In the weeks that followed, Chaytok and Alexa divided their time between her home and his ship. The intense sexual part of their bonding lasted the full ten days, though they continued mating almost daily.
Alexa finished up harvest season and listed her property with a realtor. Even before meeting Chaytok, she had transferred all her family photos and music to digital storage so it would be easy to take with her. She was both uncertain and excited about going into space and settling on a colony world in another star system. She was going to do something she never expected to see in her lifetime.
It wasn’t science fiction anymore. She was living it---starting a new life with an alien mate. Occasionally she wondered if the bonding pheromones were keeping her from having second and third thoughts about leaving Earth perhaps for the rest of her life. No, she reminded herself that she had seen his coming. She had only had those dreams a few times in her life, and the difference was always clear to her that none of them were simply wishful thinking.
Chaytok has lots of information and video of Vesta Three an Earthlike world that was at an earlier stage of development than Earth. It had a Starport and several large towns but no true metropolitan areas. There were native flora and fauna but no sentient beings before it was opened for colonization. The soil and climate in many parts of the world were optimal for growing crops. Alexa thought it too bad that other people from Earth would not get an opportunity to settle on a new world with so much potential. At least she did---new world, new people, new friends and the love of her life.
In less than a month her whole life changed. With her business, it was not unusual to have people stopping by to buy plants and things. She was surprised when a large rental truck arrived. Chaytok was thrilled because the driver was his cousin and dear friend Jeck Fantis. He frowned at first when he saw the tall well-built man striding toward Alexa’s porch. Although he looked sapien, there was something familiar about the way he moved. As he came closer, Chaytok knew.
“Jeck Fantis, is that you?” Chaytok asked as he approached.
“Chaytok, it sure is. I couldn’t let you leave Earth without getting here to see you,” Jeck met him half way between the truck and the porch. The two warriors hugged then stepped back to survey each other. “When I heard you were stranded here, I volunteered to bring you the part for your star drive--- and the stasis field generator?”
“For my mate’s horse,” he explained. “He is important to her, so we will take him with us to Vesta Three. Stasis is the only way in a ship the size of mine.”
“You have a mate? Is that why you came to Earth?” Jeck asked.
“That was unintended. I went off course, and then the stardrive started to fail. I couldn’t make it to the moon or Mars, so I landed as close as I could to base, here. When did you get stationed here?”
“After we pulled out of Wissol, I decided to come to Earth to find meomee. Is your mate meomee?” Jeck asked.
“She is, and I wasn’t even looking---but she foresaw my coming,” Chaytok replied.
“What?”
“She dreamed of me,” Chaytok grinned. “She is magnificent!”
“And you love her,” Jeck grinned back.
“Of course, she is meomee,” he said. “Come meet her, she is in the barn tending the horse.”
Chaytok led the way to the barn where Alexa had just cleaned out Jetson’s auto waterer and was turning the water back on. The horse nickered as the two men came into the barn and Alexa turned to face them. She flashed a warm smile at her mate and glanced at the other man with him.
“Alexa James, this is my cousin Jeck Fantis. We served in the Defense Force together, he saved my life,” Chaytok gestured.
She looked at Chaytok, a question in her eyes. In his disguise, he didn’t look feline at all. Still, she offered her hand to him, and he took it firmly without squeezing too tightly.
“I am pleased to meet my cousin’s meomee,” Jeck smiled and dipped his head in a slight bow. “I hope I’m as fortunate as Chaytok to find a beautiful meomee.”
“I’m the lucky one,” Alexa returned his smile as he released her hand.
“Jeck is here with the part for my stardrive and the stasis field generator for the horse,” Chaytok told her.
“They were loaded on hover trams in the truck because you indicated your ship was in the forest where there is no paved road,” Jeck said. “I will stay and help you with the installation if you like.
“I will be grateful for your help,” Chaytok said. “Together we should be able to have the ship ready for launch by nightfall.”
Alexa’s bright expression slid away as the realization that the plan to leave Earth was coming to fruition sooner than she expected. It was a step into the unknown that she thought she was ready to take. She had made all the preparations and packed her things. Tears pricked her eyes at the enormity of what she was about to do.
Chaytok heart ached at what he saw in her eyes. Part of him wanted to relent and say they could stay but he didn’t know if he could bear to give up his dream. Tears slipped down her cheeks, and she shook her head and slid her arms around his waist.
“Chay, it’s okay,” she sniffed. “I’m not backing out---it’s just a big step. I just need some time to sort it out and say goodbye to my world.” She hugged him and kissed his cheek and whispered, “I love you, meomee.”
He put his arms around her and hugged her. “And I love you. We will be back when we are ready to load the horse.”
Alexa nodded and slid from his embrace. “I will bring my things to the porch, so they are ready to load.” She gave him a wan smile and brushed the wetness from her face with her fingers. She would have a cry while he was gone, and then she would pull herself together to get things done. She knew she made the right choice, but this was an enormous change. She wasn’t just moving to another town, she was moving to another planet light years from Earth. She couldn’t just pop back for a visit if she got homesick. She was looking at the rest of her life very likely never coming back.