Research Purposes

“I’m young!” Char paused. “For a Quatarrian. I mean my parents didn’t meet till they were in their mid-four-hundreds and that’s not even middle aged.” Lore was trying to hold their look of horrified shock but was finding it hard as Char continued to fluster. “I’m the youngest member of my family, apart from you, and… and…” Lore giggled.
“I knew you were older than me but I didn’t realise it was that big of a gap. But if I’m being honest, I thought you were older.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Char snapped.
“Well, you’re barely in triple digits but you act like you’re middle aged.” Lore backed away as Char swung for them.
“Next question…” Tay moved on to avoid further damage. “Where did you two meet and how long have you known each other?”
“Middle of an alley, less than a year.” Lore smiled knowing there would be dissonance between their answers.
“It was a back street on Earth and I’ve known Lore nearly five years.” Char stuck her tongue out at Lore.
“Kids?” Tay blurted out the statement and waited for a response.
“I suppose we have to. It’s growing on me as a concept. Not my idea of a good fourteen months.” Char turned to Lore, their head bowed.
“I’ve always wanted to have children but it’s complicated. The theory is there but the practice is…” Char put her arm around Lore.
“I didn’t know.” She took their hand into her own.
“My siblings and I met our parents in the wrong order.” Tay looked up from their note pad. “Well, mainly my siblings. They met our parents for the first time when they were eight. But they got to make up for it by travelling the galaxy with them.”
“Have you got many siblings?” Lore’s eyes briefly narrowed as they scanned the woman before them.
“Four. Three brothers and a sister. Five if you count my sister in law.” She smiled at Lore then jolted her head towards Char who was oblivious. “We grew up together on and off with our godfather.” Lore counted on their fingers before squinting intensely at Tay.
“Can I… Through there.” Lore gestured to the kitchen. Lore tapped Char’s hand reassuringly as they left for the other room. “You’re not just here for an interview are you?” Lore shut the door behind them.
“What tipped you off? It was the siblings living with the godfather thing wasn’t it?” Tay pushed herself onto the top.
“There’s just something familiar about you. And that.” Lore admitted.
“Why not do this with Char?”
“She’s still on the fence about this whole ‘kid thing’. Finding out that our child was interviewing us the whole time might cause ripples.”
“Good point. Well then, reintroductions. I’m T’aiara Pwy’he Aramund’Zeyah but you usually call me Tay.” She held out her hand.
“Left hand shake. Good girl.” Lore smiled, taking her hand. “Don’t tell your mother. Our secret” They were about to return when it hit them. “Who’s the sister in law? Actually, I think I know, Destiny.” Tay mimed zipping her lips as she returned to the living room.
“Well, just a few more questions and I’ll be out of your hair.” Tay opened up her notebook and moved down her list.
Lore sat back with Char, a beaming grin across their face. “Everything ok?” Char made room for Lore after she stretched across the sofa.
“Fantastic.” They huddled with Char as Tay continued with her questions.
“Before I accidentally interrupted, what plans did you have for your honeymoon?”
“Visiting my parents.” Char said with all of the enthusiasm of a deflated balloon.
“Exploring twenty first century England. I’ve read that there’s a new film in the cinemas that’s genre defining.”
“What’s a cinema?”
“It’s where people of this time period go to watch movies. It’s a building with a series of large projection based screens.” Lore looked to their Breacher. “I’ve already ordered the tickets for the film, we should go. You’re welcome to come too Tay, if you want.” Lore gave Char their best pleading look.
Char nodded and turned to Tay. “If you want to come then it’s fine with me.”
“We’ll finish up later.” She smiled, gathering her notes.
The cinema was only a short walk from their house but left plenty of time for conversation.
“So there they were, middle of the street with a pistol in their hand and blood pouring out of their ankles and feet. No clothes or anything. I hadn’t even seen their face yet and I just knew it was them.” Lore pretended to laugh along with Char’s witty retelling of their first encounter. “And then when I finally get them home, they throw up everywhere.”
“In my defence, I had just had three years’ worth of memories forced into my brain.” Lore held the door open for the girls but walked through first as they continued to laugh at them. The smell was like nothing any of them had ever experienced. A sickly sweet staleness hung in the air. Lore gestured towards the queue at the ticket kiosk and handed Tay a couple notes. “You tell them what we’re here to see and then hand them the money.” Lore pointed to the film’s slot on the itinerary. “Try to get seats near us.”
“I know how shops work.” Tay smiled, taking Lore’s money.
Tickets bought and concessions avoided they made their way to the screen. “I will warn you, at the time, this film was considered one of the worst book adaptations in history. So bad the author’s family started adding rules about what could and couldn’t be done with their works.” Lore braced them for the horrors they were about to witness.
The film was just under an hour and a half but, at times felt like a never-ending nightmare of colour and noise. The screening was mainly full of families but a great deal of the laughter was coming from their guardians too. Eventually, it ended and the lights came back on.
“That was… Wow. I don’t think I’ll ever truly understand you humans.” Char turned to Lore and shook her head.
“I loved it.” Tay bounced around from Char’s side to Lore’s. “The true way to get to know someone is through their interests. That being said, I know it’s your honeymoon but, would it be ok if I observed you a little more?” Her eyes like a begging dogs aimed to melt Char’s heart. With a nod from both of them, she skipped off ahead. Human Honeymoon.