Page 70 of Space Daddy and a Boy Called Twink

Daddy glared at him.

“Wait, what?” I asked.

“Oh, man,” Roger added, while Eric chimed in with, “Can you make me forget a few other things too?”

Kryton approached us and massaged his arm cuff so that several lights streaked across it.

“Wait, how far back am I going to forget?” I asked, turning to Daddy.

Was I going to forget him? Would he not be able to see me again?

“Kryton,” Daddy said through his teeth, clearly disapproving, though not nearly as bothered by it as I figured he should be.

Kryton snuck Daddy a playful look before shrugging. “Come on. Let me give them a hard time.” Then to us, “The fuck do you guys think this is?Men in Black? No one’s wiping anyone’s memories—at least, not today.”

I realized I’d been holding my breath, and could now finally breathe again knowing he wasn’t about to tear my memories of Daddy away from me.

“But,” Kryton added, “you can’t run around telling all your friends about this.”

“Powerbottom?” Daddy asked.

“Yeah, Powerbottom?” Kryton said, grinning.

Powerbottom—I mean, Roger—rolled his eyes. “I’m not gonna tell any of those guys. Jesus, if Charlie can keep a secret, then I definitely can.”

“Who the hell is Charlie?” Kryton asked.

I raised a hand as Roger said, “I won’t tell anyone.”

“And anyone I would have told is already in here,” Eric said. “So I think you’re good.”

“In that case, as a member of the Justice Department, I have the authority to deputize Tier 5 species to help me with my missions, so you can all consider yourselves special agents for the Justice Department. Not that it will really matter, since Daddy and I are the only Furkers on this planet. Oh, and before I let you go…” He headed off through another hallway and promptly returned with a large crystal, about the size of my hand. “I didn’t want to say anything when you first mentioned your ship needed one to return, but I ran a check, and it’s fully functional.”

I suspected this was the hyperblemic crystal Daddy told me about, the one that, if he could fix, then he’d be able to get his ship up and running.

“I’ll be heading out tonight to take Sheila to the Justice Department,” he explained, “but I’ll return to Earth, and if that crystal doesn’t do the trick, upon my return, we can get a team here to recover your ship and get it into a shop for repairs.”

What did that mean for me and Daddy?

As we exchanged a glance, I unfortunately knew the answer.

He didn’t have much time left here.

The adrenaline that had me going since Sheila attacked us dissolved, replaced with sadness. I didn’t want him to go. Not yet.

Eric slipped between Roger and me. “Well, Special Agent Twink, Special Agent Powerbottom, wanna grab something to eat on the way home?”

I was so disappointed with Kryton’s reveal that I couldn’t enjoy Eric’s humor, which made me feel terrible.

Of course Daddy wanted to get back home. He had a mission to complete, and he needed to get back to his own kind.

My disappointment settled in as we wrapped everything up with Kryton, thanking him before disembarking his ship, nestled between a Thai restaurant and a bowling alley, which was really convenient for Roger and Eric, who went for Thai. I wasn’t really hungry after everything that happened, so Daddy and I headed back to theKaylogwith Pluto, who fell asleep in my arms.

En route, Daddy must’ve sensed how I felt. We were probably halfway back to his ship when he suddenly took my free hand, interlocking his fingers with mine, gripping tight.

For a moment, it made me feel better, but only a moment.

We were silent on the way back to his ship. Maybe because we were tired from the long day. Or maybe because we were both considering what life would be like once he left.