Page 56 of Sapphire Seas

“Parenthood is going to be our greatest adventure, I can just feel it.”

“You know how Alex keeps fire extinguishers stashed all over the place?” I asked.

“Like behind his grandfather’s favorite chair? Yes, I’d noticed that, but I don’t think they will do us any good,”

“True, but shop-vacs might. To clean up any excess water,” I said as I fiddled with my phone, pulling up an image of one for him to see. “They’re good for cleaning up all kinds of things, even liquids.”

“I’m sure we can stash a few of these in the garage, in case we need to run more than one at a time,” Caspian said as he made the screen larger.

“You mean when we have to run more than one at a time,” I replied, laughing at the horrified sound he let out.

“You don’t think they’d gang up on us like that, do you?”

“If there is one thing I have learned about dragonets, it’s how unpredictable they are,” I admitted. “Kane burped one day and left ashes and soot all over the chandelier over the table. Fortunately, it’s made of metal so no risk of it going up in flames, but still.”

“Better than burning a hole through a diaper, I suppose,” Caspian replied.

His giggles made me start too. It was probably all the cartoons we watched that made the silly images form in my head, but soon, we were laughing so hard that all we could do was hold on to one another. He snickered, just when I thought I’d reined myself in, and another fit of laughter overtook us.

That’s the way Mattias discovered us when he returned from patrol. Unable to stop, even when he asked us what was so funny. Every time one of us started trying to backtrack so the story would make sense, the other one would back the story up to a different point or start chuckling again. In the end, poor Mattias was more confused than anything as he climbed into the nest with us. It was easier to tell him about the things we’d ordered and the wrap around porch, and wanting this to be our nest, all of which he happily agreed with.

“I believe it’s time that someone in this family invest in a blanket factory,” Mattias declared. “Ronan bought so many of them that several sites were marked sold out for weeks while they waited for the restock to arrive. You two might have topped that today.”

“Well yeah,” I replied. “Our nest has to be big enough to fit six dragonets.”

“Each time one of you reminds me of the number, my head spins,” Mattias admitted.

“Just picture it, Papa,” Caspian said. “You covered in dragonets. Two cradled in your wings, two in your arms, and two wrapped securely, cradled in your tail, all sleeping contently while we take tons of pictures of you.”

“I have been picturing it ever since we received the joyous news,” Mattias said. “Now come here mates and let me prove to you how happy you’ve made me.”

Chapter Eighteen

Caspian

“There, that’s the last blanket.” But was it enough?

“Don’t even go there,” Kes said. “I know that look and we have more blankets then all of China.”

I’m not sure that hit the mark he’d intended given I still wasn’t satisfied. Not to mention I don’t remember having been to China, so I had no idea how many blankets the country had.

“I’ve never laid an egg before. I’ve never seen an egg birthed before. What if it hits something and breaks?” Nervous? Yes, yes I was. Live births were just that. The babies came out swimming and you had to keep control of them. Eggs? That was a whole new game for this Seadragon.

Kes snickered. “They aren’t like chicken eggs. Their shells are super thick, and the dragonets are the ones who break them open.”

“Which brings me to the dos and don’ts of dragon eggs,” Mattias said as he stepped inside the nest area. “Do not under any circumstance pick at the eggs or the flakes as they poke out while the dragonet is hatching.”

“But. I wan’t. What if?” he silenced my rant with his lips.

“My love, this is something they must do on their own. We can collect all the pieces once they’ve fully emerged and get creative with them like the shadow boxes Ronan made for his girls’ shells.”

I do love those displays in their home.

“Fine.”

“You forget, Caspian, that we’ve lived above ground longer than you and know that fine does not mean that at all,” Kes hugged me. “Trust us, babe, this is a good thing.”

I trusted them but wasn’t sure I fully believed their words.