Page 29 of I Dated a Holiday Hero
“Am I good? There’s a draft,” Hever asked.
Zera laughed. “You are good.”
Veradil spoke, “Could I try that?”
Zera paused. “Um, you would have to do that calibration first.”
“Sure. If it doesn’t bother my daughter, it shouldn’t bother me.”
Hever got dressed and scrambled to the control room. “Seriously, Mom? This is the coolest thing you have ever done.”
“Remember this when I have grandkids.” Her mother chuckled and removed all her clothing. She stood on the scanner, and Zera looked at her and shrugged, starting a simple scan of the body that only the rarest forty-year-old could claim. Zera ran her through the poses and the necessary scans and then directed her to the test chamber.
Hever told her how to set her feet and the grip she needed to use on the handles. “And now I am turning my head because this is not an image I want to keep for the grandkids.”
Zera grinned and chuckled. “Okay, contact testing is starting now.”
Hever listened to the giggles, the gasps, and then she turned to peek between her fingers. Zera had a surprising expression on her face.
Hever put her foot down. “Oh, no, Zera. You are not turning Aksalla’s precious retired ambassador into an escort.”
Zera muted the mic as Veradil started to moan. “That isn’t it. I have a patron looking for this exact profile. Age is not a barrier. This is a surprise, is all.”
“Wait. There is an active out there looking for my mom?”
“Yes. He is trustworthy. He’s been through all the normal vetting, but his range of inquiry was very narrow. He’s also not local.”
“Oh. Damn. Where is he from?”
“He’s an island active.”
Hever’s eyes widened. “Oh, good grief. I know who that is.”
Zera blinked. “You do?”
“Sure. Nautilus. He’s a water breather whose skin hardens up, and he has tentacles.”
Zera started laughing. “So, you have met.”
“Sure. We had to stop at his island for emergency repairs. I chatted with the kids and learned to swim, and she and Nautilus were seen chatting and smiling at each other for hours.”
“He has retired as well, now. He never forgot her.”
“Well, could she chat with him, as not an escort, without wrecking privacy regulations?”
Zera smiled. “You ask her first.”
“Good plan. Springing an active on people doesn’t really go over well.”
Veradil yelped as the tentacles were going for a second round.
Zera laughed and stopped the test. “Sorry. Hever distracted me. You have lovely reflexes.”
Veradil chuckled. “Thank you. I am going to get dressed, but I have a far more informed idea of why my daughter sought this out.”
Hever leaned toward the mic as her mother walked back to her clothing. “This is not what I had in mind for mother-daughter day.”
Her mother was laughing as they met outside the control booth, and Zera was shaking her head in amusement. “Well, Hever, now I know where you get it from.”
