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  “You had quite a night, I hear.”

  “Oh, you know, a few drinks, a little dancing,” I told him with a grin. “I ran into your old shipmate, Alvarez,” I said nonchalantly.

  “So I heard. You just getting back?”

  “Naw, I been back awhile. Grabbed a nap. I’ve got the watch tonight.”

  “Good thing, from what I hear.”

  “Why? What’d you hear?”

  “Some guy at Jump! took offense at you walking out with his girl.”

  “What? That’s crazy.”

  “Well, he was drunk. Maybe he won’t remember.”

  “What happened?”

  “The story going around is that he started to get hot and was about to head out after you.”

  “I never saw him,” I said.

  “Not surprising. Al decked him. Kicked him under a table and left him there to sleep it off.”

  “Al decked him?”

  “You cut a pretty wide swath, my friend.”

  “Hey, Al is a very cool woman.”

  “Oh, I’ve met Al. A few months back in a bar on Gugara actually.”

  “And?” I asked. If I had been even half thinking, I never would have asked. As soon as I said it, I knew I was going to regret it.

  “Well,” he said with a good-natured grin, “she didn’t offer to take me home.”

  “You’re loving this, aren’t ya?”

  “Yup. You can say that again.”

  I chuckled and ate my soup.

  “You okay?” he asked softly.

  “Yeah, but thanks for asking.”

  He wrinkled his nose in a no problem kind of gesture. “You’re welcome. There hasn’t been this much fun on the ship in forever, so I should be thanking you.”

  “It’s going to be an interesting trip to Betrus, isn’t it?”

  “A week after pullout, almost everybody will have forgotten.”

  “Almost?” I asked.

  “Yeah. Almost,” he said quietly. “Well, I gotta get back to work. You heading up to the flea this afternoon?”

  “If I can find somebody to go with.”

  “Good hunting. Find us something good!” He stood and headed back into the galley to start the after lunch cleanup. It was 13:00.

  ***

  I headed down to the environmental section to see if Brill was in her office. Diane had the watch and was sitting with her feet propped up on the console. “Hey! The prodigal son returns. Welcome home!”

  “Thanks, I think.”

  “You missed all the fun at the bar last night.”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I heard there was some rowdiness after I left.”

  “You sure made quite an impression for your first night out.”

  “Al decked a guy?”

  “Yup,” she said with a laugh. “That tall, dark drink of water Alvarez was talking to when you asked her to dance.”

  “Tall, dark, and boring?”

  “That’s him. Some guy from the Sigler. He seemed to think you were muscling in on his turf. Had several loud things to say about your parents. When he started out after you, Al intercepted him just inside the door. That girl can move when she wants to.”

  I just shook my head. “She’s a peach.”

  “You made quite an impression on her.”

  “So I keep hearing,” I said with a chuckle. “I need to go shopping. Is Brill around?”

  She nodded toward the office. “Quarterlies, she said. She seems to be pretty busy.”

  “Should I bother her?”

  Diane considered for a moment. “I think maybe you should. Just to let her know you’re home in one piece and all. I think she’s been concerned.”

  “Thanks for the warning.”

  She shrugged and announced loudly, “Well, I’m going on my VSI now. See you later.”

  “How much trouble am I in?” I asked her softly.

  She shook her head. “You’re not in trouble. She is,” she whispered. She walked loudly to the hatch and slammed it behind her.

  I went to the door, which was not closed. “Hello?” I asked.

  She did not turn. “I’m sorry, Ish.” she said softly, looking at her screen.

  “Sorry for what, B?”

  “Murdock.”

  “I understand. Please look at me.”

  She turned and she looked miserable. “What’s the matter, Brill?” I was afraid to ask but more afraid not to know.

  “When you unloaded Murdock last night, I was really glad. You made me look like an idiot with the beer, but that was almost worth it.”

  “So, what’s the problem? Alvarez?”

  “No, she’s a dear.”

  “What then?”

  “You knew Murdock was a setup. I feel cheap, horrid, and I’m afraid of what that’s done to us.” She was hunched around her arms and looking at the deck. Bless her heart.

  “B?” I said softly. “What I know is that somebody who cares very much for me did something thoughtful, risky, and kind. You didn’t do anything except give me a shot at the surest thing you knew. And you didn’t force me to take it. You just arranged the circumstances. The rest was up to me.”

  She sighed miserably.

  “Would you have been happier if I’d gone with Murdock?”

  “Oh, gods, no! I don’t know what I was thinking,” she said bitterly.

  “You were thinking that it’s cold out in the Deep Dark and sometimes you wake up in the night and you just want somebody to hold you. And you were thinking that I didn’t know that I had to do that in port because we don’t do that on the Lois. You were so aware of how much I needed to hold somebody that you couldn’t help yourself. It’s what you meant by ‘what it means to be a spacer.’ That it means you hurt a lot and you make connections knowing that they’re going to be ripped away. That empty sex isn’t enough, but sometimes it’s better than the alternatives.” I stopped then suddenly wrung out.

  She sighed. “Something like that, I suppose.”

  “Did you think that if I couldn’t have you, I’d settle for Murdock?” I asked softly.

  She looked at me in shock. “We can’t be having this conversation.”

  “We can’t not. In three days we’re going to back out in the Deep Dark. We need to heal this and ignoring it is only going to make it worse.”

  “But we can’t—”

  “Brill, something happened when we went to Henri’s. Something that bonded you, Bev, Diane, and me in a way that none of us expected. Can you deny that?”

  She looked at me for a moment but shook her head. “No.”

  “This isn’t about sex, and it’s not about power. You’re my boss here on the ship. No problem. I’d follow you to Hell and back. Actually, I may already have,” I said with a grin.

  She laughed, then and I felt the knot of worry loosen. Slightly.

  “We can’t ignore what we feel about each other either. We have to deal with it. That’s what happened with Francis and the bookmark. It wasn’t about the bookmark. It was about Diane.”

  She sighed and said, “True.”

  “And that was even before Chez Henri.”

  “What the hell happened to us up there?” she asked wonderingly.

  “I don’t know. I feel like I was given a gift. Something I didn’t know I wanted but now that I have it, I can’t imagine living without it. Like I had been asleep all my life and something up there woke me up. I assumed that it was just me. That it was a normal thing for you three.”

  She shook her head. “Diane feels it, too, and Beverly I think. She was mad as a wet hen over Murdock.”

  “I saw the glares. I think the point is that we’re human.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that Beverly drives me crazy because I keep having these fantasies of—gods help me—being totally and unequivocally screwed into the deck by her. And stupid stuff like Diane’s grin in the middle of changing out scrubber matrices—makes me wanna rip the mucky shipsuit off her and take her
right there in the slime with her giggling like a kid. That every time you walk through that hatch, or I see you cross the mess deck, I want to hold you and soothe away the hurts you carry. I don’t know how I know you hurt so much, but you do and it kills me. I want to give you the only thing I can.”

  Brill was looking at me wide eyed.

  “That’s the part that’s human, and we have to live with that. The other part is the spacer part. Because we can’t be human that way. Not here. Not on the Lois. Too much is at stake. Other ships have other ways but we are what we are and we’re better off because of it.” I took a deep breath, but I was not done.

  “So we go ashore and we meet the crew from the other ships. We connect the only way we can. I can be happy for Bev when she stumbles into her bunk fresh from a hotel shower, and I can root for Diane when she sets her sights on whatever his name was last night. And I could be happy for you, too, but you’re so hurt you don’t even try. And in spite of that, you tried to help me not to hurt—but we’re still human and so it still hurts.”

  I stopped then to try to get some kind of control back. “Do you know why I went after Alvarez?”

  “To prove to us—to me—that you didn’t need me interfering in your love life?”

  “No, because she was as close to you as I could get.”

  “What?”

  “Of all the women in the bar last night, there were only five who really interested me. You, Diane, and Bev were off-limits. Was there anybody there sexier than the three of you?”

  “I hardly put myself in the same class as Bev and Diane. They’re amazing.”

  “I know, but everybody else does. Maybe I need to take you back to Chez Henri and have M. Roubaille take you back to the dressing room to get a good look at yourself. Your heart knows what your head doesn’t.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You were—are—the leader. That day you took us up there and sailed into Chez Henri’s, you scared the hell out of me. I was afraid I wasn’t worthy. We left the docks and I felt like I was being escorted like some kind of prisoner. The three of you forcing me to go shopping.”

  She laughed again.

  “I remember thinking you were like some kind of Valkyrie in a red jacket. Bev and Diane were like shield maidens guarding your back as much as keeping me in line. You went through the front doors like a force of nature. You made me want to be worthy of even being in your company. I’m getting goose bumps just remembering it.”

  I rubbed my arms through my shipsuit.

  “But that’s beside the point. You are in the same class with Diane and Bev and none of you are available to me. When I saw Alvarez come in, I knew that she was in the same class as you three, and because she was from the Duchamp, she was fair game. How could I not at least make a play? If I have to settle for less than you, why shouldn’t I try for the next most interesting and sexy women available?”

  Brill looked at me while I tried to catch my breath. With her looking at me like that it was not easy.

  Finally she said, “You’re something else.”

  “Oh, I think we established that long ago,” I said with a grin. “We’re just trying to negotiate what that might be at the moment.”

  She chuckled. “Damn, you’re—”

  I held my hand up to interrupt her. “That phrase is a little painful right now.”

  “Painful?”

  “I heard it a lot last night, and I miss her already.”

  She laughed then. “You had Alicia Alvarez saying, ‘Damn you’re good’ all night?’”

  We started giggling then and I nodded a bit sheepishly.

  “Damn,” she said, laughing. “You’re not good—you’re excellent!”

  When the laughing fit passed, it seemed like the crisis was over.

  “Are you okay now?” I asked gently.

  “Are you?” she asked back.

  “Not really, but I’ll heal. And as much as it hurts, I think it was worth the pain. She’s a remarkable woman.”

  “You know, we dock with the Duchamp once or twice a stanyer.”

  “Maybe I’ll have my strength back by then,” I said with a grin. “And I don’t wanna make any assumptions.”

  She chuckled at that. “Oh, I don’t think you need worry on that score. So? What do we do now?”

  “Well, I came down to see if you wanted to go shopping. I don’t feel like going to the flea market alone.” I looked at the chrono. “Not even 14:00 yet. I got four stans till I have to relieve Diane. Fancy a shop?”

  “Main lock, five ticks?” she said and we headed for the hatch.

  We met Diane coming back from VSI.

  “We’re going shopping. Mind the ship,” Brill told her on the way out. I could hear her pounding up the ladder.

  “What’d you do?” Diane asked me bewildered.

  “Just cleared the air a little.”

  “She seems okay. Are you okay?” she asked gently.

  “No, but I will be.” I smiled. “Thanks.”

  “Anytime. You did good.”

  I slipped back into my civvies and wore the crewneck pullover under my jacket. The coat still smelled of Alicia but it did not hurt quite so much. I beat Brill to the lock by about five steps and we fell out of it together, laughing.

  As we crossed to the lift, she turned to me suddenly and asked, “Who was the fifth?”

  I looked at her in surprise. “You don’t know?”

  She shrugged. “Nope.”

  “Al.”

  She giggled all the way to the flea market.

  Chapter 22

  DUNSANY ROADS ORBITAL

  2352-APRIL-18

  The Dunsany Roads flea market was something else. The influence of the cotton and flax fields below were immediately apparent. Lightweight fabrics abounded. Several booths featured yarns and cordage of both flax and cotton fibers. There were bolts of fabric in both solids and various weaves including checks and stripes.

  “What are we looking for?” Brill asked.

  “Normal stuff. Low mass, high value. Pip said there was a small silk industry here in addition to the cotton and flax.”

  “Silk scarves? Ties?”

  “Yeah, those would be good. I think.”

  We wandered through the maze of booths for over a stan before we came to the ship’s booth. Rhon Scham wore the Booth Boss button and grinned when she saw us coming.

  “Hi, Rhon,” Brill greeted her with a small wave. “How’s business?”

  “We’re down to the end here. I don’t think we’ll open tomorrow unless somebody comes out of the woodwork. Sean and Tabitha came up earlier selling the last of the shawls and afghans. The shawls went very well and Sean seemed real pleased. He paid his cap. We’ve had several people up here today selling like crazy.”

  I thought of the stones in Pip’s locker and wondered if they would sell on Betrus. It was not worth opening the booth just for them.

  Rhon turned to me and asked, “You shopping for Betrus?”

  “Yeah, I spent all my money on clothes and I’ll need to start earning it back.”

  She looked me up and down frankly. “Turn around so I can see the back?”

  I turned obediently and when I turned back Rhon looked a bit flushed and fanned herself with one open hand. “Enjoying yourself?” I asked archly.

  “Oh, yeah. Trust me. Whatever you spent it was worth every penny.”

  I chuckled. “Thanks, Rhon. But I still need to make some cash back.”

  We waved and headed off down the aisle. After we’d gone about four meters, I leaned over to Brill and asked, “She’s looking, isn’t she?”

  “Yup, but ya can’t blame a girl for lookin’, Ish.”

  “I’m still trying to get used to being the one looked at.”

  “You’re bearing up under the strain remarkably well.”

  I just laughed.

  “No, trust me. I have experience in this department.”

  We wandered along a few more ai
sles. “This is so frustrating,” I said.

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s all the same stuff. I’ve seen this stuff in four systems now.”

  “Yeah, but remember the first trip you made to the flea? All this stuff was there, too, but it was just the first time you’d seen it so it seemed new.”

  I did remember my first flea market. “Boy toy,” I murmured.

  “Boy toy?”

  “Yeah. My first flea market was with Beverly back on Gugara. That’s where we found Drus Martin and the belts. I think I got spoiled by the success of that and I keep looking for the next Drus Martin.”

  “What’s that got to do with boy toy?”

  “Bev did the dickering with Drus.” I smiled at the memory. “They went back and forth and pretty quickly came up with a price. In the end, Drus told Bev, ‘Your boy toy can have the same deal if he wants’ and so we both bought the first of the belts.”

  “That’s priceless.” Brill laughed.

  “I thought it was terribly embarrassing at the time, but the story gets better.”

  “What’s better than that?”

  “Pip went back the next day and bought a big bundle of belts at a great price. In part because Drus remembered us from the previous day as, ‘tough fem with leathers and an attitude with a skinny boy toy.’ As Pip was picking out the belts, Drus was working on her bench and by the time Pip had his selections and they’d done the deal, Drus handed him a belt to give to me. It has the words ‘boy toy’ worked into the pattern.”

  “You’re kidding me?”

  I turned around and lifted the hem of my jacket to expose the belt. Behind me I heard Bev giggle and two other women make appreciative little oh my sounds.

  “That wasn’t the smartest move I’ve ever made, was it,” I said without turning around.

  A strange woman’s voice answered, “Oh, I don’t know. I kinda liked it.”

  I turned to find Brill stifling laughter behind her hand and standing beside a couple of smiling gray-haired women. One turned to the other and with a wink at Brill said, “I didn’t know this flea market had a floor show, Mary.”

  “We’ll have to come more often,” the other one replied.

  “Thanks,” I told them, but I fought back the urge to do my you’ve been a wonderful audience routine. I could not do that part just yet.