Page 6 of Help Wanted: Wife

Why is it so hot in here?The temperature in the spaceport seemed to have shot up by twenty degrees.

He’d kept interviewing right up until notification Prudence’s spaceship had launched. In truth, he’d run out of time and options.I hope she can do what shesaid she could.He’d accepted a lot on faith—on the assertion of an alien stranger.

He tugged at the collar of his shirt, realizing much of his anxiety originated from common “buyer’s remorse.” Regret and second-guessing oneself after a life-changing decision were normal.

Except, he didn’t want his life changed.Why did I let Adar influence me?

“I’ll grab a couple of accelerators for the luggage. Be right back.” He practically ran for the rack, needing a moment to compose himself. He took his time disengaging the airboards. Primarily used for people transport, airboards doubled as luggage conveyances, although most travelers used self-propelled hovercases. She had six trunks, and none of them floated?

He set two airboards on extra-slow and guided them back to where Prudence waited. Grunting, he hefted three heavy cases on each board. “How much clothing did you bring?”

“It’s not all clothes. Clifford loaded me up with baking supplies and ingredients he figured I might not have access to.”

“Clifford?” This was the first he’d heard of a man in her life.

“My boss—former boss—at Flour Power, the bakery where I worked.”

That’s the important thing. She has the necessary experience.

“This way.” He beckoned. “If you’ll guide that accelerator, I’ll take care of this one. Just nudge it in the right direction. We’ll vap to my apartment.”

“Vap?”

“Take a vaporator. You’ll see.” Using one would make more sense to her than him trying to explain molecular osmosis, which he didn’t understand himself.

Halfway down the terminal, they arrived at the nearest vaporator. He stacked the luggage and then stowed the accelerator in the nearby rack. As he returned to the transport, it opened to discharge a couple of men.

“Get on,” he told her. “Don’t think.”

“Don’t think?” She frowned, but boarded, dragging a trunk with her.

He stacked the cases three-high and then squeezed aboard, his shoes touching hers. Her citrusy scent wafted over him, reminding him of fresh air and sunlight. With effort, he forced himself to focus ontheir destination. The air fizzed, and he swayed from the slight vertigo vaporating sometimes caused.

Her eyes widened with surprise.

Seconds later, the transport deposited them on the second floor of the cloudtopper where his apartment was located. He got off, she followed, and he pulled the cases out before somebody called for the transport, and her luggage got vapped to parts unknown.

“That was vaporating,” he announced.

“Amazing!” she said. “Can you travel anywhere like that?”

“Anywhere in the city. The system isn’t portal-to-portal, but you can usually get within a block or two of your destination. My wife and I picked this particular apartment because we could vap right to the building. The cloudtopper is mostly residential, but there’s a school on the tenth floor, so the building has a vaporator.”

“What floor are we on?”

“Two, which is low enough to make the rent affordable—but it’s off the surface!” he boasted. The small rise in vertical distance represented a huge leap in comfort and status. Being on the second floor, he escaped the grime, racket, and noxious smells of the street—unless he opened the windows. Then noise andodors would infiltrate the apartment, but the fact he’d moved up a notch was compensation enough. Even better, the new bakery would be on thethirdfloor of another cloudtopper. Another step up. Rung by rung, he would climb to the top.I will reach the pinnacle.

With shock, he realized this was the first time since the funeral he’d viewed the future with anything but grim drudgery.

“How many floors total?” Prudence asked.

“Twenty in this building. Some buildings have more. Some have a few less.”

“Oh! So, a cloudtopper is a skyscraper. That’s what we call tall buildings.”

Skyscraper? What a strange name.“The apartment is halfway down the hall. There is no conveyance for the luggage. We’ll have to carry it piece by piece.” He hefted a trunk onto his shoulder.

She grabbed a handle on the short end of another case, and, dragging the piece behind her, followed him.

---