"Maybe." Mei grinned as a tall Romvesian male strode along the sidewalk, followed by three playing children. "Give them a few days to settle, and we'll ask."
The Romvesian settled onto the grass beside Mei with easy grace, folding his long legs beneath him. The three children who'd been following him immediately scattered toward the playground across the street. He grinned at me, then leaned over and kissed Mei—the kind of casual affection that spoke of deep love.
"The building looks good," he said, his deep voice carrying a melodic quality that still caught me off guard even after five years of living among multiple species and hearing a myriad of languages through my translator. Tau Ceti was a melting pot of displaced beings. "Even if the crew building it is a disaster."
Mei leaned into her mate's shoulder. "They're learning."
"Learning to injure themselves, yes." Bartholomeus' dark eyes tracked Vrex, who was now holding the drill in whatappeared to be an entirely new—and equally wrong—hand. "Yesterday I sold six tubes of burn gel, three bandage kits, and one emergency stasis patch. To a construction crew of twelve."
"The stasis patch was precautionary," I offered.
"It was used within the hour." Bartholomeus shook his head, but his expression was amused. "One of the Qualeen nearly severed a finger trying to operate a nail gun."
I winced. "Is he okay?"
"She. And yes, perfectly fine once the stasis sealed the wound. She was back on the job this morning." He paused, watching two crew members attempt to lift a beam that clearly required three. "Your restaurant will be beautiful once it's finished. Assuming everyone survives the construction."
The laughter from the playground rose and fell in waves, pulling my attention from the construction site. I watched the three children race toward the swings. Cuietsu's arms spread wide as he ran, his short, bobbed tail swinging gracefully. Mei and Bartholomeus had adopted him a couple of years ago after he'd been rescued from a Gilese mining moon.
Lingse, their biological daughter, was a blur of gray skin and dark bouncing curls as she chased after Cuietsu, her small legs pumping furiously. She had her father's strength and her mother's determination, a combination that made her fearless.
And then there was Teddy.
My son reached the swings first, his long legs giving him an advantage in the sprint. He turned back, his face flushed and grinning, waiting for the others to catch up. Four years old and already so independent that it sometimes took my breath away.
"Higher, Mama! Watch me go higher!" he would inevitably shout once he got on the swing. He always did.
I felt the familiar tightness in my chest, equal parts love and terror. Four years since I'd held him as a newborn in the village's small medical center, marveling at the miracle of himdespite everything. Four years of watching him grow on this alien world that was somehow home now.
"He's getting so big," Mei said softly, following my gaze.
"Too big," I moaned. "He starts school in a few months."
Bartholomeus chuckled. "That's hardly sending him off to the mining moons, Ruby."
I knew that. But watching my son play with an adopted Torieki and a human-Romvesian hybrid on a planet light-years from Earth, still struck me sometimes how strange and wonderful my life had become. How far I'd come from that terrified woman who'd barely survived.
"Do you need us to watch Teddy tonight?" Mei asked, taking another sip from her water bottle.
I felt heat creep up my neck. "How did you—"
"Craig stopped by the office this morning to file his quarterly equipment report. He mentioned you two were getting dinner." Her eyes sparkled with barely contained amusement. "Again."
Bartholomeus raised an eyebrow. "That makes what, three times this week?"
"Twice," I corrected, pulling up a handful of grass and letting it fall through my fingers. "And we're just... hanging out. It's not serious."
"Mmhmm." Mei's grin widened, knowing and warm.
Craig had been asking me out since I'd arrived on Tau Ceti. Persistent but never pushy, always backing off when I said no, his blue eyes patient and understanding even when disappointment flickered across his face. It took years before I'd finally said yes, and even then, only because Teddy had started asking why Mr. Craig was always so sad when he left our shop.
That was three months ago. Since then, we'd fallen into an easy rhythm. Dinners after Teddy's bedtime, walks through the colony under the stars, long conversations about nothingin particular. We'd kissed exactly twice. Once after our first dinner, a brief press of lips. Once last week, longer this time, his calloused hand gentle against my cheek.
Nothing serious. Just... nice. Safe. The kind of relationship I could control and keep at arm's length when the past threatened to overwhelm me.
"So, is that a yes on babysitting?" Mei asked.
I nodded, grateful for the out. "If you don't mind. I should be back by twenty-two hundred."
