Have Tail, Will Travel

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

KaliniCelestial Mates took six weeks to find her a match. Part of her wondered that it happened so quickly and another, more dramatic and impatient, part of her despaired every day for six long weeks. Then, finally, one afternoon the good news arrived with a file.

Kal stared at the message icon on her tablet. She had to be certain she wanted this. She knew her heart. If she opened it up, she’d find a reason to fall for the man inside. She always did. Falling into a haze of warm, affectionate feelings had always been easy. Falling for the right person proved more difficult.

A perfect match.

That was the promise. He could be anyone, from anywhere. He could be human, on Earth, perhaps even in the same metropolis as her. Or he could be an alien from a race she’d never heard of on a planet far, far away.

Kal did know her heart. She wanted to share her life and love with someone.

She opened the message and accompanying file.

An impossibly handsome amber-and-honey-striped man looked back at her from her tablet screen. Not human, she recognized him as being from Talmar. As a member of the Interstellar Union, she saw plenty of Tal, Fremm, and even Gyer people every day. She studied his image, as if she could deduce what type of person he was by pixels alone. He had a shock of dark amber hair that looked like it could never be tamed, triangular ears, and his mouth had been set into a grim line.

Not a smiler, then.

His dark honey eyes were soft, though. Kind. Patient. The lines at the corners claimed he laughed, perhaps even smiled once, and the discoloration under the eyes pointed toward exhaustion.

Kal had poured over the file, completely abandoning her work and tuning out the world. His name was Merit Isteimlas, a single father with two young children. That would explain the exhaustion. Did he think marrying her would get him a nanny on the cheap?

No, she had to trust that Celestial Mates would w**d that out. She had no intention of being a servant, not even a good-looking man’s servant.

The file didn’t say if he was widowed or divorced, but she supposed it didn’t matter. He was single now and soon to be not single. They would be technically married once she signed the contract.

Born on Talmar, he now lived on Corra, a planet outside the Interstellar Union and that she knew little about. She’d done her research on Corra, what scant information there was. The distance shocked her. Corra lay at the end of a three-month voyage. Not a trip for the faint of heart. A moment of uncertainty passed through her, as the journey was a very long way to go for a person she had never even spoken to, let alone met.

She kept returning to his picture and his soft, kind eyes. He looked like the kind of man she could love and have a family with. She wondered about his two children and how they would react to a new woman in the house. Would she be viewed as the second-rate replacement for their mother? Or were they too young to even have memories of their mother?

The file said he served in the Talmar military, decorated even, he owned his house, had employment, no criminal record, and was a prominent member of the community. The psychological profile indicated several points of compatibility. Her math-loving brain latched onto that. He looked great on paper, but people could lie about their history and situation. Numbers, though, they didn’t lie. The numbers said they were the perfect match and she wanted to believe that.

She signed the contract.

Just like that, she was married.

Kal booked a ticket to Corra that day for a date five weeks out. She needed time to tie up the loose ends of her life on Earth. She gave a month’s notice to her landlord and began the process of shedding all her Earthly possessions. All her funds were transferred to an account that she could access off-planet. Corra was a long way out, but it had communications technology. When she gave notice at her job, security escorted her out as per standard operating procedure. Just like that, five little words ended her career in finance. “I got married. I’m moving.”

* * * *

Hello.

Kal stared at the screen before deleting the one word, only to retype that exact same word. She wanted to send a brief introductory message to Merit. The extended distance made a real-time or even a recorded video message far too expensive for her purse. The data rates for text were affordable, and since it was such a long journey, they might as well chat. After all, she knew some facts about him, but she didn’t really know him.

What to say, however, proved challenging. Favorite film? Book? Using the network, she pulled up a list of icebreakers. All of the suggested questions seemed inadequate. What breed of dog would you be? Honestly.

I can’t think of any way for this not to be awkward, so here goes.

I’m super excited to meet you. My name is Kalini but I go by Kal. My favorite color is yellow because it reminds me of sunshine. I live in a rainy country and never get to see much of the sun.

The network suggests that I ask you a list of horrid questions to get to know each other. So, here goes:

What is your favorite holiday?

Coffee or tea?

If you had a time machine, would you go back in time or to the future?

And, just because it’s so silly, what breed of dog would you be?

Feel free not to answer, but I would like to get to know you and your family.

Yup, everything about that message was awkward and cringe inducing. Still, she refused to pretend to be someone she’s not. With a sigh, she sent it.

* * * *

Do you want to play a game?

Kal stared at the screen, trying to read more into the question than possible.

What kind of game, she eventually replied.

King’s Table, Merit answered via message promptly. He followed up with a link to an active game and the rules. Reading quickly, Kal learned that the game had similarities to chess.

I’ll go easy on you, he wrote.

Kal laughed at his cocky attitude. Since you asked so nicely, I’ll go easy on you.