The arrowhead-shaped vessel pivoted leisurely, pointing us to the open sea. Moments later, she was cutting through the water, leaving lines of wake behind her. We were off.
The Zelts played a louder, happier tune than before. Ila and Bazi pulled Joelle, Candy, and me to the middle of the deck, Bazi with Anrel in her arms. The Kalquorian women twirled to the music, their sarongs fluttering around them, squealing with Anrel as they danced. Of course, Candy was more than ready to join in, and after a moment’s hesitation, I did too. With our encouragement, Joelle was convinced to whirl.
The men did not join us. Silly Kalquorian males and their refusal to dancing. They cheered, however, and their hands thudded to the rhythm.
The arrival and boisterous welcome had blurred the impressions of my companions. I had the opportunity to take a better look at Ila and Bazi.
Ila is the middle child of Cifa’s family, older than Erom. I wouldn’t have labeled a woman standing over six feet tall as cute, but she manages it in the same fashion big, muscled Cifa is adorable. Her nose is perky, her face round, and her whole demeanor is bouncy. She could be the Kalquorian version of Candy. They both appear in desperate need of pom-poms. Similar to Candy, Ila is also brainy. I wonder if Cifa’s sister faces some of the disbelief Candy has gotten when she shows off her intellect.
Ila was a whir of color in her rainbow-hued sarong, which she wore with a matching halter-style top that covered her breasts and precious little else. Her hair, long to the bottom of her butt, was a wavy cloud of black.
Bazi, the Matara of Cifa’s brother Erom, was the slightest Kalquorian woman I’d seen. She had plenty of muscle, but her frame was willowier than the norm for her species. In her black sarong and top – which consisted only of triangle cups for her breasts and strings to keep them on her – she resembled a great, dark swan. Her features were sharp but not stark, matching her lean frame. If she’d only smiled instead of beaming the way she did, she’d have possessed a haughty, elegant beauty. With that grin, she resembled a fun-loving girl not yet out of her twenties.
We danced until Joelle and I were dizzy. The two of us staggered over to a lounger to rest, taking Anrel with us. She was starting to fuss. “Are you hungry, baby?” I asked.
Cifa was off like a shot to claim her food from the galley. As he went, he called, “Don’t worry. The chef is ready to keep her well fed.”
“Such a blast,” Joelle told me as she bounced Anrel on her knee, keeping her entertained until the food arrived. “This is something else.”
I considered the drink the bartender brought and consulted with my equilibrium. I felt untouched by the single drink I’d nursed, so I took the glass of leshella cocktail with pleasure. “I’ll say. I knew it would be amazing, but I had no idea it would start off with this much hoopla.”
Joelle looked at the others on the deck. The gals continued to dance. The Nobeks, except for Larten, clustered together, watching and cheering the gals with grins lighting their fierce faces. Imdikos Tir and Habo had thrown off their clothes (Yes, all of their clothes. I averted my eyes when that happened) and happily chatted and relaxed in the whirlpool as attendants kept them supplied with drinks and snacks. Seot, Larten, and Erom lounged at a table across the deck from me. They were casual as they conversed, intermittent laughter punctuating their discussion. Seot and Larten glanced at me on occasion, as if to check on me.
I appreciated that they were giving me space to get acquainted with my stepmother. I knew quite a few things about her due to our commed conversations, but it couldn’t replace face-to-face interaction.
She’d been a waitress in a small-town bar, not far from where I’d been living when Armageddon struck. Her parents, deceased years prior, had suffered from ill health since she’d been a teen. She’d made taking care of them her main purpose in life, putting aside any ideas of romance and marriage.
“I couldn’t leave them, not for any reason,” Joelle sighed. “They were my world. No one I dated understood that I wasn’t walking away from Mama and Daddy. My beaus wanted me to submerge myself in their lives, have their babies, and put my folks on the back burner.”
“Not very understanding of them,” I noted. “It makes you wonder how they treated their own parents.”
Joelle shrugged and offered a smile. “In a sense, I can kind of see how they felt. Relationships are about devoting most of your time and energy to a single person. I couldn’t offer that. I don’t regret it.”
“You told me your parents died before Armageddon. You didn’t have a sweetie after they were gone?”
“Daddy died fourteen years ago. When that happened, Mama and I needed each other more than ever, and I stopped searching for my prince. Then two years ago, she went too. I was lonely, but I couldn’t find a man I could imagine sharing my life with.”
I chuckled. “I had the same problem with that. None of the guys I knew were worth the effort.”
“I’m glad it wasn’t just me and my high standards,” Joelle laughed. “I thought it was because I was older and maybe a bit too cynical when it came to relationships. I’ll admit, I didn’t try very hard either. I’d never been on my own, so it was kind of important to do so for a while. Once I was ready to search for a sweetheart, the world had ended. It was all I could do to survive.”
“Then my dads came into the picture.” I gave her my best sappy expression.
Joelle laughed at my silliness. “I’d caught a bug making the rounds at the rescue site and went to see Nayun. I’d not had a second thought about a relationship with Kalquorians. I was past childbearing age, and the idea of three men to clean up after and take care of? Oh, heavens no.”
“My dads are charmers to have changed your mind.”
Joelle’s eyes went distant as she lost herself in the memory. “It started with Nayun. I took one look at that big teddy bear of a man and was gone. ‘Can you believe this giant of a sweetheart?’ I asked myself. I’d gone in to ask for medicine to stop me from coughing my lungs up, but I ended up complaining about every little ache and pain to keep him talking to me. He was so nice, and I wondered if maybe I’d been sticking too close to home when it came to finding the right guy.” She grinned mischievously.
I grinned back. “What about the whole two-men-too-many issue?”
“For a while… all of twenty-four hours…I counted it as a deal breaker. Then I started thinking that if Nayun was so wonderful, what might the others be like? I found out soon enough. Nayun enjoyed talking to me so much that he arranged for all four of us to ‘accidentally’ cross paths the very next day. Soon I figured out it wasn’t a case of me picking up after three …they preferred to take care of me. I’m the luckiest woman alive.”
“My dads are the best,” I said. “I’m glad they found a woman smart enough to recognize that.”
“I’m glad they did too.”
While we talked, Cifa had taken Anrel and was feeding her near the rest of his clan. Joelle and I decided to join them. Seot waved me over so I could sit between him and Larten.
“What do you think so far, Mataras?” he asked.
While Joelle gushed over the ship, much to Cifa’s delight, I took it all in. The sky was blue and endless. The sea was glass except where disturbed by our wake. The music was sprightly and joyful, and Bazi and Ila continued to dance for the enjoyment of their Nobeks and Imdikos. Candy and Stidmun had disappeared, probably for a personal celebration. I was in the midst of my doting suitors, my daughter, and my stepmom. I had a drink in my hand and no pressures.
“It’s paradise,” I said when Cifa turned to me for my answer.
December 13 (later)
There is only one thing better than a sea cruise under a sunny blue sky, and that’s a sea cruise under the stars. Being on the looking-glass expanse of water reflecting the night sky is astounding.
There was a dining room inside the cabin on the bottom deck, but the crew set up a circular table in the open air. They served the most incredible meal I’d ever had. Co
urse after course of delectable fruits, soups, vegetables, and meats were placed before me, each dish better than the last. Dessert was a kind of pastry filled with a chocolate sauce. It had a spice element that left my tongue tingling with both a hint of heat and sumptuous enjoyment.
The festive Zelts had retired, making way for a Plasian man who played a stringed instrument that wove enchanting melodies over our meal. I learned that the musicians and staff had their berths below decks. Our quarters were also there, but passengers had the outer rooms. “For windows?” I asked.
Cifa shook his head. “We use window vids rather than the real thing for safety reasons. There is a special accommodation that requires being near the hull. I’ll show you when we retire for the night. It’s a surprise.”
Since I appreciated the surprises I’ve gotten from him so far, I didn’t press for details.
We’d partied pretty much the whole day…some of us more sedately than others. Cifa, Erom, and Ila had kept their heads as the new ship went through her paces. Joelle and I had our fun, but we also stayed sober to care for Anrel. I was touched that Joelle took her responsibilities as a grandma seriously, though I hadn’t asked her to do so.
I had the idea that Seot and Larten had kept themselves from getting plowed as well. They and Cifa were as devoted to Anrel and me as ever, making sure we had everything we needed or wanted. Even with that, I couldn’t complain that they smothered me. When I separated to have a conversation with someone, they let me have space to socialize with their clans-in-law…or however they refer to it.
We’d had a glorious time, but everyone was more than ready to retire when it grew late. I was glad to take Anrel for a final round of adoration from everyone. Then I descended to below decks to where our stateroom awaited.
Cifa led our little entourage down a corridor that was as impressive as any place I’d ever been. At first I thought the walls were all vids, the panels depicting aquariums of several small types of sea creatures from many different worlds. A few were even Earther species.
Anrel leaned to yell excitedly at the fish-things. Cifa paused to let her have a good look at a panel showing colorful amoeba-like blobs. She banged her hand against it, and the blobs scattered.
“Are those actual aquariums?” I asked.
“Absolutely. It isn’t feasible from a cost standpoint for the larger ships to have entire corridors of tanks, but we were able to make it happen on this one. I always wanted to do this, and Erom relented on the funding for it. He even complimented my idea as fantastic after he saw it.”
We continued on, and I gazed at the walls with more appreciation than before. Cifa had outdone himself with this decorative detail.
We entered our stateroom. I hadn’t expected a whole lot since I knew space would be at a premium. What a pleasant surprise to be wrong.
We came into a nice living-type area, what the Kalquorians term a common room. There was an enclosed and vented firepit in the middle of the space, surrounded by two semicircle loungers. A low table with billowy seating cushions crowded the far corner. A full bar took up another.
One wall was taken up by a vid entertainment system. Across from it, the massive window vid showed us the expanse of the nighttime sea.
I wasted no time checking out the rest. There were a pair of sleeping rooms, and one had been outfitted for Anrel’s use with a crib and toys. The bin I’d packed for her was empty in a closet, where her clothes had been neatly hung by the room’s attendant, Imdiko Matoso.
“You’re up,” Cifa told Seot, offering the yawning baby to him. “Let’s find out if you’ve been paying attention.”
I watched with at first amusement and then approval as the Dramok readied Anrel for bed. I have to say, he handled it pretty well. He was almost a pro, in fact. What kept me grinning was Larten anxiously watching over his shoulder, studying everything that went on. I think a certain Nobek is nervous about proving himself to Cifa and me when it’s his turn.
A gentle cleanup, a soft nightie, a last bottle, and a billion kisses later, Anrel was down for the count. We crept out and had a peek at our sleeping room. The silver and black color scheme was elegant and somehow sexy. Everything was in order, with a massive sleeping mat, a dressing table for me, a cooler of refreshments should we need them, and a small table we could sit at for meals if we wished. Larten switched on a small vid, and a monitor sprang to life, showing Anrel sleeping. Perfect.
Three pairs of purple eyes riveted on me. My stomach churned as the men stared. I had been promised the extended foreplay that had been our sex life would lead to the real thing tonight. I was suddenly, ridiculously nervous.
“What about this surprise you were going to show me?” I asked Cifa.
He grinned. “You’ll love this.” He walked over to a wall that was undecorated except for a silver panel full of buttons. He pushed one.
The wall suddenly receded, pushing back to give the room more expanse. Then the floor, or at least a thick portion of it, rose up. It went up to ceiling height and stopped. There remained a floor to step out on, but it was about three feet lower until it rose…or actually, the whole of the extra space rose until the floor was level with where we stood. Cifa stepped into the area and pushed another button on the panel. “Watch the window vid.”
I turned to the outside view. It zoomed in to show a large platform about five feet above the water’s surface.
“That’s the floor piece that rose from this spot,” Cifa told me. “Now for the magic.” He pushed a third button.
The platform opened up on three sides, becoming wider than the sleeping room. I could hear dull thunking noises coming from over Cifa’s head. “That sound is the pieces locking into place.”
A hum filled the air. As it did, I watched railings emerge from the platform, surrounding it from the open ocean. A panel opened on the floor and a sleeping mat also rose in the middle of the platform. It was an outdoor bedroom, for heaven’s sake.
“Oops!” Cifa laughed. He wobbled as the floor shifted beneath him. He jumped out of the alcove as a louder droning sound filled the room. Two of the walls and the floor collaborated to produce stairs leading up. The ceiling opened and I could hear the surf outside loud and clear.
Cifa held his hand out to me. “Shall we go up?”
Believe it or not, I hesitated as a moment of disquiet filled me. “I won’t be able to hear Anrel out there.” Reluctance quelled curious excitement.
“There’s a monitor system out there,” Cifa reassured me. “We’ll be able to watch and listen in. Our girl won’t be neglected for a second.”
I still felt unwilling to climb those stairs. For the life of me, I can’t imagine why I dragged my feet. I’d been anticipating this moment since I’d first set eyes on Clan Seot. And the idea of sex under the stars while on the sea? What more romantic setting could a gal ask for?
I suffered from performance anxiety, I guess. We’d put off sex for so long that I’d gone timid. Nympho Shalia had become the blushing neophyte. Silly me.
I shook it off and grabbed Cifa’s hand. “Amaze me.”
His grin did its best to stretch from ear to ear. He led me up the gray stairs, lifting me towards the satiny sky with its glitter sparkles of stars.
The sea breeze was cool, but not uncomfortably so. It ruffled against my scalp and the bare areas of my body: face, neck, arms, and legs. It was as if the air covered me in kisses. It smelled of the freedom I associated with vacation: soft brine and warm skin. I inhaled deeply, all the strange trepidations floating away like nonsense vapor.
I gazed at the endless heavens. I floated on Cifa’s arm to the rail and stared all about me. I compared the velvet sky to the glossy mirror that made up the sea. Its reflective surface was interrupted by the luminous wake that sprang from the bow, rills springing from the deep cut of the arrow tip of our vessel.
There was no sound but that of the breeze whispering through our hair and the cymbal shimmer of the waves. Clan Seot and I might have been
the only people alive in this dark, mysterious world of sky and sea. It was breathtaking.
“It’s as if we’re staring at eternity, isn’t it?” Cifa said in a hushed tone.
I glanced at him, enthralled by the awed expression he wore. He’d gone on so many cruises he couldn’t give me a count. Who knew how many times he’d seen this view? Yet he acted stunned by it, as reverential as a pilgrim first entering a holy place and viewing relics. How wonderful that he’d not grown jaded to this astonishing world.
I wondered how the others felt about our surroundings. Larten wasn’t checking out the scenery at all. He tapped on a panel on the side of the ship. A vid appeared against the silver surface. It was the baby monitor. Anrel was curled in her crib, a sleeping angel. Larten went still and stared at her, mesmerized. Aw.
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