Page 3 of Seven Oars
“We’ve been waiting here for three weeks,” Alyesha said once Ren had left.“And he wants to wait longer?” She looked square at Rosamma, as if trying to pry a different answer out of her when Ren wouldn’t say what they wanted.
“Just another week,” Rosamma said meekly.
It could be two weeks. It could be forever.
Gro lay down and put her hands under her head, a toothpick stuck in her mouth.“Fine by me. Let’s wait another week.” Her feet in worn-out shoes wiggled idly.
Alyesha tossed her long hair. Her dark eyes flashed.“Not everyone has time to lose, Gro.”
Most women were intimidated by the opinionated Alyesha, who steamrolled over others with practiced ease.
Not Gro.“What’s your rush, girl?”
Alyesha was younger than Gro, but not that young. Her impeccable, possibly genetically enhanced appearance had that timeless sheen that could place her anywhere between thirty and fifty-five.
Whatever her real age, she didn’t care for being called a girl.
She gave Gro a killing look, but instead of arguing, smiled tightly.“Someone’s waiting for my company on Priss eagerly.”
Gro scoffed.“If you’re so important, they can wait another week. Or what’s the problem?”
Before an argument could ensue, Eze pulled out a snack and ripped the packaging noisily.
Eze was a Sakka alien, the only non-human in their group. Rosamma didn’t know what Eze was doing on human Meeus, how long she’d lived here, or why she couldn’t leave through legal channels. Just like she knew nothing about any of the others. None had shared their stories.
Mara worried her lip.“Do you think we won’t be able to go, after all?”
“We’ll find a way.” Anske’s blue, wide-set eyes blazed with determination. It saved Rosamma from hedging and spouting platitudes.“I can’t fail. I have a higher purpose!”
That made Gro raise her head and Eze pause chewing.
“This delay is a holy test,” Anske continued, unaware—or unconcerned—by the heightened attention from Gro and Eze.“We should use this time to reflect and seek repentance.”
Mara’s daughter, Daphne, darted across the room and pressed herself to her mother’s side. Daphne was a younger version of Mara, pretty and round-faced, only skinnier, paler. In her late teens, she acted like a young child and had the vocabulary of a five-year-old.
“I’ll be damned.” Gro half-rose from her bed to stare at Anske.“You’re a fucking missionary!”
“Gro!” Mara slapped her hands over Daphne’s ears.
Alyesha laughed out loud.
Fawn swung a wide-eyed look between Anske and Gro.“Bro! A missionary. For real?”
Anske straightened as she realized she’d become the center of attention.“So what if I am? People on that asteroid have no roots. They need spiritual grounding, and someone has to deliver it. By appealing to other people’s faltering morals, we build our character. Don’t you agree, Fawn?”
Anske’s direct appeal to her morality and character caught Fawn off guard. She looked around wildly.“Oh, I don’t know, Anske. I just want to get away from here. To see the world. Maybe find a man.” She twirled a strand of hair around her finger.
“No luck with men at home?” Alyesha curled her lip at Fawn while giving the younger woman’s nice, plump figure a slow, deliberate once-over.
Fawn was not unaware of Alyesha’s superior attitude, but she wasn’t intimidated by it.
“Not that. I’m from Pepper Pass. Nothing but corn fields and cow pastures. All the men are farmers—so boring.”
“Boring!” Sassa muttered. She was a small, tired-looking young woman, so quiet she often disappeared into the background.“A good problem to have, boring men.”
Eze, the Sakka, set aside her unfinished snack.“Well,” she said to Fawn,“you definitely won’t find cow manure or corn husks on Priss.”
“I’m ready for an adventure.”
