The Unexpected, page 16
“We will give you time to decide,” I said “and spend time together.”
I was about to jump us away when the leader of the Frigid Woman walked over to the leader of the Qulupalik and took his hand. I was amazed he didn’t turn into a block of ice, but her touch didn’t seem to bother him other than make the rudder move in a way I didn’t want to notice.
“We need no time, do we, my love?”
He kissed her and then looked at me, then Lady Luck. “We accept your kind offer. It will allow us, for the first time in centuries, to spend real time together.”
“It is our honor,” I said, bowing.
Lady Luck also bowed.
“Give us one full day of time in this time bubble,” he said, “and then we will move the ship out of sacred waters.”
“Thank you,” I said and this time both Patty and I bowed as deeply as we could in the cold.
Lady Luck also bowed again. “And there will always be a suite waiting for you both in any human ship passing,” she said. “Your privacy will always be respected.”
They both nodded, standing there naked in each other’s grasps.
“Call for me when you would like to return to normal time,” Lady Luck said.
And with that we were back in my office floating over Las Vegas.
FIVE
The warm hit me like a hard brick and beside me Patty seemed to collapse. I caught her and we slid back into the booth. In all my life I couldn’t remember being that cold.
Lady Luck smiled at us and we both warmed up almost instantly. Amazing how having Lady Luck smile on you can make you feel warm and comfortable.
That was a nifty power and some day I would have to ask her about it.
She reached onto the table and took a couple of fries from one basket. “These things are killers on a girl’s figure.”
She popped one of them in her mouth, then smiled. “Tell Madge I’m joining you guys here for dinner tonight. I’ve got a few people to tell what just happened.”
With that she vanished.
Outside I could see a plane still stuck in the sky, frozen there because we were all inside a time bubble. The same time bubble we needed to maintain to allow the two leaders to do what they wanted and clearly needed to do.
Twenty-four hours in this time bubble would be a small price to pay for stopping a war.
“So what happened?” Stan asked, leaning forward and asking the question all of them clearly wanted to ask.
“Romeo and Juliet are enjoying a little private time in our suite on your ship, Captain,” I said, smiling.
He started to say something, then closed his mouth, clearly stunned.
“Your ship will be moved when they are finished in twenty-four hours,” Patty said.
“Fantastic,” Stan said, clapping his hands. “So we stay in this bubble until then?”
“Seems like it,” I said.
“You actually met a Qulupalik?” Ben asked, also clearly stunned. “Are they green?”
“He was,” I said.
Then I turned to Patty. “You want to describe him?”
She started to say something, then shut her mouth and her face got very red.
I laughed. “Just say he was naked and very well-built, if you know what I mean.”
“And he smelled like a sewer at a seaport,” Patty said.
“The leader of the Frigid Women didn’t seem to care,” I said, smiling at the woman I loved.
“After twenty-four hours in that suite with that guy’s body,” Patty said, smiling back at me, “she’ll be far from frigid.”
Stan and Screamer just moaned and then laughed as I turned red, failing completely to get the image of Romeo and Juliet, naked and together in our big bed, out of my mind.
ABOUT THE EDITOR
An award-winning writer, editor and designer, Allyson Longueira has worked in fiction and nonfiction in multiple media, including newspapers, magazines and books. She holds a BA in English from Rutgers University and an MA in design and editing from the prestigious University of Missouri School of Journalism. As editor, she led her newspaper to three general excellence awards in three consecutive years from the Society of Professional Journalism and the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. She has taught writing and design at the college and professional levels, including a post as adjunct professor at the University of Oregon and teaching professional workshops and lectures through WMG Publishing. She is the publisher of WMG Publishing, Inc., headquartered in Lincoln City, Oregon.
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Copyright Information
Fiction River Presents: The Unexpected
Copyright © 2016 by WMG Publishing
Published by WMG Publishing
Cover and layout copyright © 2016 by WMG Publishing
Editing and other written material copyright © 2016 by Allyson Longueira
Cover art copyright © Leszekglasner/Dreamstime, Audreykuzmin/Dreamstime
Cover design by Allyson Longueira/WMG Publishing
“Introduction: Surprise!” copyright © 2016 by Allyson Longueira
“Generations” copyright © 2016 by Steve Perry
“Case Cracked” copyright © 2016 by Joe Cron
“Role Model” copyright © 2016 by Kevin J. Anderson
“Finally Family” copyright © 2016 by Ray Vukcevich
“Time, Expressed as an Entrée” copyright © 2016 by Robert T. Jeschonek
“One-Night Stands for Love and Glory” copyright © 2016 by David H. Hendrickson
“Earth Day” copyright © 2016 by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
“Jelly’s Heroes” copyright © 2016 by Louisa Swann
“Nice Timestream Youse Got Here” copyright © 2016 by Lee Allred
“In the Play of Frigid Women” copyright © 2016 by Dean Wesley Smith
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Surprise!
Introduction to “Generations”
Generations
Introduction to “Case Cracked”
Case Cracked
Introduction to “Role Model”
Role Model
Introduction to “Finally Family”
Finally Family
Introduction to “Time, Expressed as an Entrée”
Time, Expressed as an Entrée
Introduction to “One-Night Stands for Love and Glory”
One-Night Stands for Love and Glory
Introduction to “Earth Day”
Earth Day
Introduction to “Jelly’s Heroes”
Jelly’s Heroes
Introduction to “Nice Timestream Youse Got Here”
Nice Timestream Youse Got Here
Introduction to “In the Play of Frigid Women”
In the Play of Frigid Women
About the Editor
About Fiction River
Copyright Information
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