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“What do you say, Mia? Would you like to see your new home?”
Her blue eyes were vibrant in contrast to her hair and pale skin. Color flushed to her cheeks. “I would like that. If you have time, of course.”
“All right. Finish here, and we’ll go out for the day.”
* * *
The day had gone betterthan he could have hoped for. It had been so long since Tharon had gone out with his children. He had forgotten how much bonding could happen over a single day. How much of it had been lost with his busy days with work and the other things he’d had to prioritize?
First, they had gone to the marsh to watch the food chain in full effect. Mia had been appalled at first, but then Cian had explained why they enjoyed going there.
“It’s how Dad taught us about life and death. How everything has a purpose even if we can’t see it or understand it. Here, it happens so often it gets ignored. But that’s because you can see the purpose that everything serves here. It’s to feed the next thing. Sometimes things only exist so others can survive.”
Tharon was impressed with the elaborate depth taken from that lesson he had taught them so long ago.
He noticed Mia’s face grow curious as she looked out over the marshes that covered most of the planet.
“That’s oddly beautiful.”
After the marshes, they went to pick fresh fruits from the town orchards.
Mia described how they had grocery stores on Earth, and most orchards were private. Tharon and the children thought that was absurd.
“You can’t just go pick your own fruit?”
“Nope.”
Triat seemed furious at this announcement. “That’s ridiculous. If it sat somewhere picked before you needed it, doesn’t some of the fruit go bad before it gets eaten?”
Tharon saw Mia truly think about that observation.
“You know, you’re right. But then again, from my own experiences, the way Earth is run doesn’t make much sense anymore, anyway.”
The rest of the day went fast as they picked different fruits to get them through the week. Tharon let the twins answer Mia’s questions and only interjected when asked. He enjoyed hearing their responses to her inquiries. He had known that his children were bright. He had expected it. But the way they described and broke things down made him realize with pride that they had grown up more than he had wanted to admit.
On their way home, Tharon took advantage of the kids being passed out in the back seat. “You’re doing great, I hope you know. They have really taken a liking to you, and you learn quickly. I hope you’re enjoying it as much as they are.”
“I am.” She gave him a wide smile and finally appeared at ease.
He looked her over as she looked back out the passenger window. After observation, Tharon realized it wasn’t just the hair that stirred him. It was her gentle, charismatic, yet awkward demeanor that, for some reason, held his attention. It made her different than anyone he knew. She wasn’t elegant. She was … human. It was refreshing to Tharon. Especially how she was with the twins.
Tharon caught himself smiling. That seemed to be happening a lot more, as well.
FOUR
THARON
After he spent time with Mia and his children, Tharon had more confidence, knowing that Mia was able to take care of his children without him around. This helped Tharon feel comfortable enough to leave the house for the interplanetary summit he usually attended.
Other summit attendees included some species he did not get along with. He had been prepared for that. But he had not expected the presence of one attendee in particular.
This person had long threatened his planet, and Tharon found it difficult to keep calm. As a commander, he often needed to play the part of an ambassador not only during summits but also whenever he and his squad were traveling. Any occurrence that included this other attendee always ended in an argument where words were exchanged … at a minimum.
“Kiek,” he said grudgingly as he ran into the leader of Gr’un after the summit ended. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Of course, I’d be here,” Kiek said, looking down his nose at Tharon. “Did you think I would miss a summit?”
“No, why would you ever miss a speaking engagement?” He certainly hoped Kiek would miss the summit, though. “I heard your discussion on your species’ difficulties inhabiting your planet. Are you looking for help from the other summit leaders to obtain resources?”
