Word Count: 548
She thought it was the bright bright full moon and a chorus of tree frogs that chirped in the pre-morning dark. She looked up and behind her, over the roof of the house and saw that it was instead a hovering flying saucer. She went inside to put on her glasses and pour a fresh cup of coffee.
When she came back out the spaceship was settling to land like a duck on a nest full of eggs. Gently swaying, lowering itself slowly into the clear area of her backyard. She was fascinated but guessed she had time to run in and change into jeans and sweater from her bathrobe. Keeping an eye out the window, she brushed her hair and her teeth.
The engine was just winding down when she got back outside so she waited, leaning up against the back doorway of the garage. Eventually the thing hummed into silence. The lights flickered and went out. A door opened and a stairway extended to the ground. It was just like she’d seen in the movies.
The aliens were small, she guessed about eighteen inches tall, so she sat down on the back step and waited. There were three of them, one surprisingly chubby and the mother inside of her tsked without thinking. They were halfway between her and their aircraft before they noticed her.
“Hi!” she said.
“Hi,” said the one in the lead.
“Welcome to Earth,” she said. “Would you like some coffee?”
It seems they didn’t care much for coffee but did like the milk that she offered along with some chocolate chip cookies. They told her they were from Mars though she didn’t totally believe them. The leader, his name was Groken, was quite talkative though the other two chimed in now and then. He didn’t seem as interested in learning about Earth as much as proclaiming the superiority of his own planet.
“So you think Mars has better weather? Though I must tell you that here in New England, you’ve landed in the tail end of summer and it’s not at it’s best right now.”
Groken made a face, rolled his three eyes and smirked in a rather condescending way. “On Mars, we have no such thing as seasons. It’s 76 degrees and sunsey all year round.”
“You mean sunny?” she asked.
All three of the strange little men harrumphed as one. “No, we have four suns, not just one,” Groken said.
That’s when she knew he was lying.
“I’m really rather busy,” she said, “and maybe you’d better move your spaceship before my husband comes home. He’s due anytime now.” He wasn’t, of course, but now she was a bit wary. She stood up and started picking up cups and plates. Not one of them thanked her for cookies and milk, nor offered to bring their own dishes to the sink.
She said goodbye at the kitchen door and silently locked it after they left. She watched until they’d started the engine and quickly shot up into the sky. She cleaned up the dirt they’d tracked in, quickly washed the dishes and microwaved one last cup of coffee. As she sat and sipped she thought to herself that it shouldn’t be such a surprise; men were the same all over.
