Mated to a Human

☽ 5 ☾

I drive home from the café after work and stare for a minute at the tree line from the driveway. At seven o'clock, everyone is home. I enter the house and find Perry watching a baseball game on TV with Mom while Dad sautés at the stove behind them. Mom doesn't seem to be paying much attention to the game; her attention is fixated on her pink-covered tablet.

She looks as I appear in the archway and then reverts. "Mia. Hi, Love. How was work?"

"Fine. We were pretty busy."

"Well, that's Friday for you."

I place my bag on a counter island stool and sit on the seat beside it. "What's for dinner?"

"Got a cottage pie in the oven and green beans on the stove," Dad says. "Should be ready in about five minutes."

"Speaking of dinner." Mom announces, "It turns out Cathy can't do the Society dinner at her house next week, so I told everyone we would do it here tomorrow."

I swivel the stool, first facing Dad and then Mom. He asks, "Are we expecting the whole Society?"

"Not Louanne, but Marianne, Cathy, Rob, Dennise and Al, Charmaine, Betsy — they're all coming. Oh, I also invited Harvey. I'm hoping he'll join the Society and bring a younger perspective, fresh ideas, and the works. His family goes way back to the beginning of this town, so that fits, and that banner he found for us has been beautifully kept; it's really going to shine at the festival. Besides, I hear he's good with tools — a fixer — and that always comes in handy.

My thoughts rewind to Harvey entering the museum and then standing at his front door. Now he's coming here for dinner. Suddenly the idea of eating makes me want to hurl.

"Are we doing salmon for the dinner party?"

"I thought that would be nice. I mean, we still have twelve frozen fillets in the garage from Pat."

"Make something else for the kids," Dad ponders.

"Kids don't have to join us — I'm sure they don't want to."

Perry confirms. "We don't."

"That doesn't include you, Mia. I think you should join us," Mom adds.

I stare at the busy pattern of our granite countertop, trying to belly-breath the discomfort away.

"Feeling okay?" Dad asks, now looking at me.

I nod. "I'm just gonna go change quick."

I take my bag and flee to my bedroom, but before I shut my door, Harper leaps out of her room across the hall and jams herself in the way. "I need to borrow a top," she heaves, so I release the door handle and trudge to my bed.

Harper goes right to my closet and starts rummaging.

"A top for dinner?" I question, still feeling woozy.

"No. There's a football game happening right now, and Kimmy is on her way to pick me up. Mom already said I could go. Afterwards, a bunch of people are going to Denny's."

I lie on my back. "Right."

She turns from my closet with my grey, long-sleeved, sweetheart neckline top in hand. "What's up with you? You've been off for, like, days now."

"No, I haven't," I rebuttal weakly. "I just... I have college, and it's hard."

Harper rolls her eyes in disbelief and leaves my room with my shirt. Downstairs, I hear Mom call, "Harper, Kimmy's here!"

"Shit," Harper mutters in the hall. She runs and shuts her door.

~•~