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“As for you Anton, your name in the Hall of Records was always Anton Aldriss.” My father smiled. How many more bombs would he drop on me? “It would please me if you would consider using it.”
My stomach fluttered at the thought. I frowned.
“But, the rules say you can’t,” I said, fearing to hope.
“The rules also said I shouldn’t have let you live.”
“But… I have renounced. That would make me Anton the anAldriss.”
“That’s a Braxian rule. You’re not Braxian,” he said with a smirk.
I laughed. This rebellious side of my father had never been so plainly displayed before. It was… nice. I should have realized sooner that my renouncing freed him of the rules that shackled both of us.
“Think about it,” he said, walking towards the lobby. “I must take my leave.” He called the lift and faced me while waiting for it to arrive. “Your brothers wish to get to know you. It would please me if you did.”
Dheran had been six years old when I left Braxia. He would be twenty-one now. Gorav would be eighteen. I always dreamt of a relationship with them but never imagined it possible.
“It would please me as well, Father.”
He smiled and the lift chimed.
Nodding to each of us in turn, he said, “Son. Daughter,” then entered the lift. Its doors closed before him as we called out our farewell.
Epilogue
Grace
Sitting in the amazing Atrium Anton built for our children, one would think we were in a luxurious Dantorian garden. Large trees, soft grass, beautiful waterfalls, holographic sky and even real birds nesting in the trees gave the illusion that we were on a planet’s surface instead of out in space. Since our wedding, Anton realized Venus Hive didn’t cater to the families that worked here. Although other patrons weren’t barred access, the entirety of the Atrium was to remain family friendly. This meant, no sex or lewd behavior.
Sitting at a picnic table, I pored over the rehearsal schedules for my next show, while keeping a distracted eye on the children. Naya, our youngest, and Cullen, our second-born, played some kind of ball game with Marcus. Gavin, our firstborn, sat beside me, drawing.
Though my debut show had been delayed by three months, it eventually occurred and had been a resounding success. I regularly performed sold out shows. Carrie hadn’t worked out. I guess a one-time ‘beware of the in-crowd’ speech wasn’t enough to get a young, foolish girl back on the right track. However, Sacha and I became friends, and she held a permanent spot on my show. She was a talented, hard-working dancer. It was my first time having a true female friend, or any kind of friend to be honest – excluding Marcus. She and Brandon also hit it off and made a very cute couple.
As part of his reward for saving my life, Brandon was offered a promotion, which he declined. He didn’t want a desk job. Instead, Anton gave him a fancy three-bedroom suite in the residential sector, fully paid and furnished, plus a large performance bonus. Brandon had been saving every credit to pay passage for his mother and sister who were stranded in a poor human colony on some backwater planet. Needless to say, Anton booked them first class cabins on a luxury cruiser.
Marcus now did freelance work for Anton. He was still too much of a free spirit to be bogged down with an official job. It felt too ‘settled down’ for him. He mainly scouted new talents for which he received finder’s fee. He also handled some contract negotiations for Anton who was delegating more and more of his duties to have more time with our family. While Marcus continued some of his wheeling and dealing, he no longer involved himself in shady transactions.
Sheila left Venus Hive a few months after I gave birth to Gavin. She no longer seemed able to book a contract that didn’t require some kind of horizontal performance as well. But even those eventually dried up. Apparently, she found a modicum of popularity on Lilith Hive. It was a step back. However, it beat landing on a ghetto-like pleasure barge such as Callan Fall.
I heard Anton’s approach before he stepped into my field of view.
“Working again,” Anton smiled, lessening the scolding that was nonetheless present in his tone.
“Maybe?” I said, scrunching my face, feeling guilty.
It became somewhat of a running joke between us. When we first met, Anton’s life revolved around work. Now, our family was the center of his universe. He was a wonderful father and made sure our children knew how much he loved them.
Naya had him wrapped around her pinky. It was time we gave her a sister so she didn’t become an insufferable spoiled brat. Anton, her uncles Dheran, Gorav and Marcus, even her Grappa Krygor doted on her. She also had William, Romero, and Brandon jumping through hoops. Well, ok, who was I kidding? I was a sucker for her too.
Despite only being one-quarter Braxian, my children’s heritage shone through their prominent foreheads and flat, broad noses. Nevertheless, my own genetic contribution was quite visible with their features being softer, less pronounced than Anton’s. I didn’t know how the rest of the world saw my children, but I didn’t care. They were the most beautiful things in the world to their father and me. I couldn’t stop feasting my eyes on their little faces, on the happiness in their expressions, and their boisterous laughter.
Anton sat on the other side of Gavin. He rustled our son’s hair, as black as his.
“Who’s that you’re drawing, little man?” Anton asked.
“That’s Zhara,” Gavin said, his voice strangely wistful.
“Who is Zhara?” I asked, confused by the strange looking girl in the drawing.
