Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
CHAPTER 27
TANYA
“If he doesn’t marry you today, Tanya, you’ll die,” I said to the mirror. And then I blew out a breath and rubbed my eyes. “What a disaster. I’m going to have to ask for it. God, this is humiliating.”
D-Day. If I don’t get The D today, I’m on my way to D-E-A-D.
I stepped into the guest bedroom from the adjoining bathroom and the door heading to the hall clicked shut as soon as I did.
I frowned at the door. Did I miss Zane? Ollie? Maybe Pops had a cleaning robot come in. But the bed wasn’t made. It felt like bad form as a guest to leave it that way, so I made the bed and packed my things up before heading downstairs.
***
The Ollies were at the breakfast table eating bowls of what looked like oatmeal with fruit. I set Chili’s crate on the floor beside an empty chair and sat.
“Good morning Ollies.”
They smiled at me.
“Good morning, Tanya,” Zane’s dad said. “Excuse me a moment.”
“High five!” Little Ollie lifted his hand and I bopped it with mine.
“Hug!” he added and threw himself at me. He had on a dark blue onesie with a pattern like the sky on it.
“Did anyone ever tell you that you’re stinkin’ cute, too?” I asked.
“Did anyone ever tell you that you are not stinkin’ but that you are just cute?” Ollie returned and I laughed. He laughed too. But something was off with his demeanor. He had a little kid tablet beside him, I could tell by the way it was in a rugged case that it was built for kids, and on the screen were a bunch of symbols. He pulled it away and flipped it upside down like he didn’t want me to see.
“Are you feeling okay?” I felt his forehead.
“Fine, why?”
“Your face is flushed.”
“I’m okay.”
“Whatever it says, I can’t read it anyways,” I whispered.
The little boy laughed nervously but still tried to hide his screen from me, as if he couldn’t take the chance.
“Coffee, tea, juice?” Ollie Sr. offered, coming back in.
“I’d love some coffee. Thank you.”
I didn’t have an appetite, but forced myself to eat some of the oatmeal stuff they called hot morning meal. It was a similar consistency with a nutty taste and Zane’s dad served it to me with what looked like blackberries as well as chunks of what appeared to be purple banana. The result was delicious, but didn’t taste anything like those fruits appeared.
Ollie was upstairs to get washed up and dressed, taking his tablet with him. I was back after getting his clothes out of my suitcase and leaving him up there when Ollie Sr. leaned over and put his hand on my arm. “Something’s troubling you as well.”
I was chewing on my thumbnail. “As well as who?”
“My grandson. You’re both out of sorts.”
“I thought he seemed a bit preoccupied. I don’t know him well enough to know for sure, but…”
“Yes. He is out of sorts. Not sure why. But, what about you?”
“Yeah. I guess I am, too. I need to talk to Zane,” I said.
“I got a call from him just a few minutes ago. Everything is done, he got a couple hours of sleep, and he’s said he’s showering and then coming to fetch you.”
“Oh, good.” My belly went wonky.
“Are you worried he’s angry about the damage? My son is a patient man. I’ve heard that the men from your planet can be … tyrannical with their women. I don’t want you to fear that from my son. He’s really not that type.”
“Oh. No. I’m not worried about that,” I tried to reassure.
“Are the men on your planet bad like that?”
“Some of them. Not everyone. There are both good and bad everywhere, I suspect.” I shrugged, pushing around food in my bowl with the pretty spoon that had crusted jewels all over the fancy handle.
“Hm,” Ollie Sr. stared at me thoughtfully.
“I guess you’re pretty angry at my planet.”
“Yes. I am,” he replied, no hesitation.
The look in his eyes bled pain. I bit my lip.
“So am I. Their carelessness took your granddaughter from you. Your daughter-in-law. I’m sure Zane misses them every single day. And it’s horrible that Ollie didn’t get to meet them, know them. It makes me angry, too. And it makes me feel guilty.”
“It isn’t your fault, little one.”
The Tanya feelings dam apparently burst because I blurted, “I’m so excited to be here and so stoked about the potential for a really great future. I’m… I’m falling hard for both of them. And I’m here because something horrible happened to them. I can’t help but feel bad about that. I shouldn’t be happy to benefit from others’ pain.”
He looked at me thoughtfully and then looked away, looking like his eyes were on the verge of spilling wetness.
“I’ll clear this up,” I said, getting to my feet and gathering our breakfast bowls into a stack.