The Space Merchants

by Wendie Nordgren

  I placed the pretty bowls I had bought on the tables. There were three on each table of varying sizes. I placed all of the size medium dresses on hangers on the left side of the rack, and then the smalls next to them. Now, I was glad that I had bought forty of them. I hung the ten beautiful silk robes up next and then the twenty seductive looking Arachnean silk gowns by size as well. I had bought ten pairs of shoes, but I could put a pair on the floor under each of the bottom shelves. I removed the shoes from their silk bags, spread each bag out on a shelf, and then placed the shoes on top of them. I thought it looked nice. I folded up all of the empty bags my purchases had filled. I delved into the bag of accessories and filled each small bowl with hair pins, each medium bowl with clips, and the large bowls with hair ties. I left the bag with the shampoos, soaps, and set of curlers against the wall. I brought the empty folded bags out to Mr. Gregory.

  "Here are all the empty bags."

  "Well, good. I can use them."

  "I'm finished. Would you both like to see?" They were eager and curious. I followed them inside of their new boutique. All of the Arachnean silk hanging from the back wall looked gorgeous. Mr. Gregory let out a long low whistle. He touched the dresses, letting the fabric cascade over his skin.

  "They'll love these," he said.

  "Dang! The miners will sure love these," Arthur Jr. removed a hanger holding a gown from the right side of the rack. It was a deep red silk with a deep v-shaped neckline, trimmed in a delicate black silk lace. Mr. Gregory looked at the bowls filled with hair things and the shoes on the shelves.

  "The shoes came in those little bags. Do you like what I picked out?"

  Mr. Gregory nodded, "These dresses and things are much nicer than anything I imagined. The women's eyes are gonna pop out of their heads. How much is all of this gonna cost me?"

  "Well, sir, the shoes were thirty credits each." He got out his scan pad and entered numbers. "The gowns were twenty a piece, the robes were thirty each, the Arachnean silk dresses were fifty a piece, and I spent a hundred credits on the hair accessories which were all made by hand by an Arachnean lady who does braids. It came out to three thousand and a hundred credits, if I'm right in my calculations. I had hoped I could sell you everything for four thousand and six hundred credits.

  "You realize I intend to sell those dresses for twice what you paid, right?"

  "So, wouldn't we both make about the same profit? Is that okay? I've never done this before." Mr. Gregory held out his hand and took mine shaking it.

  "You've got yourself a deal," he said. Mr. Gregory scanned four thousand and six hundred credits into my account. I let out a sigh of relief. "What's that for?" he asked.

  "I was worried about whether or not you would like everything. I invested just about everything I had in these clothes."

  "That took guts. I like that. Yukihyo did right marrying you," Mr. Gregory said.

  "Thank you, sir. That's a nice thing to say."

  "What's in this bag?" Arthur Jr. asked.

  "It contains some extra things I picked up on Scipio. You didn't ask for them, but I thought the ladies would like them." I showed them the brushes and let them smell the soaps and shampoos. Then, I showed him the curlers. "They use these in the baths on Scipio. I've had my hair done twice with curlers like these. The curls last for a month, even when I wash my hair once a day."

  "How much for all of this?" Mr. Gregory asked.

  "The curlers are expensive. I can give you all of this for five hundred credits."

  "How much were those bowls and hangers?" he asked.

  "Those are gifts. I wanted to help make it look nice."

  "Deal." He paid me another five hundred credits. That was a two hundred credit profit. It would have taken me days to make that much on Earth. I had made a one thousand and seven hundred credit profit and had over five thousand credits back in my account. It felt amazing. We put the soaps and shampoos on one table and the expensive curlers on the other. Mr. Gregory and Arthur Jr. surveyed the room with pride. I joined them. It looked fabulous. Felicia would approve.

  Yukihyo, Hiroshi, and Phillip entered the general store, presumably to check on me. Mr. Gregory rushed over to Yukihyo and shook his hand. "That's a fine lady you got there. You must be as proud of her as I am of my boy." Thunderdrop had returned to my head from one of the top shelves. "Come and see what they did."

  "Yukihyo, look at the beautiful room Arthur Jr. built to put the dresses in!"

  Arthur Jr. said, "Thank you, ma'am, but you sure did make it look nice the way you filled it up." I blushed.

  "This is as lovely as any store on Scipio," Hiroshi complimented. Phillip winked at me. Customers came into the general store, and Mr. Gregory rushed out to greet them.

  "I came to see what all of the fuss is about. What's going on in there?" It was Ms. Laura. The men stepped out of the room, but Mr. Gregory motioned for me to stay. Ms. Laura and three of her ladies walked under the arched entrance and into the new room. I watched as their faces lit up as they went toward the dresses. Ms. Laura gave the room a surprised perusal.

  "My, goodness. Girls! There are dressing rooms!"

  I heard, "Touch it. It's so soft" and "Look at this." It felt amazing. I felt kind of proud of myself. Mr. Gregory stood near them. "Everything on this rack is made of the finest Arachnean silk, ladies. Please feel free to try on whatever you like. Look around! I have hair do-dads and shoes, soaps, and shampoos!" Ms. Laura walked over to me.

  "Hello, Ms. Laura. It is nice to see you again."

  "It is a pleasure to see you again. It sure was thoughtful of you to get this started. My girls were overjoyed with the things you brought last time. I wish you would have dropped by to see me." I thought back as to why I hadn't.

  "Yukihyo got a little upset with me last time we were here," I whispered.

  "Well, I hope you can drop by for a visit."

  "Thank you very much. Maybe tomorrow?"

  Ms. Laura said, "I'll look forward to it." The ladies tried on dresses. One came out in a beautiful long, full skirted pale yellow dress with dainty spaghetti straps. She spun around, and it floated at the hem.

  "Did you pick out all of these things?" she asked.

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "They are divine."

  "Thank you." Yukihyo came back into the room. He bowed to Ms. Laura and the ladies.

  "May I steal my lady wife from you, Ms. Laura?"

  "Yes, of course. I hope you'll be a dear and bring Teagan to visit me tomorrow."

  "My wife has her own transport and a blaster. She may go where she wishes." I waved goodbye.

  Mr. Gregory stopped us on our way out.

  "A moment, please, Mrs. Lee. I have a proposition for you. If you bring clothes and things when you come to Malta, I'll pay you for what you spent and add a fifty percent profit on to it. How does that sound?" I looked to Yukihyo, who nodded.

  "Yes, sir. Thank you. Should I bring about the same amount?"

  "That would be great, especially if we stay in the same price range."

  "Sure thing. This has been a lot of fun," I said. Mr. Gregory and Yukihyo shook hands. Yukihyo and I got into my transport.

  "Just drive down there and park behind the large land transport," he said, pointing. "We want to take you to dinner." Hiroshi and Phillip sat at a table in the back of the restaurant. We drank glasses of cold tea.

  Hiroshi spoke, "The merchandise you selected for Mr. Gregory was tasteful and elegant. I believe it will provide the ladies a great deal of pleasure."

  "Seeing one of them in one of those gowns would give me a great deal of pleasure," Phillip said.

  I rolled my eyes, "Phillip." I felt pride and love from Yukihyo, but also some trepidation. "What?" I asked him. A waiter brought us meat and potatoes.

  "The miners invited us to join them in some physical activities tomorrow evening. Hiroshi and Phillip plan to attend, and I would like to join them if it is okay with you."

  "Chitter, chitter, chirp," came from be
hind my head and under my hair. Thinking about Ms. Laura's brothel, I became wary.

  "What kind of physical activities?" I shoved a bite of potato into my mouth. Phillip snickered. My eyes narrowed. Yukihyo felt embarrassed and nervous through the bond that had deepened after our marriage.

  "A little sparring and boxing, probably," he said, giving me his innocent expression.

  "My husband has a transport, several weapons, and may go where he wishes." Relief washed from him to me, which made me curious.

  The next day after a leisurely breakfast with my family, they headed out to fill an order at one of the mining facilities. I wore a dark green calf length dress, my boots, blaster, and necklace. My wedding ring never came off of my finger. Every time I saw it, I felt Yukihyo's love.

  "Chirp... chirp?"

  "Do you want to go visit a brothel?" We closed the ramp and drove to visit Ms. Laura. Standing on the long covered porch, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to knock or just walk on in, so I decided on knocking. A beautiful woman in her late thirties opened the door.

  She smiled and said, "Please come in."

  From a sitting area, I heard Ms. Laura ask, "Who is it, Silvie?" Silvie wore one of the dresses of a blue and grey design that I had brought. It looked nice with her pale skin and black hair. I followed her.

  "It is Mrs. Lee come for tea," Silvie told her. Ms. Laura welcomed me with a kiss on each cheek.

  "I'm so glad you came!" Ms. Laura said.

  "It was kind of you to invite me." Silvie went toward what I assumed to be the kitchen.

  "Please, sit." The room had several couches in a rich brown shade and several dainty chairs and tables. A vid-screen hung on one wall. Paintings decorated the others. Colorful embroidered pillows were everywhere. It was very pretty.

  "You have a beautiful home. Are those real paintings?"

  Ms. Laura grinned at me and said, "Yes, a few of us enjoy painting."

  "Wow! I've seen prints and stuff, but not the real ones." Silvie returned with a tray with tea and cups. A few other ladies came in with trays of little sandwiches and cakes. They sat and introduced themselves. Silvie, I had met at the door. The others present were Bianca, Terra, Fran, Kahra, and Annette, and they all wore dresses from Mr. Gregory's store. "It is very nice to meet you all," I said. We drank tea as they told me about all of the appropriate things they did on Malta to pass the time. Ms. Laura and Fran had created all of the paintings. They all made pillows and occasionally, quilts. I told them about the cake and cookies that I had made. Thunderdrop crawled from one lap to the next to be petted.

  Thoughtful, Ms. Laura said, "We are very glad you came to visit. I worried the wife of a powerful merchant might not want to socialize with us."

  Shocked, I said, "Why would you think such a thing?"

  Kahra said, "Some ladies disapprove of how we make a living." I looked her in the eyes.

  "As long as no one tries to make a living with Yukihyo, we won't have any problems." Laughter erupted around the room.

  "It made me feel good that you brought such tasteful, pretty things," Fran said.

  "It's a huge relief to me that you like the things I brought. I don't have a lot of experience shopping."

  "That's surprising," Bianca said.

  "What did you do before you met your husband?" asked Silvie. I told them about my job as a reclamation worker. Annette wanted to know where I had lived.

  "You stayed there all by yourself?" Thunderdrop came back to me and plastered himself to my neck. The ladies could tell the turn of conversation had depressed me. Fran showed me the paintings. One was a portrait of the ladies seated together on a couch and a few chairs. Other paintings were of the mountains of Malta, the sky, and flowers.

  "I didn't realize a person could make something so true to life with some paint and a brush," I said. They taught me how to play a card game. We sat at their dinner table and played for at least an hour. Fran and Kahra talked about the soaps and shampoos two of the miners had brought them last night as gifts.

  "The jasmine and tea leaves has a beautiful scent," Terra said.

  "Speaking of miners, Yukihyo asked me last night if I minded him going with Hiroshi and Phillip to some kind of sparring event. Do any of you know anything about that?" Ms. Laura chuckled. Yes, they all knew about it, and most of them were planning to attend.

  "It isn't sparring, though. The men fight in matches, and just about everyone places bets on who will win. You can follow us out to the Cavanaugh Mine tonight. We have reserved seating and are encouraged to attend. The men like showing off," Silvie told me.

  "Thank you. Yukihyo has made me curious. I think he's up to something. What should I wear?" We made our plans.

  Thunderdrop and I returned to Tora and took a nap. The men came home, and we had an early supper, so they could leave early. "No need to wait up for me, Teagan," Yukihyo said and gave me a passionate kiss goodbye. He was excited which made me even more suspicious. I changed into dark brown pants, a dark blue long-sleeved shirt, my boots, and blaster. I braided my hair and found a scarf of blues and greens to wear around my neck.

  "Let's go." Thunderdrop and I got into our transport, closed the ramp, and drove to the back of the brothel where the ladies waited for me in their larger transport. Terra waved at me to follow them. It was a thirty-minute drive down a long smooth slag road. Several transports, mostly the kind used for work, were parked neatly around the mine. A metal framework several stories high had enclosed walkways that led all the way around it and away to a square solid looking building in which, I was told, the miners lived. Lifts at the corners of the massive frame went to the very top.

  "Those lifts and metal beams go deep down. Most of the work they do is far beneath the surface," Annette shared. A second square building was connected to the habitation building with another enclosed walkway. Both buildings had exits at each corner "for evacuation purposes," Annette said. Everyone from the tea party, except Ms. Laura, had come. Annette, Thunderdrop, and I walked behind the other five ladies. They were all at least ten years older than me. It was nice to be around other women, though. The very little female socialization that I had had during my life did make me feel very awkward around other women. After Fran wheedled out more information from me about my life before Tora, the ladies seemed more forgiving of my poor social skills. They were all very close, having lived together in the same house for several years. I had never lived in a house with another female. At times it made me feel alien. I wondered if my new family and I would be as close as they were after a few years.

  We entered the second square building. Metal benches were in tiers along the walls. In the center of the room, a large square elevated and roped off mat contained two men who were hitting each other with fast, powerful blows. I could hear the impacts of their punches over the yelling and cheering. It was awful. Hundreds of men had to be here. I hoped that so many intense emotions would mask me from Yukihyo’s notice. Kahra led us to a platform at the top that had couches, small tables, low walls at the sides and back, and an unobtrusive plasti-glass railing in the front. A man brought pitchers of water and tea, and another brought glasses. Bianca seemed to be on friendly terms with both of the men.

  "How many men are in here?" I asked.

  "Except for skeleton crews at the mines, all of them. Other than us, this is what they do once a month to unwind," Terra said with a naughty grin.

  "There are probably about a hundred and sixty here," Annette said. One of the men knocked the other one down. The crowd cheered.

  "He's bleeding. Yuck. They're both bleeding. They think this is fun?"

  Silvie said, "They might have frustration to get out of their systems, a work related insult to settle, or in some cases, they may simply wish to test their fighting skills against another." I thought about Yukihyo sparring against Hiroshi and Phillip at the same time.

  "Chirp! Chirp!"

  "Yep, we're thinking the same thing." A man walked onto the platform and scanned the ladies
' credit chips. "What are you all doing?" I asked.

  "Placing bets," Bianca answered.

  "How do you know who to bet on?"

  "Look in the fighting arena. An opponent is in each corner," Silvie told me. A small wiry man with a bald spot and narrow shoulders leaned over the short side wall of the platform, eager to get Fran's attention. Terra tapped her knee and pointed toward him, waving. He smiled and bobbed his head at her, clearly pleased with Terra's attention. Fran got up from her seat and glided toward him. Her arm went around his back while he spoke in her ear. Fran kissed his cheek and said something to him in return. The bald man gave her a small card. A second man approached the platform. The man was older and had a long grey and black beard. A similar exchange occurred between him and Silvie.

  "What is all of that about?" I asked Annette.

  "They often place bets for us and give us the winnings. Then, we offer them rewards for their generosity." The match had begun. The opponents wore gloves, but no other protection. They circled each other. One hit the other in the ear. They missed each other a few times. Then, they began to pound away at each other before stepping apart. The man, who had been punched in the ear, hit the other man in the stomach and then again under the jaw. Then, he hit the man in the side of his head. His opponent went down, and Silvie cheered. The victor gained applause, and his felled opponent was helped from the ring by two men.

  Thunderdrop moved to the top of my head, and I could feel his claws against my scalp as he moved his legs up and down. Hiroshi had entered the ring.

  "Oh, no. I don't want anyone hitting Hiroshi like that." Annette patted my knee. Hiroshi's opponent was about his same height and build. The gloves that they wore were different than those worn by the men in the previous match. Rather than big padded mittens, they looked more like fingerless gloves. They both wore exercise shorts and shoes, but nothing else. Hiroshi's muscles were showing like he had been doing push-ups or something before coming out to the fighting ring. A man came by to take bets.

  "How much are you betting?" I asked Annette.

  "Two hundred," she said.