Page 25 of Tail, Dark and Handsome: Celestial Mates
Winter sat in the unoccupied chair to Mari’s left. “Fun shower? I do not wish to know.”
“A play on my darling little flower’s name. Sunshowers in the Marigold Field. Isn’t that the best name you ever heard? It came to me when I was meditating. She was such a difficult pregnancy, always pressing on my bladder. Hmm, you look familiar.”
“I have that face,” Winter replied in a bored tone, like his appearance was so bland as to blend into crowds. Mari disagreed, finding his strong nose and profile to be striking. A nose like that refused to blend.
“Indeed,” Valerian agreed. “Have I told you about the time my Marigold snuck into my makeup box and smeared it all over her face? Adorable, but of course I haven’t told you. We just met.”
“Mother,” Mari hissed. “Give them a minute to look at the menu before you whip out the baby photos.”
“I didn’t bring them with me. Should I have packed them?” Her lips quirked at the corners. She turned to Zero. “And no, dear, I don’t believe that’s weird. I think it’s a marvelous way to let auras mingle. You can’t really know a person until you’ve felt their aura, I always say. Yours is lovely, by the way. High energy but not frantic.”
Zero’s eyes went wide. The waiter arrived, bringing drinks and a basket of bread. Valerian stirred a sweetener into her cold beverage. She continued, “And Zero is such an unusual name. Does it have a special meaning for you? I already told you about my Marigold. She arrived too serious. I wanted her to have a name that inspired her to blossom, to open herself to the universe.”
“I like the mathematical concept. It’s nothing but also something, or the absence but it still counts. Ha. Get it?” His ears flicked, then pressed down when no one laughed at the joke. “I just think it’s interesting.”
“Fascinating,” Valerian said.
“It’s not a comment on my self-esteem,” Zero added.
Valerian went on about how she knew that from Zero’s aura. Mari couldn’t tell if he was genuinely interested or too polite to stop her. Winter made various noises of discontent.
Genuinely interested, she decided. Zero seemed like sunshine compared to his grumpy father.
“I apologize. I had no intention of intruding on your meal,” he said.
“No worries. I think my mother is bored of only talking to me,” Mari replied.
Winter watched Zero and Valerian for a moment. The lenses gave his eyes a dark, flat appearance. She understood why he had to wear them, but regretted not seeing his icy blue eyes. They were interesting, like his nose. Strong, almost alarming in their intensity, but they suited his face.
“He likes you,” Winter said.
“I like him,” she replied, because it was true. His endearing awkwardness charmed her, especially how his mouth blurted out his thoughts before his brain could process them.
“Sunshower?”
“And that’s why I go by Mari. My brother has it worse.”
“And his name is Wandering Through an Asteroid Belt?”
She huffed at the sarcasm. “Joseph,” she said and pulled an exaggerated face. “Can you even imagine? Our entire lives it’s been, ‘Why is Marigold such a creative name and you’re plain oldJoseph?’ Poor Joe.”
Winter’s ears twitched to the side, as if listening for something behind him. “Human names are so strange.”
Mari chortled. Joseph’s lackluster name came down to the fact that Valerian did a star chart for the unborn Joseph and realized he would be a capricious child. He needed a serious name to ground him, much like she claimed Marigold needed a lighthearted name to help her blossom.
Mothers.
“Tell me, are you on holiday?” Valerian asked as their meals arrived.
“Research,” Winter said.
“Dad has bots. They’re okay, I guess. I’m interested in the temple ruins. Did you know that we know nothing about who built the temple? And it’s not like, you know, only stones. Neolithic? It’s brick and mortar, which requires architecture, and it predates colonization,” Zero added. “I suppose you’re on holiday. Everyone seems to be on holiday here.”
“Yes,” Mari said quickly, because she did not want her mother to speak the words that immediately came out of her mouth.
“Marigold’s on her honeymoon,” Valerian announced proudly.
Mari kicked Valerian’s foot under the table. She wasn’t subtle, and she gave zero fucks.
