Page 28 of House of Kallan
He grinned and shook his head. “I mean, I do the gardening to some extent. I designed this on paper and then had our earthy friends move the ground around until it matched what I envisioned. Then I cheated a little more and asked our earthy fae friends to make my vision come to life. Maintenance can be a bit overwhelming, so I have a gardener come in every otherweek to help me, so all I have to do is putter around where I want to.”
“It’s truly breathtaking, Aden.”
He smiled. “Can I show you something?”
I nodded and he pulled me a little quicker down the path. “It’s crushed shells,” he said, pointing to the path. “They’re from the shell beaches.” I didn’t get a chance to ask further questions as Aden pushed aside long, willowy fronds and we stepped into a magical world within the backyard.
The tree towered over us, offering us cover with its long branches and leaves. Hidden within was a beautiful pool of water with lily pads and water flowers.
“It smells so good in here,” I said.
He nodded. “I tried to make it look like the little lagoon or whatever inThe Little Mermaidwhen Eric takes Ariel in the boat.”
“I can definitely see the resemblance. It’s stunning.”
Aden let my hand go and moved further along the bank toward the trunk of the tree. There was a little nook there with cushions and pillows. Blankets and a canopy overhead, probably for when it rains. I caught up and stood beside him.
“This is my favorite place out here. It’s peaceful and complicated so it can definitely be considered an adult’s playground, but there’s also whimsy and wonder and sometimes, I can escape to a childhood I didn’t have,” he said quietly.
There was a darkness in his past that he often touched upon without actually talking about it. I thought it was probably darker than what I initially guessed it might be.
I touched his hand, and he gripped my fingers in his. “It’s beautiful,” I said quietly.
Aden looked at me. For a minute, he just stared into my eyes. Then he sighed quietly. “I’m really happy Toby found you, Tatum. We’ve been waiting for a wife for a long time. I think they were always waiting for a wife and got me instead.”
“I don’t think they’ve ever been the least bit upset about that,” I said.
He smiled a little and shook his head. “No. They aren’t. I know that. I’m still glad you’re here. Even though I don’t feel things the way monsters do, I always knew we needed you to complete our family. Even if it takes a while for me to truly connect with you, I can still feel that you’re exactly right.”
I squeezed his hand and he returned the gesture. “Me too,” I said. “I’m really glad Toby found me too.”
Tobiael
When you can see souls,sometimes you forget to look at the person. Once again, when Tatum was here in our home, I nearly forgot to look at her. Her soul was just so bright and beautiful. She was breathtaking, and that was even before seeingher.
Tatum was tall. Probably six feet. She was lean with long, thick, purple hair framing mismatched eyes. One was brown and the other green. Her beauty was flawless.
I took some time the day after she visited and looked her up on The Harem Project website. All the directors were listed, so it didn’t take me long to find Dr. Tatum Almeida, M.D. I’d already known everything within her little bio except that it stated that her family was from Brazil. While she wasn’t born there, they visited family that was still there often.
I found this fascinating, which really wasn’t all that surprising. I loved the ancient past. When we were kids and Lazarus’s family took a trip to the Dominican to visit his family, I experienced my very first deep dive down a rabbit hole as I not only researched his family but also the Dominican in general.
History was fun, but I found that the lost history was my favorite. Myths and stories from generations pastthat no one could really find anymore. Finding treasure was fun. No mistaking that. But when you found a city to a lost civilization that had never before been known? That was true excitement. That was the real treasure.
So I kept myself occupied for the few days after Tatum had dinner with us by diving into the virtues of Brazil and then, furthermore, into Brazil’s long gone past. The most popular Central American civilizations were the Inca, Aztec, and Maya. But they never made it to Brazil. The ancients of Brazil were primarily nomadic, so there weren’t any great temples left behind by the two main ‘mega-groups,’ the Tupi and the Tapuia.
Honestly, I read as much as I could find for a solid three days and even half-formed an expedition proposition for the university to explore some of these places for more cultural clues of their lives.
When I picked my head up, I was once more antsy to see our wife. My husbands were moving about their business as usual, with Aden puttering around the house to keep himself busy and occupied.
But I didn’t do well in stasis. And I had zero patience. All I could think about was bringing Tatum home so we could worship her.
However, I also didn’t want to be a nuisance. My husbands were all very tolerant of me and my exuberant amount of energy, since I could be a handful. I knew that. Especially when I couldn’t have something I wanted. When I had to wait.
Right now, I wanted my wife.
A week had passed and my skin felt itchy. Honestly, I didn’t even care that it would be Aden spending a lot of time with Tatum. I just wanted her here. Where I could see her and knew she was mine.
At least we’d all graduated to texting with her throughout the day. Even that I had to curb my enthusiasm because I’d have just rambled through text until Hadrian took my phone away forbothering her. Since I thought I’d go mad without my phone, I had to physically lock it away in my room, so I’d let it be.
