Chapter Text
Beatrice knew now, without a shadow of a doubt, that this thing wasn’t her husband, and she wasn’t dreaming. It’d been a week since that first night when her Edgar had gone out to see what had hit his beloved truck.
Now the skin on Edgar’s body was rotting, which Beatrice thought was disgusting, but she did live on a farm. She’s accustomed to death, having grown up watching her father butcher the cows that wouldn’t produce milk anymore and all that.
Edgar, or whatever that thing is, spent all his time in the barn working on something, presumably the spaceship this alien crashed into Edgar’s truck. That’s what Beatrice had figured out anyways- that whatever this thing was, it wasn’t human, it was most likely from space. God- she sounded ridiculous. A perfect stereotype of an uneducated country bumpkin yellin’ about crop circles and alien stealing their cows.
Beatrice slammed her head into her pillow, frustrated. This new Edgar had been treating her wonderfully!! But it felt wrong, like she was cheating. She hadn't been sharing a bed with it (him?) of course, so far he'd been sleeping on the couch. It all felt so many shades of wrong.
It was about 9:30pm, and Beatrice was already in bed. Lately this new Edgar had been coming upstairs to say goodnight to her. Well- not really, but he stood in the doorway ominously, waiting until she was in bed and comfortable. Then he would nod once, before walking downstairs to sleep on the couch.
Tonight Beatrice waited. 9:40.. 9:50… where was he? Beatrice stood up, pulling on her warm house robe, and walked downstairs. Edgar was no where to be seen. She called out for him.
"Edgar…? Or.. whatever-y'-are? Hello..?" Nothing.
She sighed. Maybe this Edgar had finally gotten tired of her too, and left. 'No- no don't start thinking like that Beatric.' She thought. Maybe he was just in the barn. Putting on her slippers, she crept out to the barn and opened the door slowly.
"Edgar..?"
She saw a small spaceship in the middle of the barn, a few tools strewn about the ground next to the door hatch. She heard a sound coming from the corner of the barn, behind an old stable area formerly used to keep horses.
"Edgar..? 'S that you..?" She hears a soft chittering sound. She takes a step closer and spies something out of her peripheral. She turns and takes a step closer, and then gasps. It's Edgar's skin. That means whatever creature WAS wearing it, isn't anymore. She looks to the stable where she heard the chittering.
"Edgar..? Izzat you?" She knows its not technically Edgar anymore, but she doesn't know what else to call it. Should she ask its name?
Edgar, or Kerb, meanwhile- was preying Beatrice didn't continue to search for him. Edgar's skin had rotted rather quickly, faster than he'd hoped, and working on his ship so much didn't help. It broke as he stood up to go check on Beatrice before sleeping, and he was too much of a coward to do anything but hide. He was so ashamed! The fearsome bug he was, reduced to cowering from some human pest?! it was ridiculous.
"Don't come any closer."
Beatrice knew that low growling voice.
"Why not? I… I don't mind that you're not my husband y'know. I think we both know I figured that out weeks ago."
Kerb paused. That was true. It had been an unspoken truth they barely acknowledged over these few weeks. She knew he wasn't the human she married.
"Don't scream." He commanded, but it had a tinge of nervousness to it. Was whatever this creature is scared? Beatrice nods. "I wont."
Kerb unfurls himself and steps slowly into the low light of the middle of the barn. Beatrice steps back to make space. She looks up at him with… Awe. Not horror or Anger as he expected. The she started to do something that really shocked him. Beatrice started laughing?
"Why are you laughing at me?"
"oh!- no, I'm not laughing at YOU- I'm sorry- its just… heh, a.. 12-foot-tall cockroach alien has been nicer to me for two weeks than my real husband was for years." She looks sad, but also happy.
Humans are so strange Kerb thinks.