“Ugh!’ she murmured and swiped at her streaming eyes with the sleeve of her dress. Res. Tizlah had assured her that the bullah bulbs would cook down into a delicious, jammy stew which would be seasoned with roasted bones, but at the moment, it was difficult to believe anything good could come from the pungent bulbs.
The Saurian woman had left Bobbi, after swiftly peeling and chopping the first bulb to show her how to proceed. She was somewhere in the huge kitchen, which was filled with Saurian women, all wearing aprons and all doing different tasks. But to be honest, Bobbi wasn’t sure where exactly Res. Tizlah had gotten to. She was somewhere in the echoing confusion, filled with the sounds of chopping, grinding, boiling, and grating—and of course, the ever-present chatter of the women, who all seemed to know each other.
“Oh my, are you all right?” the Saurian women beside Bobbi asked. She was working with a pile of something that looked like enormous red carrots with purple fronds. She would rinse each carrot-thing in the sink, chop off the top, and then feed it into a long silver machine on the counter that sucked it in and spat out long, thin, red ribbons. She was then curling the ribbons into rosettes and placing them in rows on a baking dish.
“I’m fine.” Bobbi tried to smile at her though her eyes were streaming. “Just fine, why do you ask?”
“Well…your eyes are producing so much water,” the Saurian woman—who seemed younger than Res. Tizlah—said hesitantly. “Are you having some kind of reaction to the bullah bulbs?”
“I don’t think so.” Bobbi sniffed and swiped an arm over her watery eyes again. “It’s just the fumes—they’re pretty strong, don’t you think?”
“They are,” the Saurian woman admitted. “But why don’t you just put down your second eyelid to protect your eyes? Then maybe they wouldn’t water so much.”
“Oh, I don’t have a second eyelid,” Bobbi explained. “Do you, though? That’s fascinating—how useful!”
“I’m so sorry!” The Saurian woman looked abashed. “I didn’t know your kind didn’t have a second eyelid—I didn’t mean to give offense—truly I didn’t!” she said quickly. “Please—don’t tell Rep. Zerlix that I offended you.”
“Don’t be silly—you didn’t offend me!” Bobbi protested. “If anything, you excited me—I love to learn about different people,” she explained. “Tell me, do you really have an extra eyelid?”
“Well…yes.” The Saurian woman nodded cautiously. “It’s very useful in the water,” she added tentatively. “Or in dust storms, of course.”
“I bet it is! I wish I had something like that for when I go swimming!” Bobbi exclaimed. “Er…I don’t suppose I could see it?” she asked, looking up at the other woman, who was considerably taller than she was—though not nearly as tall as a Saurian male or as tall as Dragon, for that matter.
“Well…sure.” Ducking her head, the Saurian female opened her yellow eyes with their slitted pupils wide, so Bobbi could see. As she watched, a thin, translucent lid slid down over the eye like a protective film before slowly sliding back up again.
“Oh, I see it!” she exclaimed. “That’s amazing!”
The female Saurian laughed nervously.
“Not really—all Saurians have second eyelids. I just didn’t know that mammalians lacked them.”
“I certainly wish I had some now! Phew!” Bobbi blew out a breath and waved a hand over the latest bulb, which she had just split open. “These are so strong.”
“I’ll help you if you want—I’m almost done with my geezers.” The young Saurian woman gestured at the pile of reddish carrot-things, which was considerably smaller than it had been.
“I’ll take you up on that, if you’ll show me how to do what you’re doing and tell me what those, uh, geezers are going to taste like once they get baked,” Bobbi offered. “We can finish yours first and then finish mine. I’m Bobbi, by the way,” she added with a friendly smile.
“I am Keelah.” The young Saurian woman ducked her head shyly. “You’re Rep. Dragon’s new female, aren’t you?” she added.
“I suppose I am.” Bobbi nodded. “Are you one of Dragon’s sisters?” she added, for Res. Tizlah had told her, as they walked to the kitchen, that Dragon and Zerlix had several brood-mates who were female.
“I was so relieved when Zerlix finally cracked his shell, she’d told Bobbi. All my other eggs held females—I was certain I would have the shame of bearing an all-female brood! But then he poked his little head out and I knew everything was going to be all right,” she had finished with a fond smile.
But Keelah was shaking her head.
“I belong to Rep. Zerlix,” she whispered and there was an unhappy look in her yellow eyes—at least, Bobbi thought there was. She was still learning to read the Saurian faces around her, which had different facial expressions than what she was used to.