“Darmaine told me. Lucento was supposed to tell us but apparently forgot. We’ll need to remember to tell John and Faith. I doubt they got the info either.”
The library had five terminal cubicles. The middle three were taken. “We’re not going to be able to sit together,” he said.
“Parting is such sweet sorrow,” she joked.
He pecked her on the lips. “See you soon.” He strode to the terminal at the end of the row.
Amity donned a headset to listen to the audio log-on instructions, which were translated into English. Once logged on, she searched the Refuge intranet for “fabric dyes.” Nothing came up. Paints and pigments proved just as fruitless—and then she happened across a complaint. An alien at another village reported that a certain edible berry had left indelible blue stains on her horniger fur blanket.
“Now we’re on to something,” she murmured, noting the berry genus and the village where it had been found. She craned her neck to check on Marshall. Brow furrowed, he squinted at his computer. He’d told her to take her time, but if he was ready to go, she could come back another day. But since he appeared to be occupied, she returned to her research.
The berry was a start. Possibly there were other fruits or plants…or insects! On Earth, food processing plants extracted carmine from the cochineal insect to color ketchup, strawberry yogurt, gummy candies, hot dogs, ham, and ice cream—just about any red-tinted processed food. Maybe there were insects on Refuge that could produce color?
Before she got sucked into the rabbit hole, she decided to check her “messages.”
To her surprise, there were two of them.
“Welcome to Artisan’s Loft!” said one subject heading.
The other read, “Message X03102125.” That meant nothing to her, so she opened the welcome.
The introductory “form” letter from Lucento listed the rules with emphasis on security, explained the pay credit system, and outlined available services—including terminal access and intranet. “Oh, that’s helpful, Lucento.” She chuckled quietly. One would have to know about the terminal access to find out about terminal access.Thank goodness Darmaine is so helpful.
One of the final paragraphs read, “There are a limited number of organizations with appropriate security clearances and encrypted communication channels. Should you receive a communication from them, it will appear in your intranet listing as the date of contact preceded by an X for external.”
So, the other message had come from off planet. From whom?One way to find out.She opened the communique.
“Congratulations! Cosmic Mates has found you a match. We believe that Vitox from planet Zycot is compatible with yourrequirements for a husband. He has already accepted you as a suitable wife. You may view his profile and read his personal message to you, by clicking HERE.
“You have three options. You may decline the offer of marriage, accept the offer, or arrange to meet for further consideration.”
What the hell? I’m already married. Happily married! Why are they sending me this?After the disastrous meet-up with the Nagarian and then meeting Marshall, she’d frozen her Cosmic Mates account—
No. No, she hadn’t.I forgot all about it! I never closed my account.
Soon after meeting Marshall, events had moved at warp speed. He had whisked her away to Refuge, and she’d had no way of accessing her account if she had remembered.
But how could Cosmic Matesnotbe aware she was no longer single? Their rep had performed the ceremony! Unless the wedding hadn’t gotten processed through the system? Or if the match offer was old. It might have come through before she’d gotten married. Given the security protocols, maybe it had taken time to reach her. She peered at the date on the message. Yes, it was nearly two weeks old.It’s probably not valid anymore.
Before she closed out her Cosmic Mates account, she needed to decline the offer. It wouldn’t be right to leave the man hanging. One would assume that if one no longer had an active account, any offers would be rendered null and void, but given the snafu, she didn’t trust that would occur.
She opened Vitox’s profile. An image of a smiling man with tusks, horns, and bristle-like hair filled the screen.
“Who the hell is that?”
Amity jumped and spun around to find Marshall standing behind her, his face thunderous.
“What’s wrong?”
* * * *
What’s wrong? What’s wrong?Betrayal knifed through his heart, leaving him hemorrhaging inside. He’d been planning for a future together, and she’d been planning her exit, window-shopping for her next husband.
“Cosmic Mates matched me—”
This is why she wanted to access the computer terminals.Dyes for horniger fur, my ass!“The husband you have isn’t good enough for you?”
She blinked. “Of course you are. Why are you looking at me like that? What is wrong—” Her mouth formed an O. “You don’t think…no, it’s not what it looks like.”