6. Proslo
6
PROSLO
S he was even lovelier in person and none more so than when she took her lower lip between her teeth, a gentle blush upon her cheeks, her eyes shining as she took in the sight of me holding the roses and chocolates. My heart soared at her reaction. The delay I took before going to the waiting shuttle had been worth it. At first, I was only going to stop at the florist’s, but when I explained what they were for, Tina, the proprietress, explained about the language of flowers. She then proceeded to gather a bouquet of the fragrant red blooms she called roses, warning me against the thorns as she wrapped them up.
“And since you’re kicking it old school,” she’d said, “you best pop over to Candy’s Sweets on the other side of the park, just opposite. Tell her to give you a sampler.”
I’d hurried there and the eponymous Candy had squealed, selling me the box of Whitman’s which came with a red bow to show it was a precious gift.
“If it was good enough for Elizabeth Taylor,” she said with a wink as she pointed to a framed advertisement behind her on the wall, “it’s definitely good enough for your lady.” Seeing my expression, she added, “She was a huge film star and was considered one of the most beautiful women in the world in her heyday.”
My mate was definitely a female who stole my breath away, so these were indeed appropriate. I paid for them and hurried towards the shuttle bay. Yes, definitely a wise move – just look at how she’d reacted! She’d understood immediately that I was wooing her and that she was valued.
“I’ll never get used to seeing these,” she said as we reached the rooftop and I opened the door.
I smiled at her gently. “I feel the same way whenever I see one of your aircraft or road vehicles,” I confessed.
She laughed, the sound endearingly harsh. Hearing herself, she clamped her lips shut tightly and blushed. “Sorry. I sound like a donkey when I laugh out loud like that.”
‘It’s wonderful,” I reassured her and she looked at me as if I’d suddenly sprouted a second head.
“Um, no it’s not.”
“It is,” I insisted. “It is a sound of joy and it’s your joy, which makes me feel happy.”
She stared at me, eyes widened, her expression turning to one of awe. “How are you even real?” she whispered.
I placed a hand on the small of her back, guiding her to the shuttle’s open ramp. “Well, you see, my father met my mother, and they mated. One day their mating impregnated her -”
She bumped me with her hip, her lips pressed together as she tried to hold in another laugh. “Stop it. I know how babies are made.”
I smirked down at her. “Good. Seeing as you’re a medical professional who wishes to train in a second field, I’d hoped they’d covered basic biology, even if it was for humans and not Mylos.”
She glanced around the interior. “Looks so futuristic.” She giggle-snorted adorably and said, “Though I suppose really the future is now.”
“Well, we are here, standing in the middle of it and it’s reality,” our pilot, Zaneb said.
“Right.” she agreed.
“Take any seat except the one in front of the control panel,” he told her, and she went for the nearest one.
“Oh, um,” she glanced at her full hands.
“Let me fasten your harness, mi-shida’a.” I leaned over and grasped the straps, working them around her torso and lap.
“Thanks,” she said, biting her lower lip again. “I am being rather slow, I’m afraid. I’m usually better than this, I swear. I just realized I could have put Pumpkin down and laid the flowers on the floor.”
“Let me take those and put them in the chilled compartment,” Zaneb said. “It will stop them from drooping until you can get them into a suitable container with water.”
“Tina was sending someone with a vase and appropriate food for cut flowers,” I proudly told her.
She arched an eyebrow at me, her face now an indifferent mask as she wordlessly allowed Zaneb to take the roses from her.
“Tina is the florist who sold me the flowers and directed me to the candy shop,” I hastily added.
“So, not your girlfriend,” she replied flatly.
I cocked my head to one side. Ah, yes. Humans dated around until they found a mate they wished to remain with. “Mylos do not have such persons. Females who are platonic friends, yes. Romantic interests, no.”
“We don’t do boyfriends either,” Zaneb chimed in. “Oh, boy, did I have to let my mate know that. I’m best friends with a guy here who works in hydroponics as part of the veteran employment and training program and he totally got the wrong idea when we got off the shuttle, Benji ran up and hugged me tight to congratulate me. We’re as close as brothers so he thought nothing about it. First Chet burst into tears, then Benji did because he suddenly realized what he made Chet think.”
“Oh,” she replied quietly, a look of stark relief upon her face. “Did you guys manage to explain it right away?”
Zaneb hummed as he put on his harness and began doing the preflight console checks. “Sure did. Now they’re like brothers too. We’re both working on getting Benji to apply to the program so he can see if he’s got a match, too. A wonderful guy like him is sure to be someone’s soulmate and seeing as the stars brought him to us, we both figure his has to be a Mylos.”
“Soulmates,” she whispered.
“What else would you call a perfect match?” he asked as I sat down next to my mate and strapped myself in. “Okay, starting engines. Xeranos, plot our course home.”
“Course plotted. Estimated time of arrival one hour, thirteen minutes, and forty-two seconds.”
“I always thought these flights took several hours,” Betty said.
“They do in the regular shuttles. This is one of our express models, capable of faster speeds this close to a major gravity well.”
“Oh.”
The ship began to hum and vibrate almost imperceptibly.
“And we have lift-off,” Zaneb announced. “Would you like me to activate the view screens?”
“Yes, please,” she replied, her eyes shining in excitement.
I reached over and squeezed her hand, happy to see her like this. Hopefully, this upbeat version of her would last and help her adjust. I knew this was a huge upheaval, as I was also experiencing it. Sure, we’d both enrolled in the mate matching program, but the odds were so slim unless you paid a galaxy- wide service that it was always a cause for celebration when one was found. Even then, you might not find your mate until a new world joined, just as Earth had, and its participation was limited by treaty to the Fleet and occasionally to the council’s extended service. So it was no surprise that we each had thought today would be the same as every day, only with her gaining scholarship funds a little differently than most of her classmates would. A huge change, yes, but I hoped she looked forward to living with me as much as I did her.