in the fresh air.
“Anything I can do to help?” the facilities manager asked as he gave Lia a smile. Colan breathed deeply and still glared at her, and Lia wanted to sink into the moist, peaty earth and think about something peaceful for a few hours.
“Yeah, you can explain what happened to Rue and Tun’s house and why they’re homeless now.” Colan started again, not bothering to look at Welti.
“Right. Well, we had to demolish it you know.” Welti’s voice rose with excitement, which might not have been the best tone to soothe the angry man in front of them.
“Oh, I know that much. You had to demolish it.”
“And we already have a new modular under construction for them, and it’ll be in place just over there,” Welti gestured toward a newly cleared lot twenty meters away, “within the week. Really nice too. More space, more energy efficient, and we’re putting in a studio space for them with lots of solarcell windows. They do laser optic stained glass.” Welti grinned with enthusiasm for the new project. Give him something to tear down or build up and he was a contented man. Unlike the still simmering Colan Nestor. Lia doubted he’d ever been happy in his life.
Lia watched him as he absorbed the news and blinked first at Welti and then at her. The flush of anger faded from his cheeks, and as his expression relaxed and his shoulders loosened, she did too.
“Huh.”
“Lia’s got them set up in a great suite in our dormitory until it’s ready. They seemed thrilled with it. Said it would be like a vacation even though it’s just a few meters from home. You even set them up with their own butlebot, didn’t you Lia?”
Lia couldn’t resist quirking an I-told-you-so eyebrow at Colan, and he had the grace to drop his gaze for a moment. So much for her not keeping her word to care for his friends. She waited a beat for him to apologize for his outburst, and when he said nothing, she gave up on Colan Nestor. There was too much to do, and he’d already wasted enough of her time.
“If that satisfies your outrage, I believe I’ll be going,” she declared and walked away from both men, heading back to her office before she started to shake with the conflicting emotions running through her. Colan’s temper had startled her, but her aggressive response was out of character, and Lia wasn’t sure why she’d fought back in such a personal manner. It was terribly unprofessional.
* * * *
It was after hours, and Colan waited for admittance at the entrance to the congressional dormitory. Night arrived slowly on Gamaliel; dusk seemed to last for a couple of hours at this time of year. Night flivvers were stirring, swooping around the cocker trees hunting for unwary day creatures not yet hidden for the evening. Colan had distracted himself with watching them for nearly an hour rather than heading over to the new congressional complex and take on the dreadful task of apologizing to Lia. He’d procrastinated too long and found the outer doors locked for the night.
A soft pink light throbbed from the display by the entrance, and Colan wasn’t sure if he should speak into it or touch it to alert the inhabitants he would like to come in. Maybe this was a sign he should just wait until tomorrow. It might be easier. She wouldn’t be as upset. But Colan knew the longer he waited the harder it would be, so tonight it was. If he could just get in to see her. And if she would agree to see him.
The display pad morphed orange just as Zashi appeared at the door, looking at Colan with zero expression through the glass door. Lia’d probably sent the security officer to thrash him, and Colan was sure the man could do it without breaking a sweat. Zashi opened the door and beckoned for him to enter, his black eyes assessing Colan as if he couldn’t decide if he was a threat or not.
“Here to see your friends?”
“No, I’d like to see Lia Frei.”
Zashi tilted his head a few millimeters and assessed him more
“Anything I can do to help?” the facilities manager asked as he gave Lia a smile. Colan breathed deeply and still glared at her, and Lia wanted to sink into the moist, peaty earth and think about something peaceful for a few hours.
“Yeah, you can explain what happened to Rue and Tun’s house and why they’re homeless now.” Colan started again, not bothering to look at Welti.
“Right. Well, we had to demolish it you know.” Welti’s voice rose with excitement, which might not have been the best tone to soothe the angry man in front of them.
“Oh, I know that much. You had to demolish it.”
“And we already have a new modular under construction for them, and it’ll be in place just over there,” Welti gestured toward a newly cleared lot twenty meters away, “within the week. Really nice too. More space, more energy efficient, and we’re putting in a studio space for them with lots of solarcell windows. They do laser optic stained glass.” Welti grinned with enthusiasm for the new project. Give him something to tear down or build up and he was a contented man. Unlike the still simmering Colan Nestor. Lia doubted he’d ever been happy in his life.
Lia watched him as he absorbed the news and blinked first at Welti and then at her. The flush of anger faded from his cheeks, and as his expression relaxed and his shoulders loosened, she did too.
“Huh.”
“Lia’s got them set up in a great suite in our dormitory until it’s ready. They seemed thrilled with it. Said it would be like a vacation even though it’s just a few meters from home. You even set them up with their own butlebot, didn’t you Lia?”
Lia couldn’t resist quirking an I-told-you-so eyebrow at Colan, and he had the grace to drop his gaze for a moment. So much for her not keeping her word to care for his friends. She waited a beat for him to apologize for his outburst, and when he said nothing, she gave up on Colan Nestor. There was too much to do, and he’d already wasted enough of her time.
“If that satisfies your outrage, I believe I’ll be going,” she declared and walked away from both men, heading back to her office before she started to shake with the conflicting emotions running through her. Colan’s temper had startled her, but her aggressive response was out of character, and Lia wasn’t sure why she’d fought back in such a personal manner. It was terribly unprofessional.
* * * *
It was after hours, and Colan waited for admittance at the entrance to the congressional dormitory. Night arrived slowly on Gamaliel; dusk seemed to last for a couple of hours at this time of year. Night flivvers were stirring, swooping around the cocker trees hunting for unwary day creatures not yet hidden for the evening. Colan had distracted himself with watching them for nearly an hour rather than heading over to the new congressional complex and take on the dreadful task of apologizing to Lia. He’d procrastinated too long and found the outer doors locked for the night.
A soft pink light throbbed from the display by the entrance, and Colan wasn’t sure if he should speak into it or touch it to alert the inhabitants he would like to come in. Maybe this was a sign he should just wait until tomorrow. It might be easier. She wouldn’t be as upset. But Colan knew the longer he waited the harder it would be, so tonight it was. If he could just get in to see her. And if she would agree to see him.
The display pad morphed orange just as Zashi appeared at the door, looking at Colan with zero expression through the glass door. Lia’d probably sent the security officer to thrash him, and Colan was sure the man could do it without breaking a sweat. Zashi opened the door and beckoned for him to enter, his black eyes assessing Colan as if he couldn’t decide if he was a threat or not.
“Here to see your friends?”
“No, I’d like to see Lia Frei.”
Zashi tilted his head a few millimeters and assessed him more
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