Free Titanium Texicans by Alan Black Page A

gonna call you Señor no more. Tasso, right? Okay, let’s get a move on, little doggie. I got to get you corralled before we lift off.”
    Tasso only understood about half of what the woman said, but her intent was obvious so he hustled after her. Her boot heels clicked on the floor and his heavy work boots thudded loudly a step behind her.
    He looked down. He’d expected the spacecraft to be like their shuttle with metal walls and metal floors. Smooth, polished wood planks, or at least what looked like wood planks, covered the floors along this hallway. He wanted to stop, bend down, and touch the floor to identity the type of wood. However, Maria’s short legs churned and he had to hurry to keep up.
    It didn’t take him long to get lost. Various hallways branched off, some halls they turned into, and others they walked past. The walls weren’t the steel he’d expected either. Wood panels covered many of them. Plaster covered other walls, each painted in soft pastel colors and tapestries hung on wood and plaster walls alike at irregular intervals.
    The doorways they passed weren’t like the steel hatch Grandpa set into their stone house. These doors all looked different. Some doors were wood and glass, others were inset with insect screens, although there didn’t appear to be any insects to keep out or in.
    Maria led him through a wide-open courtyard. When he glanced up, it looked as if they could see the blue sky above them. Tasso wondered if the open air was an illusion or if there was a large open hatch. In the center of the courtyard was a water fountain. There were benches scattered among flowerbeds and shade trees. He saw little alcoves where people could talk privately, and off in the distance, he saw what looked like a small open-sided octagonal building surrounded by benches.
    There were no people sitting in the courtyard. Everyone in sight was scurrying about, obviously getting ready for take off. Maria was hurrying as well. She led him across the courtyard and through a wide archway. The room looked like a giant’s living room. There were sofas and overstuffed chairs scattered about with a sprinkling of little tables.
    “Pick a seat over near the window. You can watch our departure from there. I’ll come back and get you as soon as I can.”
    Tasso walked across the room. He had his choice of seats, as he was the only person in the room. The window Maria pointed at covered the whole wall. He stepped up to it and could see the entire expanse of the spaceport spread out in front of him. There were a couple of other spaceships in sight, but they were too far away to see any activity. He thought all of the loading and unloading was probably done underground like this ship.
    He tossed his bag onto the chair next to him and sat down. His feet hurt and he wanted to take his boots off, but he didn’t know how long he would be here. His stomach rumbled. He hadn’t eaten since yesterday’s boiled yapikino and potato lunch and he hadn’t finished that. He sat quietly for a while, but hunger and thirst were about to drive him out of his seat.
    Two young people bounced into the room, laughing and chattering. They rushed over to stand in front of Tasso. He started to stand up politely, but the girl waved him down. She was about his age, but the boy was a few years younger. Both had dark hair, the girl’s dark eyes were larger than Tasso had ever seen, with full, lush lips. He’d never thought of lips as being lush before, but he thought so now.
    She clasped her hands, stared at the back wall, and began to recite an obviously memorized speech. “ Soy Anisa Rojo-Graham. Voy a ser su la acomodador ….” Her voice faded away as the boy cleared his throat loudly.
    The boy gestured with his chin at Tasso.
    The girl realized Tasso didn’t understand a word she was saying. She asked “English?”
    Tasso nodded, “Yes, miss. I’m sorry, but I don’t know any other language.”
    She smiled, “Great. My Spanish