Page 64 of Dark Destiny: The Turning Of The Loom

"Seven. There is room, but Ovidu is going to lose his cybernetic mind."

"Do you have another table that can be brought out? Have Ovidu cover it with a nice tablecloth and put all of Geraldine's dishes there. Announce it as Geraldine's table and end this dance."

"You are brilliant, Mother." Alena leaned over and kissed Annani's cheek.

"You are welcome."

"Ovidu," Alena called. "Please bring the folding table from storage. Geraldine's dishes deserve their own display."

"They do not," Geraldine protested.

"Trust me, they do." Alena wrapped her arm around Geraldine's shoulders. "Everyone knows what a great cook you are, and they will come to your table first."

Annani returned to the living room. Khiann had found a spot near the wall, out of the line of traffic, and Ogidu was standing beside him, just as Annani had instructed.

The big box had joined the pile of presents in the corner.

Ogidu rushed to pull out a chair for her and placed it next to Khiann's.

"What are you smiling about?" Khiann asked when she sat down.

"I just prevented the first earthly war between people and machines. Geraldine and Alena's Odu were arguing about setting the buffet table their way, and neither of them knew it." She glanced toward the dining room, then leaned closer to whisper in his ear. "She keeps moving her dishes into the middle, and he keeps moving them back, and she does not remember having moved them, so she moves them again."

He frowned. "How can she forget something she has just done?"

"Geraldine had an accident many years ago," Annani said, lowering her voice. "She collided with a motorized boat, and the boat naturally won. The injury to her head was so severe that an ordinary immortal would not have survived it. But since she is Toven's daughter, a direct descendant of a god, her body managed to heal the damage. She lived, but her memories did not. She woke up not knowing who she was, or that she had a husband and a daughter."

"That is devastating," Khiann whispered back. "What did she do?"

"She built a new life with the help of her brother. Orion had been watching over her even before the accident. He found her and decided it was better for her not to return to her husband and child before they noticed she was not aging. Geraldine did not know she was immortal, only that she was stronger than other women and healed quickly. She hid her abilities and lived among humans, and Orion ensured she was financially secure and that no one discovered her oddities."

Annani nodded toward Darlene, who was chatting with Syssi and Amanda. "That is the daughter she forgot. And Cassandra, the tall one, was born later. Geraldine had her with a man who left her and returned to his homeland, and to the wife and children he had there, never telling her about them. She raised Cassandra alone. Roni found Geraldine by chance while going over the official records. He found her picture, and she looked exactly the same as she had in the pictures Darlene had of her mother."

"Roni is the one who breaks into things."

"Yes. Reuniting the family took time and help from the Fates, but that is also a long story for another time. Geraldine still has memory issues. The old ones are gone forever, but she often forgets recent things. The funny thing is that Shai does not forget anything. He has a perfect memory. They joke that he remembers for both of them."

Khiann glanced at Geraldine, who had joined Darlene, Syssi, and Amanda and was laughing loudly at the story Amanda was telling them. Something about a test subject in her lab cheating and getting her hopes up that she had found a new Dormant.

"Geraldine seems joyful," Khiann said.

"She is."

"After all that she has been through."

"Perhaps because of all of that, she appreciates what she has now. She has both her daughters living nearby, a grandchild, a nephew, and a mate who dotes on her. She does not need to worry about supporting herself and can dedicate all her time to taking care of her family. She helps Alena and Orion with E.T. a lot, and she cooks and hosts dinners at least twice a week."

"It is a good life," he agreed. "She found her purpose. What makes her happy."

Annani nodded.

Geraldine chose that moment to look at them, smiled, then frowned.

"Well, this won't do," she announced. "You've been sitting here without any food." She turned to her daughter. "Cassy, please be a dear and load a plate for the Clan Mother's mate. I will give her this one."

She crossed the room with a loaded plate and handed it to Annani. "This is my brisket, not the Odu's, and you'll be able to tell the difference. And these are my potatoes. Don't tell Alena I said so, but the Odu's potatoes are not browned enough. Potatoes need to be crispy."

She handed Annani a fork and knife wrapped in a napkin.