Seven

Roy opened his cupboard and grabbed a pair of jeans and a T-Shirt. He pulled them on quickly, thinking about how he was going to explain Syl'fair's presence to his mother. He was so preoccupied with his thoughts, that he completely forgot that Syl'fair was actually there.

"Are we going to meet her now?" Syl'fair asked.

Roy jerked in surprise, realizing suddenly that Syl'fair was still nude.

"Umm. Yes, but you need to get dressed first."

Syl'fair laughed and pirouetted around, before asking, "Don't you think I'm pretty like this?"

Roy blushed. "Of course I do. But you need to get some clothes on. This is going to be difficult enough as it is."

"I don't have any clothes," Syl'fair answered with a pout, "I don't think you realize that the way I look is because you imagined me this way. My body was completely remolded last night based on your fantasies. I like it, and I don't want to cover it up."

"I really think you need to. Let's see if you can't fit into something of mine." Roy grabbed a T-shirt and a pair of shorts from his cupboard and handed them to Syl'fair. "That should do until we can get you something else. Maybe Sally can lend you something."

"Oh, Ok. If I must," Syl'fair accepted the clothes reluctantly, and pulled them on. She had to pull the draw-string of the shorts tight to stop them falling off and she looked as if she was going to drown in the T-Shirt.

Roy examined her critically and decided that while it wasn't the best solution, it would have to do. He opened his bedroom door and led the way to the kitchen, where he could hear the mutter of his mother and sister talking.

Denise heard Roy entering the kitchen and threw another two eggs into the pan to fry them for his breakfast. She had her back to the door.

"Grab your juice and toast so long, Roy," she said, "I'll have your eggs and bacon ready in a second."

Roy pulled a chair out for Syl'fair and then sat next to her. Syl'fair was fascinated by all the strange and wonderful things that she could see being used in the kitchen. She didn't have to actually eat at all, but she was accustomed to the humans she had known expending vast amounts of effort and energy gather, storing and preparing food, and the arrangement she saw now seemed almost miraculous. The cold air that emerged from the fridge when Roy opened it caught her unawares, and she watched as he poured himself some orange juice.

"Could I have some of that please?' she asked him.

Denise swung around in surprise at the sound of a female voice that she didn't recognize and stared in shock at what she saw.

"Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here?"

"Hi," Syl'fair smiled at her, "I'm Syl'fair and I'm here with your son." Syl'fair was unfazed as usual by the consternation that she had caused. "Thanks Roy," she said as she accepted the glass of juice he handed to her. She took a small sip, smiled in evident satisfaction, and took a much larger one before placing the glass on the table in front of her and smiling at Denise.

"Roy..." Denise managed to get out. Roy blanched at her tone, knowing that it did not bode well for his immediate future.

"Mom, I can explain..." he stammered out.

"You better, and fast." Denise was unsure of the situation, and that made her mad. She liked to know what was happening, and to control events around her if at all possible, which is what made her such a good lawyer. Being blindsided by anyone was a sure-fire way of getting her angry. Her children knew this and normally made sure to prepare her beforehand so that they didn't surprise her. It was totally unlike Roy to spring a surprise out of the blue, and this was certainly a surprise. She could see that this girl was wearing some of Roy's clothes, and from the look of her, she had been ... busy ... in his bed. This was a quantum leap from the fight and the discussion that they had had the day before. She had expected Roy to want to start dating, not to have to serve breakfast to some girl ... woman actually ... who had just spent the night in his bed.

"Umm ... Mom ... you see... ," Roy stumbled and stammered, unable to get his thoughts into words in the face of his mother's disapproval. He had known that this would be difficult, but had thought that he would at least be able to state his case.

"I met her earlier Mom," Sally interjected and smiled at the look of gratitude that Roy shot her. "This is a little more complicated than you think and I suggest you take this slowly and not make up your mind before you hear the whole story."