“How many times did she reject him?”
“Well, I think Shemo stopped asking after twenty.”
“Twenty? He is certainly persistent. If I wasn’t absolutely sure that Furga was into him I’d think it was creepy,” I tell Khur.
“I had the same thought. I asked Furga if I should scare him off, but she was adamant that I stay out of it.”
“So it’s like she said, everyone was just waiting for another couple to break the seal, so to speak.”
“I haven’t heard that phrase but I think I get your gist. Everyone was waiting for the first brave warriors to march onto the field," he agrees. "Perhaps we’ll see a whole battalion of interspecies lovers here soon.”
“Wow, that is a lot of pressure. You know you’re stuck with me now right?”
“I can think of no one I’d rather be stuck to,” he says as we approach his apartment, throwing me a goofy, toothy grin and then waving his wrist over his apartment door to make it open. “Want to join me in the shower?”
“Actually, I thought I might take Destiny’s attention for a moment. You definitely need to oil that hair, though, brother. You look like a lightning bolt got you.” Urzu appears from the kitchen doorway, her two children peeking out from behind her.
They are sweet, curious kids and I feel a pang I haven’t felt before. On Earth, I thought having kids was irresponsible and I never wanted to bring little ones into a dying world. So why am I suddenly sad about the loss of something I never considered an option in the first place? Obviously, Khur and I won’t be making cute furry little babies,but maybe we can adopt eventually. Sanctuary is a parent’s dream come true. Safe, sustainable, full of love and acceptance, diversity and culture. Ah, man, I am not about to get sad about something I’ve never considered until this moment.
“Sure Urzu, what can I do for you?” I say a bit too cheerily, smiling at Khur and giving him a shooing motion. “Go. I’ll be here when you get out.”
“And I am taking the kids out in just a few minutes, so you two will have the apartment to yourselves,” Urzu chimes in, “I just wanted to show Destiny a few things on the tablet. Furga told me you get your credits tomorrow?”
“Oh yeah! Thanks.” I would love a bit of help learning how to navigate the complex operating system on the thin metal tablets they hand out. I got one when we moved in, but it mostly sits on my dresser at home collecting dust. I want to pull it out and googlewhat does a wursplat look like?Ordo Winged-Ones drink blood?But apparently humans, we who thought we were sooo technologically advanced, are complete toddlers in the age of technology, and also, Google doesn’t exist anymore. I imagine doing some online shopping would be no easier than doing research.
“Come into the kitchen with me. These two are having a snack before we run errands.”
I follow her into the kitchen and the two kids find their seats back at the table. They dig back into their food, which looks like real, not-printed fruit. I let out a little gasp and go over to the small table Urzu set up in the corner of her kitchen. I don’t have one, yet, but I need one. Kitchen tables are a cornerstone of the family home, onEarth and on Dhugar it seems. Urzu settles into the last chair and we all eat actual fruit off the kids’ plates for a moment.
“Real fruit. It’s so good. The nutrition printer could never.” I sigh happily, smacking my lips a bit at the tart juiciness of Dhugaren mangoes.
“I agree, and I think it’s good for the kids, too, while they’re growing. It’s something you can order from off-site. They deliver once a month. The produce ship does, anyways. They also have novelty food and snacks from different planets sometimes, just whatever they can get their hands on,” she explains all this while using her finger to slide through the selection for this particular vendor, showing me the options. I see a picture of a pineapple and almost cry.
The produce ship came and left overnight and I realize this must be the ship my dad left on. I feel strangely at peace with it, letting myself enjoy new food with my new friends. I had wanted a new life when I came here, and while this is not quite what I expected, I am going to embrace it all the same. Urzu sends me the link to the produce vendor in a message (hyperlinks and text messages, it seems, still existed on these tablets) then switches to another site she explains is basically Sanctuary HR.
“You can file complaints, request maintenance, though you can just ask Khur to help with any maintenance you may need, make suggestions for improvements to the station. Oh, and here, you can request a new apartment.”
“A new apartment? I thought they were assigned on arrival?”
“Well, of course, but as citizens grow older, they may want to move out of their parents house, and in with a friend or maybe a lover." She looks at me pointedly.
“Ohh, I got you now, Urzu. You’re ready for your big brother to move out, huh?” I hadn’t considered before, how Urzu may want her own space. If their apartment is set up like ours, she is currently sharing her bedroom with two small children. My own apartment is already feeling too big for just me. Is it too soon to ask Khur to move in with me? I don't want to mention that my father moved out to Urzu, yet. It's probably a conversation I should have with Khur, first.
“That’s not it at all. I love having Khur around, and I know the kids do, too, but I also imagine you two will want your own space sooner rather than later.” She has a sparkle in her dark eyes that makes me nervous for some reason.
“We haven’t really talked about moving in together, yet. Honestly, we haven’t talked about the future much at all, yet. I mean, we care about each other. A lot.” I don’t want to tell her about theLword we just shared on the elevator on the way here, it’s still too new. I want to keep it tucked close a little longer, because it still seems so fragile. “But I don’t know what that means for our future, what that looks like. I’m still adjusting to the fact that everyone is looking at us more like trendsetters than lepers.”
“Dhugarens move fast when they want something. And trust me when I say, Khur wants a future with you. Grab onto whatever happiness you can here, Destiny. You’ll only regret the things youdon’tdo.” She gets a bit misty around the eyes as she speaks, looking down at her kids with devotion, and I wonder what happened to their father. Is she speaking from experience? Did she love and lose and have no regrets? Did he even make it off Dhugar?
The kids are getting restless, though, and I sense my chance to ask questions has run out. Sweeping the plates up in one big paw, Urzutaps her two children with her free one. They jump up and rinse their hands at a small spigot on the side of the wall I hadn’t noticed before, just their height, then zip into the front door to wait for their mother.
“We’ll be gone for several hours, I think. Gunnvall invited us to dinner tonight after we’ve run our errands. Have Khur print something good for you dear.” Then she does something that shocks me and fills me with joy. She reaches up and pats my cheek with her big clawed hand, saying, “It will be good to have a new sister, I think.”
Within moments, they are gone and I am left standing awkwardly in their living room. I crane my neck, trying to hear if the water is still running in the shower, when I realize, why am I being discreet? I should just walk in there.
So that’s exactly what I do.
The steam is thick enough to hide most of his hulking figure from me, and it must hide me from him as well because he doesn’t turn when I step through the door and close it behind me. Instead of announcing my entrance, I quietly slip out of my clothes and through the fog towards him.
