Zoey smiled.“There is a speck where there should be no speck.You don’t have any birthmarks.”
“I am aware.I hope that Aretta is really enthusiastic about a little brother or sister.”Zelda bit her lip.
Zoey said softly, “She knows you didn’t have a choice.”
The housekeeper gasped.“You were forced?”
“No.I am a rapid cycler.I can’t tell when I am receptive.Every twenty-eight days, if I am healthy and active.Yes, I know it is appalling.”The other ladies in the room gasped.
Zoey chuckled.“That was the best part of the burn.No body fat meant my hormones shorted out.I mean, I was in agony and felt like I was being flayed the whole time but didn’t miss PMS.”
Karogyn supervised the servers who brought in tea and snacks.
Zelda sipped at the tea and smiled.“Karogyn, do you ever see yendal?Do you enjoy them as a pet?”
“Only the Hmrain would consider them pets.Why?”
Zelda tilted her head.“That tracks.Orex has offered to get Aretta a pet.She has chosen a yendal, so he has invited a breeder with weaned kits here so that she can find one that she gets along with.”
“Ah.Well, that is interesting.”
“I don’t know what they eat, but whatever it is, you might want to lay in a supply.”
“Thank you for the warning.”
“Aretta has had pets before.She’s good at cleaning and feeding, but she needs a pet that can defend her.She was vulnerable once, and none of us wants her to be that way again.”
The housekeeper paused, looked at her, and said, “I believe I understand.”
“I wish you didn’t, but leaving the Earth wasn’t easy.”
They ate the snacks, figured out the foods, and eventually, the ladies had packed up and were waiting for final authorization.
Orex and Aretta were holding hands, and Aretta’s eyes were red and her face flushed from crying, but she was recovering, so she had gotten something out.
Zelda held out her arms, and her daughter ran to her.“Did you hash it all out?”
She nodded and sniffed.“It was a very productive walk, and you are going to love the gardens.So, I said he could adopt me, but he wants to change my name to include his.”
“Ah, hence the crying.You told him about Grandma’s family?”
“Yeah, so we came up with a compromise, if you don’t mind.”
“What is it?”
She looked up and gave a watery smile.“Arexa.”
“I think that is a lovely name, and I can still call you Ari.”
“Yes, and I can call you supermom, slaughterer of our enemies, and consumer of worlds.”Aretta grinned.
Orex walked up behind Zelda and said, “Is it acceptable?”
“It is.”
Aretta smiled.“He’s gonna give me a planet with a colony and a small asteroid belt for income, so I can hire my own defenders when I am old enough.”
“Right.First, let’s see if you can keep a yendal alive, and then we can work our way up to an entire colony.”