Galatzi Joy

by Robin Roseau

  I laughed. “Glad you were in restaurant today.”

  “I wasn’t. Mistarine sent for me when you asked for help.”

  “I am glad,” I said. I turned back to Tressain. “Two-hundred and fifty dollars. Blessine teaches me until I am a good rider or hopeless rider.”

  The three laughed. “Four hundred,” said Tressain. “And when you come into Sudden, you can leave Ristassa here. She will eat a little, and we will check her for you.”

  “Oh,” I said. “You improve the offer.” I smiled. “For how long?”

  “If you leave her overnight, you will pay our overnight fee.”

  “No, I mean, how long offer? One month? One year?”

  “Oh, I see,” she said. “Maddalyn. Always.”

  “Always. Five year. Ten year?”

  “Yes. Always. You are a star girl. Even if you are becoming a Talmon girl, you will never know horses as well as we do. Ristassa deserves someone who loves her to look at her for you.”

  I stared at her for a minute, and then I couldn’t help it. I reached for her and hugged her tightly, and then the other two in turn. “Four hundred,” I said. “Thank you.”

  I had brought money with me. I had brought all my money with me, not knowing how much I would need. We stepped inside. While Tressain wrote a bill of sale, I picked the right coins, checking them twice. Then I told her, “Please count. Not use money this way my old home.”

  “You didn’t have money?”

  “We didn’t have money like this. Different money.”

  “Oh, I see,” she said. And then she counted out the money. I hadn’t made a mistake, but I didn’t want to cheat her. She took the coins and gave me the bill of sale. And then I hugged her again.

  “So happy. Thank you.”

  “You are welcome, Maddalyn,” she said.

  “Is hug okay?”

  She laughed. “Of course. Who doesn’t like a hug?” Ah, if only she knew.

  We stepped back outside. Masalarn and Blessine were waiting with Ristassa. I turned to the girl. “We should do lessons at the embassy,” she said. “There is more room.”

  “Yes,” I said. “When?”

  “I will come every day. Is that good?”

  “That is very good.”

  “When?”

  “When can you come?”

  “Mid-morning?”

  “Yes,” I said. “Mid-morning. I will tell you if I won’t be there.”

  “All right. Lessons until you are a good rider.”

  “Or hopeless, like my Talmonese.”

  She laughed. “You won’t be hopeless.”

  And so we sealed our agreement with a hug, and then I turned to her aunt. She smiled and said, “The horse I rode today is back at the restaurant.”

  “I have one there, too.”

  And so we walked together with Ristassa following along behind. She seemed perfectly happy to follow us, and she didn’t give me any trouble. I looked over at Masalarn. She was watching me. “I am lucky to meet you.”

  “Why did you ask for help at the inn? Why didn’t you go to a stable?”

  “I didn’t know if I should go to a stable or a farm,” I replied. “And I didn’t know which stable. On star worlds, some shops good. Some shops bad.”

  “That happens here, too,” she said.

  “Masalarn, did your sister receive a fair price?”

  “Yes, Maddalyn. You did not recognize the signal?”

  “What signal?”

  “She added more to the deal. That means you could bargain lower without the deal, but that is the low price with the deal.”

  “So we both received a fair price.”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “I have watched,” I said. “Sometimes Chaladine only offers once and then agrees. Sometimes she takes ten minutes. I do not understand.”

  She chuckled. “Sometimes people bargain just to bargain,” she said. “Sometimes to tease. Sometimes just because it is a nice day. Sometimes people give the vendart’s daughter a high price so she must stay longer to get a fair price, hoping that more people will see she buys from the shop.”

  I laughed. “If someone does that with me, I won’t recognize it.”

  “We know, Maddalyn.” She paused. “I do not know if I should tell you this.”

  “Oh, I think you should.”

  “Chaladine has told everyone in Sudden to help teach you.”

  “Me?”

  “All of you,” she said. “Some people bargain very hard with Blaine and Aston.”

  “Because they have been here longer?”

  Her eyes glinted, and I knew that wasn’t the answer. “Did you want another guess?”

  “To flirt?”

  “Yes. But I think maybe I will bargain very, very hard with you. Ten thousand dollars.”

  I laughed. “You have a husband.”

  “There is nothing wrong with flirting with a pretty star girl,” she said. “Even if I have a husband.”

  “If you didn’t have a husband,” I said. “You might be my type.”

  “Might I?”

  “Yes. It is too bad he found you first.”

  She laughed again. “I think you were a very little girl when he found me.”

  I considered her. “Masalarn, do you know what rejuvenation is?”

  “Yes. Oh. You are a hundred years old, like Governor Grace.”

  “No. I am twenty-six, just like I appear,” I said. “But on star worlds, everyone looks this age. I can’t guess your age. You are not old. That is all I can tell.”

  “Did you just ask my age?”

  “No. You are teaching me. But I also teach.”

  She nodded. “Well, I didn’t think about that. I know I have a hard time telling if someone is twelve or fifteen, or if she is twenty or twenty-five. Do you see?”

  “Yes, I think I do. How old is Blessine?”

  “Sixteen,” she said. “I am forty-one. I suppose that seems old to someone who is twenty-six.”

  “No,” I said. “We don’t think about it that way. We think about maturity and wisdom. I am young. I imagine that means the same thing here as it means in my old home.”

  “And Cecilia Grace is old.”

  “No. Cecilia Grace’s mother is old.”

  “She is one hundred, and her mother lives?”

  “Yes, Masalarn, and probably her grandmother, but maybe not her grandmother-mother.”

  “So you do get old eventually.”

  “No. Good rejuvenation took time to learn. It may not have been very good when Governor Grace’s grandmother’s mother was alive.”

  “Oh,” she said. “I hadn’t thought about that.” She gestured. “Here we are.”

  I nodded. We both collected our horses, and then I had to decide which horse to ride. Masalarn saw me considering and helped make the decision, stepping over with her horse to collect my borrowed horse’s reins. I climbed aboard Ristassa and let Masalarn manage my old horse.

  We rode slowly, in keeping with my ability, and side-by-side. “So,” she said. “You think about age and wisdom.”

  “Right. Everyone is young and beautiful, and so that is not how you decide if you like someone. Imagine you are fifty, or one hundred. Imagine someone my age. I must seem young. I know so little of the way of the world, compare to someone with more maturity, with more experience. The difference between Blessine and me is small when you are one hundred years old. Do you see?”

  “I think I do.”

  “And the reverse can be true,” I said. “When someone is one hundred, one acts a certain way, especially towards someone much younger. Sometimes that is nice. Sometimes it is… not know word. But you understand?”

  “I think I do. So you still prefer people near your age?”

  “I prefer people who are nice,” I said. “I like older, if she is nice. Do you see?”

  “I think I do.”

  “Cecilia is one hundred,” I said. “Sartine is so much younger. But Sartine
is Vendart.”

  “Cecilia is Governor.”

  “Yes. But Sartine…” I wasn’t sure how to say it.

  “I do not now Sartine, but perhaps you would say she carries herself like a leader.”

  “Yes, exactly,” I said. “Sartine is only a few years older than I am, but she carries herself as someone very wise. She is easy to respect.”

  “I imagine she is,” Masalarn said. “And I think I understand. I have heard such stories of rejuvenation.” She struggled with the word. “I have heard you can be three meters tall.”

  “Oh,” I said. “Have you?”

  “And have two heads.”

  I laughed. “I haven’t heard of that one,” I said. “There are limits. I have not heard of two heads or of anyone three meters tall. But you can have a tail.”

  “No.”

  “Yes.”

  “Like a horse tail?”

  “No,” I said. “Thin, like this.” I held up my fingers, making a circle about the size of a ten-dollar coin. “Well, that’s with the fur. And perhaps a meter long, maybe a little longer.”

  “A real tail?”

  “Yes. And once you learn, you can move it. You can pick things up with it.”

  “No.”

  “I have not seen one in person, but we talk about it when discussing choices. Everyone talks about a tail but no one gets one.”

  “I would think it would be handy.”

  “I would think it hurts to sit on it.”

  “Oh,” she said.

  “I know some people get them, but my planet is called Frantzland. We are not very playful.”

  “Ah. I think I understand.”

  “You can get fur everywhere,” I said. “Or big…” I reached over and squeezed her arm.

  “Ah. No one believed Cecilia Grace was the same person.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “She went away and came back. When she came back, she was very different.”

  “Ah. Yes.”

  “You are too young for rejuvenation.” She struggled again.

  “No. First rejuvenation Blessine’s age,” I said. “Make good body. Make small change.” I laughed. “Mama must agree change.”

  She laughed with me. “And Mama says ‘no’ if you ask for a tail.”

  “Yes,” I said. “Good system.”

  “I suppose so. What did you change?”

  “Only my hands,” I said. “This my face. No changes. Just my hands, and good body.”

  “A very good body,” she said.

  “On inside,” I said. “Strong bones.”

  “Ah. Healthy.”

  “Yes,” I said. “Healthy. No sickness. Before come here, more changes.” I did my best to explain.

  “Wait. No sun on first home?”

  “Frantzland,” I said. “Sun, but ugly. Live in basements. Never outside.”

  “Never.”

  “Twice.”

  “Twice?” she said. “You only went outside twice.”

  “Until go Tarriton,” I said. “Another planet. This third planet. Beautiful. So beautiful. Love sun. Love trees and birds.”

  She stared. “Really. You aren’t teasing?”

  “No. I would tease, but I wouldn’t lie, Masalarn. I teach truth.”

  “Wow,” she said. “I am sorry, Maddalyn, but I think I like Talmon more.”

  “I like Talmon more, too, but you would like Tarriton, too. Except Talmon people friendlier. Tarriton people always busy. Go, go, go. Never stop. Go to restaurant. Not even say name to waitress.”

  “No?”

  “If favorite restaurant, maybe, but new restaurant? Never. Never talk other people. Only with friends.”

  “No.”

  “Yes,” I said. “Talmon better this way. I go restaurant. I say want buy horse, not know how. Everyone helps. Much better.”

  She laughed. “Yes. I agree. Much better. What is worse?”

  “If you come to the embassy, I’ll show you.”

  “All right. I will.” She pointed. “My husband’s family’s shop.”

  I would have been able to tell what they sold. There were two carriages immediately in front, and beside it, an open lot with grass and a variety of other carriages.

  “So many kinds.”

  “How much time do you have, Maddalyn?”

  “I don’t understand question.”

  “When do you have to be back?”

  “Oh,” I said. I smiled. “Number one job learn Talmonese.”

  “Ah ha, and so you practice.”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I will teach you.”

  “I would like,” I said.

  We climbed from our horses and wrapped their reins. Masalarn patted hers and spoke soothingly. I smiled at Ristassa and told her she was a good horse. And then Masalarn led me to the nearest of the carriages.

  “There are two basic categories,” she said. “Is it for people or for heavy loads. We only make the ones for people.”

  “Understand.”

  “The next choices are size and if it is enclosed,” she said.

  “Enclosed?”

  She pointed.

  “Oh, I see. Understand.”

  “If it is small, you can have a choice of two wheels or four.”

  “What are the advantages?”

  “Those with two wheels weigh less.”

  “Easier for Ristassa.”

  “Yes. Let me show you the styles she could pull.” And then she led me from one carriage to another, showing some with two wheels, some with four. Most of what she showed me looked new. Some were deeply elegant. None were plain. They were all of finely polished wood that shined under the sunlight.

  She showed me other features. Some had lanterns, and as soon as I realized that, I asked, “If I wanted a modification, could you do that?”

  “What sort of modification?”

  “I would want to use my own lights.”

  “Lights of star people.”

  “Yes.”

  She stared at me for a minute. I finally dropped my gaze. “Is that a mistake?”

  “No. I was forgetting some of our differences. I was just reminded.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She stepped closer and set a hand on my arm. “No. Do not be sorry. You are bringing these things to us. We know they take time.”

  “I wish we could go faster,” I said. “There is so much to do.”

  “We all understand, Maddalyn,” she said. She laughed. “Everyone is going to ask what we talked about, especially about rejuvenation.”

  “Will you tell them they could all grow a tail?”

  “Yes,” she said. “And ears like a rabbit.”

  I thought about it. “Probably not, but you can get pointed ears, like an elf.” I used the English word, not knowing if there was even a Talmon word. “Or eyes like a cat.” They had cats, and so she would know what I meant.

  “No.”

  I made a face. “Not for me. So. Lights?”

  “Yes,” she said. “We could add them for you.”

  I looked at the nearest vehicles. “Masalarn, these cost more than five hundred dollars.”

  “Yes,” she said. “These do. You don’t think we put the inexpensive ones in front, do you?”

  I laughed.

  “You need to see these, though,” she said. “This is what is possible. Well, even more is possible. Anything is possible if you spend enough money.”

  “Why would someone do that?”

  “Do you know what a status symbol is?”

  “Oh,” I said. “Yes.” Then she began laughing. “What?” I asked.

  “Do you know what I could charge for a landau with star people lights? Yours will be the only one on all of Talmon.”

  She was still chortling when a woman appeared. I could tell she was older than Masalarn, but I wouldn’t have guessed how old. She began speaking rapid Talmonese as she walked up but then turned to me pointedly.

  “Madda
lyn,” Masalarn said. “This is my husband’s mother, Rutessain.”

  “I am pleased to meet you,” I said. And the woman stared at me. Eventually I turned to Masalarn. “Did I grow two heads? Maybe it is possible after all.”

  She snorted, but apparently she didn’t want to flat out laugh in front of her mother-in-law. The woman in question collected her wits and turned to my new friend. The two began speaking rapid Talmonese, and I was reminded how carefully Masalarn had been talking to me.

  Would I ever learn?

  Then I heard Masalarn say, “Cabriolet,” and her mother-in-law about threw a fit.

  “A cabriolet?” she asked. She spoke rapidly, and I didn’t think it was very nice, either.

  I sighed. “What does she want to sell me?”

  The woman turned to me. “You do not want a cabriolet.”

  “You might be right,” I said. “I haven’t seen one yet. I might want a cart.”

  “What?”

  “Or a…” I turned to Masalarn. “What was the word. Bug?”

  “Buggy,” she said.

  “You do not want a buggy!” Then she turned to Masalarn and began to berate her.

  That actually annoyed me. Masalarn had been exceedingly helpful so far, and she didn’t deserve this. I set my hand on Rutessain’s arm, interrupting the tirade. “Why you yell?” I asked. “Masalarn good. Help poor star girl. Now know new words. Know four wheels. Two wheels. Lights. Know much.” Then I smiled. “And I am here now, and not at another shop.” Then I turned to Masalarn. “Can you show me a cabriolet?”

  “You do not need a cabriolet,” said Rutessain. I glanced at Masalarn, who shrugged. “I will help you now.”

  “No.” I think that one word surprised her, and she sputtered. “Masalarn knows what I want.”

  “Masalarn is wrong.”

  I folded my arms. “Oh? What will I use carriage for?”

  The woman stared at me then smiled. “To take Governor Grace to see the Vendart.”

  “No. To take myself dancing,” I said. I turned to Masalarn. “Take me to the cabriolets then talk to her, please. I will look.”

  “You do not want a cabriolet!”

  “Maybe not,” I said. “But I will decide for myself.”

  “But-”

  I ignored her. She wasn’t listening. I hooked my arm in Masalarn’s and tugged. After that I let her lead, Rutessain muttering as she followed us.

  “Is she offended I will only spend five hundred dollars, or is she offended to sell me anything but your grandest carriage.”