Page 21 of Valley of the Shadow
“Teenagers are complicated,” Giovanni said. “They get to a certain age and they think they’re allowed to have an opinion on everything.”
A low grumble of agreement around the room.
Matt said, “It’s already starting with Carina, and she’s not even ten.”
“Really?” Baojia said.
Carwyn looked at Giovanni. “Do you remember Caspar at that age?”
Giovanni muttered something that sounded like a curse in Italian. “If I could have legally sent that boy away from the age of fourteen to twenty, I would have done it.”
“That’s surprising,” Baojia said.
“Not really.” Gustavo entered the room. “You’re talking about teenagers?”
“Yes.”
“Counting nieces, nephews, and all the ones that came after, I’ve had twenty-seven on the ranch.”
Giovanni winced.
“Trust me,” Gus said. “If there are any big family changes, it’s better to do them when the children are young. Much easier to distract. You and Natalie are doing the right thing.”
“I am so glad I don’t have any children,” Lucien said quietly.
“I was just thinking the same thing,” Carwyn said.
“Hey!” Gus look at Carwyn with a grin. “What am I? Chopped liver?”
“I got you when you were a grown man,” Carwyn said. “I find that’s the ideal time to adopt children.”
Baojia felt some of his nerves settle, but it was still hard to see a bright side through the tangle of the unknown. He’d been with Natalie for eight years. He knew who human Natalie was. He had studied her. He had made himself an expert.
He knew what made her happy and what made her sad. He knew what sounds she loved and what scents she hated. He knew what food she craved and what drinks made her tipsy. He knew exactly where to touch her when he wanted to make her gasp.
The Natalie that was coming, he knew nothing about. What would she be? Who would she be? Would she be as caring a mother? As nurturing? Would she see him in the same light?
Would she love him? Would she love their family?
He sat next to Lucien and stared at the fire in the stone hearth. “Change is difficult.”
“But it’s necessary.” He put a hand on Baojia’s shoulder. “I have faith in both of you. You will make it through this. And when you do, you will find a connection that is even more than what you have now. A connection that is eternal.”
He nodded. What could he do? Nothing. The only thing that was sure to cure his wife was immortality. And the only thing more frightening than Natalie changing was a world where she didn’t exist.
Dez eyedthe needle with trepidation. “Should I?”
Beatrice, Brigid, and Natalie all cheered her on. “Yes!”
“Absolutely.”
“Do it. Do it. Do it.” The chant was from Natalie.
Dez was sitting in the kitchen of the small house in the countryside, staring at the beautiful work on Natalie’s shoulder. “It’s really beautiful.”
The man working in the small kitchen in the modest house was a true artist. He’d shown them page after page of photographs in several albums that convinced Natalie she was putting her eternal skin into good hands. She’d chosen something simple, and she loved it.
Now Dez was feeling the urge.
