“When do I meet him.”
“Her. I live here, and I’m rarely home. You are already approved by the owner, me.”
“I’m not comfortable living with a woman,” Quint admitted.
Marena laughed. “Think of me as your mother or your older sister. Don’t you think you are too young for me?”
“I am,” Quint said.
“There. I charge a little more, but you get housecleaning and kitchen privileges. If we are home at the same time, I’ll even cook for you. However, unlike any other part of Bocarre, you can walk the streets and not fear attack. You can walk into any of the restaurants and be served. That is different, isn’t it?”
“I’d have to get used to it,” Quint said.
“I was going to suggest your moving here at some point, but I needed a good excuse, so it didn’t look like I was luring you away.”
Quint smiled as he looked at his prospective bedroom. It was as large as the sitting room in the flat and the furnishings was surprisingly masculine.
“Did a man live here before?”
“I will admit it. My son lived here. He’s been gone for a year. He is a year older than you.”
“He might come back,” Quint said.
“He is half polens. My late husband was from Slinnon on assignment to Racellia. We met, married, and had Horo. My husband died on a voyage to his homeland. My son decided life would be better in his father’s country, and I agreed with him. Letting him go wasn’t easy, but he won’t return. If anything, I’ll leave Bocarre and join him. Until then, we can be flatmates.”
“So that is why you live in the international quarter,” Quint said.
Marena nodded her head. “Even now, my life is easier in the quarter. When people find out I married a polen, they shy away.”
“You secret is safe with me.”
Marena laughed. “It isn’t a secret, but a little discretion is appreciated.”
Quint looked through the window. He could see the sea above the distant rooftops. He could learn to like it here.
“I won’t desert my flatmates,” Quint said, “but if the personnel officer supports the new tenant, consider me in.”
Marena smiled. “I’m glad you feel that way. It’s not that we don’t know each other. I’ll be looking forward to the company.”
Chapter Twenty
Quint’s flatmates apologized about the decision of the personnel officer. Quint had a week to vacate his room. Another officer was invited to live in the flat, and he was as angry about living with a hubite as the other. Marena gave her notice.
“Won’t you lose a job?” Quint asked as he arrived at his new flat.
Marena smiled. “I can work as much as I want. I’ve already replaced the officer’s flat with a client in the international quarter. There is a waiting list for my services.”
“How many jobs do you have?”
“Right now, three including my new one. I’ll be cooking one more night per week,” she said.
“I can cook for myself,” Quint said, knowing that his cooking was substandard at best.
“Then feel free.”
Quint put his clothes in the large wardrobe. They seemed lonely hanging by themselves. The desk was a nice table sitting next to a chest of drawers that could be used for papers and writing supplies.
He was finished in less than an hour and walked out into the sitting room. Marena had already gone to a client’s flat. Quint sat in a comfortable easy chair. Everything was superior to the other flat. He knew he’d miss the acceptance by his old flatmates, but continuing to live with even one angry officer was too much.
Quint didn’t feel like working on his day off, so he strolled along the streets of the international quarter. He quickly found that the district was seven blocks long and four blocks wide. It was easy to know where the quarter ended because the signs in the shop windows stopped being diverse.
There were a few stares, but Quint guessed it might have been because of the wizard corps uniform as much as his hubite characteristics. He walked into a restaurant and was shown a seat.
Quint soon found that he was in a gran establishment. Grans looked more like hubites with lighter colored eyes and hair, but their skin was almost as dark as willots. The food was different than any Quint had eaten and consisted of small dishes that were scooped onto small flatbreads, rolled, and then eaten. The food was spicy, but no more so than normal for willot cuisine.
He paid more than he expected, but Quint guessed that everything in the international quarter was probably more expensive. He could afford it. Since he was promoted to lieutenant, he was saving half of what he was paid and that didn’t include his senior lieutenant bonus.
Returning to his flat, Quint smiled. There was more to explore in the international quarter which would expand his horizons. It could help his analytical work, too.
“I’ve moved,” Quint told Colonel Gerocie.
“Oh?”
