“If I were even twenty cycles younger, I’d follow you to the ends of the system,” Zanfredd said, hand to his heart. “But take my comms and promise to call if you get into any trouble. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
He touched his bracelet to hers and she felt it buzz to record the contact.
Tears prickled her eyes, and she wrapped an arm around him.
“What did I ever do to deserve you?” she wondered out loud.
“I don’t know, but it must have been a doozy,” he teased. “Go on and call them back before they withdraw that offer.”
“But the class,” Yasmine said, glancing inside.
“I’ll get back in there and take over for you before the biddies in the back break into the pitchers,” he told her. “I think they really only come for the lemonade.”
“As long as they come,” she laughed. “Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure,” he told her, winking before heading back in.
She took a deep breath and looked at the offer again, more carefully this time.
The agency would arrange her transport to the family off-planet, which was good since she definitely didn’t have enough savings to cover interplanetary travel. The rest was straightforward - insanely generous salary, room and board, weekends off, and a confidentiality agreement.
She took one last look around the garden and inside the studio where Zanfredd was now leading her class. It was safe here, and her humble life was full of more simple pleasures than she deserved. Leaving seemed like madness after everything she had been through.
But Zanfredd was right, of course. If the facility ever had to downsize, she was the newest non-skilled staff member. And she had no savings to rely on.
The only responsible thing to do was move out of her comfort zone and back into some version of the real world.
The upside was that no one on another planet would be likely to know about her past.
Taking a deep breath, she swiped her comms to return her last call.