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  There was a pause, and then into the silence, Baardorid said, “I do believe that this is going to be a very, very popular new pastime.”

  “One more, song,” I said. “Two couples this time.”

  Pippa claimed me from Kalorain as I started the music. After that, we traded often. And at the end, my partner again spun me straight to Kalorain, who seemed to be expecting it, her hands already raised. We smiled at each other as the final notes faded.

  “Let’s talk about the clubs,” I said. I started the conversation but then I stepped beside Mother and translated for her as Pippa, Tranquility, and Serenity explained the nature of the clubs on Tarriton. Once they finished, I said, “We wouldn’t try to duplicate all that, but we could borrow ideas and do what works on Talmon, if this is something we want to do.”

  “For tonight, let’s just dance,” Tranquility said. “We’ll teach the individual couples version tonight, but later, if people want, we can help with two couples. Everyone who wants to try should form into couples.”

  “We actually recommend that spouses separate,” Serenity added. “Governor, perhaps you could dance with Felda to start.”

  “I don’t get to dance with you?” Kalorain asked in Talmonese.

  “You’ll get to dance plenty with me,” I said. “But I have to help teach.”

  “Then I will dance with Hazelvarn,” she said, collecting the girl before anyone else reached her.

  Tranquility took the role of teacher, introducing the basics. Serenity, Pippa, and I were the assistants. We stepped in to help people as necessary. Everyone here could dance, although I was surprised to find out Mother could. I hadn’t ever seen her dance before and was surprised, but she was doing as well as anyone, and she was smiling besides.

  Finally Tranquility said, “All right. We’re going to play a long song, and we’re going to introduce you to a slight variation. What we want you to do is dance for a minute or two, no more than that, with a particular partner. Then the leader may choose to spin her partner into the middle of the room, here, and another person may claim her. Or the leader may spin herself in, and when someone selects her, she becomes a follower instead.” She grabbed her sister, danced a few steps, and then spun herself into the middle. Pippa stepped in as a lead and pulled her back into the line of dance.

  “Oh, I like that,” Valtine said. “It’s a long song?”

  “It actually is generated by the computer,” Tranquility said. “It will play as long as we want.”

  “Oh,” she said. “Are we done learning new steps?”

  “Perhaps we’ll set it for twenty minutes,” Tranquility said. “How is that?”

  “That is lovely.”

  “How do we know when to trade partners?” Sartine asked.

  “Trade when you’re ready, or when you see someone is free you wish to dance with,” Tranquility said. She stepped over to Serenity’s tablet. I gave her control, and after a moment, the music started.

  I didn’t have a partner, so I moved into the center of the room. A moment later, Serenity claimed me, and Tranquility claimed Pippa.

  We danced. And it was lovely. It was perfect. Serenity didn’t keep me long, although she whispered, “I’m only giving you up because we need to help everyone else.”

  I laughed and let her spin me away. Valtine was already there, and Serenity claimed her. A moment later, Kalorain chose to change partners by sending herself into the center, grinning at me as Hazelvarn claimed me. “This is better,” she said. “For a minute or two, you must do what I wish?”

  I laughed, and then the moment I had an opportunity, I added flourishes she wasn’t expecting. She let me but then pulled me back in and laughed. “Very pretty.”

  * * * *

  I didn’t dance with everyone that first, long song, but with perhaps about half, including with Mother. She told me she was having a nice time and that I had lovely friends. Valtine claimed me and quietly asked me, “How do we convince your friends to stay?”

  “And my mother,” I said.

  “Well, that is a given. She’ll stay to be with you, Maddalyn.”

  “Everything is so different here,” I said. “I’ve never seen Mother dance.”

  “She is just as interested in this as we are,” Valtine replied. “But we will work on your mother.”

  “Thank you, Valtine.”

  And so we danced, and then the song ended and we taught them a few more steps, enough to last the remainder of the evening, and danced for another hour. And then Tranquility said, “And now let us teach you as couples. We’ve already shown you one way to trade people, but now we’re going to do it on a signal.”

  We actually used our new partners, forming two sets of two couples. I was partnered with Margotain this time. She looked as happy as anyone and whispered how much fun she was having. “Will we make one of these clubs?”

  “I certainly hope so,” I said, “although it won’t be a copy.”

  “I will go every night!” she said. Then she laughed. “Well, I would want to.”

  We taught them the two couples style and danced two songs before Tranquility asked, “Did you like that?”

  There was a pause, and then Valtine stepped forward. “On Talmon, we do not shy from the truth.”

  “You hated it,” Tranquility said.

  “No. I could see if you attended one of these clubs with just a few friends, this is the style you would like.”

  “You’re right,” I said. “Or if you are going with just your date but you want to meet more people. That is how Pippa and I met Tranquility and Serenity. You must remember that on Tarriton, when you go somewhere, you probably don’t know very many people, and it is not the custom to meet everyone.”

  “Of course,” Valtine said. “And so this is a fitting style. But this is Talmon, and I like the style where we danced with more people. I would like this style if we could trade with other couples.”

  “Oh,” said Serenity. “We could do that.”

  “I like that,” Pippa said. “But it will be harder.”

  “Don’t trade,” I said. “Steal.”

  Tranquility laughed. “Oh, that’s even better. Oh, and that leads to a different style of competition.”

  “Oh?”

  “You could take prisoners from the other couples, and there would be rules how to steal. If you blow the steal, you become a prisoner of the group you tried to steal from.”

  I laughed. “Maybe we can wait a few weeks for that variation.”

  “I don’t know,” Kalorain said. “I might like taking a prisoner or two.”

  “I’m fairly certain that the two sisters would love stealing you,” I said. “And I bet they’re hard to steal from.”

  “Perhaps we’ll wait until I’m better,” Kalorain replied immediately.

  “We’ll work on that,” Tranquility said. “So, we should return to the first style? How long did we hope to dance?”

  “Another hour,” Valtine said. Then she smiled. “But I would like one of you to teach me the untamed style.”

  “Mine!” Tranquility said. Then she and Serenity struggled to reach Valtine first. Pippa used the chance to step around both of them and claimed the Vendart’s Wife, leading to laughter from everyone else and scowls from my friends.

  But then Sartine said, “Cecilia and I will also learn these steps.”

  “As will I,” Kalorain said. “Serenity, will you teach me?”

  I put on a face but then waited for Tranquility to pick someone. I think she was going to take Sartine, but Sartine gestured to Cecilia, and so I was partnered with the Indartha Vendart. “Why?”

  “I thought you would be uncomfortable with your boss.”

  “That was kind. It would have been okay, but this is better.”

  “We’re going to start the music,” Tranquility said. “And claim this corner. You can circle past us as you’re dancing.” She moved us to the corner. I drove the tablet to begin the music, although I turned the volume down
a little.

  And then I taught Sartine some very, very sexy steps she could incorporate.

  Convincing

  We stayed up late, talking. Eventually I walked Mother to her bedroom. I stayed with her as she got ready, then we did something we hadn’t done in a very long time. I crawled into bed with her and we held each other for a while.

  “I’m proud of you, Maddalyn,” she said. “You’re not at all the person you were when you left Frantzland.”

  “I had trouble fitting in when I first arrived. Chaladine, who you’ve heard mentioned, and Luradinine ended up breaking the ice for me, Chaladine especially.”

  “You were a good employee for Frau Langenberger,” she said. “But you have grown so much here.” She held me tightly.

  Until that moment, I hadn’t decided if I was going to talk to Mother this early, but I finally said, “Mother, I want you to consider something.”

  “What’s that, Maddalyn?”

  “I want you to think about whether you could be happy if you stayed. Mother, I never want to go back to Frantzland. At first, I was happy to stay on Tarriton.”

  “It’s very beautiful.”

  “But I like it here even more,” I continued. “The only thing I miss is you. I couldn’t stand being away from you forever.”

  “What would I do here?”

  “Maybe fall in love again.”

  “I’ve never been in love, Maddalyn,” she replied softly. “The people here are so different.”

  “They are,” I said. “I suppose they make you uncomfortable.”

  “No,” she said slowly. “But it’s all overwhelming.”

  “You’d learn to speak Talmonese,” I said. “And probably English, too.”

  “I learned a little on Tarriton,” she said. “But I’m embarrassed to open my mouth.”

  “Everyone starts somewhere,” I said.

  “What would I do?” she asked again. “I can’t live off of you, and this isn’t Frantzland.”

  “Mother,” I said. “My boss is the Imperial Governor of the planet. My mother-in-law is vendart of an important city. I live in the home of the vendart of a rather nice village. And we’re a stone’s throw from the vendart of the biggest city on Talmon, and you were dancing in a rather intriguing style with the Vendart’s Wife just two hours ago. Do you really think, if you liked the planet, that we’d have any trouble finding opportunity for you? I can think of a dozen jobs you could do, and that’s without trying. Is this the biggest question?”

  “I’ve always thought of that first, Maddalyn,” she replied.

  “You would have to learn both Talmonese and English,” I said. “That would be first. But once you did, then I’ll offer four suggestions. First, I’m fairly certain we’re going to open that dance club. You could help manage it. Second, the Talmonese don’t understand science, and we need to start teaching. You could teach, or if you don’t want to teach, you could help coordinate the teaching program. Third, we need more people at the rejuvenation center who understand rejuvenation.”

  “I’m not a technician or doctor, Maddalyn.”

  “No, but we need people to act as guides for the Talmonese. We’ve asked the staff to learn Talmonese, but none of them are taking it seriously; they all think they’re staying for their contract and leaving after that for work somewhere more profitable to them. Fourth, you could learn some new skills, such as installing the power systems that came down on the lander with you. You could learn to install them or at least help explain their operation to the local Talmonese. And as a bonus idea, you could help Cecilia operate one of the tourism companies. The planet has nothing for export, but we’re hoping to build enough of a tourism industry to help us pay to import more technology. We need so much. Mother, do you love your current job?”

  “No, not really,” she said.

  “Do you hate it here?”

  “No. It’s quite beautiful, and the people seem very nice.”

  “The people are amazing. Mother, I’ve asked them to help work on you.”

  She laughed. “Did you?”

  “Yes. Until you ask me to call them off, everyone is going to be trying to convince you to stay.”

  “Is that why there was such a nice welcome?”

  “No. That’s the Talmon way, most of the time.”

  We lay quietly for a minute, then she asked, “Which language would I learn first?”

  “Talmonese,” I said.

  Again we were quiet, and just when I thought she was about to fall asleep, she said, “I’m not going to make any decisions right away. I want to start learning Talmonese, but I’m not sure I want to learn from my daughter.”

  I laughed. “Maybe a few words?”

  “A few words,” she agreed.

  I taught her the numbers, one to ten. I taught her ‘yes’ and ‘no, ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. And I taught her a few simple greetings. Then I asked, “Do you want me to arrange for you to learn?”

  “I’m not sure. What does that mean?”

  “Initially, it means I’ll tell Kalorain and Luradinine. And then I’ll assign someone to you for a while each day, to begin teaching you. Once you start being able to speak basic phrases, we’ll enroll you in what we’re calling our immersion program.”

  “What is that?”

  “Talmonese only.”

  “Not yet.”

  “No, not yet,” I said. “Mother, I want to ask you something. It’s very personal.”

  “Oh, my. Perhaps I should suggest you call me Sie.”

  I laughed. “If you were going to fall in love, would it be with a man or a woman?”

  “You don’t know?”

  “No, Mother. I’ve never seen you with anyone.”

  “Yes, you have. Do you not remember Frau Lange?”

  “You and Frau Lange?” I exclaimed. “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “What happened?”

  “We drifted apart,” Mother said. “There hasn’t been anyone since.”

  “Should I interpret anything from this new look you’re wearing?”

  “If you want.”

  I laughed. “It’s going to be even harder for you to leave if you fall in love with someone.”

  “I rather believe your friends are going to snatch up anyone available long before I’d be brave enough.”

  I laughed again. “Mother, if you gave me permission, I could have you married off in a week.”

  “Oh, you could not.”

  “They have some very interesting marriage customs here,” I said.

  “I can find my own dates,” she replied.

  “I think this new look of yours is because you want them to find you,” I countered. I leaned over and kissed her cheek. We’d never been this demonstrative with each other, but she seemed to be accepting it, and as she’d said: I was a different person than the woman who left Frantzland. “You’ll never know if it’s a setup by your daughter.”

  “Maddalyn Herschel!” she said threateningly, then faded off, ending with a laugh. “You’re probably right.” She sobered and said, “Maddalyn, I don’t want to leave you. You may try to convince me.”

  “Then all is fair,” I said. “Deal?”

  “She thought for a moment. “All right. Deal.”

  We cuddled for a minute longer, then I climbed from the bed but bent over and kissed her forehead. “Mother, I’ve become more physically demonstrative. I know it’s not your way.”

  In response, she grabbed my head and pulled it down, then kissed my forehead.

  * * * *

  Everyone had gone to bed, but I heard Serenity and Tranquility talking quietly. I found Kalorain, sitting up in bed with her tablet. “Mother agreed to let me try to convince her to stay.”

  Kalorain smiled broadly. “Good.”

  “She’s going to start learning Talmonese, but she’s uncomfortable learning from me. I told her I’d talk to you and Luradinine.”

  “Good,” she repeated. “Come to
bed.”

  “I want to go talk briefly with the others. Ten minutes?”

  “All right.”

  I stepped back out, pausing by the sisters’ door. They were still talking, so I headed to Pippa’s. I knocked and heard a response, so I cracked the door. “It’s Maddalyn.”

  “Come in,” she said.

  The room was dark, but I slipped inside and closed the door. I could vaguely see Pippa in bed. “Did I wake you?”

  “No.”

  I crossed the room, coming to the side of the bed. “Could I join you for a minute?” She said nothing, but she lifted the covers, so I slipped inside. Then we lay together on our backs, Pippa watching me.

  “I wasn’t expecting this, not with the way Kalorain keeps an eye on you.”

  “Pippa, Mother just told me she’s considering staying. She’s going to learn Talmonese.”

  “That’s good,” Pippa said.

  “I want the three of you to stay, too.” I turned my head. “You wouldn’t believe how much we need you, Pippa.”

  “Why me?”

  “I don’t know all the particulars, but I want you to help us begin teaching the Talmonese. They have an education system, but there’s so much they don’t learn.”

  She turned away, staring up at the ceiling. “I’m willing to talk about it, but not in bed.”

  “I want you to let us start teaching you Talmonese. And I want permission to work on you.”

  “What does that part mean?”

  “I’m not sure,” I said. “I just don’t want to do anything behind your back.”

  “Anything meaning what?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe dangle cute girls in front of you.”

  She laughed. “There’s one in my bed.”

  “She’s taken,” I replied.

  “Hey. You climbed in with me. That means I get to tease.”

  “I suppose that’s fair,” I replied.

  “Maddalyn, if you want to try to make me fall in love with the planet, or with someone living on the planet, I’m cool with that. But there are things I want if I’m going to even consider staying, and we’re not discussing them in bed.”

  “And learning Talmonese?”

  “That we can discuss.”

  “Mother doesn’t want to learn from me.”