35
When it came time to go meet Elenya, they were no closer to identifying what their next step might possibly be. Dillon’s interest gradually waned in the whole process. Sean resisted the urge to snap at his brother, tell him to stop checking his watch and glancing out the open balcony doors, remind him they faced a different ticking clock. Nothing would come from it.
Finally Sean gave up and headed for the shower. When he emerged ten minutes later, Dillon was gone. Sean dressed and tried to pretend that he wasn’t nearly as excited as he felt, that his own focus remained at least partly held by the innocent Examiner. But just then, as he prepared to transit back to school, it was hard to think of anything more than seeing Elenya again.
But when he arrived in the school’s transit room and saw Elenya seated on the little grey bench, he could not help but blanch.
She rose to her feet in a nervous jerk. “What’s the matter?”
“No, it’s nothing.” He did his best to smile. “Ready to go?”
“No, Sean. Tell me. Is it my clothes?”
Elenya wore an elegant version of what Sean had come to think of as Tatyana’s uniform—a high-collared shirt dress with slit sides and matching trousers. Both in a silky material that shimmered like liquid with her every movement. Their pearl-like color formed an elegant backdrop for the matching bracelet and necklace of woven gold with jewel pendants.
Sean replied, “You look nice. Really.”
“But it is not suitable.”
“These people we’re meeting, they’re . . .”
“Rustic.”
“Don’t let Dillon hear you say that, okay? You’re right. They are rustic in a way. But coming from you, especially how you’re dressed, what he’d probably hear is ‘primitive.’ And they’re not that. At all.”
“I did not mean—”
“No, no. I know that.” He reached for her hand. “Maybe we should just . . .”
But she was not ready to go anywhere. “What should I be wearing?”
“Exactly what you had on when you met me upstairs.”
Elenya blushed a flaming scarlet. “My mother would never permit such a thing. When she saw me return, she was so upset.”
Sean smiled. It was not often he saw this lady lose her composure. “I thought you looked great.”
“Then I am glad I wore it. Do you know of a place where I might buy suitable clothes?”
“There’s a shopping center three blocks from our home. But it’s not necessary—”
“Please, Sean. I want to do this. But when dinner is over, can I leave the clothes with you?” Sean’s surprise must have shown on his face, because she added, “Have I said something wrong?”
“No, no, it’s just, leaving clothes at a guy’s place means something in my world.”
“Correct. It means I don’t need to argue with my mother.”
“I’ve never done this before. Led somebody else through a transit. Well, I did once. But I had no idea what I was doing.”
“It is simple. You extend your shield around us both. Then you step, and I step with you.” She held out her hand. “Perhaps we should hurry.”
Elenya marveled at everything. Their loft, cars, trees, sunlight, more cars, stoplights, birds, clouds, pedestrian crosswalks, the people. Sean watched her more than anything else, delighting in her delight. The regal young woman seeing his staid outpost world for the very first time, and just loving it.
He took her to the mall, where the salesgirl was taken with Elenya from first glance. “I love your clothes. Are they Armani?”
“Please?”
Sean broke in. “My friend is foreign. She needs something for a backyard meal.”
“Casual chic,” the salesgirl offered. “Our specialty.”
“Right. And we need her ready in . . .” Sean checked his watch. “Twelve minutes?”
“No problem. Parents involved, right?”
“Sort of. My brother’s new girlfriend.”
“And her father,” Elenya added. “It could be tense.”
“We can’t be late,” Sean said.
“Okay, we’re on it.” The salesgirl pointed Sean into a chair. “Why don’t you sit there and play happy.” She led Elenya away. “Who does your hair?”
“My mother.”
“No kidding. What is she, like, a major stylist?”
“A molecular biochemist.”
“I guess that works. Your accent is wild. Where are you from?”
“Serena. I am Serenese.”
“That’s like, where, Europe?”
Elenya smiled, clearly having a wonderful time. “Further.”
“Cool. What are you, like, a six?”
Precisely eleven minutes later, Elenya reappeared wearing patterned tights and an off-the-shoulder top with a tank top beneath. Everything was a pastel mix of off-white and several shades of pale pink. She was, in a word, stunning.
Sean said, “Wow.”
“That’s what I like to hear from my guys, you know?” The salesgirl was already ringing them up. “Nothing beats the wow factor in my book.”
Sean watched the salesgirl bag four more tops, another pair of leggings, two trousers, a jacket, and two pairs of shoes besides the pink sandals Elenya now wore. “You just set a land-speed record for shopping.”
“Your girlfriend is, like, the easiest person to fit I’ve ever seen.” The salesgirl lifted the bag holding Elenya’s original outfit. “You want to wear your jewelry?”
“Leave it in there, please.”
“You got it.” She checked the total and announced, “That comes to eleven hundred and thirty-eight dollars.”
Sean tried hard to stifle his wince, but Elenya noticed. As they walked back, she offered, “I can pay for all this.”
“No, it’s okay.” He just needed to alert Dillon so his brother didn’t have heart failure when he checked their account.
But his worry must have shown, because when they crossed the main road and entered the residential section, she asked, “You and your brother are of course aware that you receive a salary?”
That definitely rocked him. “What?”
“Ah.” She nodded. “As I said, Sean, there are some things you miss in jumping over all those school years. Yes. Speak with Josef. You are paid every ten days.”
“How much?”
“By my planet’s standards, rather a lot.”
“Even as recruits?”
“You are intended to be in a financial position where you are never open to bribery. Why do you smile?”
“I’ve never had any money.”
“Well, Sean, you do now.”
He shifted her bags to his other hand, took hold of hers, and said what he’d often thought since that very first day. “I love the way you say my name.”