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BRIAN
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MY HANDS GRIPPED MY son’s upper arms. I could feel the tension in his strong muscles and hear his frantic heartbeat. For a moment I wished he could be a small boy again so that I could lift him onto my shoulders and run, listening to his delighted shrieks.
Jack’s hands closed around my arms. Motionless, wordless, as if frozen in time, I stared into the soft amber of his eyes, so much like his mother’s.
“Father,” he stuttered and hugged me fiercely. “Father.”
Oh, god, I thought, I’m holding my son in my arms. My Jack.
For the first time in eons, I cried.
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SLOWLY, I BECAME AWARE of other people around me. From the corner of my eye, I saw Hal holding Astrid and rocking her gently, aware of her round baby bump. Rowena was standing nearby, hand clasped over her mouth and tears running down her pale cheeks. Ahmed was holding Aydan in one arm, the other one was wrapped around his wife’s shoulders.
At some point, I noticed it had started snowing. Ahmed took Rowena’s hand and walked her toward the house. Astrid and Hal followed them. Azem opened the door and let them in.
I still couldn’t move. I thought if I released my grip around my son, I’d lose my balance.
“Come on, father, let’s get inside,” I heard Jack’s raspy voice.
Fingers still clenched around his arm as if he’d disappear if I let it go, I walked beside my son into the house.
We followed the others to the sitting room.
Astrid was already seated between her mother and father. As we came in, she stood up and hugged me. She opened her mouth to say something, but a wave of tears prevented her from uttering a word.
“You’re all right?” I asked and kissed her hair. “I’m so happy to meet you, Astrid. Please sit, honey. Take it easy.” I walked her back to the sofa. Jack and I took seats in the armchairs. Ahmed dragged a desk chair over and sat, his baby son in his arms.
God knew we had so much to talk about, but emotions ran too high for big words and lengthy stories, so we talked in fractured sentences, interrupting one another with laughter and tears.
“You look good, Dad,” Jack said, his eyes studying me. “A scar or two I don’t remember from before, but that’s it.”
“They don’t bother me. My eyesight’s still not perfect, but it’ll be restored.”
“Ahmed says your leg’s giving you trouble.”
“Come to the hospital tomorrow, and I’ll have a look,” Astrid said.
“Maybe not tomorrow, honey, but I promise I’ll come one day next week. I won’t miss the opportunity to be examined by the top orthopedic surgeon in the country. And please, call me Brian.”
She stood up, walked to me and hugged me. “Thank you, Brian. For coming back. Mom told us in brief what had happened to you and my father. This morning ... My god, until this morning I thought you were dead.”
Jason came in with a bottle of scotch and four glasses. “Einhamiress, what can I bring for you and Ellida?”
“Tea, for me, please. Astrid, you too?” Rowena said.
“Yes, please.”
A moment later, Harriet peeked in asking if we were ready to eat. Food was the last thing on anyone’s mind, but my pregnant daughter-in-law and her nursing mother shouldn’t have been skipping meals no matter what the reason.
“Shall I serve it in the kitchen or in the dining room?”
“In the dining room, please,” I said. “We’ll all eat together. Tell Azem, Lily and Zana to join us. You and Jason as well ... Zana is Azem’s niece from Winston,” I explained when I saw a few confused looks. “She’s staying with us for a week.”
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ONCE THE FIRST EMOTIONAL shock had passed, the atmosphere was more relaxed.
I noticed subtle changes in Jack. He was stronger and more self-confident than before. He was a happy man; I could see it by looking into his eyes.
My daughter-in-law was a fascinating young woman. Whatever I’d heard about her before hadn’t done her justice. As an ellida, she was an embodiment of a higher, cosmic concept of good, yet I had a feeling her humanity and powers went even beyond that.
Her fine inner sensors picked up my vibes and she turned and smiled at me.
“I hoped to see Rosie. You heard about our secret meetings, didn’t you?”
“Oh, yes! We wondered why she named her stuffed frog prince ‘Khali’ and her penguin toy ‘Malik.’ I’m so grateful to Mom and Ahmed for making it possible for you and my father to spend time with Rosie. She grows so fast it would be a shame to miss it.”
“Where is she now?”
Astrid cleared her throat. “With James and Eve. You’ll see her later. We’re all going to Red Cliffs.”
My breath caught. Later?
Oh well. Today or tomorrow, what was the difference? “Do they know?” I asked.
“No. Jack and I will go first and tell them.”
“Am I coming, too?” Zana asked, clasping her hands. Until now she’d been sitting quietly, listening to our conversation.
“Zana, you, Lily and I were going to the movies later,” Harriet reminded her gently. “Don’t you remember?”
“Yes, but it was before all this,” Zana said with a wide movement of her hand. Khalid and Malik coming out, I mean.”
Astrid, who sat beside Zana, turned to her and took her hand between hers. “You’re always welcome to visit us. Today, however, Brian and my dad have to go to Red Cliffs to see their friends and family they haven’t seen in many years.”
“I know. Khalid’s ex-wife and Malik’s brother. They’re married now,” Zana said with the bluntness so typical for a child.
“Perhaps you should start calling them Brian and Hal,” Azem said to her.
She rolled her eyes, making me smile. “It’ll take time to get used to their new names.” She leaned toward Astrid and said, “In Winston, they were Khalid and Malik. We miss them, you know. When I was young, I liked playing with Khalid. My mom always said I learned how to walk holding onto his fur.”
“Ah, now I know,” I said. “I always wondered why I have a bald patch on my back.”
Zana’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t have a bald patch, Khalid. I saw you yesterday when you were coming back from the woods. Your fur looks fine.”
“I was just teasing you. I helped you learn how to walk, and you helped me learn how to use an iPod and iPad.”
Once she’d realized I didn’t know much about my new gadgets, she’d indeed taught me many things. We’d had lots of fun.
“Oh, but it’s so easy,” she said and moved her eyes back to Astrid. “Rosie and I played together last time she was here. She’s so funny! She wanted to give me her pacifier. So, can I come to your place tomorrow?”
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BEFORE WE LEFT, I STOPPED by Azem’s office. The door was open.
“I’ll stay in Red Cliffs for a couple of days,” I said from the doorstep. “Phone Elizabeth Chatwin and tell her I won’t be able to call her. Tell her I had some urgent business to do. She can talk to you if she has any questions.” I stopped and rubbed my chin. “In fact, I think you should be her contact person. Or Lily. Yes, that would work. I don’t mind all this restoration business, but I really think I should stay in the background. I don’t need to discuss every detail with her.”
I didn’t need more complications in my life. My life was already complicated enough.
Azem looked at me with raised eyebrows but restrained himself from commenting on my sudden change of heart. “Okay, then. I’ll call her and tell her.”
“Yes, do that.”
When I returned to the dining room, Astrid, Jack and Rowena had already gone to James and Eve’s to prepare them for the greatest shock of their lives.