After dinner, it becomes even more obvious how much Jerrok adores Sophie when Jade and I retire to Sophie's “sitting room” to privately vid-call Helen. Kas heads back to the Jabberwock to check in on Sterre, and I curl up on the hard, oversized couch and gaze at my surroundings in amusement. This space is a tribute to all human things. There's a purse hanging on the wall, and on the shelves are a variety of “human” things. Junk, mostly, but it's all junk I recognize. I see an old soda can, some VHS tapes, and what looks like a make-up compact, along with a row of books and a few old vinyl records. Everything has been lovingly showcased as if they're treasures, and it's the cutest. I peer at an old Hanson cassette and then touch a chipped porcelain coffee mug with a restaurant slogan on it. "I can't believe she has all this stuff."
"It's something, isn't it?" Jade sips a cup of water, her coloring still paler than usual. "Sophie told me that Jerrok trades with a lot of pirates and junkers that come through this part of the galaxy, and they've started bringing him “human treasures” so he can shower them on Sophie."
"Oh god, that's so sweet."
"I know. They're really great together. I wasn't sure at first if she was just looking for an alternative to staying on the Sister, but it's clear they truly care for one another." She wrinkles her nose as I shift my weight. "Why do I still smell noodles?"
"Sorry," I say meekly, and hop up to put the bag of dried noodle bits across the room. Sophie said it's one of Jerrok's favorite snacks and I have to admit, it reminds me of potato chips. "Food cravings."
"We just ate!"
"Look, my baby doesn't care. He wants what he wants." I pat my flat stomach. "And apparently he wants everything."
Jade shakes her head, taking another tiny sip of water. "I wish I had that problem." Her brow is dotted with sweat. "I'm having a hard time keeping anything with a noodle down."
I immediately feel guilty. Crossing my legs, I lean forward and study her. "You want me to run back to the Jabberwock and steal some of their fruit?"
She declines, closing her eyes. "I just need to sit for a minute and let my food settle." She leans back on the couch. "Talk to me. Get my mind off the urge to puke."
"Where's Adiron?" I ask, just in case.
"Back on the Sister," she murmurs. "Getting her flight-ready. We've been staying there at night. Adi likes having his quarters back, and he says he doesn't like to hear Sophie and Jerrok fucking at night."
I give a horrified giggle at that. "Are they loud?"
"Sometimes." Her lips curve in a smile. "You'll see. You're staying here tonight, right?"
Are we? "I think Kas said he wanted to stay on the Sister, too." I debate asking her about the ship. Do I want to find out if she hates it? Do I have a choice even if it sucks? Because Kaspar and his brothers clearly love the ship, but everyone keeps commenting on how small it is. That worries me. "Have you seen the Sister?"
"Do you mean the ship or Zoey?"
I laugh at that. "Ship."
"It's…" She pauses, thinking. "Different than the Star. I'm not sure how best to describe it."
Well that's a little worrisome. "Different how?"
Jade lifts a shoulder in an almost-shrug. "Cozy, I guess."
Now I'm picturing something smaller than the little ship in the tree, and my heart clenches painfully. "That doesn't sound encouraging."
"It's not like the Star," she says again. "Everything's a little older, a little less…antiseptic than the Star. The halls are smaller, the rooms tighter. But it's nice." She rubs her forehead. "Or it will be when everything's settled again. Adi's been trying to make it more human-friendly since we got back. He's adding some options to the food distributors so I won't have to eat noodles all the time, and since Sophie's not going, he was making a nursery out of her old quarters."
I grimace at that. "Except Salvotor is coming with us."
Jade smiles. "Yeah. We don't need a nursery right away anyhow, neither of us." She opens her eyes and looks over at me. "You trust him? Salvotor?"
"He's kind of clueless, but given his past, I'm not surprised. He's a good guy, though. Helped us out when he didn't have to. And we couldn't send him back to that place. Not when they were so awful to him." I shake my head. "So he's ours now, just like the carinoux." I wince as another thought occurs to me. "Who might also be pregnant."
"That's a lot of babies," Jade murmurs.
"Thank god Mathiras has been holding out on Helen," I agree. "Or we'd really be up shit creek." When she gives a faint laugh, I press the issue. "You think she's really in love with him? Helen? Or just latching on to him because it's convenient?"