“Cranna juice if we have any.” She picked up a toy and tussled with Verlaine, who happily chomped on his end of the well chewed faux bone and tugged. “Lunch sounds good too. Sandwiches and a salad might be nice.”
Trevor placed an order for her and then brought the juice. Verlaine studied him before trotting off to lie down in a huge pet bed, where he remained awake and watchful. Trevor took it as a good sign.
Biting her lip, she asked, “You did feel the cold? In the pantry?”
He hated to admit it but didn’t want her worrying over her own mental state. “Yes, although the crew and Maeve swore it’s not a refrigerated room. Have you ever been tested for psychic ability?”
She choked on a sip of juice, coughed and then stared at him, eyes wide. “Why do you ask?”
Trevor shared his theory reluctantly. “Because clearly there was something otherworldly going on in the room, affecting both of us and since we know this is not the actual spot where anything happened to you or your companions, the portal to the event would have had to be you.”
Gianna mulled the suggestion over. “I’ve never been tested, to answer your question. My father shied away from anything of that nature. I’ve often wondered though if maybe Lady Damais, the Mellurean Mind who was with us for part of the time, left me with a touch of precognition.” More energized as she developed her train of thought, she sat on the edge of the couch. “Take the painting I gave you for example. Occasionally I get the feeling I need to paint a certain theme or scene and I do, and then the person it’s for shows up. But I’m no good at predicting events or picking winning race horses. I can’t control it at all.”
“How are you at influencing roulette wheels?” he asked.
“I’ve never been anywhere there was one.” She raised her eyebrows.
Apparently she’d forgotten their date so he hastened to remind her. He was genuinely looking forward to the evening but not if she was too tired or stressed by the day’s events. “Are we still on for tonight, for our big date at the casino, restaurant and show or would you rather defer to another night? Today was kind of draining for you, I’m sure.”
“I’ll rest this afternoon,” she said. “I’m eager to embark on our evening plans.”
“If you’re positive—”
“I’ll be fine.” She sounded so confident he allowed himself to be convinced.
“We can always call it a night early if not,” he said as he left his seat to let the room service robo in with their lunch. “Tomorrow night is dinner with the captain but then we have a few more evenings to fill before we reach your destination.”
5
Lunch was pleasant and she’d regained her energy and enthusiasm by the time Trevor left to allow her to take the promised nap, saying he was behind on filing reports on old incidents and could use an afternoon to catch up. Gianna walked into the bedroom and stared at the bed for a moment before turning to Verlaine. “Nope, got over the taking naps thing a long time ago. How about we go to the concourse and check out the eye catching dress in the high end clothing store window? You need more exercise, right?”
Ready for anything, the hound wagged his tail and barked.
Gianna got his leash and set off. She felt confident since the concourse was on the same level of the vast ship and it wouldn’t take her long to decide if the dress was going to do for tonight’s date or not. She’d packed a few dressy things of course, since she was going to a huge wedding with all the parties and festivities such an event entailed, but she wanted something new, an outfit to impress a certain handsome lieutenant.
When she reached the shops, she took her time, window shopping and admiring the displays. Verlaine stuck close but wasn’t signaling any issues. Gianna roamed through a toy store, marveling at all the clever gadgets, turned up her nose at a jewelry store, having more than enough bling left over at home from her late father’s business and her mother’s family jewels, checked out a divine shoe store and bought six pairs, which she had sent to her cabin and finally hit the dress shop. Examining the gown which had caught her eye earlier, she decided it was a no due to the color, but then the experienced and enthusiastic saleslady showed her a small cache of gowns by Twilka Zabour, tucked away in their own special salon.
“You’ve found my weakness,” she said to the assistant. “I hadn’t seen these.”
“Her new collection,” the woman said proudly. “We have a special, exclusive arrangement with her.”
Gianna tried on three dresses and bought two, one of which was perfect for the dinner and casino evening Trevor had planned. The clerk charged them to her cabin, wrapped them prettily and Gianna left the store quite proud of herself. It had been a long time since she’d gone shopping since to do so since on her home planet was a complicated process due to security needs.
“Gianna, what a nice surprise.” It was Juli the cruise director. “I see you’ve been checking out the stores. I hope you had fun.”
“It was relaxing—I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed trying on new clothes,” Gianna said.
“May I pet Verlaine or is he working?” Juli asked as they walked along companionably.
Impressed, because so few people were aware of the rules about service animals, Gianna liked Juli even more. “Yes, thanks for checking first.”
Juli knew where to scratch the hound’s chin to reduce him to a mound of furry happiness. “My boyfriend’s aunt has a darling dog, but she’s not with us this trip and I’ve been missing him. Well, missing Aunt Dian herself too, but Charrli is a one of a kind companion. I’m sure your Tajikka is in a class by himself too.” She straightened and a disappointed Verlaine got to his feet, shaking his fur into its proper place. “The ship has a few permanent pets but they’re only available to socialize when it suits them,” she said with a laugh. “By the way, I’ll be at the captain’s dinner in your honor tomorrow.”
“That’ll be nice—” Gianna had just begun to express her happiness at the news because she liked Juli, when Verlaine growled and pushed in front of her.
There was no other warning as an excited man rushed up to her. “It is you! Gianna Nadenoft! I can’t believe my luck—we need to talk.” He stuck his hand out, stepping back a little gingerly as Verlaine bared his fangs. “Jerrd Lanloring, at your service. You’ve probably seen my trideo documentary about the wreck? Or maybe the recent—”
Juli was doing her best to run interference and get between the other passenger and Gianna. “Sir, please, it’s obvious Ms. Nadenoft has no interest in speaking with you so if you could move along.”
Lowering his voice and stepping around Juli, although keeping what he probably assumed was a safe distance from Verlaine, Lanloring babbled on, spitting in his excitement. “Have you seen the struts in the landing bay? If those stamped serial numbers aren’t proof of everything I’ve ever said, I don’t know what is. Listen, I’ve sent you message after message—”
Gianna drew herself to her full height and held up one hand imperiously. “I have nothing to say to you. I was three, my mother died, my father almost died, I barely remember anything about the experience and I have no knowledge which could help you with your demented theories. Please don’t bother me again.” With that she walked away, Verlaine maneuvering every few steps to check whether Lanloring was following. Juli remained behind for a moment, lecturing the man and then rushed to catch up.