Elise’s human parents didn’t believe in aliens, so her secret was safe. She now had a human lifetime to discover the answer to the question that had puzzled her species since the conception of the galaxy: Why did peanut butter and jelly go so well together? Why not peanut butter and cheese? Or mayonnaise and jelly? All the combinations Elise tested between bread amused her human father; he often joked that she ate things no human could consume, and she must be from Mars.
When her human mother caught Elise eating sardines and peanut butter, she decided they needed a vacation. At first Elise resented the distraction from her research—everyday they ate in restaurants where neither peanut butter nor jelly was on the menu—but she soon found herself enjoying the company of her human parents. They smiled often and looked after each other. When human mother slurped her spaghetti, and it left a trail of marinara on her chin, human father would wipe it away with his napkin. When human father’s back ached from driving, human mother would rub at the tense muscles. They even cared for her: explaining the history of their planet in terms she understood; making sure she looked for cars before she crossed the street; and singing to her before she went to sleep.
When they returned from vacation, Elise had almost forgotten about her research until her human mother made her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. She took a bite and was thrown back into the world where sweet met salty and heaven met earth. She wondered if she would ever understand the secrets of the peanut butter and jelly.
