The grocery store in Liliport had everything.
Everything!
It was almost as big as the bazaar in Riverside, only completely inside in a large store that had shelves that were sometimes thirty rows high! I could have spent days and days going down all the aisles and looking over all the different things they had.
What amazed me the most though wasn’t just that they had all different types of products, but the vast amount of out-of-season fruit and vegetables that were offered – apricots and cherries and strawberries! So many strawberries! And they were huge! HUGE! Like the size of apples!
I didn’t have nearly a big enough kitchen at the moment to store all the things I wanted to try, but I think I would have to add that to my list. I didn’t know how winters would be, but in the colony, we always had to start preparing for it around this time because it was so difficult to grow things with the frost.
But so many items had expiration dates that were years away – I got a bag of nuts that didn’t expire for three years! Three years!
Simply amazing.
And apparently, hurricanes were massive, violent storms that came from the ocean and could do all sorts of awful things, but among them was flooding the underground, which meant the city would be shut down until they could pump the water out. Because of this, Willow made sure I had enough supplies to be comfortable inside for at least two weeks, which was pretty crazy, but he insisted that it was vital to be prepared for that length of time at all times.
When Willow said he would need to be leaving soon, we focused on the task at hand, heading to the aisles that focused on wellness. Interestingly, most products had it stated very plainly on their labels whether they were for Novus, Sapien, or Universal, everything from lotion to toothpaste to all sorts of medicine!
He had me by things he called the basics, like sleep aids, which sapiens used to reset their ‘internal clocks’ when they shift from being mostly day based to night based, as I was having to.
I also checked the baby aisle and got a few things from there that Willow said were essential Novus baby items, like something called a cuddle jacket that kept them immobilized during diaper changes and chew sticks for them to gnaw on.
Chew sticks.
Like we would get for the family dogs.
When everything was purchased and loaded into the car, Willow’s carefree, easy attitude shifted to something more serious, so I resisted asking any new questions and just ate my strawberries, waiting until he was ready. And I could wait forever with these strawberries. It was very hard not to moan while eating them – the flavor was like nothing else, somehow like a rose with watermelon freshness. I’d never be able to have normal strawberries again.
“So I don’t know if this thing with Gideon is going to work out – we’ll give it a try,” Willow said as we drove down the street, his gaze out the front window as he watched the road. “But if it doesn’t work out, there might be a lag for a week or two,” He shook his head a little, “I have a bad feeling they might try to pair you with a Novus from West Campora, and I’m not going to allow that.”
I swallowed, licking my lips and asking “What makes you think that?” before I took another bite.
“Because I’m still really confused as to why they sent you so many young candidates. Matchmakers are schooled in the best fits for their clients, and the fact that Marge even accepted that many young candidates - knowing that you were not interested in a lengthy engagement - as well as even considering a Class A Novus male that was twenty-five- well knowing your situation! Well knowing that you have no experience whatsoever with Novus males, let alone how to deal with an unstable one!” He frowned, the look on his face har, his eyes widening. “It’s really got me on edge. As your advocate, I can not in good conscious allow you to mate with a male from West Campora, and if they offer one in exchange for Joy, I will turn it down no matter what you say, or what they say.”
I frowned but nodded just a little, taking a slow bite of my strawberry, thinking that over. “How big of a difference is there between a nous from East Campora and a Novus from West Campora?”
“The Novus from the East are largely similar to how we raise ours here,” He said carefully, his tone a little lighter now, “They have a lot more respect for Sapiens and the understand their value as people extends outside the family home, and that they are valued members of both a partnership and society. It might not be entirely equal, but it’s close and their laws and culture reflect that. It’s not like that at all in the West. They’re militant about Novus being superior, and they treat Sapiens like pets rather than people. They are civilized, but not when it comes to their sapiens – you would be the property of your mate and wouldn’t have any control or ownership over anything.”
“Am I not the property of my clan? Specifically, the Matriarch, whose name is on all my legal papers?” I asked lightly, genuinely curious.
Willow lowered his chin a bit, saying “You are a member of your clan and a citizen of Victoria. Even after you married a Novus, Victoria and your subclan would always consider you a member unless you officially left the clan and forfeited your citizenship.”
I nodded. “And what would happen if I did that?”
“You’d be without a clan...and you’d lose the protection they gave. You wouldn’t have had an advocate, or a matchmaker, or funds. You might also be banned from returning, especially if you had any status in the clan.” He blinked hard at that, “Those without clans are usually from the woods and they are grabbed by Novus very quickly once it’s determined they are without protection. So if at any time you were mistreated by a Novus, you’d have no larger organization that offered protection to you or your children and could intervene if you requested it. This is essential when you have Novus children, as Novus require a lot of medical intervention to function the older they get. If you mate with Gideon, the MAN of their largest city, and he leaves his clan for yours, he and any of his children would be banned from returning to Campora to keep the peace...their presence in his old territory would be seen as an attempt to reclaim his status, so...that’s something that you always need to think about. You will very likely be going to your mate's clan, and I won’t let that be in the West-”
There was a ringing sound and suddenly the hard look smoothed on his face, Willow sitting up a little straight to carefully navigate the car to the side of the road. He pulled his mobile phone out of his pant pocket and stared at the screen, blinking hard at what he saw before he glanced at me, saying “I have to take this.” before he slipped out of the car.
I heard him say ‘Where is he?’ before the door closed and he went to go stand on the sidewalk with a stressed look.
I knew that look.
That was the look my parents had gotten whenever Roy got in trouble, not just an argument, but in the sort of trouble that nearly had the Mayor through him out of town. Worry. Anxiety. Fear. When Willow’s call ended he rubbed his face before he got back behind the wheel, staring forward for a beat before he swallowed and sighed.
“Is everything alright?”
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