Page 31 of Thalen

“Hey Dad, you know how Bob said it was Tuesday today?”

“Mmhmm,” I answered, pulling my mind out of the gutter.

“Well, yesterday was Sunday. After the treaty, the colonists all voted to use new names for the months here still, which are based on super old Earth gods. Before that, they just called them first month, second month, and went on like that. But then they decided to just use the regular days of the week from English, as the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and, um, New Zealand were the first to vote to approve the new treaty. But there’s only six days here, so they had to drop one, and once Bob told them all that no one on Earth likes Mondays, they decided there would be no Mondays here.” he giggled. “Isn’t that funny? That makes Tuesday the new Monday though, so won’t we all just hate Tuesdays here?’

“Why would anyone hate Tuesdays?” Thalen asked.

“Because it’s the start of the school week and people have to go back to work after the weekend,” I explained.

“But we work every day,” he countered. “School provides a break from morning chores for Jason.”

“What morning chores?” Jason asked, looking alarmed.

“On the weekend, you will soon take over letting the kilt-ha out into the pasture after milking and the hop-a-longs into their outdoor pen. Later, you will learn how to use the milking machine so you can do that as well.”

“And you can help collect the eggs on the weekend too.”

“Aw, man,” he grumbled.

“We’ll be working too,” I reminded him. “And I’m sure we can work out an allowance for you to spend at the general store as long as you do your chores properly. That means keeping your room clean, bed made, and keeping your teeth clean and hair washed. A bath or shower every night, mister.”

“An allowance? And I can buy whatever I want?’

Thalen nodded. “As long as it is age appropriate,” he confirmed. “Not that Doran will sell you anything that isn’t.”

“Cool!” Jason exclaimed, his eyes gleaming as he no doubt began thinking of all the things he wanted to buy.

A knock on the door had Thalen rising. He’d finished all the food on his plate and had been finishing up a cup of something he called klah, which he carried with him to the door.

“Doran! I wasn’t expecting to see you make the delivery yourself,” I heard him greet the person at the door. I quickly finished my last two bites and came to join him, my glass of iced tea in my hand.

“And there he is!” the Dragonii who’d arrived said upon seeing me, his bright yellow eyes filled with friendly warmth. “I simply had to come say hello to welcome you to our beautiful planet.”

I smiled at the affably grinning Dragonii. He was a soft charcoal grey with black, shiny scales. He had his wings tucked into his back under his clothes, and his clothes were very, very Walnut Grove.

Someone has been watching the TV show, the OG one, I thought to myself, taking in his outfit. He wore a white button down shirt with a starched collar, and a heather gray waistcoat and pants, which had a perfectly ironed crease going down the front, and a pair of slip-on dress boots on his feet. I knew immediately who he had to be.

“You own the general store?” I asked, and he smiled.

“Sure do. Though Bob says I need to come up with a business name instead of just having ‘general store’ painted on the window.”

“That sounds like a good idea, as sooner or later, the colony will grow and more stores will open,” Thalen replied.

“But take your time,” I added. “You want the name to be just right and not wish you’d named it something else.”

Doran nodded, still smiling. “My thoughts exactly. Maybe I’ll be matched soon, myself, and my mate will know just the right one!” his voice had taken on a wistful tone, and I felt a pang in my heart at his obvious loneliness.

“Oh, I hope so! Wouldn’t that be fabulous? We could get together and have dinner and play a card game as there’d be four of us.”

Doran looked surprised at the invitation.

“I’d like that very much.”

“Evan is learning new recipes and is a very good cook,” Thalen boasted, causing me to flush a little red.

“Then I look forward to sharing a meal with you sometime even more! Now, let’s get this bed inside, and I believe you have some eggs and straw for me.”

“We’ve got this,” Thalen said, pressing a quick kiss to my lips. “You finish your lunch and decide on our sheets.”