“No! Ya jerk. Brill has so damn much class it hurts me to look at her sometimes, and Bev has so much raw sensual confidence that I could almost go for her myself. You’d put me in that same group?”
I laughed. “That’s what Brill said about you two, but don’t tell her I told you.”
“She doesn’t think she’s in the same league as us? Good gods! She’s what I’d like to be if I grow up!”
“So, that’s why Alvarez. She’s in the same class, but unlike you, she’s not on the Lois.”
“Wait, you think Bev, Brill and I, are in the same class as Alvarez?”
“Well, not exactly, but she’s close,” I told her with a grin.
“I still can’t believe you thought you could pull it off.”
“I didn’t think I would.”
“But you went anyway.”
I shrugged. “One in a million is a lot better odds than zero.”
“Gods, you must have been out of your mind walking across that floor to her like that. What were you thinking?”
“Don’t laugh?”
“No promises. I have a feeling it’s going to be funny.”
“I was thinking two things. First, the worst she can do is say is no.”
“And?”
“I’m wearing Henri Roubaille.”
She fought it valiantly—I had to give her credit—but in the end she lost it and dissolved into giggles.
“Yeah, yeah, big joke, but while you’re done laughing your cute little butt off, think about this.”
I paused for her to get her giggles under control a bit. “It worked.”
“I know. That’s why I’m laughing!”
I loved to hear her laugh—even if it was at me.
“Anyway. I came to relieve you and to give you this.” I held out the small package.
She opened it curiously and when she saw it, I thought she might puddle up. “It’s beautiful,” she breathed. “This is a whelkie, right?”
“Yeah. I got it on St. Cloud. When I was going through my things earlier, I saw this one and thought of you. So I wanted you to have it.”
“Thank you!” she said with feeling. She held it up close to her face and stroked an index finger along its head and back, patting it the way one might pat a real fox, if one could actually pat a real fox. For a heartbeat, I thought she might kiss it the way Alvarez had kissed the dolphin earlier in the day.
Remembering that episode gave me a pang of a completely other sort that was centered somewhat lower on my torso, and I could not help but grin a little at the small jab of remembered pleasure.
“This reminds me of Brill’s,” she said, looking up.
“Yeah, Brill has a heron. They’re from the same guy.”
“You gave it to her?” she asked, but she had an expression that said she knew the answer already.
“Yeah, funny story. We saw this booth but neither of us bought anything. Later we both snuck back to it alone and bought whelkies for each other. Over dinner, I reached to give her the heron just as she was handing me the one she’d gotten for me.”
“You have one, too?”
I reached into the pocket of my shipsuit and pulled out the dolphin, holding it up so the section overheads glinted off the polished wood. The way the light slipped across it almost made it look like it was swimming.
“Oh, it’s lovely. Can I touch it?”
“Sure.” I held my hand out.
She reached out and stroked it a couple of times with just the tip of one finger along the back and dorsal in a gesture vaguely similar to the way Alvarez had.
“It’s so smooth. The wood almost feels soft,” she said dreamily. “You know Brill carries hers with her, too?”
“Does she? I knew she used to, but I didn’t know she still did.”
I looked at the chrono and saw 17:44 click over to 17:45. “You ready to hand over the watch?”
“Mr. Wang, all ops normal. No maintenance was scheduled or performed. You have the watch.”
“Ms. Ardele, I relieve you. I have the watch.”
She slipped her tablet into the holster and grabbed her coffee cup, still holding her whelkie in her other hand. As she slipped past me, she gave me a little peck on the cheek. “Thank you for the fox.”
“You’re welcome. Sarah says they have to find their true owners. The fishermen along the south coast there think they’re magical in some way,” I said as I settled into the seat and scanned the readouts once quickly.
“Maybe they are.” She regarded hers carefully once more.
I shrugged. “Maybe,” I told her idly as I finished my scan through the various status readouts. “Or maybe we just believe in the magic. Maybe we just let the icon represent the ideal which gives us a physical manifestation of an intangible.”
She laughed her bubbly laugh. “I don’t even know what you just said.”
I had to replay the sound of my voice in my ears to remember, then I laughed, too. “Sorry, one of the themes that Mom was always talking about. How ideas are often represented by objects.”
She held up her fox and let the light wash over it. “What do you think these are representations of?”
“Dunno. Maybe we apply a personal meaning to each one. That the meanings you and I apply aren’t the same as Sarah applies to hers.”
“You gave Sarah one?” she asked, surprised.
“No, she got one from her village shaman. A raven. The differences in style are obvious, but the representation is spectacular in its own way.”
“You gave one to Bev, though, didn’t you?” It was a statement more than question.
“Yeah, just now.”
“What’s hers?”
“A wolf.”
“Yes, that is fitting.”
She headed back toward the hatch. “Well, I’m off. I wanna grab some dinner and a nap before I head out.”
“Hot date?”
“Well, I can hope.” She grinned wickedly. “I can hope.”
“Good hunting! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” I said, inadvertently repeating the little catch phrase my mom and I shared when one of us had gone out.
She laughed and stopped with her hand on the hatch. “What wouldn’t you do?”
The events of the previous day spooled out delightfully in my brain, and I laughed. “Apparently not much!”
“Good for you,” she said. She started out again but stopped once more and asked, “What did you give Alvarez?”
“A falcon.”
She nodded. “Good choice.”
With a final little wave, she slipped out of the hatch, and I settled down to review the logs and check the maintenance schedule.
Chapter 24
DUNSANY ROADS ORBITAL
2352-APRIL-18
At about 18:30, I slaved my tablet to the console and headed up to the mess deck. Pip waited for me with a big grin on his face. It did not seem possible that he would be so pleased just because of the digitals I sent him. I loaded up a plate with Cookie’s spicy beefalo and rice. There were some green beans, too, and I added a big pile of them. My body musta been telling me it needed the vitamins or something. I thought Pip was gonna turn himself inside out before I made it over to him.
“What’s got you all in a tizzy?” I asked. “Are you that excited about the batik? I brought some samples.”
“No, those are good but you will not believe this.”
“How do you know?” I asked with a chuckle. “You haven’t told me yet.”
“Last night, I was in my rack reading. After cleanup, Sarah shows up and settles into her bunk with the shawl work.” I could tell it was going to be a long story so I ate slowly. “She’s getting darn good, but anyway she’s sitting there and crocheting her little fingers off. We talked about the booth and how well she did and so forth. She said she had a great time, but sold all her stuff and was looking forward to Betrus when she’d have more things to sell.”