Dutch was in the Farm, helping harvest the day's produce. He felt his lenses activate in his pocket and put them on. Ryan Shaughnessy was looking back at him.

"Hi Captain! What's up?"

"Hi Dutch. I've been captaining a cruiser for Mars Days. Newt and Sedna were on my boat for the trip back to Mars. Newt filled us in on his plan to go exploring the Q with you. Said the plan was to go to Hibiru. Now that I'm back in Houston I thought I'd check in with you to find out how that went."

"Great! I'd love to tell you all about it. But there's a lot to tell. Want to meet up somewhere later?"

"Sure. But not too much later. Rosita and I are headed back to the Sea Shell soon. How about dinner?"

"Sounds good. Here in the dome?"

"Maybe. But Mariah says she likes the Guadalajara."

"Mariah?"

"She's our daughter. Maybe you haven't met. She came with us and got a job on our Mars Days boat. She worked with Rosita, helping to take care of the tourists. She likes it here, and the dome crew like her, so she's staying on. I'd love to introduce you. Maybe you can help her learn the ropes."

"You bet. The Guadalajara. Great place. That's where Newt told me about wanting to go to Hibiru. Let me know when you all want to meet there. Any time will work for me."

"Will do. See you then."

Ryan broke the connection. Dutch thought, Mariah. Nice name. I wonder if she likes to dance.

Dutch continued to help gather potatoes and veggies, then went back to his room in the apartment bottle. He found he had a couple of new client requests, so he acknowledged them, but they wanted to schedule their trips for a week or so later. He was free for the day.

He found himself reliving parts of his visit with the goddess. She hadn't given herself a name, although she seemed to know and use his. But she lived in the Q, in thought space. Names weren't important. Or any spoken language for that matter. The language of thought was universal. Although concepts weren't. He tried to recall the concepts she'd clarified for him. He wasn't sure he remembered them all. But he knew they'd come back to him if he needed the links.

Mariah though. That name was intriguing. He began humming the tune to "They Call the Wind Mariah." A haunting song. He'd always liked it. He found he was looking forward to meeting the girl. And, he hoped, dancing with her.

Ryan called. Dutch was wearing his lenses now, and let him through. "Mariah wants to finish her work shift. There are still a lot of visitors who need to get shuttled off. Like me and Rosita." Ryan grinned. "So how about around the time dinner is served here? We'll all go straight there when Mariah gets off."

"Perfect," said Dutch.

"We'll see you there then."

Dutch switched his lenses back to ripe veggie spotting mode.

As dinner time approached, Dutch found himself looking forward to it. He began rehearsing how he would tell them his Hibiru story. He made sure he was there first, and got them a good table in view of the band and the dance floor. The band was just setting up, and he knew the players, so it really was perfect.

The place began to fill up with customers. Dutch knew it was popular. He was glad he had a table.

Then Ryan stepped in the door, and held it open for Rosita and Mariah.

Mariah. When he saw her Dutch's heart skipped a beat and began racing. She was the one, the one he had watched dancing the last time he was here. Their eyes met. For the second time. But this time they stayed locked until the little party reached his table. By then he was standing and helped the ladies with their chairs. He hoped his staring hadn't been too obvious. Then he saw the look in Rosita's eyes, and her welcoming smile, and knew it had been totally obvious to her, and okay. He started breathing again.

Ryan and Rosita had automatically taken seats on opposite sides of the little table, with Mariah between them. That left Dutch sitting opposite Mariah. He couldn't have been happier. He remembered thinking before that Mariah looked a lot like Sedna. But she looked even more like her mother. Dutch noticed that Mariah was wearing a simple sleeveless dark shift with a faux snakeskin pattern. Perfect for dancing, he thought. He could hardly wait to see more of it.

Their waitress brought them Nachos and Mexican beer, and took their orders for something more substantial. After they'd all had a few bites and a few swallows, and had all settled in to wait for their orders to arrive, Ryan looked at Dutch and said, "Okay then. What's all the excitement about? What did you and Newt do on Hibiru?"

Dutch said. "Newt had never been to Hibiru. He knew that both Frogo and I helped fly the drones there. Newt wanted to go, as I'm sure he told you, but he needed a link to a drone. So he came to me. Maybe you don't know, but I've been in that business for a while, conducting drone tours of Hibiru. So I have all the links. I liked the idea of droning on Hibiru with Newt, not having to stick to a tourist route but going anywhere we had a mind to. So that's what we did."

Dutch went on to tell them all about his time with Newt on Hibiru. He was a good storyteller, so he kept them entertained all through the meal, laughing at some of the antics he and Newt had gotten themselves into.

He could feel that, along with Ryan, Rosita and Mariah were hanging on every word. As often as he could he glanced over at Mariah. She was always looking right at him.

There was something in that look that said to him, There is more to this story. I want to hear it. Later.

He nodded to let her know that he had heard her.

Dinner arrived and they all started eating. That didn't slow Dutch's stories down much. But when the band started playing he could not intelligibly compete. So he turned to Rosita and asked if she'd mind if he invited her daughter to dance with him. She said, "I'm sure she'd love it." Mariah was already around the table and dragging him out of his chair.

As they walked to the dance floor, he said, "It was you I saw when I was here with Newt and Sedna, wasn't it."

She said, "Yes it was."

"Do you know them?"

"I knew Sedna. I was there when Sedna made our Sea Shell part of the World Dream. But I didn't know Newt. When I saw you that night I really felt that we'd connected. But the time wasn't right then. Tonight it is."

As they danced, some of the tunes were slow enough that he got to hold her close. Close enough to discover that she smelled as good as she looked. And felt like a dream. He was sure he could have danced all night. They didn't talk much, but Dutch truly felt they were connected, as she'd said.

Then as one fast dance ended, leaving them both breathless, she took his hand and started leading him back to their table. "My folks have to leave soon to catch their flight back to Mexico. I want to see them off. Will you come along?"

"I'd love to," he said. And meant it.