissed there from the last time they’d been in a bedroom together.
She was lost to his intimate attention. She never wanted to leave his warm company. Juliana expected it would be another completely magical evening.
By morning’s first light, she was proven correct. The previous evening together had been even more magical than the first.
Spending the night in Diesel’s home had been fairy-tale-like all the way down to having a charming prince keeping her up most of the night. But that was perfectly fine. Her only disappointment was when he had to leave early to go to work, as it was Monday. He expected a very busy coming week at the truck stop and told her not to freak out if he wasn’t able to call or talk to her for the next few days.
The night before she’d told him she had to head home and spend the week writing her article, as the submission date was fast approaching. He kissed her forehead, told her he’d do his best to call her before the end of the week to check up on her, and left her sleepy and dozing.
Juliana slid out of Diesel’s bed a couple of hours later, found the coffee pot he’d left on warm for her and downed two cups to wake up. She fetched her overnight bag from the sofa, showered in his massive bathroom and then strolled around his house looking at various things that made her delighted to be in his company.
She was upstairs when she was startled by the sound of a loud noise from somewhere on the lower floor. It sounded liked a door slamming. Had Diesel come back? Juliana went downstairs and carefully and quietly explored the lower floor, calling his name and desperately hoping no one jumped out at her. She’d probably drop into a dead faint if she saw a boogieman. Whatever they looked like.
She noticed the door to his home office was ajar. Hadn’t Diesel closed it last night? She’d only poked her head inside for a quick glance during his nickel tour. He hadn’t wanted her to look too closely, telling her it was sort of a mess. She’d seen a desk strewn with paper and not much else.
Juliana pushed the door open wider and hoped again that no one would jump out at her, but wanting to check every room to ensure no one lingered waiting to get her.
She noticed a picture of Maxwell the Martian on the wall behind his desk and smiled, not only because she found it endearing, but also because the frame wasn’t straight.
Juliana walked over to the wall intent on leveling the frame. As soon as she twisted the frame back into place, an invisible door appeared in the otherwise empty wall, opening into a hidden space about the same size as his office.
Awesome. A secret door.
Maybe this was why he hadn’t wanted her to see the room too closely. Last night, he’d said he hadn’t spent much time in his office lately, but mostly it was a mess.
She hesitated only briefly before stepping inside the hidden room. The lights in the ceiling came on automatically. She saw several outer space pictures on the wall. Along one low shelf were eight-by-ten picture frames showing Diesel and what looked like his large family in a barren and alien-looking environment. Arizona, maybe?
She recognized Cam and Axel in a candid group photo. The others in the family photo certainly looked related. The caption on the frame read, “Family trip, Alpha-Prime,” with a date from a few years ago.
What? Alpha-Prime? That sounded very familiar. Where had she heard that name before?
Wasn’t that what the strange man in the even stranger suit had said? That his coat was made with standard Alpha-Prime material or something like that. She’d been sleepy and had totally forgotten about it during the rest of her Sunday with Diesel.
She turned to the desk, not wanting to snoop, exactly, but hoping to understand the growing suspicion that perhaps aliens did run loose here, living in plain sight. Could it be true? Really true?
The memory of the creature she’d seen in her dream rose in her mind with even more specific detail. Diesel, hand lovingly on her back, had led her out the employee door. And they’d seen the creature about to enter what looked like a basement bomb shelter. Odd, since basements of any kind were rare in this part of the country. An Arkansas basement was an invitation for flooding or at the very least water seepage on a regular basis.
Next, his brother Cam had raced onto the shocking scene. He’d pointed a small bullhorn at Juliana and she’d woken up in her car with a lack of memories.
Juliana felt a wave of dizziness hit her, hard. She sat down at the messy, paper-strewn desk as memories of going back into the convenience store for a second time and starting the conversation with Diesel all over again filled in a more realistic timeline. She hadn’t been asleep. Her memories had been erased and she’d gone back inside a second time.
Juliana remembered both times she’d met Diesel. But the second time, Diesel pretended not to remember the first time they’d met. Why would he do that? Why would he pretend they didn’t know each other? That they hadn’t kissed that first glorious time?
She closed her eyes and remembered clearly kissing him for the very first time. Magical—just like sleeping with him—was the best word to describe the experience. She’d asked a question he didn’t want to answer. He’d been trying to kiss her to distraction. It had worked, sort of.
Elbows on the surface of this desk, head resting on her fists, Juliana allowed the dream-like memories to repopulate in her mind, staring at the surface of this cluttered desk, but not really seeing what was there.
At least not at first. Her mind started working to fill in the blanks. As the dream-like memories coalesced, she registered what was on Diesel’s secret desk, in his secret office, filled with a multitude of secret odd pictures showcasing him and his family in secret odd places, or rather secret places not of this world.
The papers on his desk were varying colors, but primarily gray. Many had a heading that indicated they were from the Alpha-Prime place. She studied a few documents on top of one pile, but didn’t recognize the language. In fact, whatever this was it didn’t look like anything she’d ever seen before.
Juliana’s college degree was in communication. On her own time, she’d studied several languages enough to identify them, though not well enough to speak them. The letters, words and symbols on these pages were something she’d never seen before. They were strange, unidentifiable and even holographic in some places. Definitely alien.
There were also several more pictures with the words Alpha-Prime written in the description. One showed what looked to be an alien spacecraft getting ready to depart into space. It looked like something out of a science-fiction movie.
A small stack of white paper caught her eye, since it was handwritten in English and looked like a personal letter. She picked it up from the center of the blotter and saw that there were actually three letters. It was as if Diesel had opened them, scanned through them and dropped them in a pile as if they held no further significance.
Or perhaps the stack had been left there because he hadn’t finished reading it, perhaps planning to look at it later. She might have ignored it further, only noticing it at all because she saw Diesel’s name at the top in an intimate greeting. Her heart almost seized in her chest.
The first letter was dated three months ago and began:
My darling, wonderful Diesel,
Juliana picked the letter up and read the whole thing. Twice. She then folded her arms in front of her, dropped her head down and cried her eyes out.
The second letter opened with, Dear Diesel, and contained a confused-sounding single-page message that wondered why the writer hadn’t heard anything from him. It was signed, still madly in love with you, but please contact me.
The third letter was dated last month. It was terse and angry.
Diesel,
It’s clear you never intended to fall madly in love with me. Nor did you obviously ever care for me. I’ve left message after message, and you’ve ignored every one of them. No one is this busy. Therefore, I can only assume that you lied to me about every single thing you said. I’m not special. You only took what you wanted and threw me aside. You’re a vile, reprehensible person, and also I’m not madly in love with you anymore. Adele
Once Juliana finished reading all three letters and her impromptu crying jag, she stood up and walked around the desk, deciding to take a closer look at the memorabilia placed in the secret office. She noticed what looked like an old-fashioned photo album, filled with page after page of illuminating pictures.
She thumbed through it until she found a picture of the half octopus-half man she’d dreamed about. On the back it said Resident of Moogally. Whatever that was. She slipped it out of the sleeve and put it in her purse along with a picture of Diesel with his family and the handwritten caption, “Away from Earth, vacationing on Alpha-Prime.”
She should be elated she’d found a treasure trove of possible facts that pointed to the notion aliens from another planet did indeed live and work in plain sight. She should be elated she had something to write for her coming article. Unfortunately, it came at the cost of her heart.
After spending this intimate weekend with Diesel, she’d been about to write some idiot fiction piece about a pair of infamous bank robbers from early in the last century who may have robbed the Alienn Bank, but her broken heart wouldn’t let her forget the letters on the desk from a recent, apparently short-lived relationship Diesel shared with someone who’d signed the letter, “Madly in love with you, too. Always and forever, Adele.” That woman had summarily gotten her heart stomped on when Diesel apparently had gotten all he wanted from the poor girl and ditched her. Was that about to be Juliana’s fate?
Juliana read the first love letter from Adele again as more tears streamed down her face. All the supposedly special and magical things they’d done together—the fortune from Maxwell the Martian saying, “Our Fearless Leader thinks you’re pretty, too”; the ride through town on his four-wheeler; spending that first night at his parents’ house—were noted in the letter.
No special moment was left out. The mugs of coffee drank while seated at his parents’ kitchen island were referenced. He’d made this Adele person pancakes the next morning, too. The special ham dinner with sweet yummy cornbread had all been used on another girl, a human girl, just like herself.
According to the letter, Adele had come to the truck stop asking if there were really aliens in Alienn, Arkansas, and Diesel had promptly swung into action. He’d deflected the truth about aliens living in Alienn in the exact same way he had with Juliana, all the way down to telling her he’d be busy for the next few days when the sexy weekend was over, but that he’d call her.
But he hadn’t called Adele, or taken her calls, or called her back or remembered she existed at all after he got what he wanted, also according to subsequent letters months later.
Adele had apparently been trying to get hold of him for quite a while, if the dates on the letters were any indication, gushing about how she had fallen madly in love with him. Mentioning how romantic it had been that after only knowing each other a short time, he planned to fall madly in love with her.
That was the single most hurtful sentence in the entire set of letters.
The line she’d thought was so very romantic when he said it to her in his office. Juliana had believed all of the other things he’d said to her and done with her had been special and unique to their day together.
However, Adele’s first letter detailed many of the exact same special things that she and Diesel had also done together.
These must have all been simply his typical moves in order to sleep with human girls and keep them from believing there were aliens roaming around here. Adele had been duped. Juliana had been duped. She’d been so amazingly foolish.
Juliana shook off the hurt and the humiliation and leapt into action. She grabbed her bag, headed to her car, and drove straight back to Doraydo. She’d been a complete fool to expect a gorgeous man—or gorgeous alien—like Diesel would ever be interested in a nobody like her.
She needed to get home on familiar turf, think through everything and then make a plan for what she’d do next.
Diesel didn’t have to worry about giving her the brush off or about ever seeing her again. She wouldn’t look for a call from him and she also wouldn’t bother writing him any heartfelt lovelorn letters like Adele had, beseeching him to come back or even to call and explain.
Apparently, once he was done with a girl, he never called or saw her again. That was just fine. It would make it much easier.
Juliana was done. She’d write her article and let the chips—or rather her astonishing discovery of aliens living on planet Earth—fall where they may.