Charlie said but he looked uneasy. “Don’t like being away?” I asked. “Naw, the res is my home. I love Jess and I love it here, but the world out here is different.” He sighed and handed me another plate. I rinsed it in the sink and put it in the dishwasher. Out of all of my kind, I was pretty much the only one that kept up with the human world and its technological advancements. To ignore them would have just set me apart as ‘other’ more than I already was and that was dangerous especially with a secret like mine. In short, I understood where Charlie was coming from, probably more than he knew. He and I had spoken candidly earlier in the day while Jess slept and Aaron had yet to arrive. It was a risk, but one I had to take if I had any hope of staying here, with Jess. Charlie had mulled things over for far too long before finally saying, again, that he’d meant what he said, if Jess ever told me to leave, I’d better do it or mythical creature or no, Charlie would have me stuffed and mounted.
