Page 9 of Yorix

“There was a man in a truck when I got here,” I rushed out. “It had Humans First bumper stickers on it, and he looked mean.”

“Yes, I know.” He pursed his lips. “I was about to call the local authorities to ask them to remove him, but then you came and he drove off, so all’s well.” He smiled at me brightly. “I’m Officer Tylip, and it’s so good to meet you.”

I smiled back, relief swamping me at knowing that Tylip had been watching the suspicious looking man.

I came in, and to my surprise, I saw a young man already sitting inside, crying.

“Just take a seat next to Chris there and we can get started,” Tylip said as he closed and locked the door behind me.

“Are you okay?” I asked Chris, reaching into my purse for the pack of tissues I usually carried in there.

“Yeah. No. I don’t know!” he sobbed. “My dad and step mom threw me out, and my dad drove me here and said if I love Mylos so much, I could just go be with them!”

I settled down next to him, reaching a hand out to rub his arm comfortingly as my mind filled with a sudden, terrible suspicion.

“You poor thing. Your dad was the guy out there in the truck? Because he drove off right after I got here.”

Chris turned a hopeful gaze towards me. “Really? He left?”

“He’s gone,” Tylip confirmed. “Would either of you like tea or coffee?”

“Coffee would be lovely, thanks. Do you have regular drip coffee? I don’t like the fancier kinds.” I smiled ruefully. “Makes me a bit weird these days, I guess.”

“No, it doesn’t!” Chris replied instantly and I wanted to wrap him up in a big old hug, because really, he was such a sweetheart! I wanted to go outside, find his father, and give him a sock in the nose. Okay, maybe I wasn't actually brave enough to do any such thing, but the sentiment was there.

“We do. It’ll be a few minutes, though, as I have to put a pot on,” Tylip answered me.

“I’ll take one too,” Chris added.

Tylip went back to the small kitchen area and began measuring out ground coffee from a can he took out from an overhead cupboard. It was a brand I’d seen on occasion in a supermarket, but had never tried before, Chase and Sanborn.

“What would you like to do, Chris? Now that your father has left, you can leave safely after your coffee if you do wish,” Tylip said, turning on the drip coffee machine. “Or I can give you a tablet and you can fill out the pre appointment questionnaire.”

“The appointment one,” Chris replied, looking relieved. Had he been worried he’d get kicked out of here too? Not on my watch!

“Can we share my appointment slot if there’s not one free after mine?” I asked Tylip, grinning.

“You can,” he replied as he walked back towards us, stopping at his desk first to pick up two tablets. He turned them both on, tapping them to bring up two different screens. He handed us each one and I looked to see it already had my personal information filled in, complete with the photo booth picture I’d had to send in with my pre-appointment application. Below all that was a series of questions it asked me to answer as thoroughly as possible, without reservations. This was it. This was the part where the Mylos’s mysterious mate matching program figured out if I was the missing piece to a waiting warrior. Mentally crossing my fingers, I began.

I became vaguely aware of Tylip bringing us our coffees, along with a plate of donuts.

“Here you are,” he said brightly, causing me to look up. “You can fix it however you like it. We have vanilla and hazelnut syrups as well if you’d like.”

We both thanked him, assuring him it was fine as we added milk and sugar to our drinks. He nodded just as the kunnarskin embedded in his wrist chimed. “Ah, excellent. You can begin the main questionnaire now.” He picked up Chris’s tablet, tapping the screen before handing it back to him. “Once you’re done, I’ll take a DNA sample using a cheek swab, and then Xeranos will give us the result a few minutes later.”

We both drank our coffees and the refills Tylip brought us, and somehow, between us, the donuts also disappeared. At last, I came to the last question, feeling emotionally wrung out from having bared my soul.

“All done, I see,” Tylip said, already at my side, and I felt my cheeks flush as I realized that the tablets were obviously monitored. Then I mentally smacked myself, because, duh! Of course, they were, as the program analyzed our answers in real time as we answered them. That was why once the DNA sample was processed, you got a yes or a no about a match so fast.

Tylip held out a swab he’d unwrapped.

“Now I just need to take a sample from inside your cheek,” he said softly, and I opened my mouth obligingly, extra glad I’d made sure to use both mouth rinse and my portable knock off Waterpik this morning. Tylip walked over to a machine in the back of the office space and placed my sample inside. He turned to find Chris holding out his tablet, having now also finished the questionnaire. Tylip was still walking over to take it when a chiming sound rang out insistently.

“Lynn! You’ve got a match!” Tylip said, his voice vibrating with unconcealed excitement.

I couldn’t believe it. Oh my god! Mama had been right! I’d dared to hope but - “I get a hunky hubby and get to study astronomy in space?” I finished my thought out loud, excitedly.

“Indeed,” Tulip answered me, looking amused. He tapped on the computer display sitting on his desk. “You’ve been matched to Yorix, a food replication technician. He’s been notified and will be here in an hour or so.”