Page 28 of Proslo

“Tell who?” the lady in question asked, overhearing as she came up to us. “Are you two declaring undying love to each other? Right here, by the public toilets? Really?”

“Um, no,” Betty chuckled, blushing a little.

“Actually, we were talking about you,” I said to give my mate a nudge.

“Me?” Mrs. Titchmarsh looked surprised at this revelation.

“Well, yeah,” Betty replied softly. “We were just saying how you’re more than just a close friend. You’re family, really. Like a favorite aunt.”

Tears welled up in the older female’s eyes. Sniffling, she replied, “Then you best just start calling me Aunt Lou. My first name is Louise, but everyone I actually like calls me Lou.”

“Aunt Lou,” Betty echoed, and I watched as the two women hugged out their swelling emotions.

Breaking apart, Aunt Lou looked at me and opened her arms wide. “Come here, you big lug. Give your auntie a hug too.”

I accepted her embrace, wrapping my own arms around the diminutive female. She felt small and slight against me and I made a resolution to have her come visit once we returned from our honeymoon. I knew we’d both enjoy seeing her again and sharing highlights of what we’d seen sightseeing as well as showing her around the ship, but I also was determined to give her a thorough medical checkup. She was important to my mate and had quickly become family to me as well. It would devastate us both if we lost her to something preventable and by claiming her as adopted family, she’d gain the privileges of a Mylos, including access to our medical care. As we walked back into the main plaza, I quickly tapped a request to Xeranos to take care of adding her to my extended family immediately. A confirmation came shortly after verifying her eligibility. Now, I just had to find an appropriate time to let both females know what I’d done.

“Oh!” my bride exclaimed, stopping in front of a fine jeweler’s. “We bought costume jewelry and simply gold hoops and stuff, but we haven’t chosen our rings yet!”

“How about I go sit and have a cold drink while you two go do that,” Aunt Lou suggested. “I can mind the bags while you take your time. Just don’t take too long because we’ve got to get ready to go out for dinner and I would like a short swim in that pool first.”

It didn’t take us long to find a place selling bubble tea and she settled down to drink it and rest her feet. Returning to the jeweler’s, Betty chewed her lip. “Everything is so gorgeous and so very expensive.” She looked up at me worriedly. “We’ve already spent so much. Maybe we should go to a place that sells gold plated silver.”

“If it was excessive, I’d have let you know. I have no wish to be called in to see the purser and Commander Gundar and explain any extravagances,” I reassured her. I looked down into the case, then up at the salesman behind the class counter. “Could you please show us engagement and wedding sets?”

“With a matching band for the groom?”

“Yes, please.”

He unlocked the case and placed a velvet covered ring tray in front of us. “Here we have a classic solitaire,” he said, taking out a ring with an etched band and a very large stone.

“Oh! Nothing that big, please. I’m a nurse.”

“Who is training to become a fully fledged Mylos assistant medic,” I informed him proudly.

He returned that tray to the case and moved it to the right, removing a trio of rings. “We have this set. It’s only a quarter of a carat but the clarity is excellent. A plain rounded narrow band as you can see, on both it and the matching wedding bands.”

“Could I try it on?” she asked and he nodded. She held out her finger and he slid it on as far as it would go, just above her second knuckle.

“It’s too small,” she observed sadly.

“We can resize it for you.”

“We need it for tomorrow afternoon,” I told him.

“For an extra hundred dollars, we can have them ready in an hour.”

“Is this truly the one you want?” I asked her softly.

She nodded. “It’s simple, classic.”

“We’ll take it.”

He nodded and took the ring from her, placing them in a locked drawer from which he took out a set of metal rings which he used to size our fingers. The male’s wedding band turned out to already be the correct size, and only her engagement and wedding band needed enlarging two sizes.

“How late are you open?” I asked, seeing the time on a clock behind him. We had just enough time left for Aut Lou and Betty to have a very quick swim, followed by a shower before we had to take a cab to the dinner show.

“Nine,” he replied. “But if you are staying at the Dusit Thani you can arrange for the concierge to come collect it and deposit it in the safe for you.”