Page 22 of Doran

“Thanks.” She smiled sunnily at me and began to push the ambulatory seat along the wood effect sidewalk Bob was having the 3D printers place before every building in town as they went up.

“Will you be okay carrying whatever won't fit in the basket underneath the seat? I just want a few things. It feels weird to replicate everything I want to cook. And it was nice having the fresh eggs this morning.” She laughed. “Those sure must be some big chickens.”

“They were hop-a-long eggs,” I informed her.

“Hop-a-long eggs? You mean those rabbit kangaroo things? They lay eggs?”

I nodded. “Yes. We also can get eggs from kilt-ha. Those are much larger.”

“So, there’s no chickens, huh?”

I shook my head. “The scoutship found kilt-ha and hop-a-longs already here. There are also worms in the soil and a few types of fish, including shellfish, in the inland seas. There is not a large variety of native wildlife here, including plants, and we have to be mindful that those we do bring do not disrupt the balance the Ancients maintain.”

“Yeah, I heard about the exploding plant. So, does that lunar thing also blast animals?”

I shook my head. “No. A DNA sample of common Earth animals found in homes and on farms was brought. It was sufficient. Prior experience with other worlds they engineered let us know we were fine to screen them that way. But if an animal was not approved, it would not be destroyed, unlike the plant. A barrier would go up, and it would not be permitted to set foot upon New Haven.”

“Oh, wow. That’s wild. Um, so if common animals were scanned and approved, why no chickens?”

“No one requested any.”

“Oh. That makes sense. And here we are!” She tilted the handles back to lift the front wheels up enough to go over the door’s lip and pushed their way inside. “This is not what I imagined an alien store to look like.” She blinked. “Actually, I don’t know what I imagined one would look like, but this is not it.”

“It was remodeled inside and out after Bob told us what would make humans comfortable living here,” I said.

“Right. Alien prairie planet, a need for human mates, old Earth TV shows, and voila, Walnut Grove in space.” She giggled.

Bob had obviously gotten it right, as she was filled with great happiness with everything she’d seen about our town so far. As had the other humans, from what I could tell.

I walked up to the counter. “I’m going to need whatever a human inn keeper who works in a greenhouse and orchard would wear,” I said.

“Huh? Whatever is comfortable,” she replied. “You don’t need special clothes, but if you don’t have a hat, you might want to get one to keep the sun out of your eyes while working outdoors.”

Yes, a hat.”

“You’ll need two different hats,” Kelran said from behind the counter. “While working with growing things, you’ll want a Stetson. Wear it with jeans and a shirt in a multicolored checkered pattern. If you wish a coat, soft suede with a wool looking collar. It should be brown to match your boots, and the wool white. I have lightweight ones with the right look so you won’t become overheated.”

“And the second hat?”

“When you are doing landlord duties. You will need pants and a shirt, and maybe a vest like I’ve got on, with different boots or shoes.” He took off his apron to show his ensemble. “If you need to be formal, you wear a little thing called a bowtie." He touched the one at his throat. “I have one on not because we have to be formal, but because it’s part of the shopkeeper look, like my apron. And the hat is one of these.” He took out a round hat with a short brim all the way around it. “It’s called a bowler, though it’s not worn when playing a game they call bowling. They don’t wear special hats for that.”

Sarah had sucked her lips in and looked as if she was trying to not laugh.

“Is something the matter?” Kelran asked her.

“No, no, no. You’ve got that Mr. Olsen vibe locked down tight. I’m, I’m just having a great time taking it all in. The frontier was a long time ago for us, you know.”

“Only because your species is shorter-lived," he answered.

“What? How long do Dragonii live?” She held her hand up. “Wait, don’t answer that.”

“Once I claim you, my venom will tie our lifespans together,” I told her, understanding immediately how she’d thought to spare me from thinking about having to be without her someday, for many long years, as humans lived so much shorter lives.

“Say what now?”

“Perhaps you should discuss this at home later,” Kelran suggested.

She pointed a finger at me. “As soon as we get home, mister.”