“Oh, can we really go out and explore the whole universe?” Torri asked excitedly. She looked at Vic. “Think how much fun it would be!” She had gotten a taste of interstellar adventure during their trip to Gemma Alpha Three and now she couldn’t wait for more!
Vic smiled down at her affectionately.
“I can feel your excitement through our bond, sweetheart. Yes, we can go exploring and visit many different planets. It’s what I was built for, after all.”
“You’ll be safe with Vic no matter what planet you visit,” Commander Terex said, smiling at Torri. “His unique talents will come in handy.” He came out from behind his desk and offered his arm to Vic. “Brother, I wish you luck,” he said formally. “May the Goddess bless you and keep you safe. And please remember, you always have a home aboard the Mother Ship if you need one.”
“Thank you, Commander.” Vic took his arm in a warrior’s clasp and nodded gratefully.
“Thank you,” Torri echoed. Standing on her tiptoes, she gave the Kindred Commander a spontaneous hug. “I’m so sorry for your loss,” she murmured. “But maybe someday in the future, you’ll find love again.”
“Thank you.” Commander Terex gave her a sad smile and then sighed. “Well, I must get back to work now. The Earth Bride Draft is up and running but there are still some countries that are refusing to participate. Which wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t for the fact that some of my warriors are already Dream Sharing with females from those self-same countries.” He ran a hand through his hair in a distracted way.
Torri gave him a sympathetic look. It was clear that running the Mother Ship was no easy task, especially now that Commander Terex had to deal with not only his own people, but the stubborn humans of Earth as well.
“Thank you again, Commander,” she said, giving him a smile. “And Vic and I will say a prayer to the Goddess for you.”
He smiled at them both.
“May she grant you both long life and health.” He looked at Vic. “Now go to the Docking Bay and choose whichever long-range shuttle you want. And make sure to get one that’s fully outfitted, since the two of you will be exploring. When you’re ready, let me know and the Mother Ship will fold space for you in any direction you want.”
“Thank you, Commander,” Vic said and Torri felt the flutter of excitement in her stomach. They were really going! She and Vic were going to leave Earth behind and explore the universe together!
It was going to be the adventure of a lifetime and it was all because the two of them had been…Committed.
Epilogue #1
But of course, before they could go anywhere, there were multiple loose ends for Torri to tie up.
First, she had to make a statement to the police, which resulted in Chuck and Amanda both being charged with breaking and entering and assault and battery, not to mention various other charges having to do with their attempt to keep her trapped in St. Elizabeth’s for life and steal the money her Gran had left her.
Dr. Burrows was implicated as well, and it became clear that he was probably going to lose his license, especially when it came out that this wasn’t the first time he had agreed to keep someone who didn’t need to be there, locked up in St. Elizabeth’s against their will.
All this meant that Torri had to stick around for a while to testify in the trials of her ex-husband, his mistress, and the crooked psychiatrist. She also got her inheritance sorted out and put safely in the bank—though she donated a substantial amount to a charity that helped people with mental health issues and had no insurance to cover them.
They stayed at Nana’s cabin while they waited for the legal process to wind its way through the courts, and amused themselves by visiting different parts of the world. With Vic’s long-range shuttle, they could be anyplace on the planet in a matter of minutes, which made things easy.
Torri wasn’t unhappy with the delay—she thought that she ought to at least see all the parts of her own world she’d fantasized about visiting before she went gallivanting across the universe with Vic. They went to the Grand Canyon, Alaska, Thailand, to visit the Taj Mahal, and too many other famous places to count. And thanks to the translation bacteria she’d gotten, Torri understood the language wherever she went—it made traveling sheer bliss and eliminated any confusion that could have interfered with her enjoyment.
For his part, Vic had become something of a foodie. He had thought that all human food was like the institutionalized stuff they’d been served at St. Elizabeth’s but after Torri had cooked for him, he realized that the Earth had much better things to offer. So he often amused himself by going on the Internet and researching interesting restaurants and new cuisine to try in cities all over the world.
He wasn’t only into fine dining, though. It amused Torri that the big Kindred was just as likely to want to try a little hole-in-the-wall dive in rural America he’d read an article about, as a famous three-star restaurant on the other side of the planet.
One Saturday, just after the trials and legal issues were finally wrapped up, she and Vic were visiting a little establishment in Tampa, Florida to celebrate. It was a tiny ice cream shop in central Tampa called “Bo’s,” which had been there since the nineteen-fifties. It was a walk-up or drive-thru place, with no indoor dining. Instead, picnic tables were scattered under a spreading oak tree in one corner of their parking lot, where you could sit and enjoy the delicious homemade ice cream.
“Well, is it as good as the article said it was?” Torri asked, eyeing the massive upside-down banana split Vic was tucking into with obvious enthusiasm. It didn’t seem to matter how many calories the big Kindred consumed, his stomach stayed flat and his big, muscular body was still hard as a rock.
“It’s delicious,” he remarked, taking another bite of bananas, strawberries, pineapple and ice cream all smothered in fudge sauce and whipped cream.
“It ought to be—it looks like every bite is around a thousand calories,” Torri said dryly. “Mine isn’t bad either,” she added, and took a sip of a Bo’s house specialty called a “lime freeze.” It was made with lime sherbet that was such a violent shade of green, it had to be fifty percent food dye. It tasted incredible though—sweet and tart and surprisingly refreshing.
“Try a bite of this,” Vic urged, offering her a bite of his banana split. “And don’t say it will make you fat,” he added, frowning. “You’re an Elite—you’re meant to be full-figured—and besides, you know I love your curves.”
“Vic!” Torri felt a pleased blush rise to her cheeks as she took the offered bite. “Mmmm—delicious,” she said, nodding as she swallowed and licked the last of the whipped cream off her lips.
“Have some more,” Vic offered her. He produced another spoon. “You know you want to.”
“I really shouldn’t…” Torri hesitated.
“Consider it a celebration,” Vic told her. “Your ex-mate and his mistress have gone to prison and are being appropriately punished for what they attempted to do to you and the doctor who helped them has been stripped of his license and will be unable to hurt anyone else. And tomorrow we start our tour of the galaxy!”