Chapter Two

VEN

Pandenn was late again.

He was always late. He had been late when we were in basic training together, and he had been late when we served in the same unit. He was even late for his first son’s birth. People joked that when the grim reaper came, he would be late for that appointment too.

It didn’t matter. I had nothing but time to kill. He could be five, ten, or twenty-six minutes late, and it wouldn't matter to me. I had nothing better to do. I had retired from the military and was independently wealthy. There was nowhere I needed to be.

My uncle had left me an enormous fortune that paid for my lifestyle. The amount of money I had was, frankly, ridiculous.

On some planets, I wouldn’t be old enough to retire yet, but in the Stalwart military, you’re free to go after you turn twenty-five years old. It's even easier if you have a lot of medals, like me.

I had needed to retire. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had risked my life time and time again to accomplish the mission and save people. It had been worth it at the time, and I might do it all over again if I had to, just to make sure my friends came back alive.

But I was sick of never knowing whether I would see the next morning. I was sick of active combat. I was sick of taking over weaker planets. I was sick of it all. Somehow I had lost my passion for fighting.

There was a time when I had believed fully in what I was doing. We brought a better government and a better life to the planets with whom we ‘entered into economic partnerships’. That’s what our government called it.

From another point of view, we entered planets covertly, seized the centers of power and threatened to annihilate them if they didn’t do everything we ordered. The further up the ranks I got, the more clearly I saw what we were doing.

I hated it.

So I left. I retired two years ago and I had never missed the service. I didn’t need to work, and I had a beautiful house. Servants took care of everything. I had the nicest clothes and ate at the best restaurants. I worked out, read extensively, and continued training in various martial arts to keep my reflexes sharp.

I had everything, but I was bored.

The first year was excellent. I had been tired and burned out. I took a year to relax and lie on the beach. I rested and enjoyed the good life.

But by the beginning of the second year, everything was starting to wear thin. Things were too perfect. The people who worked for me never said anything I disliked. My friends never had time to do anything because they were still working and had real lives.

Now I was at the start of my third year of retirement. I was sure I was going to lose my mind. I needed something to do, but I didn’t know what. All my ideas seemed stupid. I was at my wits’ end. It almost made me want to go back to the military.

Almost. But not quite.

“Hey, Ven.” Pandenn sat down like nothing was the matter. He was a half hour later than our scheduled time. I looked up at him, shaking my head. The light purple stripes spread in a random fashion across the skin of anyone from Stalwart were dark on his face. He must have been running to get here. The rest of his face was red from exertion.

“How are Jalla and the kids?”

“Awesome. How are you?”

He held out his fist, and we bumped the sides of our hands together to greet each other. He dressed like a hobo, as usual — ripped pants and a dirty looking shirt that had seen better days. I was sure that when we went out for lunch together, people thought I had picked up a beggar off the streets and was being kind enough to buy him lunch.

I always bought. Pandenn had more than enough money to pay, but he was too cheap. I always offered to pay. What else did I have to do with all my money?

“Do you want the polite answer?” I leaned back. “Or the truthful one?”

“Truthful, always. It’s usually more interesting than the other option.” He lifted an eyebrow. “Did that chick you were dating agree to take it in the ass?”

“No.” I shook my head, then amended my statement. “Well, yes, she did, but we’re not together anymore.”

His jaw dropped. “She did?”

“Yes, but we’re talking about me right now, not her.”

“Was it good?”

“Mind-blowing. Will you listen to me?”

“How long did she last? Two weeks?” His eyes stared up and to the right, trying to remember.

“Eleven days.”

“She was hot,” he said, still off in his own world. “That must have been some incredible sex.”

“Will you listen, for fuck’s sake, Pan?”

He looked startled when I swore and focused on my face. “What?”

“I don’t want to talk about her.” I forced myself to swallow the impatience with my old friend. He had always like been this. Why did I expect him to be any different?

“Oh.” He looked taken aback. “What do you want to talk about then?”

“You asked me how I was, and you said you wanted a truthful answer.”

“Right. So...How are you?”

“The truth?” I said, knowing I had his attention now. He nodded. “I’m...” I hesitated.

“What?”

“I don’t want to tell you,” I confessed. “It’s going to sound ungrateful...like I don’t appreciate what I have.”

“Just tell me. Come on. Lay it on me. I can take it,” he said, making a come-hither motion with both hands.

I smiled. Good old Pandenn. I could count on him to understand. I knew that. “I’m bored.”

The server came at that moment and took his drink order. “Well, that’s not what I was expecting.”

“I know. It sounds stupid. I have more than enough money. A lovely house. People who take care of my every need…”

“...hot women who are willing to do just about anything in your bed. I cannot believe she agreed to that position,” he said, getting a far-off look in his eyes again. “Why don’t you get a job? You’re too young to be retired.”

“I thought of that, but I’m not sure what I would do. Nothing seems right.”

“Pretend I’m a shrink. Tell me exactly how you feel and I’ll fix you up.”

Pandenn had done his minor in psychology, and he considered himself an amateur psychologist. I sighed. The server returned and placed a purple drink in front of Pan.

“I’m not interested in anything. I get bored with my books and my training lately. And...”

“And?” He was always interested in what was typically left unsaid.

“I guess I wish I had someone to hang around with at home, in the evening, instead of going out with friends. Not like you coming over and playing holographic games. Just...oh, I don’t know...”

He thought for a moment and gazed at me appraisingly. “I know what you need. You need a proper woman. A wife!”

“What?” I started laughing.

“Jalla is the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“But you dated her. You love her. I don’t have anyone like that.”

“Sometimes you have to get married anyway.” He had a smirk on his face.

I made a dismissive gesture. “You’re just fucking with me. You want to order anything or are you only having a drink?” I picked up my menu. I didn’t know why I tried to talk about meaningful things with Pandenn. He just wasn’t the serious type.

“No.” He put out his hand, and the tone of his voice made me look up. “I mean it.”

“Pan, shut up. I’m not going to walk up to a stranger and say, “Hey there, sweetie. You look fine. Let’s get married.”

“I'm not talking about any stranger. Have you considered a mail-order bride?”

I stared at him, not bothering to say anything. This guy had lost it. “What are you talking about?”

“Jal and I just watched a documentary on a company from Earth called TerraMates. They’re very reputable. They monitor everything to make sure both parties are satisfied with the arrangement. You can get divorced after a year if things aren’t working.”

“Are you shitting me?”

“I’m not. I swear,” he said, holding up his hands. “Call Jalla right now. She’ll back me up.”

I shook my head. “You’re crazy. I’m not getting a mail order bride.”

“Look, consider it, Ven. You’ve never been good at dating or choosing your women. Why not give someone else a shot? If you want company or someone to be there for you, there’s nothing like a wife.”

“You’re saying that because you have a wife that loves you, buddy. I'm sure there’s a big difference between Jalla and a mail-order bride.”

“Here’s the thing,” he said, leaning in. “It’s hard to believe, but if they’re telling the truth, they say that only two percent of their marriages end in divorce.”

I looked at him skeptically. “It sounds impossible.”

“You’ll never know until you try it, Ven. You can grow to love someone.”

I frowned, shaking my head.

“Don’t be stupid, Ven.” I felt my temper flare at his innocent use of the word stupid. I couldn’t stand being called dumb. “Let TerraMates take care of your bride. If you don’t like her, divorce her after a year.”

He leaned back and smiled. I stared at him blankly.

“Arranged marriages are a time-honored tradition on many planets, you know,” he said, folding his arms over his chest as if that clinched his argument.

“You’re nuts,” I repeated. “Are we going to order something? We’re supposed to be eating lunch. By the time I get my food, it’s going to be time for dinner.”

He laughed. “You can make fun of it all you want, Ven, but I’m sending you the link to the documentary. You can watch it while you sit at home by yourself tonight.”

“Bastard,” I said, trying to look at the menu.

“You're right. I am a bastard.” He tapped the computer unit on his forearm.

A moment later, my arm lit up with his message and I looked into his eyes. “I’m never going to marry a stranger from some mail-order bride agency, Pandenn.”

He grinned at me. “Never say never.”

I walked into my den and looked around at my belongings. I liked things to be neat. It dated back to my time in the military — a desire for tidiness, which bordered on obsession. Usually, the staff kept everything in perfect order. But once in a while, I would find that someone had left a task undone or been a little sloppy. I didn’t blame them. It wasn’t their house. But I noticed everything.

Today, for instance, I saw when I walked through the door that the housekeeper had dusted and bumped my favorite painting. It wasn’t straight anymore. I couldn’t stand having a crooked picture frame. I walked over and adjusted the image. There. Perfectly straight...no. I shifted it back the other way. After a minute of adjusting, I was satisfied.

Since I didn’t have anything else to do that evening, I watched the documentary. I wasn’t interested, of course, but I was alone and bored. All the staff had gone home or to their apartments.

I watched as a happy couple on a sailing ship told their story. I rolled my eyes. Why were they on a sailing ship? We had fucking space travel. They hadn’t meant to stay married and had only gone to TerraMates for personal reasons. She had needed the money to pay for her brother’s gambling debts, and he had needed a wife to stay out of jail. In the end, they stayed married because they had fallen in love.

There was story after story about happy couples. For a minute, I was convinced that some people could find love that way. But I wasn’t the kind of guy who would sign up and have someone else pick my wife for me. Besides, when I looked them up, the man had to pay an exorbitantly high fee. They went through your life with a fine-toothed comb. I could afford the credits, and I certainly didn’t have anything to hide…but I liked my privacy. I didn’t want anyone poking around in my business.

I turned off the documentary and stood up. It was time for bed. I looked around at the empty room in the lonely, echoing house.

Hollow. That was exactly the word to describe it.

Maybe Pan was right. Maybe I did need a woman for more than eleven days. I had to admit it would be nice. But I couldn’t think of a single woman who I would ever consider marrying.

Even if I did need a wife, I wasn’t going to let anyone else pick the woman for me. I was in charge.