The minister was beaming, and Kevin could see all four of the grandparents in the front pew with smiles equally wide. The feeling of caring and family felt like a warm jacket wrapped around Kevin. One that offered both protection and comfort on this very important day.
The twins are being christened today. And the whole town had come together to celebrate. Kevin could feel the nervous shifting of the couple that stood next to him. They were the godparents chosen for the twins, and the seriousness of their commitment was making them a bit nervous. The young woman was the manager of the second of Kevin’s service stations. He supposed that he should start thinking of them as travel plazas since he had expanded them into four larger facilities and with extensive services for travelers.
He and Susan had been very pleased with Marion’s work and had become friendly with her and her husband, Jacob. When Susan had first proposed that the young couple be asked to be the twins’ godparents, Kevin was surprised. A second thought made him realize that once again Susan had cut to the core of the matter and found a good solution.
The ceremony was simple and reverent. Both babies watched calmly and playfully waived arms and legs as the minister baptized them and performed the ancient christening ceremony.
Kevin had truly hoped that Keith would come. The young father been unable to get a commitment from his brother and was saddened that he would not be part of their celebration. He thought that there was no chance that his brother would be there so when he looked up and saw his sibling’s familiar form standing at the back of the church, his surprise was so great that Susan glanced at him in concern.
Nodding his head toward the back of the church, Kevin saw Susan’s eyes track to his brother. He heard her murmuring comment of, “Good! I had hoped he would come.”
Smiling in appreciation of his good luck in finding a wife that matched him so well, Kevin slipped back into the remainder of the service.
When the ceremony was over, Susan and Kevin carried the twins over to their grandparents. Both babies were still calm and happy, delighting in the cooing, baby-talking obsessive behavior of first-time grandparents.
Muttering in a low voice to his wife, Kevin said, “If we are not careful, these two are going to be the most spoiled children in the entire state.”
She responded, “Nope. In the entire country.”
Kevin laughed and told her that he was going to go greet his brother.
Walking back through the church, Kevin was delayed long enough to get congratulations from many of his friends and family. Once again, cousins and aunts and uncles had shown up for a church ceremony that was a celebration rather than morning. He was warmed by their good wishes but as he got closer to his brother he became worried.
Keith looked very tired, almost desperately so. He also looked lost and sad. This was not an expression that Kevin was used to seeing on his brother’s face. Keith was always upbeat. Talking about girlfriends, the exciting life in New York City, the impressive activities at the stockbrokers that he worked at. The look on his twin's face was something Kevin had never seen there before, and he speeded up to reach his brother side.
“Keith! I am so pleased that you could make it. I hope the drive wasn’t too bad.”
“No, it wasn’t too bad. I’m sorry that I didn’t get here for the beginning of the service. It just took longer than I thought it would.”
“It is just great that you could come. I know how busy you are and I appreciate the time that you can split out for us. I still miss my twin, you know. Even if we are grown, it feels like part of me is missing when you’re not here.”
Keith just stared at his brother. Kevin’s concern ratcheted up a notch when he saw the darkness of emotion in his brother’s eyes.
“Brother, what is the matter? What’s wrong?”
Keith closed his eyes momentarily, and an expression of pain flashed over his face. When he opened his eyes, they were dead and lifeless. It matched his tone of voice when he told his brother, “I lost my job. And I don’t know who I am now. I thought I was doing everything right and it’s all broken. Kev, what do I do now?”
<<<>>>
A small meal had been planned for after the christening. It was only the godparents and grandparents, plus Susan and Kevin, and Skip Harrington. The retired former owner of the initial service station had become somewhat of a surrogate grandfather to Kevin and was as proud of the young twins as Kevin knew his own grandfather would have been.
When a few murmured words to Susan had communicated a general description of the situation, she had handed off the twin she was holding her husband and gone over immediately to Keith. “Keith, I hope you will join us for a small family celebration at the restaurant. It won’t be really onerous, and then you and Kevin can have some time to talk. You are welcome to stay with us if you don’t want to stay with your parents.”
Keith gave a smile masquerading as a grimace and responded to her warm tone, “If it’s not too much trouble, I would like that very much.”
“Great! Let me get the babies organized and send them off with our neighbor. She’s going to watch them while we eat so I can actually get food while it’s warm.”
Keith watch Susan walked back toward her husband. A myriad of emotions flashed over his face, but he didn’t give a voice to his thoughts. He just stood there and waited.
Susan quickly rejoined the group around the babies. She stretched up on tippy toes and kissed her husband’s chin and smoothly transferred their squirming son to her arms. Efficiently, she sent people off to make their way to the restaurant. Handing the twins off to their neighbor Rachel, the young mother told her in-laws, “Keith is here and is going to join us for the meal.”
When her father-in-law stood up to go greet his favorite son, Susan put a delaying hand on his arm, “Dad, please wait. Keith has had some bad news about his job, and he is tired and upset. He wants to just have a meal with us and then when everybody but family has gone he’ll probably tell you all about it. But until then, I think it would be very kind not to push him. Give them some time just to be with family.”
Philip looked shocked and then stunned. He looked for corroboration from Kevin, and when Kevin gave a small nod, the older man’s shoulders slumped, and he seemed to age in just a few seconds. Kelly patted her husband’s hand, turning her gaze to her other son. “Kevin, did he lose his job?”
“That is what he said, Mom.”
“I was afraid that might happen someday. I’m not sure he knows how to define himself without his job. My poor boy.”
Once again, Kelly held her husband’s arm comfortingly. After all of the decades that they had been married, she was well aware that it would not just be Keith that would be destroyed by the job loss. Her husband would mourn also.”
The figure of Skip Harrington came back into the church, limping directly toward Kevin in a determined manner. Kevin took a couple of steps toward him, saying, “We will be along shortly, Mr. Harrington.”
The old man responded, “I know that. But I was uncomfortable about doing this in front of everybody, so I thought I would give it to you and Susan now.”
The old man leaned on his cane and extended a slightly shaking hand toward Kevin offering what appeared to be two envelopes. Kevin took them, staring down at them in confusion. Each envelope held one of the babies’ names. He looked at his former boss in confusion and said, “I don’t understand. What are these?”
“I set up a college fund for each of the babies. If they don’t want to go to college, they will have enough money for a house and business. I know that your grandpa would’ve done that if he was still alive. You and Susan have let me step in as a family member when I thought I had lost all opportunity to have a family. So just regarded this as a gift from their great-grandpa.” As Kevin, Susan and Kevin’s parents stared at him in amazement, the surrogate great-grandfather turned and marched out of the church.
With shaking hands, Kevin opened one of the envelopes. His eyes got big, a
nd he looked up quickly at Susan. Her eyes got wide when he told her that the old man had set up trust funds for each of the children with a quarter-million-dollar investment. Each.
<<<>>>
Everything was quiet, and everyone was tucked into bed. The twins were sound asleep cuddled up in the same bed and content in each other’s presence. Keith had decided to stay at his parent's house for the night.
While the meal had been pleasant, the underlying sadness and strain had encouraged the diners to keep the celebration short, and it had quickly broken up.
Kevin had invited his twin and his parents back to their house for additional discussion. That had not been terribly pleasant. Philip had wanted to rail against something, anything, that would prevent his son from being a failure. Keith had been so depressed that he couldn’t even talk to his father.
Kevin hoped that after some rest and cosseting by his mother that his twin would recover some of his equilibrium. The shock of the job loss and the radical change in circumstance was obviously throwing his brother for a loop. Only time would tell how that would all work out.
One of the nice things about the master bedroom in their lovingly renovated house was the bedroom fireplace. Kevin had lit a fire in the fireplace and placed a bottle of wine next to the bed. When Susan came back into the room after checking the babies, he offered her a glass of wine and drew her close to him. They laid there in silence, content and happy in each other’s arms.
Kevin stared blindly toward the fireplace, thinking about his life. Noticing the floor, he smiled in reminiscence, thinking about how long it had taken him to refinish it and how much he wanted to skip corners. He had stayed the course of his decision and made sure to have every one of those seven coats on that floor.
Staring at the fire, he had a visual flashback of his grandfather patiently showing him how to refurbish the fireplace mortar joint by mortar joint. That project had taken him months. But it was done, and it was done well.
The loving care and goodwill that had gone into the house had created a place of nurturing and a place to have joy. It had been the perfect place to bring his new bride and was equally suited to raising their much-loved children.
With a dawning sense of wonder, Kevin realized that he was happy. It’d been years since he had felt like the failure child, the one that didn’t go to college. The new skills he had gained during his life from the experience of running a business and learning things that he wanted to learn had helped to find himself as a man, one with a man’s responsibilities.
It was strange how things turned out. Kevin thought that he was a disappointment to his parents into himself until he found that choosing the things that speak to your soul is never a failure.
Contributing Authors
It is far more enjoyable to read stories when you have some idea of who is behind the story. That knowledge adds an extra dimension to any readers enjoyment. Rather than us creating that introduction, each of the authors was asked to create an introduction of themselves so that you can get to know them a little bit better. We also asked them to identify the books and stories that they think you might enjoy.
It is our fond hope that you will find the authors interesting, the books and stories intriguing, and the whole experience worthwhile.
Author Introduction – Ginny Clyde
I am an Electrical engineer by profession and worked in the renewable energy sector. I started writing with fanfiction in my spare time and after a whole year; decided to start working on an original series with my own characters.
I have spent a considerable amount time in Scotland which led me to develop a love for folklore, dark faerie tales and an interest in Celtic mythology and paganism. My stories portray this love affair with the supernatural.
Although, work and tight deadlines often have me drinking coffee, I am a tea-lover at heart and spend my free time concocting floral blends. Needless to say that I enjoy my afternoon tea with all the accompaniments of finger sandwiches, cakes and good company.
The Rose Chronicles
A Gothic paranormal fantasy
Book I: Graveyard Rose
Book II: Blood Red Rose
Book III: Immortal Rose
Lady Erica of Szerdoben
Short Stories
Astray
Others
Cupid's Bow
Author Introduction – Taki Drake
The mixture of technology and magic is where my mind and heart live. In today's world, it mixes engineering and creativity. In the worlds of my mind, technology and magic live intertwined. I hope that you will find my stories interesting enough to be frequent visitors to where my heart beats.
I am continuing to write my stories of intertwined technology and magic. The challenges of that are fertile grounds for many story lines and series. Several of those planned for the next few months have been listed below. I am happily writing each of them, discovering new worlds, new situations and new challenges. The wonder for me is the number of readers that are enjoying my visions and tales.
Enjoy the stories in the emerging genre of techmage!
Please feel free to contact me via email at [email protected] or visit my blog or my Amazon page.
Unfettered Mage
We Are Not Prey
Fleet of the Mage - September 2017
Spatial Delivery - Late 2017
BattleMage Investigates
An Attitude Adjustment
Frozen Hands - October 2017
Maritime Madness - TBD
Badger Hole Bar
Thru the Badger Hole - Sept 2017
The Remembrance Wall - Sept 2017
Grand Opening - Sept 2017
Passage Beyond - October 2017
Becoming Sephera
A Learning Experience
You Just Go On - Oct 2017
Life Rebuilt - Dec 2017
New Paths - TBD
Standard of Honor
In the World of the Federal Witch
Shade of Honor
Coven Codex -October 2017
A Confluence of Covens -TBD
Familiar Shadows
Familiar Trials - Fledgling
Familiar Trials - Expert - Oct 2017
Familiar Trials - Master - Dec 2017
Familiar Trials - Adept - January 2018
Cookbooks
The Badger Hole Bar Food Cookbook
Fergus Favorites Cookbook
Marcella's Garden Cookbook
Marcella’s Summer Bounty Cookbook
Marcella’s Autumn Harvest - October 2017
Tasting Sampler
A Food Palate - Holiday Heartwarmers
Anthologies
The Expanding Universe: An Exploration of the Science Fiction Genre
The Tide: The Multiverse Wave
Inanna's Circle: Flight of Imagination - Thru the Darkness
Holiday Heartwarmers: An Anthology of Short Stories
Inanna's Circle: The Game Begins
Mysterious Hearts
Journal with a View
Journal with a View II - Oct 2017
CyberWar: Digital Battlefield
CyberWar: Byte Conflict - October 2017
Prime Fantasy
Author Introduction – Cara Haslwanter
A world traveler, Cara has recently settled in the Queen City area of North Carolina. An avid reader, Cara enjoys reading Peter Strain, Stephen King, and the short stories of Shirley Jackson. She likes any movie with Mark Wahlburg. A brand new writer, Cara hopes her stories help her create a career out of suffocating shivers, provocative power plays, and delicious delves into the dark side of human emotions.
Author Introduction – Ryland Thorn
Ryland Thorn is a bookworm and movie nerd who lives in the spectacular Nelson-Tasman region of New Zealand. He loves building worlds of magic and danger where one person can be a hero and make a real difference, whether they are combating monsters or demons or mysterious forces, or just other people.
A born creator at heart, he’s more than happy to team up with other authors, and is looking forward to doing so again in the future.
You can email me at [email protected] or contact me via twitter: https://twitter.com/RylandThorn.
I also have a blog ( http://rylandthorn.com) where you can check out snippets and news from upcoming stories, which right now tend to be in one main series: The Fae-Born Narratives. Check out the links below, and do feel free to let me know how you like it!
Fae-Born Narratives
Slave
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06W9FDTD7
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06W9FDTD7
Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B06W9FDTD7
Wyvern
US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06WRPDZYL/
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06WRPDZYL/
Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B06WRPDZYL/
Nerve
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XC8WLR8
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XC8WLR8
Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B06XC8WLR8
Blood
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XKQV1CR
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XKQV1CR
Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B06XKQV1CR
Keep Connected
There are many ways to keep connected in today’s social media world. If you have specific questions and would like to email the editor of this anthology, you can reach Kat Lind at [email protected]. If you would like to learn more about our Phoenix Prime authors, please visit us at https://allchaospress.blogspot.com/p/phoenix-prime.html
Additionally, the Phoenix Prime group has built a community website where more information can be found concerning their activities and upcoming books. Please feel free to catchup on things there! http://pprcollective.com.
Thanks for joining us for this brief time.
Cheerfully, Kat
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