If Jove Stray

Chapter 13: moving forward

Alcott wiped the sweat from her eyes as she scrubbed the last dish, drying it and then placing it in the cabinet. The place was clean, finally. She had peeked in Tyson's box to see if he needed any room for anything, but it looked like a bunch of CDs and a couple other strange tekcom wrapped in some shirts with text and pictures on it. She half expected the text to change, but when it didn't, wondered why anyone would want words written on their shirt. Wouldn't people stop and try to read it?

The last time Alcott had made this much effort to clean was moving out of her parents' berth. Her grandmadre was going to live in Alcott's old room and so everything in the whole berth had to be scrubbed sparkling. Alcott suspected it was all for show, so as to convince Alcott not to return home again. It had worked.

She didn't think Tyson would care so much about a dirty berth, but it made her feel a little more prepared. She had a stranger in her home, and she didn't know how to behave. Others like Cameron and Lully had looked forward to this date for years. Dylan had been reluctant but still prepared. Alcott wasn't ready for a person to suddenly become a part of her life, even if he was only her partner for a couple days. She had no idea when Dashiell's plan would succeed and given how much Tyson seemed to disdain his parents, she wondered if he expected to stay with her. Alcott hoped that wouldn't be the case.

Her holo-rib chimed and she answered it without checking who was.

"What's your new partner's name? I was going to send over some towels," came her madre's voice, wasting no time with small talk.

Alcott sighed. "We don't need towels. I have plenty," she replied. "He needs some shoes, how about those? How did you hear about Tyson anyway?"

"Val and Titus live down the hall," her madre replied. "And I passed Emerson and Bell coming back from their baskets game."

"Oh, are they done? He'll be home soon," Alcott worried. "Madre, I have to let you go."

"We want to meet him of course, but maybe next week when he can eat," her madre insisted. "I need to know what color to order his shoes."

"Probably something normal, like black or brown," Alcott replied, trying not to get exasperated. "We'll go to the printers tomorrow for sizing. Goodbye, Madre."

To Alcott's relief her madre disconnected the call just in time for there to be a soft knock at the door. She hurried to get it. Levi had brought back Tyson who looked exhausted.

"Don't let him stay up," Levi suggested. "Esperanza had to drag him out of the game."

"Are you staying?"

"Non, I should probably get to work early," he admitted. "I was going to check on your beans before I got my work done." He gave her a crooked smile. "Don't worry about this week, Alcott. Anatoly and I have you covered."

"Merci," Alcott replied, reaching out to squeeze Levi's arm.

"And if we don't, we can always amuse ourselves by making Winston watch your plants," Levi laughed. "Anyway, have a good night. Message me if you need anything."

"I will," Alcott called as the door slid shut behind Levi. She turned to Tyson. "Why are you still standing here; you should be in bed."

"I think we should talk," Tyson said, poorly suppressing a yawn. "And I have no idea how long I'm going to sleep and I don't want to put this off." He leaned against the counter. "Dashiell explained about this partner...situation. While I am still processing my own emotions on this, I can't imagine how you must be feeling right now. Dashiell threw me into your life, and I'm sorry. You've had twelve hours? That's madness!"