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Being a female, as Traes liked to say, certainly had its benefits. It must have been our little game last night. It made my eyes sparkle and my lips look redder than usual. The ticket officer had certainly noticed.
I thanked him, took Cleb’s hand, and led him across the street to the shops. It wasn’t a big town. I could walk across it in less than an hour, but it had everything necessary to live a comfortable life.
“Why are you checking the ticket prices to Earth?” Cleb said. “Are you leaving?”
He wore an expression so hurt, I couldn’t bear to answer him truthfully.
“I was just enquiring,” I said. “I have to go back and visit my family at some point. I can’t stay here forever.”
Cleb nodded, but it appeared to be something that would play on his mind.
I thought about the pod I’d need to sleep in during the outbound journey. It wasn’t my first choice to travel. I could get in the pod and who knows where I might end up. I could have been paying smugglers to take me to my new master.
Or my old one.
I shivered at the idea.
Maybe it was a better idea to work a little longer and save up for a room. That way, I could move around, eat, and, although I was unlikely to enjoy myself on the trip, I could fight or escape if something bad happened.
The journey time was three weeks. I could handle that. I could borrow books from Traes’ library to keep me entertained on the way.
Traes.
How was he going to feel when he learned I would be leaving in ten weeks?
I shoved the thought aside—I seemed to be doing that a lot lately—and focused on the shop windows.
That morning, we studied geology. I suggested we go outside to dig up some rocks to compare them to his notes but Cleb preferred to stay in the library and look at more rock types. He showed great aptitude for the subject. I made a mental note to introduce him to other areas of science that he might be interested in; biology, chemistry, physics. We could very well have a little Einstein on our hands.
Our hands.
Not Traes’ hands.
Our hands.
I didn’t stop to think about what that meant.
Most of the clothing stores were everyday wear, typical dresses for work and home. Numbers were marked on their price tags in credits. I still hadn’t gotten used to the exchange rate.
Traes didn’t give me a credit card to buy my new dress, but a special token. It looked identical to the other credits so far as I could tell.
None of these dresses looked right. They were no different from the ones I had at home already. I figured I ought to go for something more sophisticated.
I came to an expensive-looking boutique with fancy dresses in the windows. Cleb, already bored to tears, fell into a chair and swung his legs.
“I promise we’ll be done soon,” I said. “Do you want some new clothes?”
Cleb screwed up his face. I guess not.
“Can I help you?” the assistant said.
He was tall and a little rotund—about as fat as they came for a Titan. Still, he looked devilishly strong. All Titans were made using the same mold.
“I’m looking for a dress,” I said. “I’m going to a fundraiser tonight and I need to wear something that won’t make me stand out.”
“My lady, with your beautiful bone structure, I’m afraid to say you’re always going to stand out,” the assistant said.
It paid to be a charmer when you were a sales assistant. Still, what woman didn’t like to hear a compliment like that?
