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“Then I guess that’s our plan. Let’s do it.”

“I’ll pack a picnic lunch?”

“And I’ll finally change out of my pajamas,” Nell said, laughing. “We spent all morning thinking about what we were going to do. I hope there are some boats available.”

Maklr tapped on his tablet. “It says there’s only four rented today. We should be able to claim one.”

“Great.” Nell changed rapidly, emerging minutes after Maklr placed the last sandwich in a fabric bag.

“I made two sandwiches for you, and there’s a massive canteen of water in the bag. I’ll carry it,” he said as she reached to grab the bag’s handles.

“What else is in there? Gold?” she teased.

“No. Six sandwiches and water. But it’s heavy.”

“Suit yourself.”

On the way, Nell stopped to pick some ripe fruit off the trees that dotted the wooden path. She popped a bright yellow piece into her mouth. “These are the closest thing to strawberries I’ve tasted.”

“Is this a good thing?” Maklr asked.

“I used to love strawberries. I remember they taste divine if you mixed them with chocolate, likecorul.”

Maklr shook his head. “I don’t think I’ve ever tried anything like that. Humans are sure to be inventive with their foods.”

“Hello again! Good afternoon,” the young male Klagan employee said. “I’m working the boats today. Isn’t it exciting? The resort changes up our assignments so we don’t get bored.” His enthusiasm was contagious.

“Sounds fun. Nothing worse than a boring job, right?” Nell said.

“How can I assist you today?”

“We would like to rent a boat,” Maklr explained.

“What kind do you want? You can try the individual one.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never been on one.” Nell watched as a woman about her age attempted to climb into a kayak.

“It’s not too difficult once you’re used to it.”

Nell held up her hand. “Wait. If there’s a learning curve, I don’t think I need to do it. Our time here is meant to be relaxing, and that,” she said, pointing at a couple on the lake attempting to navigate the oars of their kayaks, “does not look relaxing. With my luck, I’d fall right into the water and I didn’t bring a change of clothes with me today.”

“Fair enough,” the young male said. “Would you like to take the automatic boat? It has a screen display where you can program the exact route you want to take and the duration of your trip. Once you claim a boat, it is yours for a full day and night cycle.”

“Night cycle as well?” Maklr asked.

“Yes. Some of our clients like to watch the stars at night and the moons as they rise over the water. I’ve heard the evening and nighttime boat rides are popular for what humans call dates.According to some of our former clients, they found it extremely romantic,” he winked at Maklr.

“Oh.” A flush crept up Nell’s cheeks.

“I’m sorry, miss. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

“You didn’t,” she said.

Maklr looked at Nell. “Should we?”

“It would be a waste to ruin a pleasant afternoon and a picnic. Why not?” she said.

Maklr pressed his finger to the resort’s tablet, renting the boat for the day. He climbed on board first and lifted Nell off the dock onto the deck. “Where should we go first?” he asked, bringing up a map of the lake.