Being a 'difficult woman', Oklahoma farm-gal Mavis wasn't having much luck with the local dating pool. Her Pa signed her up to emigrate to newly terraformed Mars, because 'Mars needs women'. Maybe there she could find a good man to marry. But Mavis had no intention of getting hitched, despite what the legal contract said. Walt, the son of successful Mars merchants, had no intention of going through with a forced arranged marriage. Finding a kindred spirit in Mavis, they chose their own path. A sci-fi sorta-romance story written for the 2024 Open Novella Contest based on prompt #88: "Your father is forcing you to marry someone you never met. The night before your wedding, you tie your sheets together and make your escape through the window. Half way down you make eye contact with someone doing the exact same thing a few windows over." **** Open Novella Contest Short List and Honorable Mention **** **** Open Novella Contest Round Two Ambassador Pick ****
17 parts