Chapter 35:
A family reunited
Constantine:
After a couple of hours, Hugo finally comes out of the conference room. He looks awestruck. I can’t blame him. It is not every day that you get a job proposal in this size.
“I got the job,” the red-haired Naga says, in a voice only a couple of octaves above a whisper. Yet, this is all Noah needs to hop off the chair, and rush towards his father.
“You are coming home?” The boy still has the teddy bear in his hands. I can see that Daniel is giving him a soft look. A thought comes to me:
He’ll be good with a child.
There aren’t many Naga children who are abandoned by their families. Usually, if the parents can’t take care of their children, someone else from the family steps in. Yet, there are still orphanages on Ursula 590. Ones full of children who are waiting for someone to bring them home.
I nudge Daniel, who nods at me. Still, I must know if we are on the same wave length.
“Do you think that, once we are done with the case, and the thief is caught, we can get a child for ourselves?” I ask him. He smiles, his laugh lines making him all the more adorable. I can’t resist. I move closer to him, and nuzzle our noses together.
“We’ll be the very best parents. But first, we need to get married,” he tells me. I blink at that.
“In Ursula 590,” I begin, but he pokes out his tongue at me. “Stop that!”
“I don’t care how it is in Ursula 590. I come from a family that values marriage. Do you want for us to have a child? I want for the child to have married parents,” he says, in a teasing tone.
“Oh, is that so?” I say, placing my hands on the back of his neck. “And if I don’t want to get married?”
“You will make an exception for me,” he says. We hear a cough, and see that both Hugo and Noah are staring at us.
“Tine, you will marry uncle Dany, right?” Noah asks, and then holds up the teddy bear over his mouth. “Marriage makes children happy.”
I chuckle at him, pretending that the teddy bear was speaking like that. Hugo pats his child on the back. Noah responds with a huge grin.
“Let us focus on the mission,” I try to change the subject, but Noah is having none of it.
“I will be the ring bearer,” he says, and then blushes. “And Beth can be the bride’s maid.”
Daniel and I share a look.
“Is that so?” I ask after a while. Beth and Noah are just two years apart. She is an adorable baby. I just never thought that Noah will want to be a lady’s man when he is merely three.
Hugo takes a hold of Noah’s ear, and tugs it.
“No suggesting relationships with babies,” he says, as Noah gives out a yelp.
“I want to be Beth’s friend,” Noah insists. “She has the loveliest hair and tail. Like an acorn. Acorns are my favorite things!”
Daniel hides a smile behind his hand. He murmurs something that sounds like “puppy love”. I wonder what puppies have to do with love. Aren’t they wolves? When Daniel sees my confused look, he pulls me to the side, and shows me a picture of a puppy.
“This is a wolf?” I ask. He shakes his head.
“No, this is a small dog. Maybe no more than a month old. They are known for getting easily attached,” he tells me, and then begins to show me a picture of a dog, next to a wolf. I think that the dog has a softness to it, what with that happy glint in its eyes, that the wolf lacks. Still, the wolf looks more majestic.
“Have you ever had a dog?” I ask Daniel. Andrew is a wonderful pet, but he is a cat.
“No, I am allergic,” he sighs then. “I know there are dogs, whose fur doesn’t activate the allergy, but my doctor doesn’t want for me to risk it.”
“Beth is a fairy!” We hear Noah yell, close to tears. Both of us turn around, to see that Hugo is tugging at Noah’s ear like there is no tomorrow. Daniel goes to them, and places a hand over Hugo’s.
“Come on, if they become friends from now, they can grow up together. That is not so bad, is it?” Daniel asks. Hugo grumbles something under his nose, his fingers still tugging at his son’s ear.
“It doesn’t sit well with me, that he has a crush on a baby,” Hugo says finally.
“Well, Noah is still practically a baby. I mean, what with how your lifespan is 1,000 years long,” Daniel says. Noah looks at him, as if Daniel has told him that Illity never existed.
“Traitor,” the little boy yells, before whipping at his father’s tail with his own.
“Just because of that, you are going in time-out,” Hugo says. I can see that Noah is a whimper away from crying. I lean in, and hug him tightly.
“Think about it that way: you will have a lady friend, your dad is going home, and we will bring you gifts from Ursula 589,” I am quick to whisper in the boy’s year. His father finally let’s go of his ear, and Noah’s arms wrap around my neck.
I pat the boy on the back, and rock him back and forth a little, until he calms down.
“Who is up for some cotton candy?” Daniel says, as the cart with the sweets stops a couple of meters from us. Noah brightens up at that, and pats me on the back, so I can let him back down.
“Dad, can I have a stick?” He asks his father, as he slithers back to him, and takes a hold of his hand.
“Just one. I don’t want you to spoil your dinner,” Hugo says. I smile, when I see that, despite his puffy eyes, Noah seems to have forgiven, if not forgotten. Still, by the end of the day, he received more than one ear tugging sessions.
Chapter 35:
A family reunited
Constantine:
After a couple of hours, Hugo finally comes out of the conference room. He looks awestruck. I can’t blame him. It is not every day that you get a job proposal in this size.
“I got the job,” the red-haired Naga says, in a voice only a couple of octaves above a whisper. Yet, this is all Noah needs to hop off the chair, and rush towards his father.
“You are coming home?” The boy still has the teddy bear in his hands. I can see that Daniel is giving him a soft look. A thought comes to me:
He’ll be good with a child.
There aren’t many Naga children who are abandoned by their families. Usually, if the parents can’t take care of their children, someone else from the family steps in. Yet, there are still orphanages on Ursula 590. Ones full of children who are waiting for someone to bring them home.
I nudge Daniel, who nods at me. Still, I must know if we are on the same wave length.
“Do you think that, once we are done with the case, and the thief is caught, we can get a child for ourselves?” I ask him. He smiles, his laugh lines making him all the more adorable. I can’t resist. I move closer to him, and nuzzle our noses together.
“We’ll be the very best parents. But first, we need to get married,” he tells me. I blink at that.
“In Ursula 590,” I begin, but he pokes out his tongue at me. “Stop that!”
“I don’t care how it is in Ursula 590. I come from a family that values marriage. Do you want for us to have a child? I want for the child to have married parents,” he says, in a teasing tone.
“Oh, is that so?” I say, placing my hands on the back of his neck. “And if I don’t want to get married?”
“You will make an exception for me,” he says. We hear a cough, and see that both Hugo and Noah are staring at us.
“Tine, you will marry uncle Dany, right?” Noah asks, and then holds up the teddy bear over his mouth. “Marriage makes children happy.”
I chuckle at him, pretending that the teddy bear was speaking like that. Hugo pats his child on the back. Noah responds with a huge grin.
“Let us focus on the mission,” I try to change the subject, but Noah is having none of it.
“I will be the ring bearer,” he says, and then blushes. “And Beth can be the bride’s maid.”
Daniel and I share a look.
“Is that so?” I ask after a while. Beth and Noah are just two years apart. She is an adorable baby. I just never thought that Noah will want to be a lady’s man when he is merely three.
Hugo takes a hold of Noah’s ear, and tugs it.
“No suggesting relationships with babies,” he says, as Noah gives out a yelp.
“I want to be Beth’s friend,” Noah insists. “She has the loveliest hair and tail. Like an acorn. Acorns are my favorite things!”
Daniel hides a smile behind his hand. He murmurs something that sounds like “puppy love”. I wonder what puppies have to do with love. Aren’t they wolves? When Daniel sees my confused look, he pulls me to the side, and shows me a picture of a puppy.
“This is a wolf?” I ask. He shakes his head.
“No, this is a small dog. Maybe no more than a month old. They are known for getting easily attached,” he tells me, and then begins to show me a picture of a dog, next to a wolf. I think that the dog has a softness to it, what with that happy glint in its eyes, that the wolf lacks. Still, the wolf looks more majestic.
“Have you ever had a dog?” I ask Daniel. Andrew is a wonderful pet, but he is a cat.
“No, I am allergic,” he sighs then. “I know there are dogs, whose fur doesn’t activate the allergy, but my doctor doesn’t want for me to risk it.”
“Beth is a fairy!” We hear Noah yell, close to tears. Both of us turn around, to see that Hugo is tugging at Noah’s ear like there is no tomorrow. Daniel goes to them, and places a hand over Hugo’s.
“Come on, if they become friends from now, they can grow up together. That is not so bad, is it?” Daniel asks. Hugo grumbles something under his nose, his fingers still tugging at his son’s ear.
“It doesn’t sit well with me, that he has a crush on a baby,” Hugo says finally.
“Well, Noah is still practically a baby. I mean, what with how your lifespan is 1,000 years long,” Daniel says. Noah looks at him, as if Daniel has told him that Illity never existed.
“Traitor,” the little boy yells, before whipping at his father’s tail with his own.
“Just because of that, you are going in time-out,” Hugo says. I can see that Noah is a whimper away from crying. I lean in, and hug him tightly.
“Think about it that way: you will have a lady friend, your dad is going home, and we will bring you gifts from Ursula 589,” I am quick to whisper in the boy’s year. His father finally let’s go of his ear, and Noah’s arms wrap around my neck.
I pat the boy on the back, and rock him back and forth a little, until he calms down.
“Who is up for some cotton candy?” Daniel says, as the cart with the sweets stops a couple of meters from us. Noah brightens up at that, and pats me on the back, so I can let him back down.
“Dad, can I have a stick?” He asks his father, as he slithers back to him, and takes a hold of his hand.
“Just one. I don’t want you to spoil your dinner,” Hugo says. I smile, when I see that, despite his puffy eyes, Noah seems to have forgiven, if not forgotten. Still, by the end of the day, he received more than one ear tugging sessions.
