image better. “Where are you? Were you in an accident?”
Her smile was all frisky innocence. “I’m on my way up now.”
The small screen showed her bopping into my elevator. Midnight blue hair, lemon yellow skin, dangling jewelry. She wore a white workout leotard, and she’d tied her hair back. Her makeup looked smudged.
“I expected you last night. What happened?’
She beamed a smile of pure candor. “I didn’t think last night was definite.”
Not definite? For an instant, I wanted to shake her. The closer I squinted at the screen, the clearer I saw the mascara smudged around her eyes and the lip gloss smeared over her chin. She’d come here straight from some lover’s bed.
But then she bounded out of the elevator, grabbed me in an armlock and lifted me off my feet. “Good morning, Nass. I have a blissed feeling about today. We’re beginning an Ordic journey. What’s this? My new surfsuit? I love the colors!” She twirled around, holding the pink suit to her chest and making it sparkle. “Nass, I feel my center moving. This may be the beginning of a spiritual metamorphosis.”
Lovable child. I drew her close and buried my nose in the soft flesh under her chin. Of course, I forgave her for being late. “Dear Shee, don’t ever change. You’re perfect, here and now.”
“I’m not kidding, Nass. We’re headed into the dark.”
“Right, right.” I nuzzled under her chin and inhaled her herbal scent.
Verinne came through the door with a look of disapproval. Then Winston pushed past her and made straight for Sheeba. “Do I get a morning kiss?”
Sheeba was tugging the new pink surfsuit over her leotard, but the silky Kevlax material didn’t want to slide over her round feminine bottom. She paused to give Winston a peck on the cheek, and from the way his hands were hovering, I saw he meant to help her squeeze in.
I’m the one who paid for the damned suit. Elbowing Win aside, I showed her how to zip the gaskets and seat the helmet, and I explained the life-and-death significance of an airtight seal. One whiff of Earth’s polluted atmosphere meant certain death—the usual safety talk.
“Give me your signet,” I told her. “We’ll leave it here, just to be molto certain the cops can’t read your ID.”
The barest trace of irritation passed across her features, then vanished behind her cheerful smile. She slipped off her modest silver ring with its plain glass smart chip. The humbleness of her signet touched me. I locked it in my safe.
Winston and I jockeyed for a place next to Shee in the car, but to no avail. She bounced into the front seat beside Verinne. Luckily, the high-speed flight from Nordvik to Bengal Bay took only two hours. Crammed in back with Winston, I listened with half an ear while he brayed about his new quasi-organic wetware. Good old Win, did he suppose he could captivate Sheeba with his memory sticks? He even pulled back his hair to show us the new ports behind his ears. The scars were still puffy and red. Win claimed these new organic sticks operated more like native memory and that his Alzheimer’s problems were a thing of the past. I still had the old silicon type, so I secretly made note of his brand.
Up front, Verinne was speaking to Sheeba sotto voce. I leaned forward to eavesdrop.
“…and you must preserve your eyes, dear. Have an extra pair of corneas cloned now, while you’re still young. You have such lovely clean tears.” When Verinne patted Sheeba’s cheek, I gawked Verinne never displayed affection. Imagine my dismay as I watched her chalky old fingers dwell on Sheeba’s lemon-colored eyelids.
We landed in Nepal, where, thanks to the rising sea levels, the coastal mountains cut straight down into the thick yellow waters of Bengal Bay. A vast mat of floating debris clogged the harbor near the airport. Empty cargo containers, rusting barrets, plastic. In the hazy morning sun, the trash glistened like beaded tapestry.
Verinne spent a long time
Her smile was all frisky innocence. “I’m on my way up now.”
The small screen showed her bopping into my elevator. Midnight blue hair, lemon yellow skin, dangling jewelry. She wore a white workout leotard, and she’d tied her hair back. Her makeup looked smudged.
“I expected you last night. What happened?’
She beamed a smile of pure candor. “I didn’t think last night was definite.”
Not definite? For an instant, I wanted to shake her. The closer I squinted at the screen, the clearer I saw the mascara smudged around her eyes and the lip gloss smeared over her chin. She’d come here straight from some lover’s bed.
But then she bounded out of the elevator, grabbed me in an armlock and lifted me off my feet. “Good morning, Nass. I have a blissed feeling about today. We’re beginning an Ordic journey. What’s this? My new surfsuit? I love the colors!” She twirled around, holding the pink suit to her chest and making it sparkle. “Nass, I feel my center moving. This may be the beginning of a spiritual metamorphosis.”
Lovable child. I drew her close and buried my nose in the soft flesh under her chin. Of course, I forgave her for being late. “Dear Shee, don’t ever change. You’re perfect, here and now.”
“I’m not kidding, Nass. We’re headed into the dark.”
“Right, right.” I nuzzled under her chin and inhaled her herbal scent.
Verinne came through the door with a look of disapproval. Then Winston pushed past her and made straight for Sheeba. “Do I get a morning kiss?”
Sheeba was tugging the new pink surfsuit over her leotard, but the silky Kevlax material didn’t want to slide over her round feminine bottom. She paused to give Winston a peck on the cheek, and from the way his hands were hovering, I saw he meant to help her squeeze in.
I’m the one who paid for the damned suit. Elbowing Win aside, I showed her how to zip the gaskets and seat the helmet, and I explained the life-and-death significance of an airtight seal. One whiff of Earth’s polluted atmosphere meant certain death—the usual safety talk.
“Give me your signet,” I told her. “We’ll leave it here, just to be molto certain the cops can’t read your ID.”
The barest trace of irritation passed across her features, then vanished behind her cheerful smile. She slipped off her modest silver ring with its plain glass smart chip. The humbleness of her signet touched me. I locked it in my safe.
Winston and I jockeyed for a place next to Shee in the car, but to no avail. She bounced into the front seat beside Verinne. Luckily, the high-speed flight from Nordvik to Bengal Bay took only two hours. Crammed in back with Winston, I listened with half an ear while he brayed about his new quasi-organic wetware. Good old Win, did he suppose he could captivate Sheeba with his memory sticks? He even pulled back his hair to show us the new ports behind his ears. The scars were still puffy and red. Win claimed these new organic sticks operated more like native memory and that his Alzheimer’s problems were a thing of the past. I still had the old silicon type, so I secretly made note of his brand.
Up front, Verinne was speaking to Sheeba sotto voce. I leaned forward to eavesdrop.
“…and you must preserve your eyes, dear. Have an extra pair of corneas cloned now, while you’re still young. You have such lovely clean tears.” When Verinne patted Sheeba’s cheek, I gawked Verinne never displayed affection. Imagine my dismay as I watched her chalky old fingers dwell on Sheeba’s lemon-colored eyelids.
We landed in Nepal, where, thanks to the rising sea levels, the coastal mountains cut straight down into the thick yellow waters of Bengal Bay. A vast mat of floating debris clogged the harbor near the airport. Empty cargo containers, rusting barrets, plastic. In the hazy morning sun, the trash glistened like beaded tapestry.
Verinne spent a long time
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