Page 87 of Zalis
“These are happy tears,” she said, wiping at her eyes. “This was my dad’s. When he got sick, he wrote down all his recipes.”
She flipped through the notebook. It was bound on one side with a coil of wire, which could not be secure. Each page was thickwith writing, sometimes in different hands. He spied blotches of long-spilled liquid. She touched each page with reverence.
“I thought I lost this. We’ll need to get a duplicate made for Emry and as a backup. I also need to thank Clarissa and thank you.” She leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek.
“Again, this was not my doing, but I do not mind reaping the benefits.”
Still holding the notebook, she asked, “So what now? When do you leave?”
“Tomorrow.”
“We should make the most of tonight.” Gemma glanced at the view screen on the wall. “Is it night? Computer, what time is it? I’m all turned around.”
The computer displayed ship time, Sangrin time, and Val Mori time.
“That doesn’t help me,” she said.
“I have thirteen hours before I am expected to return to duty.”
“Thirteen hours is plenty of time. Any suggestions?” She leaned back, resting her arms on the back of the sofa.
“There is one activity?—”
She crooked a finger, beckoning him to her. He sat next to her, the cushion dipping with his weight.
“For my people, it is tradition to have a tea ceremony to mark the beginning of our mating. I would like to conduct the ceremony with you,” he said.
The lascivious grin vanished. “Okay, tell me more. Is it like a big ceremony? Do we have to throw a party?”
“It is a private moment between the two of us. We share a cup of tea. It is a special blend.”
“Special how? Like trippy or expensive?”
“It is a blend reserved for the mating ceremony. We will only taste it once.”
“We drink tea? That’s it?”
“We sit in contemplative silence,” he answered. Then confessed, “I brewed the tea the night you arrived but decided against it.”
She nodded her head. “Those tea cups on the table the night you ditched me.”
“Confronting you with the ceremony seemed… hasty.”
“I appreciate you waiting.” She reached for his hand. “Let’s do it.”
“Yes?”
“I have to tell you, a tea ceremony sounds a lot better than what we do on Earth. We do a wedding ceremony to exchange vows in front of everyone, literally everyone we’ve ever met in our life, and then we have to feed them chicken parm and cake.”
“That seems excessive.”
“Completely. I haven’t told you about the dress I’d be expected to wear.” She rolled her eyes and frowned, as if in dismay.
Zalis knew better. Weddings had featured in several of the films they watched. He suspected it was too integral in her cultureto be so easily dismissed. “Would you like a traditional Earth mating ceremony?”
“Nah.”
“Gemma—”
