RACHEL'S ARM WAS nearly twisted off as Velda grabbed it and pulled it towards her, demanding, "What?"
The other two ladies crowded around to read the words for themselves.
"See. He's pulling back again," Daisy said, pointing to the ID bracelet. "Something is going on."
"I don't really care what is going on. No one hurts our Rachel," Eddie said, putting her hands on her hips and scowling.
"That's cold. No explanation at all," Tish said, shaking her head.
"He's not a cold man," Rachel said, taking back her arm and rubbing it. "There must be a reason."
"Some men simply don't know how to love," Eddie said.
"It's sad, really," Daisy said, nodding in agreement.
"He does know how to love. He was married before," Rachel said, feeling she needed to do something to protect his good name since he wasn't there to defend himself. She didn't know why he suddenly insisted on breaking up with her, but he knew how to love. He showed it even to his newts and salamanders.
"Oh, now we're getting somewhere," Velda said, taking a dramatic sip of her tea. She raised her eyebrows. "Divorced?"
"No, widowed."
All three women started, sucking in their breath. They glanced at each other, giving each other all-knowing nods. None of which made sense to Rachel. She quickly said, "You don't know him. You can't judge him."
"Wow, am I glad this is you on the hot-seat and not me," Tish said. She pointed to a cavity in the wall of the corridor not far away. "I'll just be in there fixing things."
"Which is what I should be doing." Rachel deliberately picked up the scanner from the edge of the supply cart. "I'm sure you ladies understand."
"Of course we do, dear. It's okay. Now we understand what the problem is," Eddie said, patting her arm.
Rachel's suspicions rose full force, knowing for a certainty they were already up to something else. "Understand what?"
"Why he withdrew, of course," Velda said. "It's not as over as his words might say."
"Classic response," Daisy said, taking the cups and starting to put them in the white box.
"We'll take care of it," Eddie said.
Before she knew it, the women had packed up the tea party, collapsed the table, and set off again. Rachel watched them disappear down the corridor, wondering if she should stop everything and chase them down to demand what they were up to now.
Or even to make sure they got out of the maintenance corridors okay. Which brought up another question. How did they find her in the first place without getting lost?
"Wow, am I glad this is you and not me," Tish said from the protection of the cavity she'd pushed herself into. Small bots moved in and out of the space above her head. "You, my friend, are in serious trouble."
"I don't need a special connection with the station to know that," Rachel said.
The Naughty Knitters club were at it again, and this time she was the focus. No, not just her. Ignacio, too. This was worse then when the group thought one of the animal rescue groups needed a good fundraiser. Sure, they'd raised a lot of money, but the animal-themed parade through the entertainment district was still the stuff of station legend. All those costumes. All those miffed bots complaining in all their chirps and whistles at being drafted…
Poor Ignacio. He had no idea what was coming at the both of them.
She worried about it all through the repair. Worried about it when she and Tish split up work on other problems. Worried enough that she wondered if she should warn Ignacio.
The one good thing about being at work when it all happened was the ability to keep her hands busy. It kept her from going crazy. She whipped through the repairs on the list in quick succession. Even the smaller repairs and lower priority service requests could be given attention.
She sighed to herself. Imagine what she could do with a little help. She could possibly clear the requests by the end of the day. She loved the thought of being able to do so. No one yelling at her, informing her other repairs were more important than others.
Two new pressure sensors servicing several apartment blocks returned the water pressure to their faucets. A filtration screen replacement took care of an odor problem. Somehow she found herself back at the third ring, once again working on valve problems. A problem that started moving the moment she started to work on it. Then came the hissing from her bot.
She groaned out lout, eliciting a chirping question from her bot.
"It's one of those days, bot," Rachel said.
She closed the valves on either end of the problem, disconnecting the pipes, and she soon held a hissing Mandian Ruffled Newt in her hands.
And everything came rushing back from the night before. As it did, her ire built.
No, she wasn't going to let him off the hook quite so fast. Not after the kiss they shared. It might have been short, but there had been real emotion behind it. Blazing fire, from her point of view.
With a good grasp on Irvine, she stalked towards the local industrial block, leaving her bot behind to put the pipes back together. She wasn't concerned. Her bot had the help of the larger robots, and it wasn't as if anything needed to be replaced and repaired. The culprit to the whole trouble she held squirming and hissing in her hands.
"Go ahead. Keep up the mouth. You aren't getting away," Rachel told it, only to be answered by another hiss.
Her bot caught up with the supply cart towed behind it. Irvine and her bot took turns hissing at each other while she waited for someone to answer at the front of the warehouse. When the door opened, it was to find Ignacio in the same apron as the first time, his hair stuck up in all directions.
His eyes widened when he saw her. Then he caught sight of Irvine in her hands, and he groaned. "Not again."
"Yes, again. Did you happen to find where he escaped last night?" Rachel demanded.
"No, and yes I have been looking."
"Good. Now that we have that out of the way, I have something to say to you."
"Go ahead." Ignacio straightened his shoulders, his jaw tense. Probably waiting for her to attack him with everything she had. Some small part of her wanted to.
Instead, she said, "I have a ruined dress thanks to you and your newt. I demand payment."
"Uh, I already told you…"
"Yes, yes, that you can't afford to replace it. I'm not asking for money." She shoved Irvine into his hands and looked straight up into his eyes. "To make good, I demand another date."
***
Ignacio stood in the door holding a wriggling Irvine, wondering what parallel universe he'd just entered. A short time ago he'd sent her a text to break it off nice and clean, and then she arrived at the warehouse demanding another date?
He couldn't have heard correctly. "What?"
"You heard me. Now, go put Irvine away and let's talk specifics." Rachel pushed him backwards into the apartment. Her bot followed her into the entry way, but then stopped. With one last hiss in Irvine's direction, it set to rearranging some of the parts in the cart.
He did as she asked, only because it gave him more time to think. He took Irvine into the other room, putting him in an isolation enclosure until he could check out the main enclosure for the escape route.
He must be dreaming. He stood staring at Irvine as the newt made his displeasure known with his smaller enclosure, flashing angry colors at him and hissing. He tried to get his mind wrapped around what to do with the situation now. He hadn't expected her to come back to the warehouse.
"Don't think you can hide among the newts," Rachel called out after him. "I know where you work. I can find you."
Apparently, she also had no plans to leave until they talked. He took in a deep breath. Fine, time to get it over with.
He returned to the living room to find her pacing back and forth, her bot and cart still next to the front door. She didn't appear angry. Instead, her shoulders were held tight, along with her jaw. Tense, just like he felt.
"I don't know what you want to talk about. We tried one date. It didn't work out," Ignacio said.
"Yes, it did work out. You enjoyed it, I enjoyed it, all except when you… I don't know, thought of something." Rachel came to a stop in front of him. "What was it?"
Her eyes sparkled bright with her inner fire. With her so close he realized her brown eyes included flecks of blue along the inner halo, spiraling out to a softer milk-chocolate brown. He could lose himself in them forever if he weren't careful.
He took a step back, trying to pull himself away from the danger. "I do enjoy your company, as a friend. It isn't fair to claim it's anything more than that."
Rachel took just as big of a step forward. "Your kiss said otherwise."
"The kiss was a mistake." His heart cringed at the words.
He couldn't take lying any more. When it came down to it, which part of him was lying? The part remembering his wife, or the part who wanted Rachel? Once again the thoughts swirled around in his head, jumbling so they made no sense at all. Even worse, he could see his words had hurt her, making him wishing he could take them all back.
"You know where the door is." He turned towards the dining room and kitchen, hoping for a quick escape. She would leave, and then he could go back to his newts and salamanders, trying to forget Rachel Henderkito never existed.
He didn't expect her to follow him.
"Not good enough. You are hiding something." She stopped next to the table.
With a start, he realized he hadn't cleared it off. What possessed him to pull the old stuff out in the first place? His heart sank even more when she picked up a flat black object. She studied it a moment, rubbing her fingers along the top of it.
Her eyes lifted to his, clear and bright, with an unexpected tinge of humor."Now I understand. Widower's guilt."
Ignacio stood frozen to the spot. He'd heard the words, knew what they meant, but his brain couldn't process the current situation. He didn't know what to say or do. Now, she knew.
Others knew of his dead wife, but this was Rachel. Rachel was different. He cursed himself for bringing the box of mementos. How long ago did he pack them away into storage, and he'd felt the urge to look at them now?
"Reggy told me you'd been married and she died. What was her name?" Rachel asked, still running a finger along the edge of the digital frame.
"Marcie," Ignacio answered automatically.
"What did she do for a living? Helped you with the breeding?"
"Environmental surveyor for corporations. It gave us a chance to travel and spend time together."
"What happened?"
Ignacio didn't want to talk about it, but he couldn't deny her clear eyes. No pity, no raised voice. Only simple interest.
"Surveying for a new factory site one of the few times I wasn't with her. She wrote back that she was going to stop the construction because of the unique environment. Then a different nearby factory had an accident." He briefly closed his eyes, not wanting to remember. "It destroyed most of the nearby town along with much of the surrounding environment. At least she didn't suffer long."
"This was on Bevel. I remember seeing the news reports about it. Where the Silky Newts are from, isn't it," Rachel asked, her voice soft.
Ignacio nodded. "I'm breeding the newts to rebuild the lost local population from stock from pets and zoos. They are unique."
Rachel smiled at him. "You breed them for her."
"I bred a few before in a previous conservation program I belonged to." Ignacio forced himself to turn away from her. One by one he took the objects and started placing them back in the storage box. "Because the need was so great I started my own program here to start working on the unique reptiles of what is now a preserve using settlement money from the accident. Ironically, Irvine is the one odd newt out, as he's from a different world."
"Lucky me." Rachel handed him the digital picture frame.
He cradled the frame in his hands, watching as the pictures flicked by of Marcie and himself on their trips around the worlds of the Galactic Commonwealth. Full of smiles and fun. It seemed so long ago, and yet it really wasn't.
"I'm not trying to replace her," Rachel said.