The morning after her dinner with Alex, Zef rose from a terrible night of sleep. She was a little hung over from the wine, had only really slept for an hour or two and terribly upset about the situation with Alex. As she got up and headed for the shower, she wondered what he was doing at that moment. Normally the two of them would be having a cup of coffee in bed before getting ready for the day.

Twenty minutes later, she was dressed in dark pants and a burgundy button-down shirt as she headed toward the docking platform Anasara and her husband were arriving at. Despite the problems between her and Alex, Zef felt a good deal of excitement at seeing her old friend again. She was at the dock in time to watch the ship come through the wormhole. Alex was right, it was quite a sight.

From her vantage point, she could watch as the passengers disembarked, and the couple were easy to spot. Anasara was still a dark beauty, perhaps even more so now than she had been the last time Zef saw her. The woman whose eyes searched the crowd for her friend was now more refined and well dressed, with an air of sweet contentment surrounding her. Next to her stood Brom Ghelfi, tall, dark and handsome to a fault. He radiated a kind of nobility that was only common in those from the very upper class.

Zef headed toward them with a dazzling smile and slipped into her native language without much thought. “Anasera! Oh, my friend how I have missed you!”

“Zef! My pale one. The years have been kind to you!” and suddenly they were in each other arms, hugging and laughing, then hugging some more.

—Zef