Chapter 2: Daddy's Home

Nina watched bemusedly as Lisa paced back and forth in front of her. Nina had known Lisa for years and she always knew to expect the unexpected when it came to her friend. Ever since Lisa had told her that she was part alien, then after Lisa became pregnant after one of her abductions, Nina didn't think anything could surprise her anymore. But what Lisa just told her definitely surprised her.

"So Charlie, the cute guy in your apartment the other night, is Allie's father?" Nina asked incredulously.

"Yes!" Lisa rubbed her forehead as she continued to pace. "That's what I said."

Lisa didn't know what to do, she was scared and confused, so she did the only thing she knew how in these situations where nothing seemed to make sense. She went to her best friend. After dropping Allie off at school, she went straight to Nina's apartment in hopes that Nina could somehow help her make sense of all of this.

"When are you going to tell Allie?" Nina asked.

"I don't know," Lisa replied. "I don't know if I'm going to tell her at all."

"Okay, Lis, you're making me dizzy," Nina patted the spot next to her on the couch. "Sit down."

Lisa sat and Nina turned to face her.

"You have to tell her," Nina said seriously.

"Why? Why do I have to tell her? Allie and I are doing just fine on our own."

"Allie needs a father."

"I don't even know him," Lisa protested. "I'm not about to introduce a complete stranger to Allie as her father."

"You don't invite complete strangers home for dinner," Nina pointed out. "Which you did the other night after knowing Charlie for only a couple of hours."

Lisa looked away. She was right, she never did that. But after going out for coffee with Charlie, the invitation just seemed to shoot out of her mouth. She didn't have to think twice about it.

"For all of Allie's 9 years, It's only been the two of us. And now Charlie just appears out of nowhere," Lisa shook her head. "Allie's not ready for the change, I'm not ready for the change."

"I don't think Charlie expected any of this either," Nina said. "You know Allie will understand. She'll be able to understand this better than any of us. What are you really afraid of Lis?"

Lisa thought about this, after a long moment she finally spoke. "Say I do tell Allie that Charlie is her father. He moves around a lot. If Allie gets attached to him, and he suddenly decides one day to up and leave, I will be left behind with a heartbroken kid."

"And if that should happen Allie won't be the only one heartbroken," Nina said knowingly.

"Are you saying I have feelings for him?" Lisa asked incredulously.

Nina just looked at her.

"I don't even know him!" Lisa argued.

"No, but you feel something for him, and who's to say you don't him? He is the father of your child after all. And you said right from the beginning that it wasn't artificial insemination and it wasn't forced copulation."

One of the things that Lisa loved and hated the most about her best friend was her ability to see right through her. Lisa was good at reading the emotions of other people, a trait that she inherited from her father. But when it came to herself sometimes Lisa was a complete mess and Nina always seemed to be able to see through the confusion and get to the core of what was really bothering her. This time was no different.

Lisa was quiet for a long time. Nina put her arm over Lisa's shoulders and said, "At least he's cute."

Lisa couldn't suppress the smile that spread across her face at that comment. "Nina you're incorrigible!"

They laughed, until Nina sobered up. She looked at Lisa seriously. "Think about the relationship you had with your dad, think about how much you loved him. Do you really want to deprive Allie of a chance to have that kind of relationship with her father?"

*****

"I don't have soccer practice tomorrow," Allie called out to her mom as she dropped her school stuff in her room. "So you have to pick me up from school early."

Lisa sat down at the kitchen table and put her head in her hands.

Allie came out and sat in the chair beside her mom. "Is Charlie going to come over again?"

"About Charlie…" Lisa trailed off uncertainly. "Honey, we need to talk."

Allie looked at her mom expectantly.

"You've asked me about your dad before. Who is he, where is he, why isn't he with us," Lisa paused and took her hand in hers. "The truth is I didn't know him."

Lisa tried to gauge Allie's reaction, but as usual, her face was calm and understanding. She silently urged her mother to go on, knowing how hard this was for her.

"I've told you that we're part alien and the group I go to…..I go there to talk about my experiences."

Allie nodded.

Lisa didn't know how to put this any other way so she said it bluntly. "You were conceived onboard an alien spacecraft. I had no memory of what happened, I only had a vague memory of this guy. A guy I didn't know. I couldn't remember his face, or anything about him. Until a couple of days ago, when I met Charlie."

"The minute I laid eyes on him I felt a connection to him. Charlie's your dad, Allie."

Allie smiled and squeezed Lisa's hand. "I had a good feeling about him the moment I saw him."

Lisa smiled back. "Me too."

"Is he going to stay with us now?"

"I don't know. But honey, even if Charlie doesn't stay we still have each other, we'll always have each other," Lisa told her reassuringly.

Allie nodded and hugged her mom.

"I love you honey."

"I love you too mom."

Lisa smiled as she hugged her daughter. She knew Allie would understand, she always does.