This place… it is a monstrosity. A faceless maze. It’s as busy as a spaceport, and filled with goods of every shape and kind. It’s also filled to the gills with humans all trying to get to what they want.
I stay close to Fiona’s side as we get a large cart, which is big enough for any of us to sit in. Khesan takes the lead, as if he has any idea where we’re going.
“Dry goods first, then vegetables, then meat, then frozen goods,” Fiona says, listing it off. “That way the frozen stuff doesn’t melt.”
“You can buy all that here?” I gaze around the sprawling, high-ceilinged warehouse.
“Yup. Though sometimes I go to the natural grocery store if I want specific vegetables I can’t get here. But since I’m buying in bulk to feed all three of us, we’ll find most of what we want here.”
I see. This explains the people pushing around very full carts.
Fiona hums as she leads the way into the throng, deftly weaving among other people taking up the aisles. She is grace when the world is chaotic, and she smiles even as others get in her way. The gods chose well for me, I think—just this small slice of Fiona I’ve seen so far.
Humans turn to stare at Khesan and me as we go past, murmuring and whispering to each other. We are a novelty here, I suppose. Which Fiona would be, had she come to Arshur. We have very few off-worlders there, being a remote desert planet. She would stand out there as much as we do here.
I will have to get used to stares and whispers. A small child even screeches, “He has a tail!” as we walk by, clinging onto his mother as if afraid, so I grab my tail and keep it close to avoid startling any other tailless humans.
Out of all the wonders we discover at the grocery, though, I am most taken aback when we reach the “meat” section. Rather than hanging carcasses, as one would expect at a butcher’s, the meat is all neatly cut and arranged in disposable packages.
“What if you simply want to buy a whole animal?” I ask, surveying the “chicken” meat. It’s all very… sanitized, as if the original creature never existed.
“That sounds like a lot of work,” Fiona says, leafing through the packages. “Here we go. This should be big enough.”
Khesan also appears mystified by this experience, so at least he’s kept his mouth shut while he takes in the many sights and sounds of the grocery store. But once we finish our long circuit—and I’m shockingly tired from walking all over the warehouse—we head to “checkout.” Here, Fiona scans all of her goods on a machine, then brings out a card that I assume represents money on her planet.
“Please,” says Khesan, stepping up beside her. “Allow me.” He withdraws his own card, which I didn’t even realize an off-worlder could obtain, and offers it. Fiona frowns at him.
“How’d you get a credit card?”
“I opened an Earthling account on the space station with the money I had converted.”
“Well…” She looks uncertain. “Okay, I guess. You tap the card here.” She shows Khesan how to bring the card to the machine, which beeps, and then a document prints.
Vakha. Now I really wish I had thought ahead like he did and brought my savings with me. Perhaps it’s not too late, and I can still get access to it off-world. Maybe if I contact that little Frahma with my communicator…
“Time to go, Shathar,” Fiona chirps, earning my attention. I follow as Khesan pushes the cart out the automatic doors, my tail twitching in annoyance. He tips his head and smirks in my direction, and I wish I could simply claw his eyes out.
But no. I will be better than he is. He may have money, but I can offer care and affection, service and loyalty. And that will get me to the finish.
Chapter Six
Khesan
My spirits are buoyed all day by what befell Shathar this morning. He couldn’t have set me up better if he tried. Now I will be competent in the kitchen in comparison.
Though I don’t have much cooking experience, as I’ve always eaten in the barracks. But I will learn. I brought a recipe book with me, one of my many acquisitions from the space station where our ship from Arshur met with the ship to Earth. I also have a book on common English sayings, English curse words, and an anatomy book. Though we have the Human Fact Sheet on our communicators, I have found the illustrations in the book to be… far more thorough.
I am excited to show Fiona what I’ve learned.
Just the idea is intoxicating after watching her at the “grocery store.” This place was a far cry from what I’m accustomed to, but fascinating in its own way. I vow to learn my way around it so I can easily acquire what she needs, and then she doesn’t have to trouble herself with braving the calamity.
The whole time we shopped, Fiona’s hips swayed, and I was mesmerized by them. Every time she looked at me, her bright blue eyes spoke volumes. Her smile is radiant and white, and even her strange, blunt teeth look cute on her.
After we’ve gone back to the house and Fiona has shown us where to put away the groceries, we’re off to the next task: the thrift store. This is a familiar concept to me, as our culture also exchanges goods we no longer need with those who may need them.
“Amara is coming,” Fiona tells us. “She loves thrifting.”
“One of your friends?” I ask.
