In-Laws
“All in-laws are crazy!” Joffrey laughed. “You needn’t act like you’re the only one.”
Clearly, he did not understand my situation. And just now, I didn’t have the energy to argue with him.
“I suppose you’re right,” I managed to conjure up a smile. “See you Monday.”
And I walked out the door. I had packed my bag that morning and stowed it in my trunk, so I was ready to go. The tank was full. I’d been careful to give myself no excuse to delay my trip. But I did stop to pick up a peanut butter milkshake for the road. Nothing relieves stress like a peanut butter milkshake.
Don’t get me wrong, my in-laws are wonderful people. They accepted me and had given me all the moral support these past few months while my husband was out of the country. At least I assume he was out of the country. My husband did something, for some branch of the military—I think. It was all highly classified, and I knew basically nothing about it. Dan mentioned getting me clearance, but before he could start the process, he’d been sent on assignment, and I hadn’t seen him for almost three months.
It was nerve-wracking not knowing where Dan was, how much danger he might be in and when he might be coming home. I had been in contact with his parent by phone almost every day, but today was only my second trip to see them in person. Like I said, they were wonderful people, but they were . . . .odd. Truthfully, I wasn’t ready to go back, but I had news to share, and since Dan was out of reach, they were the only ones I had to share it with.
An hour later, milkshake gone, I pulled up into the driveway. I glanced warily over the fence at the back yard. Everything seemed perfectly normal, but I didn’t let myself feel relieved.
The door swung open as I pulled my bag from the trunk. Dan’s mother came out, smiling brightly.
“Jessica!” she cried, her face alight. “It’s so good too see you. David, come help Jessica with her bag.”
“It’s alright, Minnie,” I assured her, but David was already taking the bag from me. “But thank you, David.”
“Anything for my favorite daughter-in-law,” he responded with a grin.
“How are you, dear?” Minnie asked, as she ushered me into the house. “I’ve been a bit worried about you. I hope you haven’t been ill.”
“I’m perfectly healthy,” I assured her, truthfully. The doctor’s appointment I’d had yesterday proved it. I couldn’t resist my next question. “But tell me, what happened to your rocket?”
“Our rocket?” David asked blandly.
“I didn’t see it in the back yard today,” I answered. “Did you finish it and sell it?”
And that was part of the reason I hadn’t been to visit my in-laws in so long. The last time I’d been there, they had a half-finished rocket in their back yard. I’m not talking about a toy rocket, or a miniature rocket—David and Minnie had a full-sized rocket complete with boosters and fins and all that stuff that I vaguely recognized from watching space shuttle launches as a child.
“Oh, Jessica,” Minnie laughed. “As if we’d sell our rocket.”
“The neighbors complained,” David said, “So we put it out of sight.”
“Why don’t you take Jessica’s bag up to her room, while I fix us all a nice glass of iced tea,” Minnie said, leading the way into the kitchen.
David headed up the stairs, and I found myself on a stool at the breakfast bar, watching Minnie finish dinner preparations and sipping tea. I offered to help, but she refused.
“So how exactly do you put an eighty foot tall rocket out of sight?” I asked.
“We shrank it,” David answered as he settled beside me with his own glass of iced tea.
“I . . . see.”
“It’s about eight feet tall now,” he explained. “Makes it a bit of a challenge to work on now, but we can store it in the garage at least. Luckily it’s all done but the tweaking.”
“Don’t let him fool you,” Minnie said, serving up steaming bowls of soup. “The rocket is complete. David just can’t resist tinkering with it.”
David shrugged. “We have time. We can’t use it until we hear from Dan.”
That caught my attention. “Use it for what?” Then, “You’ve heard from Dan.”
“Not exactly, Jessica. But I have the feeling he’ll be in touch soon.”
I nodded, one hand pressing instinctively to my abdomen. “I hope you’re right.”
“Minnie is always right,” David told me, patting my hand reassuringly. “Now have some soup. It’s delicious.”
“And my first question?”
“What was that, dear?” Minnie asked, settling on the other side of David with her own soup.
I refused to be distracted. “What are you planning on using the rocket ship for?”
“Oh, David wants to take it for a little test drive, as it were.” Minnie laughed it off. “But enough about us. How have you been?”
And there was my opening. I sipped my soup as I gathered my courage. Minnie and David were wonderful people, but sometimes I truly doubted their sanity. I’d worked with dementia patients in the past—people who were so confused that sometimes it was impossible to know if the stories they told were true or not. All I could do was nod and act as if they were, since I rarely had any way to confirm it. I automatically treated Dan’s parents the same way. They might be crazy, but they’d always seemed harmless.
“I’m pregnant,” I blurted out.
Minnie beamed at me. “That’s wonderful news! Isn’t that wonderful news, David? Now Jessica and the baby can come with us.”
“Come with you? Where are you going?” I tried to convince myself she meant a drive in the country, or a trip to the flea market. Somehow I knew I was wrong.
“We’re going home, Jessica. To our own planet.”
I felt my mouth drop open in shock.
David cleared his throat. “We’ll be leaving as soon as Dan returns. We’ve delayed leaving as long as we could.”
“I—I don’t understand,” I stammered.
“We’re not from Earth, dear,” Minnie explained gently. “Surely you must have suspected it. We’re really not crazy. We’re aliens.”
“B-but Dan . . . the baby . . .” I was trying to make sense of it all. I knew Minnie was right. I’d always suspected . . . something, but I hadn’t been prepared for this.
“Dan really is our son,” David assured me. “And he is an alien too. He really does love you, Jessica. I hope you realize that.”
“That’s why we’re so glad to hear about the baby,” Minnie chimed in. “Well, we love babies, of course. But we’re already overdue to go home, and Dan couldn’t take you with him. It was breaking his heart, poor boy.”
“But now that you’re pregnant, we can take you with us. We can’t leave Dan’s child behind.”
I stared at them, my soup spoon halfway to my mouth. David and Millie were from another planet. Dan was an alien. And the baby I’d been so happy about would be only half human.
Minnie patted my hand. “I know it’s a lot to take in,” she said. “But Dan really does love you. You do love my son, don’t you?”
I nodded helplessly.
“Then it will all be all right. You’ll see.”
I still couldn’t process this. I sat there dumbly, as David cleared away the dinner dishes, and followed Minnie upstairs when she took my hand to lead me there.
“Dan will be here soon,” Minnie told me, as she helped me into a nightgown and tucked me into the bed in Dan’s childhood bedroom. “You’ll feel better when he’s back. It’s going to be fine, Jessica. I promise. No one will hurt you. We love you.”
I found myself comforted by that, and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
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