Page 19 of Right on Time

“If my flowers are not the problem, then it must be the cabin,” Trixie said, eyes scanning the room. “Is it the view? The vastness of space can be overwhelming, I know. The view at Jupiter is much better, you’ll see when you come visit my and Vrixiel’s home.”

“No, the view is nice.” Chloe was grateful for the long rectangular illuminator on the wall in front. The cabin was an average size but without a view to the outside, she would have felt claustrophobic. The sight of the starry darkness was also a good reminder that she was a long, long way from Earth; if she didn’t put her head in the game, there would be no going back home for her.

“It’s the bed, isn’t it? You think the blue stuff is slimy or sticky.” Trixie went to the bed and patted the pale-blue surface. “See?” She showed her palm to Chloe. “All dry and clean. Trust me, once you feel this gel under your naked ass, you’ll never want to sleep on a human bed again.”

“Okay…”

“The gel absorbs any vibrations, follows the curves of your body, and can be made more solid or liquid-y depending on your preferences. Gaenthians like it more on the liquid side because of their wings. You know the best part about this magical gel?”

“Hm?”

Trixie tapped the jelly twice then moved her hand over that section. The jelly rose to meet her palm. “You can raise or lower certain parts. To fit the positions you want to try.” Trixie wiggled her green-dyed eyebrows.

“Sure…”

“Oh, honey.” Trixie rushed to Chloe’s side. Clearly, Chloe had failed to fake her smile of excitement. “Are you alright? If you desperately need to use the toilet, you don’t have to hold it in because of my blabbering. The bathroom is behind the left wall; you press the blue panel by the desk, and part of the wall slides aside.”

“No–I mean, yes, I do need the toilet, but not… desperately.” Chloe sighed. “It’s just that…”

“Yes?”

“It’s–No, it’s not important.”

“Honey,” Trixie put a reassuring hand on Chloe’s, “you can confide in me. We Earth girls have to support each other up here. Whatever you tell me will stay between us, no gossiping. I may talk a lot, but my pie hole is locked shut when it comes to secrets.”

Chloe smiled, and it was a genuine smile. Trixie had this way about her that made you want to pour your heart out. “There is no secret, Trixie. Just stuff that’s on my mind.”

“Stuff like…?”

“Like being here. It’s overwhelming,” Chloe admitted. “I had big plans. I was supposed to be in a meeting that had the potential to change my future, but then Subcommander Nitiel showed up and my plans went puff.”

“Ah, you’re a planner. Come,” Trixie tugged at Chloe’s hand, “let’s sit here by the window.”

Before Chloe could offer her help in getting on the high bench, Trixie patted the smooth gray surface and the levitating piece of furniture lowered.

Trixie snickered at the surprised look on Chloe’s face. “Neat, right? Everything that’s hovering over the floor can be as high or as low as you want it. You can also move it all over the place. I never thought alien furniture alone could change my life, but here we are!” Trixie sat on the bench and gave it a pat, making it rise to a height more comfortable for Chloe. “Now, I get that as a person used to planning a lot, the last-minute change must have soured your trip here. Missing that important meeting must have sucked too. But it’s more than that, is it?”

Wow, Trixie was one perceptive woman. Or Chloe’s face was simply too open a book. “I’ve more or less gotten over the fact that my plans have changed, but it’s just that… I’m not supposed to be here. No offense, I see you’re very happy with whom the ASI has paired you with, but I’m calling bull in my case.”

“You are?” A surprised look passed across Trixie’s face. “How come? You’re yet to see your fated mate – niel, as the Gaenthians call it.”

“It sounds stupid, I know, to question the almighty ASI. But what life with the Commander entails can only make me miserable. He might be the most perfect-looking guy out there, he might be a good person, but if being with him requires that I abandon everything that makes me, me, it just won’t work. Not in the long term. And fated mates are supposed to be forever, no?”

“Honey,” Trixie patted her hand, “I get you. I’m not going to try to convince you the Commander is the lid for your pot. I’ll say only this: be patient and listen to your heart, not your brain. If you rush things because you want to go back to your plans, to what is familiar and makes you feel secure, you’ll miss the incredible stuff that’s in store for you up here. It might get scary sometimes, but it’s totally worth it, girl. Trust me.”

Chloe nodded. Living in the moment was something she was trying to teach herself to do. Always planning for the future and being obsessed with not wasting time on anything ‘unproductive’ was not good for her mental health. But strive as she might, she kept failing. She kept thinking ahead instead of basking in the happiness of a given moment. She kept feeling guilty for something as natural as taking a 30-minute nap after a hard day at work, because those precious minutes could instead have been spent on, say, beading a bracelet. Perhaps now was a good time to try living in the present, given how she had neither plans nor a way to keep track of ‘wasted’ time.

“Trixie, can I ask how your experience was? When you met Vrixiel for the first time?”

Trixie clapped her hands. “Girl, I thought you’d never ask. I love telling this story, it’s so embarrassing.”

“Oh. Then don’t tell me, I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

“No, no, it’s embarrassing in a good way. Not that I saw it like that at the time… So,” Trixie got her legs under her on the bench, sitting more comfortably, “I was ecstatic when some Gaenthians came to my workplace to tell me my niel had been found. I couldn’t believe my luck; I had been single at the time and had been fantasizing about an alien hottie of my own since for-e-ver. I waved my colleagues goodbye and left straight for outer space. I didn’t bother with baggage or calling my boss to tell him to find a new seamstress, since the Gaenthians would handle everything. My sole focus was getting to my fated mate. And when I got off the ship and saw that beefcake…”

“What happened?”

Trixie prolonged the dramatic pause just a bit longer before she grinned. “I fainted.”

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