A Calico Romance

June 12, 2023

(Inspired by the song "Plaid and Calico" by Johnny Horton, 1953)

They fell in love on planet Calico. Not just any ol' planet, but Calico. And, it was just like the good ol' days when people stopped for a moment, talked, got to know each other, kissed, and fell in love.

They came from different worlds, quite literally.

Her world, Serendia, was a world of rainbows and unicorns, where everyone always smiled, and the air smelled like freshly baked cookies. It was a place where the sun always shone, and the birds sang the sweetest songs. She grew up on a giant, fluffy cloud, and her best friend was a talking rainbow named Sparkle. Sparkle didn't need rain to be a rainbow, it simply was, always, a rainbow.

His world, on the other hand, was a bit less...inviting—Volga, a planet almost as vulgar as its name. It was a planet of robots and aliens, androids and some humans, where everyone was always in a rush, and the air smelled like... well, metal. He lived in a giant cylinder with three floors, and his best friend was a grumpy robot named Rusty. Rusty couldn't get himself up or down the stairs between the floors, so he stayed on the first floor.

Calico was a planet with nine continents, all green and verdant, the oceans fed the many different people with an endless supply of food, both plant and fish. It was a cosmopolitan planet, a place of trade for the people from the many planets in the galaxy to visit and buy and trade, and to vacation in the resorts along the coasts.

There was no air pollution, no litter or pollution on the beautiful soft grassy ground, the waters were clear and pristine. The land had not been paved-over, and was not down-trodden by wheeled vehicles of any kind.

He, Beauden was his name, worked for a scrapyard turning old robots into their many pieces so they could be regenerated into new robots, or toasters. He was also something of a dreamer, he enjoyed those moments when his old signal-interceptor found something from that one far away planet that showed what they called "westerns". He dreamed of what it was like to be a rough-n-tumble cowboy. If it weren't for his daydreaming his life would have been almost unbearable.

She, Harleigh was her name, worked in a garden. Her job, which she loved, was tending to the beautiful multi-colored flowers, the red and blue round ones, the triangular orange and purple ones, the yellow and violet squares ones were particularly fragrant. She had a smile on her face all day, it simply wasn't possible for her to not smile.

On Calico, Beauden was to make trades of old robot parts for pretty much anything worthwhile he could trade for. He'd done this more than a few times and knew what to do and how to do it, so that was his one goal and he set his mind to it.

Harleigh, adorned in a vibrant dress splashed with a rainbow of colors, exuded a timeless elegance. She glided through the crowds, her skirt floating around her legs, her hair waving gently, scattering sparkles all around her. Harleigh was there to collect some rare seeds for her garden on Serendia.

When at home on Volga, Beauden was not typically a cheery, happy-go-lucky guy. He had his job, a job that paid the bills but was certainly nothing to write home about. He had had a girlfriend some years before, but she left him for another man who had been his best friend. His favorite pet, a dogril, died when it was hit by a passing trukyler, all seven wheels passed over the poor dogril's body, squashing it quite completely. Then his own carbelin broke and he couldn't afford to get the enginabler repaired. So, he was left with his manual-powered three-wheeled tribiaccel, which was quite slow because he had no get-up-n-go left to get it going.

Harleigh, now there was a woman with a light and fun heart, a woman with a never-ending smile, just about bouncing everywhere she went. Anybody who saw her smiled at her, it wasn't possible to not do so, she just had that effect on people. Working in the nursery caring for the plants from so many worlds made her happy, and she just couldn't not always be in a great mood. She bought clothes that reflected her exuberant attitude, clothes of many colors, most were sleeveless, most had skirts that flowed around her, glided lightly in the air, as if in the same good mood as she always was.

While on Calico, Beauden, a not-so-rugged cowboy-wannabe, found himself in a café one day after making many trades. He was tired from all the haggling, especially with those stubborn folks from Antro43. Nobody liked that planet, and those from that planet were just as disliked everywhere they went. Beauden asked for a bottle of the local brew, found the one vacant table, sat and stared out the window.

Harleigh came bouncing through the door of the café, stopped and looked around, and saw no open tables, but saw that there were three empty chairs at one table. She shrugged her shoulders and went to that table.

"Hi!" She had a little bounce as the word escaped her mouth, her lips lined with a very light shade of pink lipstick, a little highlighting around her eyes, just to give them a slightly more angled upward look. She waited for a response.

Beauden gave a short glance at this perky woman and wondered what on earth just dropped in front of him. "Um,hi." He said with absolutely no interest in conversing with anyone. His day dealing robot parts hadn't been very successful.

"It appears these are the only available chairs." Harleigh plopped her purse on the table, her communicator next to that, looked at Beauden, and waited for some kind of response.

He looked around at the other tables and noticed that they were, indeed, the only available chairs. "Um, yeah, so it appears. I suppose you can sit."

"Thanks." She adjusted her skirt around her legs and sat across from Beauden, smiled at him, and asked, "Did you order?" She brushed a bit of hair away from her face. "What did you order? Food? Drinks? What do they have here, anyway? I'm thirsty."

He just stared at her. "Um, well, I ordered a beer, and here it comes now."

The waiter, obviously not a local, was of the android variety of humanoids. "Your local brew, sir. And for you miss? A local brew, as well?"

Smiling at the android, she said, "Yes! Why not? I suppose it is at least drinkable, right?"

Android, "Right." It turned and went for the beer.

Harleigh made a small bounce in the chair, then said, "My name is Harleigh, what's yours?"

"Oh, um, Beauden." He shifted in his chair, not entirely comfortable with this bubbly woman that looked like a rainbow come to life.

"Hi Beauden, it's really nice to meet you! Where are you from? You don't look like someone from this place. I'm not from here, either. I love this planet, don't you? It's beautiful here. It's always so peaceful even with all the business happening. But I do miss home."

The android returned, "Your local brew, miss, I hope it's everything you hope it to be."

Harleigh and Beauden looked at the android with puzzled looks that said, What? Seriously?

The android noticed their facial expressions and said, "Yes, seriously. I can only be serious." It turned and rolled away.

Harleigh and Beauden looked at each other and laughed, "I can only be serious!" mocked Beauden.

"How funny! I wonder if I can one of those for home?" Harleigh took a drink of her beer and nearly spit it out. "Dear gowdin! What is this stuff?" Beauden laughed at her, took a drink of his, and said, "Mines good, I like it." He took another drink, then set the bottle on the table.

Harleigh looked at him, eyebrows raised, took his bottle, and took a drink. "Hey! This is good! I thought I ordered the same thing you had."

"You did. This stuff is like a crappso shoot, one is good, the next maybe not. Might as well throw the diclin."

Harleigh took another drink from his bottle.

Beauden said, "Hey, wait a minutinelle, that's mine." He tried to take it from her but she pulled it back so he couldn't reach the bottle.

Their banter continued for another halfourrel as they became friendlier and Beauden actually started talking freely. Of course, after a few more bottles of the local stuff he was feeling as good as she was without of it.

Beauden was drawn to Harleigh, he saw her as a radiant maiden from the enchanting land of Serendia. He'd never visited that planet but had heard stories about it, about the candycane trees, the rainbows, and sweet-tasting light rain that occasionally fed the lush greenery.

They made a date for the weekend, to go to a grand cosmic ball, a gathering of beings from across the galaxy. Beauden, in his traditional urban wanna-be cowboy attire, stood out amidst the shimmering gowns and sparkling suits. Harleigh, adorned in a vibrant knee-length dress, exuded a rainbow that simply wouldn't stop sending sparkles all throughout the ballroom.

They danced, then took a break on a balcony that overlooked the city, the lights sparkling like stars on the ground. They shared their dreams, their fears, and their hopes for the future. They realized that they were sharing feelings of love for each other. He took her in his arms and kissed her on her forehead.

"Hey! What kind of a kiss was that?" She giggled as she asked him.

"Well, I didn't know if it would be all right to plant my lips on yours so soon."

"Yes, silly, it would, now do it again."

He leaned in and kissed her on her cheek.

She giggled, "You missed!"

He leaned in again, this kissing her on her other cheek.

"My godilin! You can't hit the broadside of a barnopol, can you?"

He laughed, leaned forward, she turned her head a little sideways, readied her lips, and he kissed her on her nose.

She burst out laughing, slapped him on his shoulder, and pressed her lips to his without giving him a moment's notice.

After a few minutes of smooching, they returned to the ballroom and danced the night away, their hearts connected in a way that transcended time and space. Their love story was a cosmic symphony, a harmonious blend of rugged charm and ethereal grace.

They vowed to be together forever, their love a beacon of hope in the vast expanse of the universe. Well, that's what occurred to Harleigh. Beauden was just glad to be holding a pretty woman in his arms.

Their time on Calico was filled with laughter, love, and a whole lot of fun.

Eventually, each had to return home to their own planets, but they made trips once a monleo to visit, usually for the long wiikens. That went on for six monleos, then came the big daiolin.

They said, "I do" in a simple ceremony on Serendia, surrounded by their friends and family. And they vowed to be together forever.

Before too long, their children came along and their family would go on to live on the happy planet of Serendia under the ever-present smiling rainbow, Sparkle.

Beauden and Harleigh knew that their adventure was far from over. They were together, and they were ready for whatever came their way. And they would always remember the day they fell in love on Calico, in plaid and calico.