Chapter 7 #2
“How do you normally handle introductions?” I asked.
He grinned, grabbed me around my waist, and started to lead me in a dance.
I almost protested until I realized he was playing with me. Then I started laughing.
“Tolai!” Veeshen chided. “You are being rude.”
I doubled over in laughter as he released me. “No, no. I understood he was having a bit of fun.”
I glanced up to see Eashai’s expression, which seemed to be half-amusement and half-annoyance.
I wonder why he’s annoyed? Is his son known for pranks?
Veeshen let out a long sigh and turned to me.
“We have two forms of our greeting, the contemporary and the traditional.” He held his right hand up, perpendicular to his face and following the line of his nose.
It reminded me of children in prayer, only with one hand.
He then inclined his head in a single nod.
“That was the traditional,” he stated. “However, it has fallen out of favor over time, and now is most commonly used when meeting dignitaries. The contemporary version only uses the head, not the hand.”
“Like this?” I asked, standing tall and giving him a single nod.
He smiled. “Precisely.”
“Simple, but effective.”
He laughed. “I have encountered a handful of species with complex greeting rituals. It makes me glad for ours.”
“Do you meet other species for your work?” I asked, falling beside the group as they started walking.
“Infrequently, yes. But I traveled extensively prior to meeting Tolai.”
I laughed. “Humans tend to do that too, the ones who can afford it anyway.”
“Did you travel in your youth?”
“A bit, mostly around the US. It’s only in the past few years that I’ve been able to afford to go overseas.”
“It is costly to travel?” he asked.
I nodded. “It depends. But it can be.”
“That is unfortunate. Experiencing the diversity of life and culture is beneficial to expanding a person’s understanding of the universe.”
“I agree,” I sighed. “But capitalism requires payment.”
“If I may ask,” Eashai interrupted. “Why did you choose to meet here? It was my understanding that you would join us for dinner.”
Veeshen chuckled. “Tolai has news and has decided that dinner is too long to wait.”
Eashai stopped walking and turned to face them. “What is this news?”
Tolai grinned and bounced on the balls of his feet. “It was just confirmed. Veeshen is pregnant. He will be bapi to another child.”
Eashai’s eyes welled with tears, and he clutched his grandson tightly as he turned to face his son’s mate. “It is true? Another grandchild?”
Veeshen sniffled. “It is. I had ignored symptoms, not wanting to hope. But we visited a doctor this morning. Not only am I pregnant, but I was told I am far enough along to feel safe announcing.”
Eashai adjusted Nadug in his arms, then pulled Veeshen into an embrace. Tears of joy streamed down his face.
“Congratulations,” he cried as Tolai closed the distance to embrace his family.
∞∞∞
“Een, Een,” Naduq cried, arms outstretched as he toddled over to where I sat in Eashai’s equivalent of a living room.
I reached down, picked him up, settled him on my lap, then booped his nose. “Hey, kiddo. Whatcha doin’?”
He grinned and babbled in his mix of toddler-speak and Lalyllte.
I did my best to smile, nod, and respond as seemed appropriate. Eventually, he yawned and curled against me to sleep.
“You are good with him,” Veeshen said as he walked over to take his son. “Do you have children?”
I shook my head. “No. I wanted them, but…” I sighed. “It’s complicated, and now I’m getting too old. I refuse to be the creepy man going after women a decade younger just to have kids.”
“How old are you?” Tolai asked.
“I recently turned forty-one.”
“That is all?” he asked after a moment of what I assumed was converting human years to something he knew.
“How old are you?” I retorted.
He grinned. “I would be forty-three of your years.”
“I am the same age as you,” Veeshen stated.
I shook my head. “You both look so young. I wouldn’t have guessed that either of you was older than twenty-five.”
Tolai burst into laughter. “That is so young! Barely of age.”
“Hush, Tolai,” Veeshen chided. “You will wake him.”
Something about Tolai’s words stuck in my head, then I remembered. Eashai had told me he’d lost his mate soon after their son had come of age.
I did some quick math, then my heart ached for him. I turned and met his gaze.
He smiled sadly and nodded.
Tolai noticed as well. “Bapo…”
Eashai shook his head. “I am alright.”
“Tolai,” Veeshen started, “it is getting late and we should return home soon. I suggest you show your bapo which sleeping outfit we picked for Naduq so that he may change him before we leave.”
Tolai blinked at his mate, then nodded. “Bapo?”
Eashai nodded and followed his son out of the room.
Veeshen knelt on the floor and started collecting toys that Naduq had scattered throughout the evening. “You are a good friend to Eashai,” he stated.
“What do you mean?”
He sat back on his heels, contemplating his words.
“I never met his mate. He had passed long before Tolai and I mated. But the loss hung heavy over him. For many years, Eashai forced himself to smile through the pain. This mission gave him renewed purpose. Tolai and I believed that being able to focus on something so critical to our species had given him the outlet he needed. Still, there was sadness in his eyes.”
He resumed collecting toys. “That has changed since he met you. We first saw it in visual communications. His smile was sincere. We thought… perhaps it was being in a place that held no memory. But I see now, it is your doing, your presence.”
I shook my head. “I’m nothing that special.”
He glanced up at me. “It is not a matter of being special. It is that you are the right one to ease his mind.” He shifted to sit on the floor.
“We mate for life on the basis of a single meeting. We know that the other person is the one we are meant to love. I believe that the same can be true of friendships. It may have been a chance meeting—I am not aware of all the particulars about his work—but the bond between you is strong.”
“I’m just me.”
He smiled. “And that is enough.”
I slid from the chair and onto the floor to help him pick up toys. “You really think I helped him that much?”
“I know so.”
I sighed and leaned back against the chair. “I wonder if that’s a good or a bad thing. I don’t know how we’ll be able to stay in contact once my term is up. They’re keeping everything so secretive.”
“Please explain.”
I sighed. “Everything on our side is being handled by the government, and they’ve turned it over to the military.
We’re being housed on a secret base. But I’m not part of the military.
I’m a college professor and researcher on summer break.
I have classes to teach in the fall, and students doing research under my guidance.
I only agreed to work with them for a short time. ”
“If you value the friendship as much as you seem, then I trust you will find the means.”
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way…” I mused.
“What was that?”
“A human saying. It means that if you’re determined enough, you’ll find a way to make it happen.” I met his gaze, and he smiled.
“I believe you have that will.” He picked up the last of the toys and sorted them into what appeared to be a bin that Eashai kept, and a bag they’d brought with them.
The sound of footsteps. I turned to see Eashai and Tolai returning, a sleeping Naduq nestled against Eashai’s shoulder.
Veeshen stood and brushed off his loose linen-type pants. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Gene,” he said, then he turned to Eashai. “Thank you for dinner. It was as delicious as usual.”
Eashai walked over with a smile and embraced him. He said something in their language, but I could tell by his tone that he was once again congratulating the other man on his pregnancy.
The family spent a moment conversing among themselves, then Veeshen and Tolai turned to me.
“It is my hope that we will meet again,” Veeshen said.
Tolai grinned. “Yes, you must visit again.”
I stood from where I still sat on the floor and walked over. I inclined my head to each of them. “It has been my honor.”
Tolai laughed and pulled me into a hug. “We are friends. There is no need for formality.”
I smiled. “Friends.”
Veeshen closed in for a hug, and I congratulated him on his pregnancy. Then the small family left.
I turned to face Eashai as the door closed behind them. He wore a soft smile that told me more than words ever could, exactly how much his family meant to him.
He turned to me, still wearing the smile. “I should show you to your room. We have an early day tomorrow.”
I nodded. “Ok.”
What would it take for him to always smile like that?