AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I will protect,” Mohlad says from the huddle of kids who are climbing over him.
When I glance in his direction the joy on his face is so clear it could be a neon sign. He is in his element with the little ones all over him. Mikel is struggling to hold onto his tail. Even Colt, who at fourteen years of age tends to think he is too old for play is wrestling with him.
Andrea frowns in his direction then Juniper places a hand on her sister's shoulder and turns her to face her. The sisters don’t have to speak words. It’s something they’ve done since they were little. A shared language between them that I’ve never been able to fully crack but I’ve always observed it. They exchange something and Andrea shakes her head.
“Fine,” Andrea says at last, throwing her hands up in the air. “But know this, I think this is a terrible idea.”
“Trust me, we all know,” Paxton says with a smile.
Andrea gives him a fast death glare before turning back to me.
“If you get yourself killed,” she says softly so the kids won’t hear. “I will never forgive you.”
“Okay dear,” I say. “I’ll do my best to stay alive.”
Andrea looks past me at Mohlad who is on the floor being pinned down by five of the children while Beatrice is trying to lock down his tail. He laughs so loud it echoes off the steel walls.
My heart swells with joy looking at him with my grandkids. Perhaps this dream of mine isn’t as far-fetched as I thought. Paxton steps up and pulls me into a tight hug.
“Go for it, Mom,” he whispers in my ear. “We’ll handle Ands for you.”
My cheeks flush at the same time that my chest tries to explode from holding in such strong emotions. I hug each of them in turn then turn around to the grandkids.
“All right, hugs!” I exclaim and they leap off of Mohlad and bound into me.
I’m knocked back against the wall as they tackle hug me. I kiss each one on their head in turn but I don’t miss the thoughtful stare that Mohlad has as he watches me with them or the wide grin that stays on his face.
Once that is done he and I walk into the airlock. As it does its cycle I wave to my kids through the window then Mohlad and I emerge into the desert heat. Together.
4
MARGARET
The weight of leaving is so much more than I had expected. I thought I was, at least mostly, mentally prepared for it but seeing all of my kids gathered together as I left has placed a weight on my heart that isn’t going to be nearly so easy to handle.
Mohlad is silent too. He leads the way around the ship towards where the pens are on the backside that hold the monstrous things they call guster which we’ll be riding. Our intended target is another part of the shipwreck that we will scavenge for parts to hopefully fix the refrigerator. My mood remains somber. Walking past the graveyard doesn’t help.
As we approach it I see Desiree is there. She usually is, almost every morning, saying prayers for her husband who died, only now she isn’t alone. Her new mate, an alien Zmaj of her own, is with her, standing solemn and silent, giving honor to the man who loved her before him.
It’s oddly encouraging. She had love and lost it too, but there she is with her second chance. Do I not deserve a second chance too? Is it wrong for me to have someone to share my golden years with?
No, but he shouldn’t be so young, now should he?
That’s the crux of what bothers and worries me about this. Mohlad is young, even amongst the Zmaj he’s young. And the stories are that these guys are really long-lived. Am I setting him up for losing? That’s not fair. Going into a relationship knowing that he will outlive me by a long, possibly long, long time isn’t really good for him, now is it?
Sure there are the stories about them and their fated mates or whatever. I’ve never bought into love at first sight or fate or any of that. In all my life I’ve never seen it. Lust at first sight, oh yeah. Plenty of times, especially when I was younger. But love?
Hank and I were anything but love at first sight. Our love grew over time, working together as we got to know each other and find not only things we had in common but our differences which made as much of an attraction as anything.
It was a good love. A strong one that had given us our beautiful family. I missed him for a long time, but I had come to terms with being alone a long time ago. Desiree looks over and waves with her gentle smile. I return the wave.
“Be safe,” she calls. “Good journey.”
“Thank you,” I say.
Her Zmaj mate calls something to Mohlad in their language. It’s a weird one to listen to and I don’t know if I will ever really understand it or not. Lots of long vowels and dragged out hiss sounds. Mohlad says something in return then we’re rounding the ship and they are out of view.
We continue to walk in silence but it’s an easy one. I don’t feel any pressure to talk or make myself interesting, which is nice. It’s certainly a change from what I recall of dating before when I was always worried about it.
