Page 21 of A Winter Romance
Aryn looked at Mila, worried that the mention of the city might disturb her, but if it did, he couldn’t tell. “Yes. My whole life. This is my first time leaving.”
“And you got lost!” Mila said. “Oh dear, well lucky Sero found you, then. It’s horrible being lost.”
“What do you do in Bordertown?” Rhorton asked.
“I’m a perfume alchemist. My family owns Greweth Perfumeries.”
“Oh…,” Rhorton said. “What does a perfume alchemist do?”
His palms sweat. “Well, I design perfumes. The scents have been extracted from plants and whatnot. Then I mix those to create a new scent. A new perfume.”
“I’ve never met someone who made perfumes before.” Rhorton laughed.
Suddenly the girls were back. One of them climbed onto Sero.
“Sero, come show us how to bake the Solstice loaves!” Ila, he thought her name was, pleaded.
“Tomorrow. I just got back,” Sero said.
“But you promised!”
“I know, and I promise we’ll bake them tomorrow.”
“He just got back, darling,” Mila said. “He’s probably very tired.” She gave Aryn a wink.
Aryn didn’t know how to respond to that.
Ila pouted. Her shoulders slumped, and she stomped from the room, her sister following.
“They’ve missed you whilst you were away,” Mila said. “They’ve been going on and on about how you promised to show them how to make the Solstice loaves. They’ll pester you about it until you show them.”
“Well, they were trying to get me to show them as I was leaving. I figured promising to show them when I got back would be easiest.”
“Do you want kids, Aryn?” Mila asked, her eyes zeroing in on Aryn.
“Mother!”
“I’m just curious.”
“Well… I’ve never been interested in women, so…,” Aryn stammered.
“You could adopt. Sero wants to adopt. He wants lots of children. Always has! Ever since he was a youngling. He’d always tell me how he wanted at least ten. Remember, darling?” She looked over at Sero, who did not look too pleased with his mother.
Aryn tried not to laugh.
“What? It’s true!” She patted her son on the knee. “I’m sure Aryn wants to know all about you and the dreams of your heart.” Mila turned towards Aryn, looking at him expectantly. “Isn’t that right?”
Aryn opened his mouth. “Um…”
“Well, we should get going.” Sero stood. “Aryn will want to rest.”
“Of course,” Rhorton said. “We wouldn’t want to keep you. We look forward to seeing you again, Aryn.”
They walked towards the front door. There, Mila and Rhorton each hugged Sero. Again! That was twice in one day! Then, to Aryn’s shock, Mila stepped forward and hugged him. Then she stepped back, and Rhorton hugged him. He stood there, numb and shocked, uncertain how to respond to such an act of affection.
“We’ll be seeing you very soon,” Mila called. “And you can come by for dinner if you are hungry. Several people from the town usually stop by for a bite to eat and drink.”
“We’ll see,” Sero said. “We might be too tired.” Sero walked off, and Aryn followed behind.
