An Accidental Alliance (18 page)

     
“Not even when Galactics come?” Park asked.

     
“They don’t visit very often and welcome is only accurate in a diplomatic sense,” Taodore replied. He held his arm out to Iris. With a wink at Park, she accepted the Mer’s arm and stepped up to the door with him. Then suddenly he put that arm around her waist and lightly hopped down to the odd dark brown paving material beneath them. They fell in slow motion and once they had come to rest, Taodore, removed his arm from Iris’ waist and offered it to her once again. Park saw her say something to him and she did not seem unpleased, but whatever it was had been masked by the music.

    
 
Not wanting to be outdone, Arn walked past Park, offered his arm to Tina and escorted her down the three steps. Next Park made the same gesture to Marisea, which made the young mermaid blush. Instead of taking Park’s arm, however, she put her own around Park’s waist and instructed, “Hold on tight!” and as soon as Park had a grip just beneath her shoulder, Marisea gave him a big grin and jumped several feet into the air, just as Iris and Taodore had done. Park, taken by surprise, tightened his grip, but Marisea only laughed lightly as they softly settled down to the ground.

     
“You could have warned me,” Park told her, barely moving his lips from the broad smile he kept for the applauding crowd.

     
“I did, silly,” she laughed, and Park supposed she had at that. Once on the ground Marisea took his arm in the conventional manner and they followed the others even as still more debarked from the plane.

     
Taodore led them past the band to a small group of waiting officials where he started introducing the humans. The head of the welcoming committee was Prime Terius, leader of the Mer Council. Terius was an imposing Mer with gray hair at his temples and a long salt and pepper beard that took Park by surprise. Taodore had been so clean shaven that he was unaware Mermen were even capable of growing facial hair. It was too loud out there to do more than greet each other, so as soon as he could, Terius escorted the humans into the airport terminal and a private room that had been arranged.

     
“I never get used to all that,” Terius admitted to the others, once they were safely ensconced.

     
“It was a bit loud,” Park laughed.

     
“And not particularly in character for us either,” Taodore added. “What gives, old boy?” he asked Terius.

     
“We do not have a lot of experience at welcoming foreign dignitaries,” Terius admitted, “so the only procedure we had to go on was the one we use to greet Galactic officials when they come here.”

     
“We understand all the noise annoys them,” Marisea announced. The humans laughed at that. Marisea had a profound talent for getting the humans to laugh, possibly because she had been the youngest person at Van Winkle base and they tended to indulge her.

     
“It does, indeed,” Terius smiled as well. “We do not normally greet each other with such fanfare.”

     
“Or such terrible music,” Marisea added. “You could have at least had them playing something from this millennium, Prime.”

     
“That music is very traditional,” Terius told the young Mer a little stiffly.

     
“Which we use to traditionally annoy the Galactics,” Marisea pointed out with a broad grin.

     
Terius faltered under her gentle attack and smiled back. “True, but even we have become accustomed to such nonsense during such occasions. I shall endeavor to have the band play something a bit more pleasing in the future.”

     
“Or not worry about the band in the first place,” Arn suggested. “I appreciate the honor, but there is so much for us to talk about and do.”

     
“And so we shall, my friend,” Terius told him, “but first we must get you to a comfortable location. We will have a vehicle brought here presently.

     
The vehicle turned out to be a small bus that had been comfortably furnished inside with large padded seats and tables. Park and Iris had already known that Mer chairs were compatible with human anatomy, but the fact took most of the other humans by surprise.

     
“Well, we aren’t really all that different where we sit,” Marisea pointed out while her elders were looking for a more diplomatic way of saying the same.

     
“And your tails are a bit longer than our legs,” Park told her from the seat across a table from her, “so there’s plenty of room for us that way as well. I hoped you didn’t feel cramped on the plane.”

     
“No, this is a lot of tail room for me too,” Marisea admitted, with a gentle flip of her flukes against his feet. Park briefly wondered if that was the Mer version of playing footsie, but let it pass without comment.

     
The bus gave them a tour of the city as they passed through the business district and an area of governmental buildings and then down into the residential neighborhoods on Hudson’s Bay. The bus had no trouble transitioning from land travel to water and by the grace of Mer suspension units, passed with barely a wake out to the very edge of the city where the finest homes and hotels were situated.

     
“I half expected to see people swimming everywhere,” Arn commented along the way.

     
“Not in the streets, silly,” Marisea laughed, earning an admonitory glare from her father, “Sorry,” she added quickly. “We’re taught from infancy not to swim in the street.”

     
“And to look both ways before crossing?” Park asked lightly.

     
“Of course,” Marisea laughed. “Besides, as much as we love to swim, you can’t do it while wearing the suspender, so swimming is recreation for us, not locomotion.”

     
“I see the first floors of your houses are just barely above sea level,” Iris remarked. “Don’t they ever get flooded?”

     
Marisea looked out the bus’ window. “Hmm, must be high tide. Prime Terius, is it?”

     
“It’s that time of month,” Terius admitted, “and the tides are near their extreme points.”

     
“Our first floors do get wet when there are storms,” Taodore told the humans, “but we do not generally keep anything on that level that can be harmed by water. The first floor of a residence is an entrance to the rest of the house and is generally the party room when guests come to visit.”

     
As they continued on, the homes they passed became larger and more elaborate until they came to the open bay. Once in open waters, the bus accelerated and turned to the north affording the passengers a view of the finest homes in the city. A few minutes later they pulled up to the front door of one such home.

     
It was situated half in the water and half on a broad sandy beach and it was, by far, the largest such residence they had seen so far. “We’re staying in the Prime Mansion?” Marisea asked delightedly.

     
“Of course, my dear,” Terius smiled. “I frequently play host to visiting dignitaries from the other cities, so it seemed only natural our guests would stay here. We will not be disturbed over the coming days, as we might have been, had we found hotel suites for you. Also, we have so much to talk about I would not want to waste the time traveling back and forth. No, this meeting between our peoples is far too important.”

     
“Indeed it is, Prime,” Arn agreed. “Should we start in right away?”

     
Terius laughed, “We’re not barbarians, sir. There’s no need to rush on your first day here. Please, let’s get you comfortably situated, then we’ll have dinner. I fear this will be a rather large affair as every politician on Earth wants to meet you. We won’t be able to truly start talking until tomorrow morning, but then I will be utterly at your disposal.”

     
The servants who escorted the humans to their assigned suites were taken aback when Park and Iris told them they did not want separate suites. “Park, old boy,” Taodore told him quietly. “It is customary in polite society for each adult to have his or her own rooms. To both move into the same suite openly is something only the lower classes do, even when married.”

     
“But that is not our custom,” Park replied.

     
“Well, it’s not such a big deal, really.” Taodore chuckled. “The suites adjoin through interior doors, and what goes on inside them is no one’s business but your own, if you follow.”

     
“I see,” Park shrugged. “It still sounds silly, but I’m living two hundred and fifty million years in my own future. In comparison a little silliness about living accommodations is nothing. Iris, hon, why don’t you take this suite and I’ll grab the next.” Iris nodded and slipped quickly inside with his travel bag.

     
By the time Park entered his own suite, she had already found the adjoining door and was waiting for him. “See?” she asked. “Now propriety can be observed. We wouldn’t want to scandalize our hosts.”

     
They kissed warmly until Marisea’s voice interrupted them. “Hi, neighbors!” she greeted them, hop-stepping into the room. “Oh my! Do I get to kiss you too, Park?” She hopped closer.

     
“Only on the cheek and on special occasions,” Park told her, embarrassed at the interruption. Marisea laughed and then slipped an arm around Park and kissed him on the cheek. “I didn’t mean now.”

     
Oh,” Marisea giggled. “Human customs are so much fun! “ Iris was still partially embraced on Park’s other side. “Iris, you’ll share him, won’t you?”

     
“That depends, dear,” Iris told her, shocking Park. He had expected his wife to be quite territorial about him. “First of all you’re a bit young for this old goat.”

     
“I’ll get older,” Marisea laughed playfully.

     
“So will he,” Iris bantered.

     
“Hmm, there is that,” Marisea agreed and backed off half a hop-step. “Did you know there’s hot coffee over here in this bottle? Well, it’s not really coffee like you have at the base, but it’s pretty close and it will help keep you alert tonight. These parties go on a long time, or so I’m told. This will be my first.”

   
  
She hopped over to the counter where the Mer coffee and various nibbles has been arranged and started serving. When she discovered there was only enough there for two, Marisea ran back to her own suite for more. Finally, when they were all seated together Marisea asked in a much more serious tone than she normally used, “Um, this party tonight? It is customary that all women be escorted into the hall, you know.”

     
“We didn’t know,” Park admitted, “but that shouldn’t be a problem.”

     
“Well not for you two, but me,” Marisea blushed then. “This is my first formal state occasion, and well, Park, I love my father, but I’d rather be your second date than Dad’s first. Uh, if that’s okay with you, Iris.”

     
“Shouldn’t your father have someone to escort, dear?” Iris asked gently.

     
“Well, it’s not a requirement for men and well, my first time…” she trailed off.

     
“You may be trying to grow up faster than you need to, dear,” Iris told her, “but I don’t mind if Park doesn’t.”

     
“What about men who bring two dates to such occasions?” Park asked carefully, unable to figure out what way Iris wanted him to answer. “How are they seen?”

     
“Enviously,” Marisea laughed, ”At least that’s the way it seems when the boys at school talk. It’s not uncommon for a man to have two wives. Three or more is not unknown, but fairly rare. All the boys try to date two girls at once. I know that.”

     
“Yeah?” Park asked. “And how do the girls see it?”

     
“Depends on the boy,” Marisea told him. “A guy’s got to be really special for you to want to share him, you know? Mostly we laugh at the boys who try, though. There were none of them I would want, never mind to share. That’s for sure. So, Park? How about it?” she asked coyly with a mixture of fear and excitement thrown in for good measure.

     
“Of course he will, dear,” Iris told her.

     
“Oh good!” Marisea laughed with delight and threw her arms around Park. This time she kissed him on the lips, although only for a moment and left Park sputtering.

     
“I haven’t noticed a lot of public displays of affection since we got here,” he pointed out uncomfortably.

     
“We’re not in public,” Marisea chuckled and leaned forward again. This time Iris held her back gently.

     
“I think you’ve made your point, dear,” she told the teen without any hint of jealousy in her voice.

     
“Don’t you people kiss on the first date?” Marisea asked teasingly.

     
“That depends on the date,” Iris replied, “and in our day we tried not to date outside our species.”

     
“Well, I wouldn’t try to date an Atackack,” Marisea laughed. “Humans might be close enough. Of course you’re all so old, so maybe not.”

     
“Gee, thank you,” Park grumbled.

     
Marisea laughed again and started hop-stepping back to her room. “I’ll come get you when it’s time for dinner,” she promised happily, and they heard the door close behind her.

     
“You didn’t really discourage her,” Park told Iris.

     
Iris chuckled. “She’s young and has a crush. You did save her life, after all. You could have stopped her, you know.”

     
“I didn’t want to hurt her either,” Park admitted. “I like Marisea, but…”