Kahm looked around the luxurious office and asked himself once more what the hell was he doing here. His friends had convinced him he needed a woman in his life. Raye, his best friend, had used the agency himself and seemed quite happy with the woman they had matched him with. He kept telling Kahm he should do the same.
He had to admit his life on Sumirion was lonely. The giant planet had a small number of inhabitants, and they all lived on their farms, vast extensions of terrain used for growing most of the food consumed by the neighboring planets. Kahm’s farm raised cattle and other than half a dozen men that worked for him, there were no other people for miles around them.
Being an Arghearian made him one of the top warriors on this side of the universe, but it also made him a very sexual being. When he decided to stop fighting and settle down in Sumirion, he hadn't thought he would miss the company of women as much as he did. His body craved them more than he liked to admit.
There were very few single women on the whole planet. Most of them were teenagers, and the rest were women dedicated to pleasure men. He wasn’t very fond of such women, so he didn’t usually indulge himself with them. He preferred to visit other planets, whenever his urges became too intense.
But the situation was becoming annoying and stressful. Kahm needed a woman in his house, and though he considered buying an intelligent android, he wanted more from a woman than just sex.
And that was what brought him to this office. Mail Order Bride was their name, and apparently, they had been doing a pretty good job matching people all over the universe. Raye’s new wife was from a small planet called Earth, in the eighth quadrant. She was quite exquisite with her long blonde hair and her curvy body, so he had decided he would try to find one like her.
“Greetings, sir. My name is Nadir. How may I be of service?” a woman’s voice broke his train of thought.
He turned around and faced a small Cetian, with her scaled skin and snake-like face. She was wearing a colorful tunic with the agency’s label on its lapel.
“Greetings. I would like to order a bride,” he replied before he had the chance to change his mind.
The woman smiled. “Of course, you’ve come to the right place.” She stretched her arm motioning him to enter an office behind a glass door. “We have different fees that will give you access to different levels of profiles.”
He knew all about it. Money wasn’t a problem for him. During his solar cycles as a warrior he had amassed a vast fortune he would have trouble spending by himself for the rest of his lifespan.
“I want to have access to your entire database.”
The woman’s smile became brighter. “Have you any idea what species you’re interested in?” she asked, closing the door behind them and taking a seat in front of the desk.
She immediately pulled a double screen in front of them and waited for his answer.
“Yes, I thought a human would be a good choice,” he replied, squirming uncomfortably in the chair.
He was starting to think this whole idea was insane. He doubted he would ever be pleased with just one woman. Who was he trying to fool? Though his people believed in soulmates and mating for life, he had never experienced even a hint of what others described as a life-changing feeling. He had decided, a long time ago, he wasn’t meant for that.
“Oh, yes, they are quite attractive,” the woman said, pulling up a few pictures of some of the candidates available. “And not as expensive as some species. Arghearian females, for example, demand a very expensive dowry.”
He had no interest in a female from his own species. He had never felt attracted to them, probably because they weren’t very feminine. Like the males, they were formidable warriors and looked similar as well.
“I’m only interested in human females.”
The woman nodded. “Can you give me a few more details to narrow down the search? Right now, we have hundreds of thousands human profiles. They are eager to escape their destroyed planet,” she explained.
“I don’t know much about human females,” he admitted.
“Well, this species has a wide variety of specimens,” she informed him, in a smooth tone.
Kahm wasn’t very sure he liked the way she referred to the other women, but if he wanted to do this, he would have to put up with her condescending attitude.
“Tell me about them.”
Smiling, she started showing him an example of every race on the planet, from the tiny Asians to the tall Caucasian women from the coldest areas of the planet, not forgetting those with a darker tone of skin.
He discarded the Asian women and those from the north and concentrated on a group of women called Latinas. Their luscious bodies and amazing manes stirred something inside him, and he decided to focus on that group.
“Well, that narrows down our search a lot. The Latin-American countries were devastated by the wars, and there are only a few hundred thousand people scattered all over their continent,” the woman explained.
“I see.” He really didn’t care much about what she was saying. He just wanted to choose a woman and get the hell out of there.
She typed a few words on the screen and pulled it up. “There are a couple of thousand women registered in our database. Take your time to scroll through them. I’ll be back when you’re ready to make a selection.”
He nodded and with a sigh, he started scrolling through the images on the screen. Most of the women were glamorous and beautiful, but they all looked like plastic dolls. Not the kind of women he wanted to spend his life with.
He was about to give up when the next picture showed up on the screen. The picture quality was terrible and seemed to be somewhat out of focus. The woman hadn’t done anything to enhance her features. She had her dark hair tied in a simple braid and was wearing some sort of green outfit that didn’t do much to improve her appearance.
Despite all that, something in her made him stare at her for a lot longer than he had looked at all of the other pictures. The profile stated her name was Selena, that she was twenty-four solar cycles old and that she was a nurse.
Unsure why her profile had caught his attention, he continued his search, but after a while, he returned to her profile once more. For some reason he couldn’t explain, not even to himself, he wanted her.
The price of her dowry was quite low, which made him wonder the reason, but it didn’t change his decision. If he was getting married, then, he wanted that woman to be his wife.
The Cetian woman seemed to guess he had made his choice, because she entered the room with a broad smile.
“Tell me, have you found one that interests you?” she asked, sitting in her chair.
“Yes, I want her,” he informed her, pointing at the woman’s profile, still up on the screen.
Still smiling, the woman looked at the screen, and her smile disappeared, “Are you sure you’ve seen all we have to offer? A man like yourself shouldn’t even consider this kind of profiles. It was my fault for not filtering them, but I assure you, we have far more interesting… ”
“You don’t seem to understand, citizen Nadir,” he interrupted her. “I’ve made my decision, and I want her. Is there a problem with that?” he asked in a cold tone.
The woman was apparently flustered. “No, of course not. It’s just that she belongs to the lowest rank of women in our lists,” she explained, wriggling her three-fingered hands.
“Why is that? How do you classify them?” he asked, crossing his bulky arms over his broad chest.
“Mainly by their economic situation,” she replied. “That usually implies a lower education level and even worse background,” she added.
“Well, none of it matters to me. I want her,” Kahm stated, in a firm tone.
“Are you sure? Perhaps, if you allow me to show you a few of our best profiles, you would change your mind,” she insisted.
He snorted, tired of her persistence. “I figure you keep a percentage of the women’s dowries, right?”
The woman was distraught, but she nodded. “Yes, we charge thirty percent of it,” she admitted.
“How much is your highest dowry?”
She mumbled an amount, and he nodded.
“I’ll pay you the highest dowry, for her, on the understanding, of course, that you’ll ensure that her family gets their required share. You’ll get an extra bonus for getting me the woman I want,” he said, taking his card from his pocket and putting it in front of her. “Your bonus will be the same amount as the dowry,” he added when he saw her hesitate.
She looked at him, startled. “Are you sure?”
Perhaps, he would regret his decision, but something deep down, in his very core, assured him he wouldn’t. She was the woman for him.
“Yes, just do it.”
She nodded and picked up the card from her desk. A few minutes later, the transactions had been made, and Kahm was informed his wife would arrive in less than fifteen rotations. The eighth quadrant was a fair distance from his side of the universe.
“Would you like us to send a picture of you with your request?” the woman asked when they finished the paperwork.
Kahm considered her question and slowly shook his head. Arghearians weren’t the most attractive species around. They had too much of everything: too tall, too muscled, too strong, and too big. Even the golden hair falling down his back was too long, not to mention the black, sharp horns adorning his forehead. He could scare her off, and that was the last thing he wanted.
“No, I rather not.”
“As you wish. Your bride is not entitled to demand anything of you so there won’t be a problem there,” Nadir assured him.
“Very well. When will I get an answer from you?”
“Soon, in a couple of rotations, tops. She won’t reject you, I’m sure.”
“Don’t ruin this for me,” he warned the woman, as he got up.
“No, sir, of course not. I’ll see to it myself,” she assured him.
He nodded and left the agency. He had parked his vehicle right outside, and a few seconds later, he was on his way back home.
His communication device buzzed in his pocket. Sure it was Raye, he pulled it out and connected it to the vehicle’s media system.
“Tell me you did it,” his friend asked, looking excited.
“Hello, Raye, how are you?” he greeted his friend, ignoring his rude question.
“Don’t you ‘hello’ me! You better come over for dinner. We want to hear all the details,” his friend demanded.
“I’m sure that can wait for tomorrow. I have a long way back home, and I’ll be tired by the time I get there.”
“Oh, come on. We both know it takes a lot more than a small trip to tire you. Melanie will prepare your favorite dessert, so don’t you dare let her down,” Raye threatened him. “She’s somewhat moody now that she expecting my child.” The pride and joy in his friend’s voice were so bright, Kahm couldn’t help smiling.
“Very well, I guess I can make a small sacrifice, for the sake of your wife’s feelings.”
“I knew you would understand. I’ll see you soon.”
Kahm ended the call and changed course to his friend’s farm. Unlike him, Raye grew all sorts of vegetables, and his farm was even bigger than Kahm’s. It was always a pleasure visiting him, especially ever since he had gotten married. Melanie, his wife, was a terrific cook and he had to admit he loved her food.
If she hadn't been married to one of his best friends, he would have considered stealing her away from him.