by Robin Roseau
“My pride is never stupid,” I said. “It is quite intelligent.”
“Most of my patients are large, powerful males with bigger muscles than brains,” he said.
“Well, I’m not one of those. I get the message.”
“Good. Thank you.” And then he turned away and walked from the cafeteria.
I turned to Jasmine. “Do I owe him my life?”
“Yes.”
“Who else?”
“Muriel and Amanda. And, of course, the remaining medical staff, but primarily it was Dr. Depths.”
“Is that his name?”
“Wistful Depths,” she said.
“I’m done eating,” I said. “Do I have to go back to the clinic?”
“We’ll take you home,” she said. “It’s my turn to browbeat you.”
“Can it wait?”
“You’ll let us take care of you.”
“All right. Is that all?”
“Do you think you and I understand what I just said?”
“Yes. I would like a little nap, and maybe some company when I wake up. And I wouldn’t mind if someone stayed with me.”
“A certain Kitsune?”
“Anyone willing to hold me,” I said.
“How about me?”
“That would be nice.” And then I started quietly crying.
* * * *
They took me to the bungalow. Jasmine helped me into pajamas and then climbed into bed with me. It was Amanda who tucked us in together, and I let the Catseye hold me. She was a really good holder, what with the extra appendages and all.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “You don’t have to stay.”
“If you ask me to leave, I will, but someone is staying with you.”
“He didn’t mean literally in bed with me.”
“Taisha, just say, ‘Jasmine, this feels very nice’.”
“I don’t want to nap very long. Just a while. Maybe an hour or so.”
“Or so,” she agreed.
* * * *
I think it was a long ‘or so’, but I felt better when I woke. I was still wrapped in Catseye tentacles, which I thought was very sweet. I stared at one for a while, then whispered, “Are you awake?”
“Yes.”
“You must be bored.”
“I have a built-in visor,” she said.
“You were able to work?”
“Yes, a little light work I’ve been putting off.”
“I need to use the bathroom, and then I’d like to put something on. What time is it?”
“Early afternoon.”
“Could we go for a walk on the beach?”
“If you can make it to the front door and tell me you aren’t dizzy, we’ll talk about it.”
“Could we go for a roll on the beach?”
She gave a little snuffle-laugh. “Yes.”
She helped me to sit up and then to the bathroom. I found myself clinging to her, and when I realized that, I froze.
“You’re going to be fine,” she said gently. “You’re a little weak. If you have any headaches, you need to tell me.”
I saw to my needs and then called for her. She came back and helped steady me. I may not have needed it, but I felt better for having it. The bedroom door opened, and Amanda was there with the wheelchair.
“I’m not going anywhere dressed like this. Sun dress.”
“And a big hat,” Amanda said.
The two of them dressed me and put me in the chair, and then Jasmine rolled me out to the living room. Felicia wasn’t there, and I looked up at Jasmine. “I’m going to be upset if anyone uses the avatar.”
“I’ve forbidden it. Felicia is running new diagnostics and trying to determine if she can figure out what happened based on the data we have.”
“You promised me.”
“I promised you, and I keep my promises.”
“It’s just the three of us?”
“Right now, yes,” Amanda said. “But we have a list of people who are begging to help take care of you.”
“Good. I wouldn’t mind a little more company.” I turned back to Jasmine. “I feel like I’m going to burst into tears again.”
“You had significant trauma, and your resiliency is low. Being a little emotional is understandable, and no one is going to judge. But I promise you, you’re going to be fine.”
“And you keep your promises.”
“I do.”
“We had a fruit bowl,” I said. “Could we bring a little with us?”
“Sunscreen first,” Amanda said. I let her take care of me, and then she cut up a mango and would feed me pieces as we rolled along. She added a wide pair of sunglasses over my face.
The three of us left the bungalow.
It was a nice day. “Is it always beautiful here?” I looked up at Jasmine. “Doesn’t it ever rain?”
“You do notice the rain forest right next to us,” she replied. “We don’t do any weather control.”
“Could you?”
“No comment.”
“Seriously?”
“Could we make it rain? Yes. Could we control the weather consistently, the way you mean? I’m not answering that. We don’t do a thing to intentionally adjust the weather here.”
“I love it here.”
“I do, too,” Jasmine said. We reached shore. “Did you have anywhere in particular you wanted to go?”
“Anywhere,” I said. “I wanted to get out. That’s all.”
“Fifteen minutes, then back in the shade you go,” she said.
“Maybe by a window?”
“I’ll allow that.”
We strolled. We talked about nothing important. A few people stared. I found I didn’t care. But then I had a thought. “Jasmine, you may want to let people know this isn’t some sort of mating candidate accident. Tell them I fell off the ladder and hit my head or something.”
“Good idea.” She turned, and we headed for the bar. We arrived, and she called out, “Nova, do you have something fruity with no alcohol?”
“A small one,” I said. “But could I get some soup and a little sandwich at the end of our roll?”
“Of course,” Jasmine said. “What do you recommend today, Nova?”
“You know my smoothies are world-famous, Jasmine.”
“I’d like a smoothie,” I said.
“Three smoothies, then,” Jasmine said.
“I don’t want a whole one.”
“We’ll take care of you,” Jasmine said. We ended up with three smoothies. I took mine and thanked Nova.
“What happened to you?” I looked. A teenage girl of about twelve years was watching me.
“Rabid mongoose attack,” I said. “Bit my head right off, but they sewed it back on.”
“They did not!” she said.
“Do you really want to know?”
“I’m asking for a friend.”
“Ah. Tell your friend I was attacked by a horde of angry lemurs.”
“If you’re not really going to tell me, just say so.”
“Come closer.” She took a step. “What’s your name?”
“Nellie.”
“Nellie,” I said, holding out my hand. “I’m Taisha.”
“That’s a funny name.”
“I know. It’s a Japanese name. My mother named me after her best friend from college.”
“Oh.”
“You probably think I’m a mating candidate, and I was chased by crazed Wookies.”
“Maybe not Wookies.”
“The real story is boring. I think the one about mongooses is funny.”
“What’s the real story?”
“I’m not a mating candidate, although there are some of the aliens I really like, so that could change.”
“That’s still not an answer.”
“No. I actually work here. Not normally. I’m here on a loan. I’m from California.”
“Iowa.”
“A good place,” I said. “I was working, and I
did something wrong and got zapped.” I made zapping sounds.
“You did not.”
“I did, actually,” I said. “I’m not fibbing this time. The crazed lemur story is a lot funnier.”
“Yeah,” she said. “What did you do wrong?”
“Technically, I did something right. There was a piece of equipment that would do bad things, and it was my job to figure out how to make it do those bad things so we can fix it.”
“You figured it out.”
“I did. And landed in the hospital for it.”
“Ouch.”
“Tell me about it,” I said. “But now we know how to break it, and if we know how to break it, we can fix it so it never happens again. That’s a good thing.”
“I suppose it is.”
“Are you here with your parents?”
“My mom,” she said, pointing. “And my aunt. My aunt hopes the aliens want her.”
“Which story are you going to tell your mom?”
“Maybe mongooses.”
I laughed. “It’s a better story.”
“Nellie,” said Jasmine. “I’d rather you told the real story.”
“Who are you?” Nellie asked.
“Nellie,” I said. “This is Jasmine Brighteyes. She’s the boss of all the space aliens for a hundred miles around.”
“Really?”
“Really,” I said.
“And she’s pushing you in your wheelchair?”
“Yeah. Pretty cool, huh?”
“Yeah,” Nellie agreed. She looked up at Jasmine. “Will you talk to my aunt?”
“Maybe I could have my soup and sandwich in the restaurant, Jasmine. Will you talk to Nellie’s aunt?”
“Of course. Nellie, we won’t stay long, though. Taisha will probably take another nap this afternoon.”
“They’re on the beach,” she said. “But they have sun dresses. Is that okay in the restaurant? It’s awfully fancy.”
“Dinners are fancy. Until four, it’s less formal. Tell your mother and aunt I’d love to meet them.”
“I will. I hope you feel better, Taisha.”
“Thanks.”
She ran off. I looked over my shoulder at Jasmine. “Did I just put you on the spot?”
“No, but I want you to stay out of the conversation we’ll have.”
“All right. Can we bring our smoothies?”
“Of course.” She got me rolling.
* * * *
Jasmine got me settled, inside, but beside the window. “You’ll wear the hat and sunglasses,” she said. “Or we’ll move to the other side.”
“You don’t need to make threats. Have I been misbehaving?”
“No. I’m used to Andie.”
“Well, I’ll do what I’m told.”
“Thank you for not fighting me,” she said. “Did you still want soup and a sandwich?”
“A small sandwich,” I said. “Do you think they can do chicken noodle? I want something soothing and maybe salty.”
“I’m sure they can,” she said.
“If not, anything is fine, but maybe not cream based.”
“It might not be the type you’re accustomed to,” Amanda said. “They probably don’t keep Campbell’s in back
“I’m not going to be picky,” I said.
A waiter stepped over. “We’d like a bowl of chicken noodle soup for our patient,” Jasmine said. “If the chef can’t figure it out, come get me. And the finger sandwich platter.”
“Right away, Administrator Brighteyes,” said the waiter. He turned around and hurried away.
“They jump for you,” Amanda said.
“That one is afraid of me,” she said. “He didn’t show as xenophobic when we hired him, and he’s amazingly good with the guests. We’re not sure what to do. I’m not sure why he stays. Not really my problem.”
“Way below your pay grade?”
“Yes,” she said.
My soup and our platter of sandwiches arrived just as Nellie did with two women in their mid-30s. She handled introductions, but she hadn’t officially met Amanda, so Jasmine handled that then invited everyone to sit.
“My daughter said you invited us,” said Melissa, Nellie’s mom.
“She asked me to talk to you, Winona.”
“She’s a meddler, that one,” said Melissa’s aunt.
“I imagine she is,” Jasmine said. “Please.” She gestured. “I ordered the platter to share. If you want drinks, we can order something, although we’re only staying long enough for Taisha to eat a little.”
“Are any of those cucumber sandwiches?” I asked.
“That one has a cucumber poking out of it,” Nellie pointed.
“I’d like one of those, then,” I said.
Jasmine saw to it for me. I pulled my soup closer and inhaled. The others took sandwiches, too, and then Jasmine said, “The playful part of me would let you stumble over this conversation.”
“You’re the first we’ve met,” Melissa said. “Nellie said you’re the supervisor or something.”
“I’m in overall authority of the entire mating candidate program, but I delegate nearly everything now. I didn’t used to. Ultimately, everyone working nearby or at one of the testing centers works for me, perhaps a few levels removed.”
“You’re an important woman,” Melissa said. “We shouldn’t bother you.”
“You aren’t bothering me,” she said.
“She’s babysitting me to make sure I eat my peas,” I said. “I’m hoping you’ll distract her so I can feed them to the … um. Nellie, what should I feed my peas to? Do you think walruses like peas?”
“There aren’t any walruses in Africa.”
“Well, that’s why I need you,” I said.
“And I don’t see any peas.” She glanced at my soup. “That’s chicken noodle.”
“It’s what my mother used to give me whenever I was sick.”
“That’s not on the menu.”
“Stick your finger in a light socket while working for the aliens, and I bet you can get chicken noodle soup if you ask for it.”
“Is that what you did?” Melissa asked.
“No, but close enough,” I replied. “My point is: you’re here. Jasmine is here. Just ask.”
“And I told you to stay out of the conversation, and you even said you’d do as you were told.”
“You guys would have gone back and forth for a while,” I said. “You needed a human to interpret. I interpreted. I’ll shut up and eat my soup now.” And then I intentionally slurped a spoonful.
“Taisha is right, though,” Jasmine said. “We’re sitting here, eating these lovely little sandwiches.” And then she did, right in front of them, and I was convinced she did it to see if it would shock them.
Nellie’s eyes bugged out, and then she said, “That is so cool!”
Jasmine didn’t say a thing, but she took a little slurp from her smoothie. And then a tentacle came my way. I grabbed it, looked at it, kissed the tip, then guided it to the bowl. She took a slurp then pulled away. But she turned to me. “I’ve never had chicken noddle before.”
“Did you get any chicken?”
“No, but I got a noodle, and I can taste the chicken. You know. I’m going to talk to the chef. I think I know why mothers feed that to their sick children. Thank you, Taisha.”
“You’re welcome,” I said. “I didn’t do anything.”
“You know I wouldn’t have done that if you hadn’t made an offer.”
“It’s not like I’m going to eat everything.”
Jasmine turned her attention back to Melissa and Winona, who had watched all this quietly. “Do I shock you?” she asked.
“Were you trying to?” Melissa asked. “I wouldn’t say shocked, but we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
“Mom, we’re from Iowa.”
“It’s a line from a movie,” Melissa told her daughter.
“She hasn’t seen The Wizard of Oz?” Amanda asked.
�
��No,” Melissa said. “That’s my fault.”
“It’s one of the most iconic movies ever made,” I said.
“I know. And I was very young when I watched it. The flying monkeys terrified me.”
“Oh, I can see that.”
“It has flying monkeys?” Nellie asked. “Cool.”
“It’s a very old movie,” I explained. “One of the first movies made in color. The special effects were amazing for the time, but you would probably find it hokey now.”
“I don’t care. Is it an adult movie?”
“You’re more than old enough,” Melissa said. “I was six and had nightmares for weeks.”
“It’s not that scary, but I can see how it would be scary for a six-year-old,” Amanda said.
“We’re getting sidetracked,” Melissa said.
“Were you shocked, Winona?” Jasmine asked.
“I wouldn’t say shocked. I would say the manners here are different than the manners back home. It didn’t occur to me, but manners aren’t at all universal, are they?”
“I just treated Taisha as a particularly close friend,” Jasmine said, “which probably isn’t accurate.”
“Who held me when I was crying last, Jasmine?” I asked. “If you want to treat me like a friend, I’m not going to complain.”
“Were you hurt really badly?” Nellie asked.
“It was a bad accident,” I said. “But I was crying just from too many emotions,” I said. “Jasmine held me. She’s really good at holding someone.”
A tentacle moved over and wrapped around my arm. I decided I liked that. Everyone else noticed. Winona stared for several long seconds then said, “I’m…”
“Curious?”
“Insanely.”
Jasmine offered a tentacle to her, stretching it in front of Nellie, who stared. “The tip is sensitive,” Jasmine said.
“I may touch?”
“Yes,” Jasmine said. “Thank you for asking. Not everyone does.”
Winona took it carefully. It sort of waved at her. She examined it carefully, even brushing a finger along the top. “It’s dry.”
“It’s not the one I just used to drink with,” Jasmine replied.
“Do you often feel like a zoo animal, Jasmine?” Melissa asked.
“No, but only because I am usually too busy for things like this. Otherwise, I imagine I would. It’s fine. No one can blame you for being curious.”