“Parent? What are you talking about?”
But before Gorg answered, the gray mist covered them, and the world spun away.
When the mist cleared, they were in a bar. It was a seedy place, smelling of strong spirits and mold, and body odor. Only one man sat at the bar, hunched over, a half-full glass of beer in front of him.
Ebenezer turned pale and walked up to the man. “Pete? Oh, man, no. Pete, you were doing so good! Three years sober… What happened?”
“Ebbie? What are you doin’ here?” The man looked up at Ebenezer with bleary eyes. “You fucker. You think you’re all high and mighty because you’re the star and all I did was hold the fuckin’ camera, but without me, you would be nothin’! Nothin’!”
“I-I’m sorry I walked off the set, Pete. Stop it now. Come on. Let me buy you a cup of coffee. We can call your sponsor and—”
“Oh, fuck off! I don’t have a job because of you. They tried to swap me in for that asshole, Gerald, and use the fluffer but it wasn’t the same. The producers wantedyou, Ebbie, and you were gone. They shut us down. No job, no money for rent. Just…just leave me alone. Go on! Get out!”
He’d never heard Pete sound so venomous, so full of hate. Maybe he deserved it, too. He frowned and backed up to where Gorg stood. “Get me out of here, Gorg. I…oh, God, what have I done? Who else did I hurt? I can’t even make amends because he won’t let me help him!” Tears threatened. “I’ve been such a dick!”
“I can help him if you wish,” Gorg said. He cupped Ebenezer’s face with his hand. “Do not weep. We all do things we regret. What is important is that you learn from your mistakes.”
“You can help Pete? How?”
“Addiction is a universal problem. We have ways to circumvent it. To correct the part of us that craves that to which we are addicted.”
Gorg walked over and placed his hand on the back of Pete’s neck. Pete tried to shake him off, but then Pete froze. The expression on his face was one of pure ecstasy. Then it was gone.
Pete looked at the half-finished glass in front of him and disgust colored his face. He pushed it away and got up.
He tossed Gorg a half-smile then hurried out of the bar, brushing past Ebenezer as if he didn’t recognize him.
“What did you do?”
“Got rid of his addiction. He will be okay now.”
“That’s amazing!” Ebenezer gave him a broad smile.
“He still was in here because of you, Ebbie. What have you learned?” Gorg asked.
“Seriously? Who are you? My mother?”
“I am serious. It is important, Ebbie. Very important.”
The expression on Gorg’s face was grave, and it frightened Ebbie a little. He didn’t want to lose Gorg, not that he wanted to examine the reason why too closely. It’s not like he was in love with a guy from another planet. It was just the sex, that’s all. Right? And yet…
“I learned that my actions have consequences for other people, not just myself. I have a responsibility to the people I work with and have to think about others not just myself.”
Gorg nodded, and a smile once again graced his handsome face. “Excellent. Now, let’s go home. I think you have to talk to someone called your attorney.”
Ebenezer huffed and nodded. “Allan was right. I am in breach of contract. I’m going to have to buy my way out of it, and it’s not going to be cheap. I’ll need to call Roger Atkins. He’s my attorney. But you know what? I don’t want to do adult films anymore. Something in me has changed.”
“Yes, we’ll have to have a talk about that, too,” Gorg said, then pulled out the handheld time-shift processor and pressed the button.
Chapter 8
“What is going on that you keep saying we’ll have to talk? Talk about what?” Ebenezer asked. They’d just returned to his place, and the car ride home had been quite uncomfortable. Mostly, because he tried to keep a conversation going, but Gorg remained silent, given only to a nod or shrug. “Are you leaving? Is that it? You’re going home and don’t know how to tell me?”
Ebenezer hoped that wasn’t the case. He didn’t want Gorg to leave, but he could understand how Gorg wouldn’t want to live his life literally undercover, always having to wear some sort of oversized coat. “Look, there has to be a way you can stay here… Someplace super cold where everyone wears bulky coats all the time. Then I could wear one too, and we’d fit right in, and nobody would notice you.”
“That’s not it. I don’t want to leave you. Ican’tleave you, not now.” Gorg sighed. “Especially not now.”
“Why? What’s going on now?”
