by Marla Monroe
Stopping in front of one of the doors, he placed his hand on it and it immediately slid open. “This is your room, Kane. It connects to the room on the other side, which is Della’s. My room is on the other side of hers at the end of the hall. She will be safe between us and you can check on her if need be during the night. I am afraid she would wake frightened if I did. I am unfamiliar to her right now.”
Della could sense the sadness in his statement and wondered at it. Why would that upset him? Did it bother him that she would still see him as strange and frightening in the middle of the night? She wouldn’t mean to, but the fact was, she wasn’t used to them yet. They were very large and had skin so different in color from anything she’d ever encountered before.
“Thank you, Veran, for thinking of me. I’m sure I will become used to you in no time. You’ve been nothing but kind to us. How could I not learn to trust you?” Della wanted to hug him, but felt awkward right then with both Caro and Kane standing next to her.
“Let me show you to your room,” he said, turning away and continuing a few feet down the hall. Here he placed his hand against the door and when it slid into the wall next to it, he indicated that Della should enter first.
When she walked in, it was to find the most beautiful room she’d ever seen. The walls were covered in what looked to be handmade tapestries of amazing colors in golds, oranges, and browns. There were far more gold colors than browns, so the room wasn’t dark at all. The bed was massive, but then it would have to be to handle the large males who inhabited the planet. One wall opposite the end of the bed was bare of the amazing wall covering and a pale gold.
Veran walked over to it. “Kane, watch. Your room is the same.”
As they watched he touched a small indention on the edge of the golden area and what looked like a closet slid out of the wall. It had a hanging area for clothes and several drawers that would hold more and what was probably a shoe rack at the bottom. He touched the indention again and it disappeared inside the wall. Then he walked over and touched another indention and a large square eased out of the wall. He stepped into it with a smile.
“Watch where I touch.” He placed his finger on a gold square and a door slid up, enclosing him out of sight.
“Whoa,” Caro said, stepping back.
The door slid back down. “It is our shower, as you would call it. Here is the button to turn on the cleansing foam we use to conserve water. It won’t come on if the door isn’t closed. The foam evaporates and you are clean.”
“I don’t know that I would feel clean without bathing with soap and water,” Della said.
“Soap?” he asked, cocking his head. “Ah, yes, that’s something we occasionally do when we wish to relax and soak. You are talking about soaking in a tub of water, right?”
“Um, yeah. Sort of,” she said with a chuckle. “Soap isn’t the same thing as soaking. Soap is the stuff we used to clean with. Soap and water.”
“Hmm, I’m not familiar with this,” he said. Then he pointed to another button. “This adds healing cream to the foam if you have been injured or contaminated in some way. There is no soaking tub in these units, but should you wish to, I have one in my unit. Caro, both Gressen and Sabin have them in their personal units as well. I’m sure either of them would be more than happy for you to use it.” Veran nodded at the other woman before stepping out and showing them how to close it once more.
“Here is the hand unit,” he said, pressing a button to one side.
A small metal bowl shot out with a dispenser above it but no sign of water spigots. He held his hand under the unit and more of the foam, but in a darker green color, dropped from the dispenser to his hands. He rubbed them together, then ran one hand under another slot that dropped a small dab of something blue on his hand. He rubbed his hands together again.
“The first is cleansing foam like what is in the shower unit only a bit stronger. The blue substance is a cream of sorts that seals your hands and keeps them from getting dry and chaffed in the heat of our two suns.” He pressed the slot and it sled back into the wall. A thoughtful look appeared on his face. “You know, that is what the orange slot was for on the shower units. I couldn’t remember, but now I can. I remember my mother using it after her shower to smooth over her body so it wouldn’t be dry and uncomfortable. Males do not use it and as there are very few females left alive…” He trailed off.
Della was very aware of the wistfulness in his voice and felt sorry for him that he’d had no female companionship in his life since a very young age. None of the males there on Levasso had.
“Would you like to make use of the units before we eat?” he asked them.
Della nodded and grabbed Caro’s hand. “We’ll use the ones in my room. Do we just follow the hall back to the, um, meal prep area?”
“Yes. Take your time. I’m sorry there are not clothes for you to change into right now, but that will be taken care of tomorrow. The changes you have in your packs will do for now,” Veran said.
“I’m right next door if you need me,” Kane told her.
Della smiled and watched them leave, the door opening and closing behind them without Veran even touching it. This was going to take a lot of getting used to, she decided.
“Wow, I can’t believe this place. I’ll never figure everything out,” Caro said, walking over to where the sink had been. She pressed the slot and nearly got rammed in the stomach by it. She jumped out of the way with a laugh just in time. “See what I mean? I’m a total klutz with technology. I didn’t even own a smartphone at home. I used an older model phone.”
“We’ll adjust, but it won’t be as easy as they may believe. Do you want to use the shower thingy first?” Della asked.
“Sure.”
Caro had dropped her bag on the floor near the bed. Now she peeled out of her clothes, obviously not nearly as self-conscious as she was. Then again, Caro had been a model and probably had to get used to changing in front of a lot of people, where Della had never changed in front anyone since grammar school PE class. Yeah.
Caro’s lithe body wasn’t as thin and bony as she’d assumed beneath her clothes. Instead, the woman had curves and some muscle on her. Her legs were long and slender but she had a rounded ass and a slight rounding of her belly as well. Della turned away before the other woman caught her staring. Not only was it impolite, but she didn’t want her new friend to think she was looking at her in a sexual manor and worry. Della had no problems with women liking other women, but wasn’t sure where Caro stood on that and didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.
When she heard the door slide shut behind her, she breathed a sigh of relief and quickly rummaged through her pack to find something to wear once she’d cleaned up some. She still wasn’t happy at the idea of using the foam instead of good old-fashioned soap and water, but when in Rome…
Despite there still being a little sunlight left outside, Della was exhausted and the events of the day were taking a toll on her even after having her throat and neck healed by whatever the metal thing had been. She’d come so close to dying what she knew would have certainly been a horrible death. Even though she’d broken down back on the trail, she still felt shaky and now, with so much unfamiliar around her, Della missed home and her family more than ever. This wasn’t what she’d expected when they’d entered the shuttle all those months ago.
No, she hadn’t known the two men chosen as her husbands that well, but they would have gotten to know each other over time. They would have been happy, she was sure of it. At least there she would have known what her place was and what she was expected to do. Here she knew nothing and doubted she had any talents useful to them other than being female. The enormity of their situation bore down on her like a giant pillow that would suffocate her if she didn’t get out from under it.
Della was sitting on the edge of the bed trying to regain control of her depressive thoughts when the door to the shower unit slid up and Caro stepped out with a radiant expression
on her face.
Chapter Eight
The strange food they ate was delicious. Della hadn’t expected it to taste so good. From the way Kane was taking a second helping, it was obvious that he enjoyed it as well. Caro ate, but not as enthusiastically as everyone else did. Della couldn’t help but wonder if it was because she wasn’t used to eating any other way or if she didn’t like it as much as they did.
When Caro had stepped out of the shower unit with a mile wide smile like she did, Della had worried there had been something in the foam that had affected her oddly and wasn’t sure she wanted to try it, but then she’d explained that the foam tingled as it seemed to scrub her body. It felt great, invigorating even, and Della had to agree, it had been an experience. She’d found it was better not to try and rub the foam on her body but to just let it sit there and do its thing. Once it had dissolved and then evaporated, she had felt sparkly clean and rejuvenated.
The other woman had still been feeling great when they’d walked down the hall to where the men were waiting for them in the meal prep room. Veran had selected something on a column in the middle of the room and a sort of fancy picnic table had erupted from the floor to latch on to the column. The shiny surface of the bench was a deep, dark gold, while the table top was much brighter.
They all slid onto the benches while Veran pulled the dishes from the unit he’d put them in and set them on the table along with a stack of square plates and what could only be described as a spork she’d often gotten with take-out meals instead of both a fork and a spoon. Veran then sat next to Kane on one side while the women sat on the opposite side. An empty bench on the end looked oddly out of place with no one seated there.
When she was about to bring it up, a noise from the front of Veran’s home interrupted her.
“That is Gressen,” Veran said. He spoke into a device on his wrist that looked to her to be a wide bracelet. It didn’t have anything on it like a watch or numbers.
Seconds later, Gressen entered the room. His gaze landed on Caro and he smiled.
“I’m sorry I’m late. Everyone is cared for and settled in a home where they will be comfortable,” he said. “Tomorrow we will begin sorting out clothing for everyone and start teaching you a little about our planet and city.”
“I imagine everything we have to offer as far as clothes will be too big,” Veran said.
“I bet,” Caro said with a smile. “Della and I are tall for most humans, and even we wouldn’t be able to wear the clothes made for your people.”
“Our clothiers will take care of making sure you have plenty to choose from. To begin with, they are already working on cutting down some of what they have on hand to get you by while they create clothes suited to each of you. Our clothing is tailor made for each individual to meet their needs according to their body type and the type of work they do,” Gressen said.
“It makes it easier to move if what we do is taken into consideration when it is made,” Veran added.
“But how can they do that for us when we don’t have a clue what we are going be doing?” Dell asked with a frown.
“How are we supposed to pay for our clothes or anything, for that matter?” Kane asked. “What sort of jobs do you have available that I might be able to learn?”
Veran and Gressen exchanged confused looks, each of them cocking their heads as they thought over what Kane had asked.
“We don’t understand your questions,” Veran finally said.
“We don’t have anything to exchange for our clothes you are getting for us,” Kane said.
“And we don’t know what sort of work we can do to earn something to trade for food and a place to live,” Della added.
“We don’t trade anything for what we need,” Gressen said, shaking his head. “There is no monetary system here as there is on some of the other planets.”
“Then how do I pay for my clothes and food?” Kane asked.
“You don’t. We don’t pay for what we need. We only take what we need, so there is plenty for everyone. If you find something you especially like but you don’t really need it, you can talk with the owner to see if there is something you can do to help them for it. I supposed we do a type of barter of services in that way, but it is not a true system,” Gressen told him.
“The tapestries you have all over the walls are so beautiful and have to be worth so much, though,” Caro pointed out.
“But they are a necessary part of all homes to help regulate the temperatures. There are tiny transmitters woven into each wall covering that transmit temperatures and moisture levels to the main unit to let it know if more heat or less heat is needed in any specific area to keep everything comfortable.” Veran walked over and pulled down one of the woven wonders and showed them the transmitters woven into the many threads making up the colorful display.
“Amazing,” Della whispered.
“That still doesn’t help me with what I can do here. I have to work, contribute to the community, in order to feel comfortable with eating the food and living in the homes,” Kane continued.
“We will find a place for you, Kane. Do not worry. For now, it is your place to recover from your ordeal and help the females become comfortable in their new environments,” Gressen told him.
That seemed to relax Kane somewhat. He returned to finishing the foot on his plate. Della didn’t feel as comfortable, though. What would she be allowed to do when there were no other women on the planet? She wouldn’t exactly feel relaxed working with a lot of other males she’d never seen before, at least not at first.
“What about Caro and I?” she asked. “Will there be something we can do? I could work out in the fields I saw when we arrived. I’ve always had gardens everywhere I’ve lived.”
The looks of horror on both Gressen and Veran’s faces were almost comical. Della wondered if she’d asked to do something they thought was sacred or something. She started to apologize but Veran interrupted her.
“You are females. It has been close to fifty years since most of us have seen a female, much less talked to one. The few remaining ones are old and do not come out much. Their males care for them so they want for nothing. Allowing you to do something physical that might harm you is appalling. No male would ever allow a female to do something that might tire or harm her.”
Gressen nodded. “Every male on the planet will want to do things for you just to hear you speak. Your voices are melodic and soothing to us. Your smiles remind us that life can be pleasant and now there is hope for young on our planet. Even if they are only human young and not part of us. You can’t imagine the worth of young to us. Their laughter and smiles are freely given and to see them run and play would be a favorite pass time of every male. The lack of young has depressed our males for so long now. Young will fill our hearts with joy and our sleep with dreams of a future for our home. One day we may even need to open up one of the old cities once again to accept the overflowing population.”
The man’s words brought tears to her eyes. Della had never imagined what it would be like to have lived so long without children around. He was right. Children were pure hope. Without them there was no real hope.
“I understand, Gressen, but I would go crazy if I didn’t do something. I can’t just sit and twiddle my thumbs every day,” she insisted.
He sighed, clearly worried. “I will talk with the council tomorrow and when I do, I will bring up your request. Honestly, though, I don’t see them allowing the females to perform any tasks.”
“Tell them that on Earth we all worked at something. We are used to having jobs and things to do. It will make us very unhappy and depressed to not have anything to do,” Caro said.
Gressen continued to eat in silence for a while. Then he put down his spork and looked at Caro. “How long would you want to do something, provided the council will agree, before you choose to mate and have young with someone?”
Caro gasped and Della burst into laughter. She realized that Gressen thought they w
ouldn’t have children while they were working. That was why they didn’t want them to do anything. They wanted them to start right away at choosing who to live with and starting a family. Not that she could blame him or the others, but it bothered her a bit that they were focused on that one aspect of their worth. She wasn’t an incubator.
Kane’s foot nudged hers beneath the table. She was sure it was his because he was staring hard at her. He seemed to know what was going through her mind, because he smiled and shook his head slightly. He wanted her to relax and calm down before she spoke. She nodded back and drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly to calm herself.
“Gressen. We wouldn’t necessarily wait to get to know any males we were interested in while we worked. Nor would we have to stop working before we had children. We worked full time back on Earth and had children while keeping house. It wasn’t always easy or the best situation for all women, but working doesn’t hamper our abilities to get pregnant and carry a child.”
Veran’s eyes grew wide as a hen’s egg. “You actually worked while you carried your young? That is horrible. It is a very special time when you are breeding young. You should be coddled and cared for during that time. The young, when they arrive, are the most important part of our society. You and your mate would be taken care of while you bond with the young. The male would return to work only once it is proven that you can manage the young on your own with the help of close friends.”
Della and Caro stared at each other in amazement. To be able to spend time with their husbands and the baby before they both had to return to work was something only the rich had been able to do back on Earth. Most of them had still chosen to hire a babysitter and continue working anyway. Those in the middle class had taken the few weeks allowed if they had money saved to cover their bills, but it hadn’t happened often.
