“Lifers.”
She raised her eyebrows in confusion.
“Love wives. The ones who came with their husbands. They have some kind of gardening club. Enthusiasts. Unlike the Corp wives, who don’t like getting dirty, at least not that kind of dirty.” Blake smirked.
Lysa stared at the other women. Love wives, just like her mother had been. Blake’s scornful expression unnerved her. He implied not all wives were the same or equal in status, and she was about to join the ranks of wives who did little but have sex. If he called these women lifers, did it imply Blake didn’t expect to be married beyond the end of his contract? He made them sound
like prisoners, not happily married women. What went on that she didn’t know about?
“You should get to know the wives,” he added.
Lysa waved at the women as they paused to drink from bottles. They didn’t respond in kind. So much for making friends.
* * *
Blake cleared his throat. “Right. This is the office of Adjudicator Harkess. You address him as sir. Around here, he’s the main man.”
Lysa fidgeted with her skirt, straightening it out. “I thought Ridley was the big boss?”
“He is. However, he’s busy running the mine. Harkess is responsible for law and order. He arbitrates disputes and his word his final. The mine boss rarely bothers himself with the day-to-day stuff. I’ve only met him a handful of times.” Each time, Ridley had congratulated him on his dedication and hard work, which warranted him a bonus. He stashed the extra money in his savings, dreaming of the farm that he’d buy when he returned to Earth.
“Anything else I need to know?” she asked.
“Don’t talk unless spoken to.”
She rolled her eyes up.
“Lysa,” he snapped. “And don’t do that either.” Blake straightened his shirt. He’d wore his smartest clothes, unlike his one-piece work suit. He pressed the buzzer and the door unlocked.
“He can’t stop us,” she blurted. “Can he?”
“Not if you don’t say anything inappropriate. He might spot you’re not typical and want to know why. Damn judiciary, they never let things lie.” He opened the door.
Harkess sat behind his desk tapping his screen and didn’t glance in their direction. Blake straightened his shoulders, clasped his hands behind his back and waited. It seemed ages before Harkess finished reading all the records. Every second, minute dragged. Lysa rocked on her feet and Blake glared at her to keep still. She almost swung her eyes upward, but quickly dropped them down again.
“Everything looks in order,” said Harkess. A gaunt man with a pale complexion.
Blake hid a sigh of relief.
“Do you wish to read the contract one last time, young lady?” he addressed Lysa directly, holding out a tablet.
She hovered, hand drifting towards the desk, then she shook her head. “No thank you. Sir.”
“Are you sure?” asked Blake. She’d never discussed the contents of the contract nor quibbled the rules and regulations. It surprised him that she’d hadn’t baulked at the lengthy disciplinary section.
She turned to speak to him. “I trust you to know what is best for me and if you thought I should know anything that you would tell me. Sir,” she added with a small smile.
“Very good.” Harkess placed the tablet on the table between them and picked up a stylus. “Blake, you sign here and Lysa, here.”
Blake scrawled his electronic signature under his name and handed the stylus to Lysa. She held it, almost touching the screen, and her hand trembled. Then, with a sudden burst of energy, she added her signature.
Harkess rose from his seat and shook Blake’s hand. “I knew you’d change your mind, young man. Always for the best to be married. A happy man makes for a happy miner.” He didn’t address Lysa. “Now, it is usual for you two to say something to each other. An informal ritual instigated by my predecessor that has become something of a tradition. Something simple. Brief. You first, Blake.”
Blake cleared his throat and took Lysa’s hand in his. “Lysa. I promise to take care of you and assist you in whatever way I can to fulfil your dreams.”
Tears welled in her eyes and she blinked them away before they could fall. “Blake. I promise to be all that you desire in a wife.”
Harkess returned to his seat, picking up the tablet. “Well, they were not the usual statements I hear spoken, but then you, Blake, you’re not what I think of as being a typical miner.”