Page 24 of Space for More

Phelix: Don’t apologize. I appreciate a xala that speaks her mind.

Eden: If that’s the case, I understand now why you’re Mezli’s mate.

There. I’ve acknowledged that he has a mate and we can move on from this awkward conversation. He takes far too long to reply, leaving me feeling like I’m going to die from embarrassment.

Phelix: I suppose you’re right. Though, Mezli and I don’t have any relationship to speak of, as you saw at lunch. We’re both free to pursue other options. Not that I have. Yet.

Holy shit. Is he flirting back? What should I do?

I reply, digging the hole deeper for myself.

Eden: Yet?

Phelix: Mezli would murder me if I laid a hand on you. At least not before she got the chance to.

Eden: What? She doesn’t see me like that. We’re just colleagues.

Phelix: Ah. Of course.

Eden: We are!

Phelix: As you say. I should let you get more rest. Perhaps if you have a chance to discuss the parameters of your “working relationship” with Mezli and find that you’re open to other collaborations, you’ll let me know.

I stare at my comm, waiting to see if he’ll send anothermessage, but that’s it. Unused to flirting, and worried I’m misinterpreting the situation, I let the non-horny part of my brain come back on board and send back the safest answer I can think of.

Eden: I will.

This time I really do throw my comm away from me, faceplanting back down into the pillow. What is wrong with me? God, I hope I didn’t screw up the mission with my inept attempt at making a pass at Phelix.

I don’t have long to stew in my panicked arousal before an incoming message alert chirps from across the room. I scramble up off the bed and over to where my comm has landed on the floor, heart racing as I anticipate a reply from Phelix. But it’s not him. It’s a vid comm request from my parents.

I accept the request immediately, and a surge of homesickness hits me like a ton of bricks as I see the familiar faces of my parents sitting at their rustic kitchen table. Dad’s eyes crinkle as he smiles, deepening the wrinkles he’s developed over many years of beaming at me and Mom with that same loving look. Mom, on the other hand, bursts into tears the second she sees me, her pale nose red like she’s already been crying.

“Hey Dad! Hey Mom—oh no, is everything okay? Did someone die?!” It’s not an unlikely scenario with the elderly population back home. I fretted the whole trip here that by going away, I was leaving the community without a full-time medic.

Dad pats my mom’s hand and shakes his head. “Don’t worry, Edi-chan. No one died. She’s just missing you. We both are. But now that we can see your sweet face, I’m sure her tears will dry up.”

Mom nods, grabbing a tea towel beside her to wipe away her tears. “S-sorry, sweetie! How are you? I’ve missed you somuch and you haven’t commed since you got to the station and I was worried that something happened and oh, I’m just so relieved to see you!”

Dad squeezes her hand in support. It’s clear she’s been worried sick. I feel like the worst daughter in the world for forgetting to check in when I arrived. Between the agents recruiting me and the drama at lunch today, it slipped my mind.

“I’m so sorry I worried you! I got swept up in things and, uh, wanted to get settled at the hotel and the conference. I’ll call every day I’m here from now on!”

“No, no, don’t do that. You’re living your dreams. I’m so proud of you, and I know how long you’ve wanted to go off planet. Don’t worry about your silly mom, I’ll manage my nerves.”

“It’s not silly to be worried about her on her first trip away from home,” Dad says reassuringly.

In all my excitement for taking this trip, I never considered how much of a shock my leaving would be to my parents. We all took my presence with them on Europa 3 as a given. Never once did I imagine I’d actually get the chance to travel. Dreamed about it constantly, yes. But it felt like wishing to be a fairytale princess.

“I miss you both so much. I’ll be home before you know it.” Tears well behind my eyes, both from being away from my parents and from the thought of going back to my mundane life on Europa 3.

Dad must see the mixture of emotions behind my glassy eyes, because he frowns slightly. “You know…” He exchanges a glance with my mom and she nods. “If you need to extend your trip, we can help you with that. We have some credits saved up.”

“What? No! That’s for your anniversary vacation. I couldn’t take that!” They’ve been planning a trip to a luxury vacation moon for their 50th anniversary for years. It’s one of Mom’s favorite topics ofconversation. Though she’s often morbid about it, saying it’ll be their final off-world adventure before they pass on. They’re older, but with medical advancements extending human lifespans, they’ve got at least another twenty to fifty years left before they die. With me around to check in constantly on their health, I’d like to hope it’ll be closer to fifty.

With me around. My gut clenches at the familiar thought.

I love my parents. They’re my favorite people in the entire universe, and I’d do anything for them. But I’m a thirty-year-old virgin who’s never left the safety of home. In fifty years, I’ll be eighty. Over half my life will have passed me by. Can I really go back to seeing the same handful of people day after day, caring for the sparse population of Europa 3 and watching my elderly patients eventually pass on despite my best efforts? I’ll never find love—at least not unless a single retiree ends up on the backwater farming planet.

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