Page 24 of Proslo

Well, duh.

“I have fitted the bath pillow and will go make you a coffee to enjoy while you soak.”

“Bring me my Kindle while you’re out there, would you?” It was waterproof, being one of the newer ones.

“But of course.”

He left then, taking yet another tiny piece of me with him.

16

PROSLO

We had successfully completed our mating bond, but I could still feel my bride holding herself apart from me. Not physically, but emotionally. I seethed at how battered her soul was from the damage done by the inconsideration of the previous males and the violence of the last before me.

Pumpkin had ignored our meal so she’d asked me to warm them up once she’d gotten out of the bath. I’d done so and later she grinned with delight as she replicated something I’d seen in the vids as a prime meal shared with loved ones - meatloaf and mashed potatoes with a side of green beans. She even served us peach cobbler afterwards. This meal told me all I needed to know - she was as committed to me as I was to her, and while I had already fully given myself to her, heart and soul, she was carefully unwrapping hers because she still felt a need to mentally shield herself. It stung, but I understood it. She understood she was safe with me and felt the same draw of our bond, but emotionally, her scars had yet to heal enough to fully share herself. That was fine. I was a patient male and as she got to know me better, she’d become increasingly more comfortable. Our shared affection for our fur young, Pumpkin, would help draw us ever closer, as would our love for the young human social services would bring us. We would become a true family, hearts and souls fully bound together into one joyful unit. Simply had to give it all time.

Today was, as they said in the vids, a red letter day for us. Today we eloped together so that tomorrow, we could have our human ceremony, adding another layer to our bond. The ride down was not in one of the express shuttles this time, but we were in a close enough orbit to Guam that the journey was only just over two hours long. It would have only been an hour at most if we’d gone to Hawaii instead as we were geosynchronous with Honolulu.

Betty had decided that our time travelling was spent watching a vid called The Wedding Singer. She found it amusing and while I thought it had a few amusing moments, mostly I was aghast. Was that what most weddings were like for humans? I now better understood why she wished to elope. Normal human weddings looked tedious and full of unfortunate personal interactions with guests and participants alike during what they called a reception. Which apparently was about getting drunk enough to vomit, having sex with your mate or even someone else who definitely wasn’t, and making questionable moves on a dance floor to songs being sung by people who couldn’t otherwise make a living in the music industry.

“Look, she’s already here!” Betty crowed in delight as we exited the shuttle at the Dusit Thani. She ran forward, arms outstretched towards the older female hurrying towards us.

“Betty!” the other woman shouted, kissing her on the cheek. “You know, I was joking when I said to go to Guam, but I’m not complaining. This place is pretty swanky!”

“Are you serious?” Betty replied, eyes wide. “Are you saying you pulled Guam out of your ass?”

Mrs. Titchmarsh laughed. “Kinda. I’d seen it on the cover of one of those magazines for retired people at the doctor’s office. It was one of the ‘less traveled destinations to paradise’ they did an article on.”

Betty giggled. “Well, it is pretty hot here, so maybe that’s why.”

“Let’s go inside,” I said, urging them both towards the lobby. “It will be much cooler inside.”

“You should see the oceanside pool,” Mrs. Titchmarsh gushed. “I plan to put my wrinkly ass in my bathing suit and go for a swim.”

“That sounds heavenly.” Betty turned a wistful look towards me.

“We can do that, but only if you both put on a high factor sunblock that is water resistant,” I replied.

“Yes! Wait - did we bring any?”

“They sell it in the shop,” Mrs. Titchmarsh said. “I went and bought a bottle. I’ve been here almost an hour. It was expensive too. Probably because it’s reef safe and this is a fancy pants place.”

“I hope you charged it to your room,” I said.

“Yeah, the guy asked me if I was the lady who came on the shuttle and did that.”

“Good. All of your expenses are covered. If you wish to leave the resort, please let me know. I have a card to use for that.”

“I like the sound of that,” she cackled, following us inside. “A truly all expenses paid vacation. Even if it is only three days, it’ll be the best one I’ve ever had.”

“You’ll have to come up and visit us,” Betty told her. “The ship we’re on is truly amazing. There’s this one deck that’s got to be several stories tall and it has a sky with clouds that move and breezes and has a park with real trees and grass and everything.”

“There are several parks on board, all with playgrounds,” I murmured before coming to a stop in front of the check-in desk.

“That sounds amazing,” I heard the older female tell my bride before I tuned out the rest of their conversation in order to focus on my interaction with the desk clerk.

“Dr. Proslo, I presume?” the male quipped as if finding his words witty for some reason.