"...And Women Are From Venus"

Jennifer sat the popcorn down on the couch next between them.
It looked over and down at the popcorn, and then back at the screen.
"Thanks, Jen," It said, taking a handful.
She pushed herself back and slightly away from It, drawing her legs up, feigning comfort.
"What are we watching?" She asked.
"Patriots," It said, still watching the screen, impassive. "Fourth quarter."
She watched It chew the popcorn.
"Hm," she noised, trying to keep her gaze hovering between It and the screen, just in case It turned to look at her.
She watched as It's eyes moved across the screen, expressionless. She was pretty sure this wasn't the Michael she married. In the past year, something had happened to the real Michael, her Michael, and this Thing had taken his place.
It never smiled. It never asked her questions. It never really did anything with her. It just left in the mornings and came back at night, smelling vaguely of sweat and...something else.
"Gah!" It shouted suddenly and Jennifer jumped, narrowly missing the popcorn bowl with a flailing limb.
It looked at her with an unreadable expression.
"Sorry," It said. It pointed to the screen. "He missed a pass."
Her heart was still thumping when a commercial came on screen and It muted the sound.
"I've been thinking," It said, turning toward her. "I'd like to go on a trip."
"Oh," Jennifer said. "Where would you go?"
There was a pause, and then He laughed. She hadn't heard that laugh in months.
"A trip for US," he said, smiling at her. Michael's smile. That warm half-smile that showed no teeth but melted her heart the first time she saw it.
"Dumbhead," he said, and flicked her foot playfully with a finger.
She laughed, and felt a wave of relief wash over her.
"That would be a great idea," she said.
"C'mere you," he said, and put the popcorn bowl on the floor, pulling her toward him. She let herself settle into the crook of his arm, that warm comfortable place she felt like she hadn't visited for months.
"Where do you want to go?" he asked. "I was thinking Italy."
"Really?" she asked, looking up at Michael's face. "So you're talking a serious trip here? Not just a drive to Vermont or something?"
"Definitely," he said. "We need something special. I've been working a lot and we haven't had much time together."
The game came back on screen.
"Let's talk details tomorrow," she said.
"Sweet," he said, and switched the sound back on with the remote.
Jennifer sighed. She'd been ridiculous. These phases happen to all couples, she thought. It's how relationships grow. She settled back into his arms and closed her eyes. Within minutes, she was asleep.
It stared at the screen.
And It smiled.

Comments

[Celes]

I got shivers at the last line. I loved it!

[the wife]

It never cleaned up the popcorn. Rude.

[Marcus Aurelius]

Oooo... very Rod Sterling of you. Very precode EC Weird Science.

Just a little edit perhaps, on the 15th line, the contraction of "it is" is used in place of the possessive. Being a possessive person myself...

Well, I wanted it to be MY mistake.

[M'Ngallah]

So YOU say, Marquito.
I choose to believe the ' is a glottal stop, making "It's," at least in the Kabardian tongue, mean "two beady glazed."
While most often used when ordering pastries, I think it applies here as well.

[Marcus Arelius]

M'Ngallah, you had me at "glottal stop".

I see my error now, and apologize. My Circassian lexicon is very poor (especially the Terek dialect of the Kabardian), but really, it's no excuse.