Refuge (When It's Cold Outside)

Round 6 - Winter 2037

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Corbin and Amanda Gray are 41, Connor is 5, Alex is 4 (Celeste Oros is 27, Satitu is 51, Tessa de Muse is 41)

You know and I know, friends come and friends go

Storms rise and winds blow, but one thing I for sure

When it's cold outside, there's no need to worry cuz I'm so warm inside

You give me peace

When the storm's outside, cuz we're in love I know it'll be alright

Alright it's alright

John Legend


Connor loved that his little brother Alex was now going to school with him. The only thing he didn't really like is that the other kids didn't believe him when he said that Alex was his brother. Connor knew it was because he was green and Alex looked more like his mom and dad.........

Amanda called Celeste over to see how her meetings with Connor were going.
"He really is a very smart kid. As he gets older, his advancement may be more apparent.....it could be a problem," Celeste said.
"We have a more pressing issue. He came home almost in tears because the other kids thought he was lying when he said that Alex is his brother. I know he's still really young, but I don't know how much longer we can keep this from him," Amanda said.
"I know.......this is all so new to me. I don't know the best way to break it to him......."

They stood outside talking until the sun went down and neither of them knew what the best course of action was. Amanda knew that telling Connor he was an alien when he was 5 years old would not go over well. But he was no longer buying that he had a skin disorder. It was tough raising a little alien..........

The next day Tessa came to see Amanda. She still couldn't believe that Tessa had lost all her memory! It was sooooo Tessa.......
"This is really weird......well, I'm Amanda Gray and we're friends. We have been since we both came to LaQuest Beach 15 years ago. My maiden name was Carlson," she said.
"Well.......it's nice to meet you? I don't really know what to say. This is all weird for me too," Tessa said.

"Well you seem like a nice person. Did we club together or something?" Tessa asked.
"Club? Me? Oh no! I've always been the more shy person between us two. I guess Tabitha has been filling you in since you think we went to clubs together," Amanda said.
"Yea, she has. Apparently I was pretty wild until I got married. And here I am knocked up by some other man."
"Yea, you told me that.......let's have a seat," Amanda said.

"I gotta tell ya, that whole story.......well it was a bit hard to swallow. You never mentioned Elvin being an elf to me before," Amanda said.
"I didn't? Surely I would have told you.......anyway, that's what I've been told. I would think you would be open to the idea seeing as how you have a green kid running around," Tessa said.
"Touché," Amanda said.

They talked for a little longer before Tessa had to leave.
"Honey, between your amnesia and my green son, we are two of a kind," Amanda said laughing.
"This whole thing sucks bad, but I'm so lucky to have such great people in my life.......I wish I could remember more," Tessa said.
"It's ok, we'll make new memories."

Corbin couldn't believe how much his life had changed. Since leaving Takezimu Village, he had gotten married, gotten abducted, gave birth to an alien, had another child with his wife, and was now learning that his wife's best friend was married to an elf and had permanently lost her memory. It was a good thing he had his tai chi to keep him sane.....that and Amanda.........

He had recently began trying to be friends with Satitu. He didn't really have many male friends because of all of the secrecy surrounding Connor, but Satitu knew the whole story. Heck, he was an alien himself. It had been challenging at first, but the more Corbin talked to him, the more of an ok guy he turned out to be. They were all one big weird dysfunctional family........

While Satitu did feel a bit bad for Corbin and Amanda having to raise Connor among humans, he envied their life at the same time. He could not wait for the day that he and Celeste had their own children running around the house.........

* I'm really stuck on when Connor should find out about him being an alien. I can imagine him going to school and introducing Alex as his brother and the other kids being like "what?" I think poor Connor has a tough road ahead of him.

* I hope these brief glimpses of Tessa gives you an idea of how things are going for her. I can't imagine what it's like to not remember anyone or anything that has happened in your life.......must suck!

* I really like Amanda and Corbin's little family. It's really weird, but their weirdness makes them very close knit. Here's a family portrait I took of them:

* Between moving and the semester beginning I haven't had much time to play, blog, or read other blogs but I'm slowly trying to catch up with my comments. I have 2 other entries already written, after that, things will probably be a bit scarce for a while until I get settled in!