I wake to an empty bed and hear the shower turn on in the bathroom. Henry must be getting ready for our trip. I rise from the mattress and go to the closet for a robe, wrapping it around me before entering the bathroom myself.
It's about two times the size of my one at home... old home, I correct myself. There are two vanities and a large shower between them. The compartment is closed, but I can still see his shadow.
I avert my eyes and walk over to the vanity where my toiletries have already been set up. I search the buttons on the panel for the teeth cleaner. Once I find it, I push it and place my chin on the ledge that appears. I tap the button again and close my eyes as the small laser begins its work.
I open my eyes when I hear the shower turn off a few minutes later. In my peripheral vision, I see the door recede and instinctively tighten my robe.
Henry steps out naked and doesn't seem to notice me at first. When goes up to his own vanity and looks in the mirror, he must see my reflection because he freezes. He grabs a towel from the bar below the ledge and hastily wraps it around himself. "I didn't hear you come in." His tone is quiet, but not accusatory.
"I didn't want to disturb you." I point to the now vacant shower. "May I?"
He nods, and I can feel his eyes on me as I force myself to calmly remove my robe with my back to him. I hang it on the hook outside the chamber. Once I hear the door close behind me, I let out the breath I've been holding since I partially bared myself to Henry.
I quickly set the shower to my preferences and set the timer to five minutes, not wanting to take too much time this morning in case Henry or his parents needs to prep me more for our tour.
As the jets dry me, I decide to wear a skirt and blouse today. When I exit the shower, the bathroom is empty. I finish my routine and get dressed faster than I ever have before. The only exception is the morning I unexpectedly got Matched.
I find Henry in the dining room with his parents and quietly take my seat beside him.
"Good morning, Rosemary," Helen greets me. "I was thinking I could show you more of your responsibilities when you return."
"Yes, that would be nice. Thank you."
The President says, "I want you to sit in on the meetings today, Henry. Take notes on how compromises are made."
Henry stiffly nods, and his father calls Wyatt in from the living room where the little boy was playing.
Breakfast is served once he comes in.
When the plates are cleared, the President opens his tablet, hits a few buttons, and closes it again. "I've just sent you the bios of your security detail today and the blueprints to the facility. Familiarize yourself with them on the ride over."
Henry nods and we are immediately escorted into the car.
Our pair of purple-suited bodyguards for the day, one for each of us, walk ahead of us and clear the entrance before letting us inside.
A man wearing a carnation pink lab coat greets us. His name tag reads Randall. "Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Clark. If you'll please come this way..." He leads us down the right corridor off the atrium and gestures to the right. "There, we have our secretarial offices where our assistants take important calls, transfer reports from one department to another, and coordinate with the international branches to make sure everything runs smoothly."
Henry doesn't make any comment, and I follow his example.
"On your left," our tour guide continues, "You will see the sorting and storage warehouse."
I move closer and look through the windows into what appears to be a huge space, at least a quarter of the size of the Matchmaking Hall, filled with multiple boxes of vials, conveyor belts, and metal cranes. The glass separating us blocks all the sound, but I can't imagine how loud that sector must be.
"What's on the other side?" I ask, looking over my shoulder at the neglected half of the first floor.
"It holds has another packing area and more administrative offices where our CEO and scientists hold their important meetings."
Randall walks up to a metal door and scans his Mark against the small panel on the side. The door slides open, revealing an elevator. I force myself to close my jaw as we are all ushered inside. He walks up to the panel and begins typing in information, and I see him type 5 for the number of occupants and 2 for the desired destination.
"How many floors are there?" I ask.
"Seven in total, although the top floor is currently off-limits as we upgrade our security."
"What's up there?"
"The high-priority works in progress, Mrs. Clark. Only scientists directly involved in a project housed there are granted access."
"The second floor is instructional scientific labs for interns and students, correct?" Henry interjects.
Randall nods, and the doors open into a hallway lined with glass walls that look into large, spotless rooms. with stainless steel counters and smaller scientific equipment lining the walls. Most of the rooms are empty, but a few had small groups of students in white lab coats being instructed by individuals wearing the same pink shade as our tour guide.
He nods at some of his colleagues as we pass and enter the other wing. This one is filled with single wood doors, which seem both dark and intrusive after seeing so much glass. "This is the psychology and behaviorism wing."
"Why isn't this with the genetics department?" I ask.
"Because it's not as hard a science as the others." Randall scans his wrist at the sensor, and we enter another elevator.
When the doors open on the next floor, we see a similar glass-lined hallway. The first room, on our left, has a bunch of tablets and a few platforms covered by glass chambers. Our tour guide sees me looking and says, "The Maker Lab" as explanation. Across from it, inside an even larger room on the right, I see technology of all different sorts filling counters and tables.
Randall points to it. "This is the prototype room. At least have of those devices will not make it to the next stage." He points to a room diagonal from the first one as he finishes and I see that he is right. Only the three middle tables have tech materials and the counters are clean.
As we walk to the other side, the rooms grow increasingly empty until the final room only has three devices. "Those will be rolled out within the next few months," Randall notes, holding the elevator door open for us.
"Welcome to the environmental science and biology floor." The fourth floor, like the previous two, have glass walls. Unlike its predecessors, half of the floor does not have individual rooms, but is a green room that is filled with what looks like an ancient forest filled with trees, plants, and probably many things that I can't name. It looks so dense inside, it's a wonder anyone can navigate the foliage to conduct their research. In the center of the sections, I see two large trees that resemble the one in the Preparation Room. "What type of tree is that?" I ask, pointing.
He turns his head briefly before answering, "It's quadraginta fructus decidua. Also known as the 'Tree of Forty Fruits.' It's one of our older species here. It was created in the early twenty-first century."
On the other side, there are only two large labs complete with microscopes and the equipment we saw on the second floor.
When we enter the elevator, he types six and I ask, "Why did you skip five?"
"It's the genetic department, but it looks the same as the second floor. You can see it on your way down if you wish, but I was under the impression you wanted the most efficient tour."
Henry nods in confirmation.
The doors open and this floor is filled with individual rooms with wooden doors. Our tour guide walks up to one and rests his Mark on a panel like the one that controls the elevator. The door unlocks and he gestures Henry and I to look inside. It's a small room with a few machines, a mounted monitor, and single chair. One of the walls has a window that looks into the next room where a lone chair like the one Kalli sat in during her Marking sits. Attached to it is a metal cap with wires coming out of it.
Henry walks out and I follow him.
We walk back to the elevator we came from rather than crossing to the one at the other end of the hall. I ask why and Randall replies, "That is not an elevator over there. That is a staircase to the seventh floor."
He brings us back down to the lobby and bids us good day before knocking on the CEO's office door and disappearing inside.
Our security guards go into the car first, I go in next, sitting on across from them, and Henry takes his spot next to me.
"That was interesting."
He makes a sound of agreement.
"I wish we could have seen the seventh floor, though." And I wonder what could be so valuable that Barlow would steal it. It was the only aspect of his case on which I had never gotten an answer.
"Perhaps another time," Henry replies.
"What did you think of the facility?" she asked.
"It was incredible. I had no idea they did so much."
Helen smiles. "Yes, they have their hand in about every aspect of our society, save the law."
I almost ask how they're related to the Matching Ceremony, but then realize my mother-in-law must be referring to all the technology used. Having checked myself, I nod. "I will admit I'm am disappointed the top floor was closed off, though. Henry said that might be able to go back and see it."
"Perhaps, but as I'm sure your guide told you, the top floor has extremely restricted access—even before the recent breach of security."
"Yes, of course."
"Now, I know your mother is a lawyer, but I believe the best use of your time now would be to review the common law, as well as a few pieces on more specific fields of law such as patent, tax, health, property, and estates law."
"Is there a hierarchy you prefer me to read them in?"
"I would definitely start with common law, then progress to tax and health, then patent, and lastly property and estates law. If there are any other documents I remember later, I will send you an update so you can have a concrete record of your tasks."
"Thank you. I would appreciate that a lot."
"In addition to that, I thought it would be nice for us to bond beyond our mentor relationship."
"What were you thinking?"
"I thought perhaps we could go shopping. You can talk to Henry about what you would like to furnish your own home before we go. And, if you wish, I can help you update your wardrobe now that you're a Clark family member."
"That would be nice. Will I have to get rid of my current clothes?"
She shakes her head. "The Young Family lavender is a beautiful color and compliments our royal purple very well. So, no. I see no reason for you to do so. And it would be quite a waste."
I smile, secretly relieved that I don't have to completely cut ties with my family. "I'll talk to Henry tonight."
She nods, rising from her seat and opens the office door. "Let's go see what Chef has prepared for lunch, shall we?"