prisoner. The three of you forcing me to go shopping.”
She laughed again.
“I remember thinking you were like some kind of Valkyrie in a red jacket. Bev and Diane were like shield maidens guarding your back as much as keeping me in line. You went through the front doors like a force of nature. You made me want to be worthy of even being in your company. I’m getting goose bumps just remembering it.”
I rubbed my arms through my shipsuit.
“But that’s beside the point. You are in the same class with Diane and Bev and none of you are available to me. When I saw Alvarez come in, I knew that she was in the same class as you three, and because she was from the
Brill looked at me while I tried to catch my breath. With her looking at me like that it was not easy.
Finally she said, “You’re something else.”
“Oh, I think we established that long ago,” I said with a grin. “We’re just trying to negotiate what that might be at the moment.”
She chuckled. “Damn, you’re—”
I held my hand up to interrupt her. “That phrase is a little painful right now.”
“Painful?”
“I heard it a lot last night, and I miss her already.”
She laughed then. “You had Alicia Alvarez saying, ‘Damn you’re good’ all night?’”
We started giggling then and I nodded a bit sheepishly.
“Damn,” she said, laughing. “You’re not good—you’re excellent!”
When the laughing fit passed, it seemed like the crisis was over.
“Are you okay now?” I asked gently.
“Are you?” she asked back.
“Not really, but I’ll heal. And as much as it hurts, I think it was worth the pain. She’s a remarkable woman.”
“You know, we dock with the
“Maybe I’ll have my strength back by then,” I said with a grin. “And I don’t wanna make any assumptions.”
She chuckled at that. “Oh, I don’t think you need worry on that score. So? What do we do now?”
“Well, I came down to see if you wanted to go shopping. I don’t feel like going to the flea market alone.” I looked at the chrono. “Not even 14:00 yet. I got four stans till I have to relieve Diane. Fancy a shop?”
“Main lock, five ticks?” she said and we headed for the hatch.
We met Diane coming back from VSI.
“We’re going shopping. Mind the ship,” Brill told her on the way out. I could hear her pounding up the ladder.
“What’d you do?” Diane asked me bewildered.
“Just cleared the air a little.”
“She seems okay. Are you okay?” she asked gently.
“No, but I will be.” I smiled. “Thanks.”
“Anytime. You did good.”
I slipped back into my civvies and wore the crewneck pullover under my jacket. The coat still smelled of Alicia but it did not hurt quite so much. I beat Brill to the lock by about five steps and we fell out of it together, laughing.
As we crossed to the lift, she turned to me suddenly and asked, “Who was the fifth?”
I looked at her in surprise. “You don’t know?”
She shrugged. “Nope.”
“Al.”
She giggled all the way to the flea market.
Chapter 22
DUNSANY ROADS ORBITAL
2352-APRIL-18
The Dunsany Roads flea market was something else. The influence of the cotton and flax fields below were immediately apparent. Lightweight fabrics abounded. Several booths featured yarns and cordage of both flax and cotton fibers. There were bolts of fabric in both solids and various weaves including checks and stripes.
“What are we looking for?” Brill asked.
“Normal stuff. Low mass, high value. Pip said there was a small silk industry here in addition to the cotton and flax.”
“Silk scarves? Ties?”
“Yeah, those would be good. I think.”
We wandered through the maze of booths for over a stan before we came to the ship’s booth. Rhon Scham wore the Booth Boss button and grinned when she saw us coming.
“Hi, Rhon,” Brill greeted her with a small wave. “How’s business?”
“We’re down to the end here. I don’t think we’ll open tomorrow unless somebody comes out of the woodwork. Sean and Tabitha came up earlier selling the last of the shawls and afghans. The shawls went very well and Sean seemed real pleased. He paid his cap. We’ve had several people up here today selling like crazy.”
I thought of the stones in Pip’s locker and wondered if they would sell on Betrus. It was not worth opening the booth just for them.
Rhon turned to me and asked, “You shopping for Betrus?”
“Yeah, I spent all my money on clothes and I’ll need to start earning it back.”
She looked me up and down frankly. “Turn around so I can see the back?”
I turned obediently and when I turned back Rhon looked a bit flushed and fanned herself with one open hand. “Enjoying yourself?” I asked archly.
“Oh, yeah. Trust me. Whatever you spent it was worth every penny.”
I chuckled. “Thanks, Rhon. But I still need to make some cash back.”
We waved and headed off down the aisle. After we’d gone about four meters, I leaned over to Brill and asked, “She’s looking, isn’t she?”
“Yup, but ya can’t blame a girl for lookin’, Ish.”
“I’m still trying to get used to being the one looked at.”
“You’re bearing up under the strain remarkably well.”
I just laughed.
“No, trust me. I have experience in this department.”
We wandered along a few more aisles. “This is so frustrating,” I said.
“What’s that?”
“It’s all the same stuff. I’ve seen this stuff in four systems now.”
“Yeah, but remember the first trip you made to the flea? All this stuff was there, too, but it was just the first time you’d seen it so it seemed new.”
