Spin the Sky (16 page)

Penelope turns on her heels and walks quickly to the back of the house. The icemaker is in the laundry room, a little closet right behind the kitchen. It is big enough for one person but close for two. She leads him in and points to the malfunctioning ice machine.

“There is the treacherous thing,” she says petulantly. “The grav boosters are a million times more advanced and more important, but it’s this stupid icemaker that takes up half my life with its twitchy circuitry.”

Penelope sits on a pile of baskets and watches him work. There is no dirty clothing in here because Lupe would die before leaving something unclean with company coming over. She is grateful for a break and a chance to rest her feet for a minute. She has new boots and they are pinching her toes.

Ulixes has to shut the laundry room door to reach the wiring. The sudden privacy makes her chatter nervously.

“I’m sorry to have you doing this so late. Argos hates these parties and he slinks off if he gets half a chance. Lupe too. I wonder where they go on these nights. Into town I suppose,” she tells Ulixes as he works.

Ulixes chuckles, “You think maybe they sneak off together and have a little weekend romance?”

“Lupe and Argos?” asks Penelope, totally shocked. “Surely not. I never thought about it. Oh, and now I don’t want to think about it. I guess they could though.”

She shakes her head to clear out an unwelcome vision of Lupe and Argos locked in a romantic embrace.

Ulixes says with amusement, “Everyone could use a little love in their lives, I guess.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” says Penelope, smoothing her hair while watching the muscles ripple on his back as he twists together two wires. “It seems like love is so complicated and it only ever turns out badly.”

The man in front of her turns. Before she quite understands how it happened, he has caught her up in his arms and his mouth is on hers. Penelope throws herself into his rough embrace without a second thought. Or a first one, for that matter.

Her hands curl around his neck and she pulls herself against him. Suddenly her only goal in life is to maximize the amount of his skin she can touch at once. She is absurdly pleased by his quick gasp as she slips her palm up under his shirt and holds it against his warm chest to feel the wild beating of his heart.

Then she realizes what she is doing and pushes herself away from him. How on Earth did that happen? She honestly isn’t sure. Feeling like a total fool, Penelope blurts out the first thing that pops into her head, which is: “Wow, that really does feel just like it used to!”

Mr. Ulixes gets a horrified look on his face and then begins apologizing. It is ghastly.

Penelope puts a hand on his arm and shakes her head, “No, it’s alright. I shouldn’t have said that. It’s been so long since I kissed someone, you see. The last man was, well, my husband and that was a good fifteen years ago and I thought I’d forgotten what it was like and…”

But then he is kissing her again and Penelope forgets what she was trying to say. After a few minutes, sanity returns and she tries to apologize again. “I am so sorry. I’m taking terrible advantage. You are a guest in my house and I’m forcing myself on you like this. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Mr. Ulixes barks out a low laugh, “For the love of God, take advantage of me some more. Please!”

He pulls her into his arms. This time, as their eyes flash and their chests heave and their lips meet, their hands also wander.

If it wasn’t for the sound of voices getting closer, who knows what might have happened next? Penelope pulls her mouth away from his and rests her forehead on his chest, listening without breathing to the footsteps getting closer and the pounding of his heart. Ulixes holds himself perfectly still.

Penelope listens to his breath slow though his heart still races. Won’t it be just her luck to get caught fifteen seconds in to the only forbidden thrill she’s had in a decade?

The footsteps stop outside the mercifully closed door of the laundry room and she hears the voice of the last man who had tried to kiss her. Wilhelm Asner of the Ex-Austrian Engineering Complex says, quite clearly, on the other side of the door, “What ever happened to our lovely hostess?”

The man groped Penelope painfully behind a closet door one night a few weeks ago and she’s been careful to avoid being alone with him since. Unfortunately, Penelope needs his goodwill right now. The EEC produces the best solar arrays in the colonies and Ithaca desperately needs to replace their aging energy source.

It was fine until a few weeks ago when someone destroyed a whole series of panels, part of the bizarre string of attacks that sabotaged many of the colony’s life support systems. Penelope doesn’t know why this is happening or how to stop it. All she knows is that if one more array fails before the new ones are delivered, they’ll all be fighting some serious frostbite.

Unfortunately for Penelope, the EEC is apparently deep in the production of a massive solar sail array for Uri Mach of the Seven Skies Trading Company. Consequently, they are in no hurry to fill her order. Penelope finds herself trying to encourage Mr. Asner to complete her order without having to endure more groping or worse.

If he opens the door it will be catastrophically embarrassing and potentially damaging to the whole colony, but isn’t her life one long trial? Penelope beats her head gently against Ulixes’ chest, wishing it were a wall.

He responds by wrapping his arms tightly around her. It is incredibly comforting. She sighs and wallows in the warm safe feeling. Penelope knows she ought to feel guilty and she promises herself she will, first thing tomorrow.

The clear voice of Uri Mach, the owner of Seven Skies Trading Company and her long-time friend, comes floating through the closed door, “She’s a busy woman. No doubt she’s coordinating some massive political campaign for universal peace on the front porch as we speak.”

Uri has faithfully attended these parties for years. He and Penelope were much of the same mind on many aspects of life in the colonies. Penelope has heard rumors of Uri’s ruthlessness in business, but she’s never seen any sign of that at her parties.

“Did you gentleman get a chance to see my platypig?” she hears Mr. Finomus ask them.

The other two assure him that they have seen the creature and it is quite magnificent. Then they begin chatting about a large order of something Finomus was working on for Uri. Something about prepping for a big project that they didn’t have all the base elements for. Finomus is cheerfully telling them he’ll get everything prepared so that when they do find the missing elements, they can just inject something into the something else and they’d get the other thing.

Penelope is listening without truly hearing although she does wonder vaguely why Seven Skies needs a splicer like Finomus. Penelope realizes she has been holding her breath so she lets it out slowly. The minutes drag on and the door still remains shut. Penelope starts to worry that she will need to sneeze soon.

The three men shift to talking about progress on something they call the Moon Array. Penelope is slightly surprised to hear that. As far as she knows, nobody does anything on the Moon other than using it as a parking lot for old vehicles and occasionally grabbing moon dust for one purpose or another.

She listens as much as she can while the man holding her slowly and quietly trails scorching kisses down her neck. She bites her lip to keep from gasping.

Asner is apparently slightly behind in supplying Seven Skies with a large order of something. Penelope can’t hear what and, to be honest, she doesn’t really care right now. He assures Uri Mach that the order will be ready in a week if they can just secure a larger supply of something else. Uri sounds angry.

“You know the faster we get that array up, the safer we’ll all be,” Uri says significantly.

Even through the haze created by the touch of rough hands on her body, Penelope can’t help thinking this is an odd conversation happening on the other side of the door. If this Moon Array is a solar sail like the ones Asner specializes in, it will provide Seven Skies with more energy. That is good, but they could hardly be in any danger from total power loss. Most orbitals are chock full of back-up power supplies. Even Ithaca has a backup generator for its backup generator. Although Penelope spends too much time lately wondering if it will support the entire colony in the event of another sabotage.

Teeth gently, but firmly, nibbling on her ear drive that line of thought from Penelope’s mind.

“Well, the extra time will allow you to complete that solar panel order the lovely Penelope has been badgering you for. That should put you in her good graces,” comments Mr. Finomus genially. “Perhaps you can convince her to finally sell Uri here the cows he needs.”

Wilhelm Asner laughs, “Oh, I think it better to keep a lady waiting and see how much that solar panel order is really worth to her.”

Penelope hears the insinuation in his voice and it makes her blood boil. Ulixes’ body goes rigid so he must hear it too or else he feels her fingers clench in frustration because he strokes her hair silently. She can’t help thinking that he’s being awfully protective for a stranger, but she doesn’t mind so much right now.

“Yes, well, I need that shipment from you in a week,” snaps Uri Mach. “When can you be done with the other project we discussed?”

“Once I get what I need, it will only be a few days,” replies Wilhelm Asner sourly.

He obviously doesn’t like being lectured by Uri. Finomus suggests they go outside and get some air, as it is getting hot in the house. The other two agree.

“I still think you are wrong to keep its full potential a secret,” says Asner as they start to move off.

Penelope breathes a deep sigh of relief to finally hear their retreating footsteps.

Uri Mach laughs, “I find it better to ask forgiveness than permission. The other colonies will find it easier to comprehend the benefits of the Moon Array once I show them. Now where is our missing hostess, do you think?”

That is the last of that conversation Penelope hears. She feels Ulixes’ chest shake with silent laughter. She pulls away from him. They stand, looking at each other for a brief minute. Penelope knows she should say something, but instead she takes the opportunity to escape the laundry room before someone else comes along.

Penelope bolts down the hall into the nearest bathroom where she quickly smoothes her hair and pulls her dress back into place. Taking a deep breath, plastering a smile on her face and hoping her laundry room intrigue isn’t too obvious, she steps out into the crowd of her guests.

“Why Miss Penelope, you look even more ravishing than usual,” cries Uri Mach when he sees her.

Penelope truly hopes she doesn’t look ravished, or at least as thoroughly ravished as she feels. She gives her old business associate a hug. Uri has never given any indication that he’s interested in anything other than friendship so she finds him to be quite a comfortable companion.

They chat about politics and what ridiculous things the Earthers are up to lately. Mr. Finomus regales them with stories of the platypig’s escapades and Penelope obliges him with a few stories about the local dillo-bears. As the evening slips away and her guests begin to say their goodbyes, she finds Wilhelm Asner by her side.

He makes a point of waiting until the other guests are gone. Penelope absolutely does not want to be left alone with the man. She doesn’t want to engage in any sort of physical relationship with him and, judging by the way he keeps edging closer and closer to her, Asner has definitely missed her hints on that subject.

As the last of the guests filter out, Penelope squares her shoulders and begins mentally preparing the kind, but firm refusal of his attentions she will no doubt have to make in a few minutes. There are a few raised eyebrows at Wilhelm Asner’s proprietary stance. Penelope knows more than a few people will go home with the impression that she is spending the night with Asner. She fervently wishes people would not take such an interest in her life.

Once they are alone, Wilhelm steps closer and whispers, “Penelope, I wish you would accept my offer and visit my colony. You need to get out and see the rest of space.”

Penelope edges back and says civilly, “Why thank you, Wilhelm, but you know I don’t really care for travel and with a son and ranch to run, I can’t get away.”

Wilhelm shakes his head and gives her a patronizing smile, “I know you don’t think you like to travel, but surely you ought to try it before you reject it? Your son is practically a man. According to Finomus, he fought off a charging platypig barehanded today! The boy doesn’t need a mother hovering at his age. And your cowgirls seem to have the ranch well in hand.”

As he says this, he takes her hands in his. Penelope forces herself to accept this and not snatch her hands away.

Why should it be that Penelope does not want to touch this man and yet she couldn’t keep herself away from that drifter Ulixes earlier? A relationship with Wilhelm would be very advantageous for her, as opposed to stolen kisses in the laundry room with the hired help.

The private army Asner maintains at the EEC would mean her worries about the ranch were over, yet she can’t. She just can’t do it. For the hundredth time today, she curses her fickle hormones.

She senses Ulixes enter the room behind her. Penelope isn’t really sure how she knows he’s there, but she does. Perhaps it is his smell—sweat and engine grease and soap. It is intoxicating and strangely familiar.

She wonders if he perhaps smells like some forgotten relative from her home on Earth that comforted her as a child. Penelope turns to him, both grateful and horrified by his presence here.

Ulixes stares resolutely at the floor. “Ma’am, I hate to bother you, but it appears that Argos has injured himself. Miss Lupe is out for the evening and I’m not much of a one for healing.”

Penelope takes the opportunity to withdraw her hands from Wilhelm’s and say with elaborate regret, “You see? The demands of a ranch never end, do they?”

Wilhelm studies Ulixes suspiciously. “I thought you didn’t have any men here,” he says sharply.