Her mother answered the front door and let the nice young man in. They exchanged pleasantries, and he was invited to wait in the family room. He selected a corner of the sectional sofa, sat down, and folded his hands in his lap. Her mother said, “Dinner will be ready in a moment. I’ll let her know you are here.”
He nodded and smiled brightly. “Thank you, Mrs. Smith. I look forward to enjoying another of your meals.”
Her mother blushed and pushed a loose graying curl behind her left ear. “I’ll let you know when it’s ready.” She turned on her heels and walked around the furniture. She briefly stopped at the bottom of a stairwell. “Astra! I am sure that you look perfect! Come down now, please! Your guest is here.” Her mother continued on into the kitchen. The nice young man could overhear her mother, as she spoke in much more hushed tones. “He does seem nice. You know, he almost looks a little like Astra’s fifth grade math tutor, do you remember him? Or, maybe that next door neighbor kid who would babysit when she was three? Do you remember when we took those evening dance classes? What was I saying?”
Her father said, “Uh, hmm. I forget. Something about dinner, I hope? Sorry, I am both hungry and incredibly distracted.”
“Me, too. Yes, the roast is nearly done. Help me finish chopping this salad. Do you think he might need something to drink?”
The nice young man smiled again and relaxed a little. A beautiful young woman gracefully ran down the stairs and leaned into the kitchen to yell, “Not just perfect, dahling, I am amazing!” She pivoted much like her mother but with added giggles, and waved as she crossed the room and sat next to the nice young man. “Hi, there.”
“I am very happy to see you again, in person.”
“I was skeptical about staying at home during college, but look how that worked out. I could be closer to you this whole time. It would have been weird if you had just moved wherever else I might have gone to school, I mean, can you imagine? No, I enjoy your visits right here. Do you enjoy visiting me?”
“I do. Graduation soon, then? A time for new beginnings.”
“Not just yet, but I think I will have all of my required classes done this quarter. But, I don’t want to talk about that.”
“Mm?” He unfolded his hands and tried to nonchalantly rest them on his knees.
“I’ve been thinking.”
“About?”
“This will seem weird, but do you remember when we first met? I am somehow not entirely sure, except that I know one thing with absolute certainty, right here.” She pointed at her heart. “I feel that I have known you my whole life. I know that sounds corny.”
“No, it’s true.”
“What do you mean?”
He shifted on the sofa to turn to face her, and took her hands in his. “Astra, my shooting star, I… I, um.” His eyes tracked to the left, dancing with light from the fireplace.
She kissed their clasped hands. “It’s okay, you silly goose. You can tell me.”
He blushed a bright crimson and took a few deep breaths. “It is important that you understand this about me, before I ask an important question. I really have gotten to know you, over every moment that you have graced this world with your particular and considerable spark of joy and wonder. I was there in the room, assisting doctors when you were born. When you were learning to ride a bicycle, and zoomed around the block away from your parents for the first time, I was the one who stopped you before you flew into oncoming traffic, and walked you back to your father. I answered your letters when you wrote to that pen pal in junior high, worried about how to deal with bullies. I was in the study group for that class that you almost flunked in your sophomore year. I…”
“Stop. What are you saying?”
“We have barely begun to date romantically these last few months, in the traditional sense. I tried splitting myself into three equal pieces once, thinking that might help. It is time to try something different, once again.”
She shook her head. “That is not really helping.”
“Sorry, I can go on sometimes when I am nervous, and I never really figured out how to not be so creepy at the same time, damn me.” He looked her dead in the eyes with a steely glare of conviction that she could not remember ever before encountering from this nice young man. He said, “I am god. And, I love you.”
Astra sat upright and dropped his hands. “You. You are a god?”
He looked down. “It is hard to explain. The human concept that might be closest to the truth is that I am every god? All of them, when I need to be?”
“Arrgh!” screamed a much younger man as he somersaulted into the center of the room. The boy landed in a crouching position, then stood tall. He fired his toy raygun overhead as he performed a complicated salute, red and green lights spreading across the ceiling. In crisp military tones, the boy said, “High Commander of the Intergalactic United Planetary Council! What are your orders, sir?”
Astra watched as the nice young man flawlessly mimicked the salute while laughing. “Space Private Smith! Check the dining room. The Gorblix might have left bombs under the table.”
“Yes, sir! Glory to you, sir!” The boy sprinted from the room. A short time later, his mother’s voice told the boy to push the chairs back in and set the table.
Astra sighed. “You know my brother, too?”
“Anyone seeking a supreme being knows me. There will be time to explain all of this.”
“Uh huh.”
The nice young man stood up and paced the room a few times. He turned back to Astra and transformed into a swan. He extended his neck, and said, “I don’t mean to make this so awkward.”
Her father walked into the family room carrying two glasses of water. He silently placed the glasses on coasters and turned to leave, before nodding slowly. Her father said, “I remember now. Sorry to interrupt.” He left the room without another word.
The swan flapped its wings. “Sorry, this is not going how I thought it would. I asked for his blessing last week, you see.” The gorgeous white bird turned back into the nice young man, who promptly knelt down in front of the beautiful young woman, sitting on the sofa with a look of perplexed delight dawning on her face. He produced a sparkling ring from a shirt pocket. “My dearest Astra, will you marry me?”
“Are you serious? I think I remember everything. You have always been nice to me, always as you look now, but somehow… Distant. You have been so slow in your – I guess that this was courting, then? I was beginning to wonder what I was doing wrong. If you are who you say, then, well, fair enough, I guess. But, marriage? I am not even sure that I know what to call you.”
“What name would you like to call me, my love?”
“Oh, no. No, it is not that simple. This does not sound like a normal engagement, if you get my meaning.”
“Of course, I do.” He looked up and saw that her parents were expectantly snooping into the room. He heard a whisper about forgetting to put champagne in the fridge. He dealt with that minor issue quietly, and turned back to Astra. “I can not help who I am. Believe me when I say that I am not trying to bring about another messiah or anything like that. I just like spending time with you.”
“That is very sweet, considering the circumstances. Yes, and?”
“Oh. If it is not too on the nose, I was always partial to Emmanuel.”
Astra presented her left hand, accepted the ring, and kissed him softly. “I will, Em. I will. I was thinking of going into medicine, or something to do with humanitarian relief, anyway. Plus…”
“Mm?”
“God, you’re cute.”
My story stayed weird, but I tried to keep Reddit WritingPrompt [WP] Your best friend whom you have known since you were able to speak, seems nervous around you, which he never was before. finally, he tells you what has made him so nervous “I’m… God” a bit more upbeat than usual, maybe. Do I need a “HigherPowers” story tag? Hmm.