“I don’t have any coin so?—”
“Oh,” he waves a hand at me on the screen. “It’s free, Jasina. There’s a card in the package with your name on it. Any time anyone in one of my cities expects you to have coin, just give them the card and it will be taken care of.”
“Wow. That’s very generous of you.”
“It’s the least I can do. Also, you needn’t worry about going back to 702.”
My heart does a little flip at this revelation. “What do you mean?”
“I mean for you to stay here.”
“What about Finn?”
“Oh, he’ll be home every night, don’t worry about that. The procedure is going well by the way.”
Now I feel horrible for not asking about Finn’s status. “What’s happening to him? I mean, right now?”
“Today is a bunch of tests. A sort of preparatory phase. This will last most of the day and he’ll get a single injection tonight to prime him for tomorrow.”
I let out a long breath. “It sounds… serious.”
“Serious?” Xi laughs. “I suppose it is, but no. Not really. It’s all very routine, I promise. You will not notice anything different about him tonight.”
“What about tomorrow night?”
He smiles. “We can have that discussion tomorrow. In the meantime, is there anything I can get you, Jasina? Is there anything you need?”
“Well… no. Thanks for the clothes. And the night out. And the room. It’s all been very nice.”
“You’re absolutely welcome. Here in RhoXi, we value our citizens. Especially the upper-class ones, like you. It is my pleasure to make your stay here as enjoyable and comfortable as possible.”
“Upper class?”
He doesn’t clarify. Just asks another question of his own. “Can you be ready in an hour and a half? I have set up a guide for you. Her name is Lilika. She’s part of the book club. And she’ll take you around the Exchange District where all the shops are, if you’d like. Ask her anything, she has all the answers.”
“OK. I’ll be ready. Thanks, again.”
He nods, then his face disappears from the PPD screen.
I just sit there on the edge of the bed for a moment, wondering how life can change so fast from one day to the next. It’s… weird.
But not weird enough to prevent me from enjoying this new, good fortune so I get up, still clutching the sheet to my body, and pad over to the door. I open it a peek, making sure nobody’s out in the hallway since I’m half naked. Then quickly reach down to pick up a pale-yellow box that is shiny and high quality. It’s tied with a sun-drenched-blue satin ribbon.
The box is very big, so I balance it on my hip with one arm, while trying to keep the sheet from falling with the other. Then quickly disappear back inside the room and take the box inside and over to the bed, letting the sheet fall to the floor. I reach for the ribbon. It falls into a puddle of satin the moment I tug, nearly dissolving off the box of its own accord.
Once that’s done, I lift the lid up, peel back a few layers of pale-yellow paper, and let out a breath at the dress. Daintily, I grab the shoulders and lift it out of the box. It unfolds automatically as I hold it out in front of me.
“Gorgeous.” And I’m not just saying that. Unlike last night’s dress, which was clearly made for evening, this one is obviouslymade for daytime. It’s cream-colored and made of linen, which is all very familiar to me as a woman from Tau City Factory. But it’s much, much different than anything I’ve ever seen back home, because the hem is super short. When I place the garment up to my body, the skirt only covers half of my upper thigh.
They certainly like their skirts short here in RhoXi.
Scandalous!
The sleeves are three-quarter-length, puffed at the shoulders, and taper into fitted cuffs with a ruffled trim. A look I adore and have incorporated into my own designs on many occasions. The bodice portion is not a corset, just a nice, thick cotton that has been decorated with gold embroidery in a floral-inspired pattern. The round neckline dips low, probably enough to show off my cleavage, and there’s a bit of gathering at the waist meant to make a shape. Especially when contrasted against a tightly pleated skirt that looks like it was made for twirling. Even the hem has a detail—a scalloped edge trimmed with a bit of cotton fringe.
At the bottom of the box is a pair of boots. Knee-high, lace-up, and made of warm chestnut-brown leather. They have gold embroidery and tasseled laces, making me think that they were made special for this dress. A proper outfit.
It’s not the most beautiful dress, obviously. A gala gown would win in any side-by-side comparison. But it’s so different, and all the fabrics are soft, and it smells good—like flowers—that I instantly fall in love with it.
