Page 47 of Pulled By the Tail
Georgia
Most sentient life in the known universe can consume the cuisine of other planets with no ill effect, excluding specific allergens. Flavor profiles vary by culture and some spices may not be suitable to everyone’s taste, but any food can be consumed without worry.
-Guidebook to Life on an Alien Planet
“Stop the car!” Georgia flung the door open and took two steps before barfing up her lunch. A soothing hand rubbed her back. She tried to keep her hair from her mouth, but the wind fought her, and tendrils caught the bile on her lips.
So gross.
Stomach finally empty, Bright handed her a bottle of lukewarm water. She rinsed her mouth, trying to wash out the taste of garlic sausage and stomach acid.
“Better?” the older woman asked, watching her with deep consideration.
Georgia took a deep breath, trying to judge the tenderness of her stomach. “I think so.”
“Are you with kit?”
“What? No.” She climbed back into the vehicle, ignoring the older woman’s concerned gaze as she fastened her seatbelt. “I’m not.”
“The way you’ve been carrying on, it’s a natural assumption.”
“I’ve been carrying on? It’s not just mecarrying on, but that doesn’t matter, because the answer is still no.” Like what she and Talen got up to was any of Bright’s damn business. They hadn’t started on a discreet note, with Talen practically ordering everyone out of the kitchen so he could bang her on the table. “Besides, I had the birth control shot before I left Earth. That’s good for two years.”
“This is the second day in a row you’ve been sick,” Bright said.
“I think the sausage I had at the market was spoiled or something. It tasted funny.” She assumed the funky taste was due to the unfamiliar blend of spices, not that the sausage had gone bad. She enjoyed wandering the vendor stalls at the weekly farmer’s market in town. The delicious aromas always brought her to a new favorite and she never hesitated to try new food.
Just remembering the savory, pungent smell of the sausage stand made her stomach turn. She covered her mouth and fought back the urge to gag. “It was a bad sausage. That’s all.”
Bright snorted. “Bad sausage. That’s one way to put it.”
Georgia blinked, unsure if she really heard the older woman, the woman who Talen considered his mother, make a dick joke.
“I’m old, not blind. Or deaf,” Bright said. The afternoon light created a silvery crown out of her white hair.
Georgia blushed. “Can we not talk about this? I’m not pregnant.”
The vehicle shifted into motion. For a moment, her stomach tumbled and she almost begged Bright to pull over again.
Everything stayed put. Stupid actual-sausage-and-a-not-a-crude-dick-joke-sausage.
“A kit would be nice, don’t you think? I miss the sounds of little ones,” Bright said.
She’d be lying if she said that the promise of marriage and kids hadn’t prompted her to change her life and come to Corra, so she kept her mouth shut.
“This is a classic of Tal cinema,”Talen said. He settled against the headboard. He propped up a tablet on a pillow and it projected onto the wall.
A Tal male, dressed in a fussy silk military uniform with very tight pants, stood heroically on a—
“Is that a mountain of skulls?” Georgia settled on the bed next to Talen, dragging a blanket over her.
“Mount Penlo. That’s not accurate, though,” he said.
“It’s a metaphor? The giant mountain of skulls is a metaphor for how kick-butt this guy is?”
“No. The actual Mount Penlo is much larger. Prone to collapsing, though. It’s not the most stable mountain of skulls. That’s what happens when you take no pride in craftsmanship.”
Georgia twisted to face Talen, searching for any sign he was serious. His face remained placid, even sincere. The tail twitch gave him away.
