Page 66 of Dancing for the Minotaur

The Monstrum vendor looked horrified.

“You squeeze your produce?”

“Well…yes.” She shrugged. “Squeeze and sniff it–it’s the only way to tell if it’s ripe.”

The vendor looked even more upset.

“And you do all this–this squeezing and sniffing–before purchasing it?”

Terra nodded.

“Sometimes. It can be really difficult to tell if its ripe or not, otherwise.”

The vendor glanced at Taurex.

“You deal with these people regularly?”

Taurex nodded solemnly.

“It requires patience.”

Terra slapped his upper arm.

“Hey!”

The vendor hissed with laughter again while Taurex’s golden eyes gleamed with amusement.

“You’re making fun of me,” Terra accused.

“Only a little.” He held his thumb and forefinger apart about an inch, smiling at her.

Terra narrowed her eyes at him in mock anger.

“I’m going to remember this the next time I’m doing payroll. Maybe I’ll give myself a bonus for putting up with your teasing.”

The corners of his mouth twitched with amusement.

“I will withdraw the comment.”

“That’s what I thought,” Terra said, putting a hand on her hip and giving him a sassy look.

Still smiling, she watched as Taurex chose several of the humming golden bulbs. He didn’t squeeze them, she noticed. Instead, he lifted each one toward his ear and listened to the faint note it made before nodding and placing it into a shallow basket formed from woven green vines.

“So besides sounding pretty, what are those for?” she asked.

“They form the base of the stew. They cook down into a thick sauce,” Taurex answered.

“Like tomatoes?” Terra asked, interested.

He frowned.

“Possibly. I do not know the taste of tomatoes well enough to compare.”

Terra considered this.

“You’ve been living on Earth for three years and you don’t know what tomatoes taste like?”

“I have eaten them.”