There was a time when "hot racking" or sleeping in a bed when it was still warm from somebody else, really disturbed Brad Regis. Space was at a premium on a submarine, you see, and that meant you had to sleep in shifts. One guy got up to go to work, and you slid right into his "rack" or bed at the end of your day. That version of Brad Regis, the one who didn't like other people in his personal space, was unrecognizable to him now.
Life had progressed to the point where he honestly couldn't sleep without Reka in his arms. That was why he was awake now.
It was three in the morning, his unofficial fiancee's working hour. Every night at two fifty five she would leave their bed, and Brad's eyelids would flutter open shortly thereafter. Reka was quiet and careful never to disturb him when she left, but somehow he knew. Brad felt it when she wasn't there, like a phantom pain in a severed limb.
This is my life now, I guess.
Once accustomed to loneliness, it was strange how he couldn't tolerate it at all anymore. Brad thought he was an introvert, once, but was that just a coping mechanism? Was he just telling himself he really preferred being alone to dull the pain? Well, it wouldn't matter soon.
His girlfriend's tolerance was even less than his own. Some might feel suffocated by her possessive, controlling behavior, but secretly he loved it. The way she wouldn't let him out of her sight made him feel so loved, like he'd never been loved by anyone before, not even his own mother.
Mom, shit.
That's right, he was graduating soon, getting engaged soon. His mom was coming.
Brad loved his mother, don't get him wrong, but she was a somewhat disappointing, unreliable person. She was the reason he joined the military, after all.
His parents were divorced. Dad remarried and was focused on his new family with not a lot of time for Brad. They weren't close. He wasn't invited. Mom was a functional alcoholic with a lot of credit card debt, just functional enough to hold down a decent job and pay those credit card bills. That was the problem, really. His parents made too much money for Brad to receive significant financial aid, but they didn't actually have any to spare to help him pay for college. It was student loans or the military, and Brad choose the military.
In hindsight he was glad. He'd never have met Reka otherwise, and that was worth the world to him.
"You're back," he said, his voice hoarse from lack of use in the night.
Reka looked a little sad. "You missed me and you woke, I'm so sorry my love." She slid under the covers and embraced him.
They held each other for a while. "Always three in the morning," he muttered into her hair.
"Yes," she admitted. "It's for us, I promise."
"The crystals?" he asked.
"Quite right." He could hear the smile in her voice as her head lay on his chest. "It's delicate work, and this hour is the most auspicious. It will not always be so. I'll find a way to stay with you always," she swore.
The next day his mom texted him that she had missed her flight, that is, "the airline made a mistake", but he knew better. Either way, she would arrive a day late. It was pretty on brand for her. Thankfully, he had scheduled things so she would be flying in with time to spare before the graduation ceremony. Reka rented a car and drove them to the airport once they confirmed his mom had boarded her second flight. He didn't know she knew how to drive. Didn't Europeans take the train everywhere?
At the gate they met a heavy-set woman in sweat pants and a hoodie with a very "Karen" haircut. Brad squeezed Reka's hand and looked at her meaningfully.
Here we go...
Reka smiled placidly at him. "Never fear, my love. You have appropriately prepared me."
"Jesus Christ, you're real!" his mom said boisterously. "Look at you, even more beautiful in person. So those weren't filters after all..."
"Did you have a nice flight, Mom?" Brad asked nervously.
"Who has nice flights these days? The damned airlines are squeezing more and more passengers onto these planes for a worse experience, not even a bag of peanuts anymore, and I used to hate those! They even mixed up my flight with another one and made me pay twice! The nerve of these people, I tell you!"
This was how his mom could still hold down a job despite the drinking and unreliability: she was a world class bullshitter. Brad knew very well there was no mix up, but the conviction his mom could summon telling verifiable lies was impressive in a way.
"No idea how my son convinced you to put up with him, Reka, can I call you Reka?" She didn't wait for an answer. "Never was a ladies man, my Brad. As far as I know he didn't ever have a girlfriend in high school and I never heard much about him dating when he was in the service either, but somehow my boy went from zero to a hundred in six seconds flat!"
The embarrassment was going to kill him.
"I'm pleased to hear it, Mother," Reka said brightly.
"Wait, what?" his mom asked, definitely nonplussed.
"After all, what woman would wish to wed a rake?" Reka said simply.
"What the hell is a rake?" Brad's mom blurted out, totally comfortable in her ignorance.
"It's like a man whore, mom," Brad said quietly, realizing people were starting to stare. Translating Reka-isms into ordinary language was second nature at this point.
"Oh, so you like them inexperienced, huh?" his mom said accusingly.
"Naturally," Reka confirmed, either ignoring or not noticing his mom's borderline hostile tone. "That Brad refrained from dalliances only shows his good sense. His body is for my enjoyment alone, and I love him all the more for it."
For the first time in his life Brad saw his mom struck speechless. Truly, Reka was a powerful being.
"Anyway," he tried to redirect the conversation. "We'll be taking you to your hotel now. We can go out to eat later if you want."
"Trying to get rid of me already? I only just got here," his mom complained.
"It's been a long flight; we just need to get you settled in," Brad said, subtly trying to usher her towards the parking lot.
Brad's mom stopped and refused to budge. "What's all this about calling me mother? We've never even met."
Reka looked at her curiously. "Have you not heard? Your son and I are to be wed!" she said joyously.
Mom started coughing violently. Brad patted her on the back, feeling quite helpless. "First I've heard of it," she struggled to get out the words. "I don't see a ring on your finger," she said dubiously.
Reka's smile was wide, almost manic in its intensity. "All has been arranged. Brad will present it to me at the appointed time."
"Appointed by you, I bet," his mom said suspiciously. "What's with the control freak behavior, son?" she asked him in a voice he hoped Reka couldn't hear. "She told you when to propose to her?"
"It's not like that, Mom, really," he said, trying to sound sincere. "We just wanted to make sure Reka was wearing a nice dress and the venue had good lighting so our proposal photos look good."
"Right," his mom didn't look convinced. "So, my son the engineer." She looked him up and down. "Have a job lined up yet?"
"He does!" Reka said happily. "Brad will work for my company from now on."
"You just have his whole life planned out for him don't you?"
Reka nodded firmly.
Not helping!
************************
Reka's Point of View
Today was the day, the day Brad graduated, and more importantly, the day she was engaged to be married!
Oh, it had been tempting indeed to steal a glance inside the little box Brad brought home from his outing with Julie, but Reka controlled herself. She wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.
After much debate with Julie, she assented to purchasing a new dress for the event, a fine light summer dress, cut low enough for Brad to enjoy, but modest enough for a grand event, all in the same shade of green that matched her eyes.
She gave it a few test spins in the mirror, careful not to let her hair fall out of place. The trip to the "salon" had been wonderful! This world really was superior. Common girls lived lives comparable to queens and princesses in her first life. Multiple servants spent hours fussing over her, all to bring her beauty to the fore. She was looking forward to Brad's face when he saw.
And everything was so affordable! She'd sold her first crystal for ten million American dollars. Julie suggested she could've gotten more but Reka was planning to increase production once they settled in to their post-college life. A volume strategy would be preferable. Even with almost half of that sum going to Brad's "Uncle Sam" they would have more than enough funds to cover their expenses for a while yet.
As for actually increasing crystal production, the options were not good. She would either need to slaughter animals on an industrial scale for their life force or harvest the souls of the wicked, as she had done with the warlock. There had to be a better way. Perhaps this was a matter for Galiban.
Downloaded into Brad's laptop, with access to infinite energy, her thinking machine servant was rapidly improving, even able to produce magic circles with higher fidelity than her own practiced hands were capable of. It was a thought, a definite thought.
She checked her phone. Brad was exactly where he ought to be on the family monitoring app that Julie showed her how to use.
That's right, Brad is my family now. Reka felt a pleasant tightness in her chest.
At the proper time, Reka drove herself and her mother-in-law to the arena where the graduation ceremony would take place.
"I'm never going to get used to this," Mother complained.
"Whatever do you mean, Mother?"
"Well, Daughter, you look like a god damn supermodel! Like photoshop! Like AI! You're too pretty to be real!"
Mother was too kind. "I do hope Brad agrees," Reka said conversationally.
"Me too," Mother said seriously. "If my boy fumbles you it will be the biggest L of the century."
Reka laughed. Mother was so lively. "Nothing to fear on that account, Mother, I assure you."
"You're not going to give up on this 'mother' business, are you?"
"Is it not the proper way to address the woman who gave birth to my love?" Reka asked.
Mother seemed at a loss for words, overwhelmed by the joy of the occasion, no doubt.
They sat through a long speech that Reka paid no attention to and eventually the presentation of the degrees began. When "Regis, Brad, Nuclear Engineering, Cum Laude" was announced, she and Mother arose and cheered loudly.
Her love proudly accepted his diploma and she thought she caught his eye. Other names were announced and Reka found she couldn't quite hear them clearly. A sudden burst of nerves came on her then, making her limbs tremble and her heart quicken. The time was short.
At last, they conducted themselves to the empty space at the side of the arena that Julie had prepared. Some thirty photographers stood at the ready, waiting for Brad's approach.
She felt him. She saw him. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't hear.
His lips were moving. His eyes worshiped her. His hands trembled. He dropped to one knee.
It was like being under water, or in the blackness of the void. Reka's perception of time altered. Her feelings amplified her senses and burned every tiny detail into her memory.
She saw the veins on Brad's hand, the bumps on his knuckles, the slight scars from his work, the fine box, the ring.
The ring, a large round diamond that caught the light and shimmered, set in a golden band...
"Reka Fekete, will you marry me?"
At least she heard!
At first her voice failed her, but with an effort of will she forced out a "yes".
Brad took her hand gently and placed the ring upon her finger.
The cameras opened up like the first shots in a great war and Reka felt a surge of power!
Objects infused with Brad's love had a special resonance for her and this ring was the strongest yet. For just a moment the glittering diamond glowed like a beacon and Reka had her answer!
She helped her fiance to his feet and melted into his arms, claiming his lips like the queen she was!