Regina pursed her lips. “Bueno, just because it’s late doesn’t mean I can’t look nice. Especially when I’m about to meet your friends for the first time.” Her tone shifted to excessive friendliness at the end of her statement. “Hello, mucho gusto, I’m Regina Alvarez. Por favor, come in, make yourselves at home.”
With an imperious wave, Regina floated back inside, and Eva reluctantly followed. Yes, this had all been her idea, and she was still fairly sure it was the right call, but part of her wanted to run screaming into the nearby ocean and swim until she reached another island. Maybe another planet.
The interior of the building was surprisingly large and well furnished, apparently with humans in mind. Kitchen with typical food-synthesizing equipment, living area with plush-looking couches and seats, dining room with a table and chairs made from colorful carved bark pieces. One of the chairs had been relocated to allow access to her mom’s hoverchair, but everything else was already arranged so as not to impede her movement or be frustratingly unreachable. A hallway led to more rooms, the translucent walls obscured by the privacy fogging mechanism.
“Bueno, so,” Regina said, shifting in her chair to lean on the right arm, laying a red-nailed finger on her cheek. “Evita, dale, introduce me to everyone, please.”
Eva refrained from rolling her eyes and instead started with Pink, who was closest. “This is my co-captain, Dr. Rebecca Jones,” Eva said.
“Pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” Pink said, offering a hand to Regina, who shook it delicately.
“A doctor and a captain?” Regina asked. “Very impressive. My abuelo was a doctor, you know. He and a few colleagues opened a hospital together near a university, and he was the chief resident for several years. Did you attend university?”
“No, I trained remotely,” Pink said, the temperature of her voice dropping slightly.
“Ah, okay,” Regina said, eyes wide even as her smile remained plastered on her face. Eva could almost see the drive core in her mind firing desperately as she tried to reroute. “Well, remote training must be difficult, since your facilities are limited. You have to work harder, sí?”
Pink flashed a brief, sardonic grin. “There are certainly fewer options for getting laid, but we manage.”
Eva snorted a laugh and bumped Pink with her hip. Regina laughed as well, hearty and not entirely genuine or comfortable.
“This is Park Min-jung, our pilot,” Eva continued, gesturing at Min, who had removed her shoes and was examining an elaborate-looking VR setup pushed against the far wall.
“Happy to meet you!” Min replied, rushing over and giving a polite bow, Mala on her heels. “Thank you for looking after us.”
“Ay, no, sin pena,” Regina said. “I’m always happy to help my daughter and her friends. And their cats?” She eyed Mala curiously, and Mala purred, twining in a figure eight.
Eva cringed internally. Her memories of growing up didn’t exactly support the idea that her mother was happy to help—more like she was happy to be involved, the metiche—but Eva wasn’t about to be contrary. Not when she’d called out of nowhere in the middle of the night to ask for yet another favor.
“Aren’t you a little young to be a pilot?” Regina asked Min.
“Mami, por favor, she’s an excellent pilot,” Eva said. “No empiezas.”
“Qué, ya, I’m not starting anything,” Regina replied. “It was just a question.” She gestured at Sue. “She seems very young, too, mija. I hope you’re not running any unpaid internships.”
“Her name is Susan.” Eva shook her head. “And no, that’s illegal.”
“Bueno,” Regina said, drawing the word out and raising her hands defensively. They both knew what she meant: that hadn’t stopped Eva before.
And yes, in fairness, Min and Sue had been in a lot of dangerous situations that Eva would never, ever tell her mother about in a million years. But she did pay them well for it, and more importantly, they did it because they wanted to.
“So you’re Susan Zafone,” Regina said, staring at Sue, who blushed and scooted closer to Min. Eva tensed, preparing to sidestep a lecture about criminal activity.
Vakar entered the room then, smelling like menthol-flavored tobacco. “The Watchers have departed,” he said. “I also searched the perimeter and interior for surveillance equipment and did not detect any active devices.”
Eva froze like she’d been stuffed into a cryo locker. Vakar. Coño carajo, she had never told her mom about Vakar. Hadn’t even mentioned she was in a relationship at all because she didn’t want to answer the inevitable prying questions, which would lead to some story about her mom’s latest unpleasant date with Fulano de Tal and how Eva really needed to be careful out there.
Why hadn’t she stuffed herself into the recycler instead? And why hadn’t she spent the entire cabrón ride over here figuring out how to deal with this unbearably awkward moment?
Before Eva could say anything, her mother dove in headfirst. “Dios mío, is this your security guard?” Regina asked, moving her chair closer to the door. Her tone was laced with suspicion and dismay, her lips pressing together as she scrutinized the now grassy-smelling Vakar.
“This is Vakar Tremonis san Jaigodaris,” Eva said, her mouth dry. “He’s not security, he’s my partner.”
Regina raised an eyebrow. “You have a partner and a co-captain? Un poco extraño, pero bueno, allá tú.”
Eva closed her eyes and inhaled. “No, Mami, not that kind of partner.” She stared down at her mother, who stared up at her with raised eyebrows. Behind Eva, Pink snorted a laugh.
Finally, Regina lifted her head in a slow nod. “Oh,” she said. “Mija, you didn’t tell me you—”
“I forgot,” Eva said. “Anyway. It’s late, everyone is tired, I’m sure you’re tired, so we should—”
But Regina had already slid up next to Vakar, whose bashful grassy smell was intensifying and gaining layers of tar and ozone. Her mother was a lot at the best of times, but new-significant-other meetings were a whole other level.
“Regina Alvarez,” Regina said, holding her hand out to Vakar. He took it gravely, carefully, shaking it once with his own gloved claw.
“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Vakar replied solemnly.
“Are you nervous, mijo?” Regina said, smiling, patting his hand. “Ay, don’t be. It’s not your fault Eva-Benita is so secretive. I’m glad we were able to finally meet! You can tell me all about yourself. How long have you known each other?”
Alabao, it was like a searchlight being pointed directly at Vakar’s face. Eva took his hand away from her mother’s and flashed a pained and very forced grin. “Mami, por favor, can this wait?”
They stared at each other for several long moments, various expressions flashing across both their faces. Finally, Regina pursed her lips and wagged her head.
“Bueno, qué suerte, this place has plenty of beds and those hammocks the xana prefer,” Regina said, waving in the direction of the hallway. “I had been using one of the spare rooms as an office, but I put my things in the master bedroom so you don’t have to worry about it.”