Stories from the Savvy Simmer - Chapter 4: Questions

Stories from the Savvy Simmer:

Pinups' Place: Emily Doll

Chapter Four: Questions

Norman wasn't sure what made him do it the next morning. Earlier than the sun, before Emily was awake, he donned his human skin and headed over to the jewelry store. He'd been in Sim Nation long enough to understand that human females liked shiny circles around their fingers, set with glittery stones. It didn't take him very long to find the perfect one; Emily was still sound asleep when he returned to the house. For a moment he stood at the end of the bed and watched her...until it occurred to him that she might wake and consider that a little creepy. He turned around and ran his fingers through his fiery-hued hair, wondering just how he was going to propose to her. He thought it might have a greater impact if he popped the question in his own blue skin.

Emily woke to the rather unsettling sight of Norman shedding his human skin like a serpent. She rubbed her eyes (whether to rid them of sand or confirm what she was seeing, she wasn't entirely certain) and tilted her head, wondering if she was actually awake when she saw him hang it up like a fine designer suit at the very back of the walk-in closet. She managed to snap her mouth shut by the time Norman turned to find her sitting up in bed. "You're awake," he said, cheerfully stating the obvious.

"I think so," she replied weakly. Seeing him there in his alien-robot getup just confirmed to her that the events of the previous night had not been a dream. "Norman," she asked suddenly, "am I going crazy?"

"No." He frowned at her, and she couldn't help reflecting on how very odd it looked on a face without eyebrows. "Why, do you feel like you're going crazy?"

"You're an alien," she sighed, as if this should be an obvious testimony to madness. "And I was abducted by other aliens last night. Why didn't they take you, too? Why did they take me, and leave you asleep in bed?" She pushed the covers back and stood up in her lacy blue bra and panties, perching her hands on her hips. 

"I don't know," Norman replied wearily, but he couldn't help smiling somewhat; she looked like she might be ready to kick some intergalactic ass. "What I'm really worried about is what they might have done to you."

"Why don't you call them up and ask them?"

"Call them up and ask them?" Now Emily noted how strange it looked that he seemed to raise a brow, without having one. The fine, thin bone above his eye moved a bit, anyway. "We don't have alien cell phones, or telepathy. I mean...we sort of have telepathy, but..." 

"But what?" 

He wanted to say I shouldn't be telling you this, but if he wanted to share his life with her, then he should be willing to share anything. Well...almost anything. So, what he said was, "But it doesn't work the way I know you're thinking."

"How do you know what I'm thinking, if you only sort of have telepathy?"

He rolled his strange black eyes in a very human gesture. "I can guess, because you humans watch a lot of television shows to entertain yourselves. You come up with some pretty wacky theories and ideas. Our telepathy works a little differently. I can read what you're thinking and feeling, but I have to be touching you to be able to do it. Not only that, but you have to be open to it as well."

"Open to it?" Emily just stood there in her underwear and didn't appear to care about getting dressed.

It was very distracting. "I can read your thoughts and feelings as long as you don't have a shield up. The kind of mental shield that keeps me out. Some people can learn to develop those."

She wanted to ask how, but didn't get the chance because Norman decided to act on his distraction. He reached for her and she went to him, but instead of pulling her into a passionate embrace and kissing her as she expected, he started to tickle her. Emily hated being tickled!

"Stop it!" she shrieked in a high, feminine pitch. "Norman, stop!" She forgot all about playing 20 Questions and fled from him, down the stairs and toward the kitchen.He chased her all the way out the door and into the yard. 

"You don't have your skin on!" she gasped in between shrieks, while trying to kick Norm in retaliation. She was too busy trying to fend him off to care how utterly weird that sounded.

"The yard is fenced," he argued reasonably. Emily would never have known he was an alien if she hadn't gotten close to Norman and gotten involved in his life. He still thought she wasn't close enough yet, though. 

He got down on one knee, just as he'd seen human males do in all the movies...

He got down on one knee, just as he'd seen human males do in all the movies...and Emily gasped as her hand flew to her throat, just as he'd seen so many human females do. Norman held out the shimmering gold band with its diamond winking in the sunlight, and asked the question he most cared about the answer to: "Emily Doll, will you marry me?"

The little Doll froze. Honest to Will Wright, she thought her heart might have stopped beating right then and there and she didn't know what to say. The silence lingered, but he didn't repeat the question. He didn't seem to tire of being on one knee, either. Norman looked like he could have waited there forever for her to answer him. She marveled at the fact that he didn't seem frustrated or insecure with her lack of immediate response. He was one confident individual; it was just one of the incredible things about him. 

"Will you be honest with me when I ask you things?" she asked slowly. "Will you tell me anything I want to know?"

His hairless brow wrinkled again, displaying the first sign of consternation. "...I'll tell you anything I can," he replied, just as slowly. 

"Will you tell me anything you know?" she pressed. She couldn't let this go. She had to know more of him, all of him if she could. Especially if she was going to be his wife. If her questioning annoyed him too much, Norman had the chance to walk away right now. 

"Yes," he told her. This time he didn't hesitate, and it paid off as he watched a beautiful smile bloom over her scarlet lips. 

"Then, yes," she finally said. His hearts swelled, because Emily didn't hesitate anymore, either. 

"Then, yes," she finally said.

He picked her up, just like he'd seen the men do in the movies, and carried her over the threshold into the house. Thankfully, she'd dropped her alien questions now and wanted to talk about the impending wedding. 

"Let's just invite Cherry and Jackson," she said thoughtfully, settling onto the couch to watch her favorite show. Simthia Child was giving instructions in Sim Nation's native Simlish. "Dis wompf es fredesche!" she insisted enthusiastically.

"I don't want to make it a big deal. Two witnesses should be enough."

He thought women usually wanted to make a big production out of wedding ceremonies, but he didn't bother to ask her about it. Emily could have whatever she wanted. He was content to nod and smile along with her plans. 

He picked her up, just like he'd seen the men do in the movies...

"She always cuts the vegetables like a pro," Emily complained of Simthia Child on the TV set. "Every time I dice veggies I cut myself. Every freaking time." 

Norman reached out and touched her hand. Her hazel eyes shot wide as he detected her lack of mental barriers and tapped into his empathetic abilities. He discovered that Emily was changing the subject and nonchalantly discussing the Food Network because she was nervous about getting married. That was to be expected...but he couldn't help wondering...was she nervous like most women were, with pre-wedding jitters? Or was she nervous about these nuptials because they weren't the same species? Norman had no chance to probe any further before Emily shoved him away, back against the couch. 

"What are you doing?!" she exploded.

"I told you we're kind of telepathic," he explained defensively. 

"You could ask first! I don't even know how to put up mental shields!"

"You shouldn't have to," Norman sighed quietly. "Not with me." 

His romantic proposal did not quite end the way he wanted, with hugs and kisses and promises, and perhaps another impromptu trip to the bedroom. Instead Emily rose and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her. Maybe asking her to marry him wasn't the most inspired idea..