Page 75 of Pets in Space 10

The next week unspooled for Dahlia calmly enough.

Petal liked a couple of the new pet foods she’d been able to find, which was reassuring, and her assignments as a floater were mostly the ones she enjoyed, at the day care and the employee store.

She hoped the experience there might help her if a spot ever opened up in one of the Level A shops.

A meeting popped up on her handheld, which made her raise her eyebrows and catch her breath.

It was for her and Petal with Mike and the mysterious Tyrelle Owen, for early next week, in the hydroponics bay.

Mike had remembered and scheduled the consultation on his own, which touched her heart.

Dahlia was sure he wouldn’t actually be there himself, not with the tournament fast approaching, but the fact he’d arranged it for her gave her the courage to say yes and to plan on attending.

She blocked the time slot off in her availability schedule and hoped Mrs. DeLance wouldn’t need her.

She received notice she’d been requested to work at the casino again, but this time during the day shift, which seemed odd, and to meet with the manager on duty first. Dahlia made sure to arrive ten minutes early and used the employee entrance.

Mr. Carter’s office was near Mike’s, but any hope she had of bumping into the latter was small since he mainly worked the evenings, when the casino was busiest and the most important guests gambled.

Knocking at Mr. Carter’s door, she took a deep breath and crossed her fingers the interview would go well.

Petal hadn’t offered her a scale this time.

“Come in.” The voice was abrupt and a little gruff.

Once Dahlia entered the office and took the indicated seat, she was apprehensive. Mr. Carter wasn’t as approachable in manner as Mr. Josephson the night manager and certainly nothing like Mike.

“So you’re Lady Luck,” he said, looking her up and down in a way that made Dahlia’s skin crawl. “You must be 1000% better in the uniform and dolled up.”

“It was the guest’s idea after he won at roulette, sir,” she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

“Sure, sure, gamblers can be funny at times,” he said hastily. “All right, I need you to be a barback today. Know what the job entails?”

“No idea, sorry, sir.”

“You work with the bartenders, keep them supplied, make sure there are clean glasses at all times, no customer interface unless the bar gets slammed, which doesn’t happen much in the daytime. Can you manage it?”

“I’ll try.” Dahlia assumed once she’d been shown the location of all the supplies behind the bar and got to know the routine she’d be fine.

It wasn’t her dream job, but the more a floater was requested, the more valuable they became to the ship and the more likely to be extended when their contract expired.

He rose and came out from behind the desk, taking her elbow as she rose to meet him. Dahlia didn’t care for his hand on her arm but permitted it until she reached the door, when he released his grip to allow her to go first. “I know where the dressing room is,” she said.

“Fine, saves me a trip. Day uniform, no makeup or hair.” He eyed her critically once again, shook his head and closed the door.

Dahlia thought the day uniform was acceptable — tailored black pants, black flats (no more heels — yay!), a crisp white shirt with the CLC Line logo and ‘Nebula Zephyr’ embroidered over the pocket.

When she reported to the head bartender, she frowned and Dahlia had a flash of panic fearing she’d gotten something wrong, but then the woman said, “We already have one barback working today. Not sure what management was thinking, calling you in. Maybe getting ready for the rush they expect during the tournament. Better to learn the ropes now than in crisis mode, I guess. Welcome to the casino.”

The bartender assigned Dahlia to shadow the other barback, who was named Irissa and was helpful and pleasant.

It didn’t take Dahlia long to learn what she needed to know to do the job but the bar wasn’t busy at all today.

She ended up staying in the back room most of the shift, cleaning, which she reflected is what she probably would have been doing otherwise if the casino hadn’t requested her.

She speculated whether Mike had had anything to do with her getting the call, but decided probably not.

He was doing her a favor setting up the meeting about Petal with Tyrelle the empath, but it didn’t seem his style to throw work her way.

“The storeroom hasn’t been in such good order probably since the original outfitting,” the head bartender said at the end of the shift. “Thanks for your help today. Hope we see you again when we’re busier.”

It wasn’t her most exciting day on the Nebula Zephyr, but she’d done a good job and was satisfied as she returned to her quarters.

Petal greeted her with chirruping sounds and sparkling eyes, which made Dahlia feel good and she told the small pet all about her day as she reheated her dinner and sat down to eat.

At least working on the ship was never boring and there were opportunities for interesting assignments.

Dahlia was concerned she might get the call to become a regular in the daycare.

If the position was offered she’d take it of course and should be grateful.

She did love interacting with the children, but it wasn’t where her heart lay.

***

By the time arrived for the meeting with Tyrelle, Dahlia had been requested two more times by the casino for daywork as a barback.

Fortunately, she hadn’t had to interact with Mr. Carter the day manager again.

After asking Maeve where on the ship the special hydroponics section was and getting the AI’s assurance she’d even be permitted to enter the area, Dahlia set off with Petal in her small carrier.

A bit intimidated about the meeting, she was relieved and surprised to find Mike leaning on the bulkhead beside the hydroponics entrance.

“I didn’t think you’d be here today,” she said breathlessly.

“It’s my meeting,” he answered cheerfully. “In a manner of speaking. I wouldn’t miss it.”

Mike opened the portal and stepped aside for her to enter, coming right on her heels and steering her toward the left. “Tyrelle’s office is back here,” he said.

Dahlia didn’t mind his hand on her elbow.

A warm tingle spread from the spot where he touched her.

It was a short walk to the office and she was astounded at the vigorous plants lining the aisle and the beauty of the flowers.

The scents mixed in an intoxicating perfume.

“You said this lady was good with plants but I never expected this.” She wondered if Tyrelle would let her come down here on her days off and sketch the blooms. The artist in her was longing to pause and study the various flowers right now.

The empath wasn’t in her office when they arrived but came striding through the plants a moment later.

Now Dahlia wanted to paint her and the flowers.

Tyrelle was humanoid, like so many inhabitants of the Sectors, but her skin was a lovely pale jade green and her hair was soft curling ferns, framing her face perfectly.

Mike introduced them to each other and they adjourned to the office.

“Mike — Mr. Remington — said you can talk to animals?” Dahlia asked as she took a chair. “I’ve been so worried about Petal — I appreciate this consultation.”

Tyrelle laughed. “I can’t go mind-to-mind with most animals, no, but being an empath, I can read their emotions and auras and obtain answers, if we frame the questions correctly. May I see Petal?”

Mike held the carrier so Dahlia could pluck the pet out and set her on the desk, which Tyrelle had cleared off. Petal sat still, quivering, but looking around with bright eyes.

“So cute,” Tyrelle said. She motioned Mike and Dahlia to their chairs and studied Petal. At first she didn’t touch the pet at all but then ran her hand in the air above the fur and scales. “She’s quite fond of you,” the empath told Dahlia. “Can you tell me how you acquired her?”

With indignation towards the animal seller lingering, Dahlia gave a quick recap of her day at the bazaar and how she’d rescued Petal from being eaten.

“And Maeve hasn’t been able to identify her species?”

“Not yet,” said a voice from the air, which Dahlia recognized as the AI’s. She should have known Maeve would listen in on this meeting.

“Well your little lady is pregnant,” Tyrelle said. “Which is why her health has been uneven.”

Dahlia stared at Petal who now acted all but mesmerized by Tyrelle. “Do her kind mate for life?” Her eyes filled with tears, thinking of a mate bond severed by whichever cruel person had taken Petal from her unknown home.

“No, I don’t get that impression. I’m getting the indication her kind live in giant colonies and mating occurs freely if a male and female find each other attractive.” Tyrelle gave Dahlia and Mike a mischievous smile. “I hope I haven’t gone into too much detail for you.”

“Anything I can learn about her is helpful,” Dahlia said with determination. “How many babies is she going to have?”

“Six, no eight.”

“You can’t handle nine of these creatures in your cabin,” Mike said with concern. “How long until the babies are born?”

Tyrelle concentrated. “She expects the pregnancy to last a while, which gives us time to seek solutions. Months, probably but less than a year. I see the seasons turning once in her memory of her previous litter. Let me see if I can get some ideas about what she would normally eat.”

Dahlia held her breath while the empath closed her eyes and concentrated. Mike squeezed her hand and she clung to him gratefully. This session was yielding a lot of answers but she hadn’t been prepared to deal with babies.