by Bella Knight
“Very vigorous,” said Pavel. “They run like the wind. The adoptive mother in the family loves to run every day, so the dog will get much exercise.”
Ivy grinned. “Our Daisy now has four kids and two adults to look after,” she said, pointing to the dog at her feet. “She doesn’t know who to take care of.”
“Me,” said Callie. “I can’t see. I can’t type. My hands have cramps. I literally close my eyes and see computer screens.”
Pavel stood up, grabbed a stool, came over, and sat down in front of Callie.
He took her left hand and started massaging it. “Ohmigod,” said Callie. “You can stop that… never.”
Bao squeaked with excitement. “I am next.” Keiran grabbed another stool, and went over to her. “Mmmm,” she said.
“Hey,” said Chayton. “I work on computers all day, too.”
“Show me how to do that,” said Nantan. He crouched down next to Pavel, who explained the rubbing and stretching as Callie moaned in pleasure. He went back and rubbed Chayton’s hands.
Across the room, David put his arm around Henry. “Our Nantan is in love,” he said.
“Did you just notice this?” asked Henry.
“The early snowstorm,” said David.
“Always a good time to fall in love,” said Henry.
“We did,” said David. “You could not travel back, and I had food, water, and shelter in my cabin.”
“And that ridiculous bed.”
David made a hurt-feelings noise. “I built it for you,” he said. “It had to be big enough for you.”
Henry patted his hand. “You didn’t mean for it to collapse on the floor.”
David snorted laughter, and snagged another samosa. “I still have bruises from falling on the floor.”
Henry laughed at David with his eyes. “Sleeping on a tilted bed was strange.”
“You broke off the bottom!” said David.
“Then it was level,” said Henry. “Then we could sleep.”
David laughed. “We didn’t sleep.” He kissed Henry’s temple.
Alo walked by, made himself a chicken masala, lentil stew, and naan bread plate, and said, “Get a room.”
Both men burst out laughing. “This one is obnoxious,” said Henry.
“This one is hungry,” said Alo, stuffing naan bread wrapped around chicken masala in his mouth. He snagged a soda, and sauntered off.
After what was essentially a late lunch, not a dinner, little kids raced outside, rode ponies under Jeffrey’s watchful eye, and a soccer game erupted where Nantan and Chayton had put up the goals and painted out the lines the week before in the side yard. The game was fierce and ongoing, with members dropping out and new ones coming in as the participants became cold, exhausted, thirsty, or hungry and tapped out. Tito and his beautiful wife stayed in the whole time, and a vicious girl/boy soccer game ensued. They ended with a tie.
They had a bonfire in the back, and everyone rotated from the kitchen, to the games set up on tables in one corner of the huge living room. Every table had a different game, from the roaring fire inside, to the beautiful fire outside. Babies were passed, burped and put down for naps, despite the rock music —Ivy was in charge of the playlist.
They popped entire kettles of popcorn, some with butter and salt and some with homemade caramel, and made chocolate and cherry sodas. They disconnected Ivy’s music, overriding her sleepy protests, and put on movies. They pulled up Netflix and agreed on the Canadian horse show Heartland, and started it from the beginning. Many moms and dads napped a bit.
The Valkyries showed up, with smoked chickens that went great with salad, Caesar dressing, and the naan bread, and the eating began again, this time is shifts. The kids made homemade peanut butter chocolate balls and double chocolate and almond cookies, and ate half of them before they left the kitchen. They made several ice cream pies drenched in caramel and chocolate, froze them, and sliced them.
“Mocha, chocolate mint, caramel crunch, strawberry banana,” said Grace, and people shouted out their orders. The Wolfpack brought them over, then consumed two pies by themselves.
Out by the bonfire, they brought out the drums and skirling pipes, and David brought out his sacred drums. They chanted and sang well into the night, long after those with babies had gone home, exhausted. The card tables were folded up, the games put away. Furniture was pushed against the walls. Every spare bed and couch was taken. Sleeping bags were rolled out, and bodies were everywhere. The drummers drummed, and they all sang and danced well into the night.
Later in the night, Rota said, “I am sorry for your day of mourning.”
“I did get your joke about the Indian food,” said Skuld.
“Damn fool Columbus thought he was in India,” said David. “They were looking for their spices, but we did one better with the corn and tomatoes.”
“Couldn’t have chips and salsa,” said Willow, her drum between her knees, her hair braided on one side.
David laughed. “No, that’s true,” he said.
“We have the best damn food,” said Alo.
Henry laughed. “We do.”
“And we grow half of it here!” said Alo. “My feed sales are through the roof. I’ve got the money to go to college, but I’ve had to hire other Wolfpack members to mix some of it, or I couldn’t get through my own courses.”
“Pays for the bikes,” said Ajai.
“Already paid off my truck,” said Alo. “That old white thing is amazing. Keeps going and going over the roughest roads. Just crank up the tunes, and delivery gets simple. I take boxes of Nantan’s deliveries, too. Got the farms covered.”
“Been taking the boys on the trails to make morning deliveries to the res,” said Nantan. “Their ponies don’t carry much, but they feel like they’re contributing. Their Ute is getting pretty good, too.”
“Their Sioux and Apache are excellent,” said Chayton. “I’ve started making computer games, painted ponies who talk. They love them.”
“Who’s got the boys?” asked Skuld.
“They’re right there,” said Chayton, pointing at two bodies on the other side of the picture window. “They wanted to curl up with their sleeping bags with the other kidlets. Gave up their beds.”
“Good boys,” said Vi. “Eat like horses. Run like the wind.”
“The best,” said Nantan. “I hope to get the adoption papers soon.” He sighed. “Then, we can marry, because I don’t want to put Chayton through the background check and classes and what all.”
“I already went through them,” said Chayton. “I told you I was taking classes.”
Nantan stared at him, open mouthed. “Why did you not tell me?”
“You never even asked which classes,” said Chayton. “And, I passed the background check, too. Of course.” He smiled. “I finished Tuesday.”
“Why?” asked Nantan.
Chayton reached out, and clutched his hand. “You never know if more will come and need us.”
Willow said what they were all thinking. “Why haven’t you two gotten married?”
Chayton sighed. “A year and a day.”
“Stupid,” said Skuld. “That’s for the hand-fasting.”
Skuld ran in, stepped over the sleeping bodies, went into the kitchen, did something, and came back out. The ribbons from the baby gifts —blue and pink, the ribbons holding the food —red and white, and a crimson one, too. She stood, and brought them in front of the fire. They all stood, and Alo texted the rest of the Wolfpack, playing games at the TV, with Vu in attendance. They streamed back, as Rota went in the barn for a broom. The teens came at a run, in fleece jackets and jeans. David sang a sacred song, the Valkyries sang the circle, and Skuld had them jump the broom.
Nico woke up, saw the ceremony outside, and woke up his brother. They wrapped themselves in their sleeping bags and went out onto the concrete in thick socks. Alo and Willow broke the circle long enough to retrieve them, to hold them up to see the ceremony.
Skuld wound the cord
s around their clasped hands and said the ancient words, calling on the Great Spirit that Nantan and Chayton believed in, instead of the gods. David chanted. Numa sang. Nantan and Chayton gave their vows in Sioux and Apache. Ajai translated, as Nantan and Chayton promised to love each other for a year and a day; to part if they chose to do so, to honor and love each other, the boys, the land, the farm, their friends, and family. Rota sang a haunting song, and Skuld unwound the cords and braided them.
Everyone hugged them. The boys fell asleep in their arms, and they put them back on the floor in the living room to sleep. They came back out, and David, Numa, and Henry sang sacred songs, as did the Valkyries; their beautiful voices rising up under the stars.
Nantan and Chayton found their bed inhabited by visiting revelers. Even the apartments over the sorting room were taken. So, they took their sleeping bags into the van, and Nantan rolled out the cushion he kept back there.
“I’m too old for backseat sex,” complained Chayton.
“This is a van,” said Nantan. “Made for deliveries and camping and all sorts of things.” He turned on the tiny portable heater he had brought with him. “Let’s keep warm.” They zipped their sleeping bags together, and shed their boots and jackets. Nantan took it slow, the kisses warm. “Why have we not done this before?” asked Nantan.
“I was waiting for you,” said Chayton. “You do the work of five men and two parents. I was waiting for you to drop from exhaustion.”
Nantan slowly pulled off Chayton’s soft blue shirt. “I cannot believe I was that blind.” He pulled off Chayton’s undershirt. “I cannot believe I was so stupid to wait.”
Chayton pulled off Nantan’s tan shirt, and his undershirt. “You are worth any wait.”
They fell together, kissed long and slow. Chayton kissed down Nantan’s neck, bit his ear, kissed his neck. Nantan held Chayton’s face in his hands, kissed his forehead, his eyes, his nose, his mouth. Their lips parted, and they kissed hungrily. Chayton’s chest was as flat as Nantan’s. They kissed, flicked tongues down each other’s chests. Chayton kissed his way down Nantan’s chest to his stomach, and his thighs. He helped Nantan take off his jeans, and Chayton did the same. Chayton’s penis was much smaller, but it was there. They stroked each other, and Chayton kissed the tip of Nantan’s penis, making him groan. He held Nantan’s balls in his hand, and licked him gently, then sucked, lightly at first, then harder. Nantan groaned, arched his back, and came.
Nantan groped for, then found, the wet wipes on the side of the van under the cushion. He cleaned them both up, and said, “Let’s get warm.”
They slid into the sleeping bags, and got so hot and sweaty that they turned off the little heater. Just before falling asleep, Nantan reached a hand out of the joint sleeping bag and turned the heater back on. He wasn’t stupid.
In the morning, they dressed and cooked breakfast for everyone. Vi tried to cook, but she was shooed away to sit and relax. Nantan had the pancakes and waffles, and Chayton had the home fries, bacon, and sausages going. Willow made an egg and cheese soufflé, Ajai poured carafes of orange juice and warming canteens full of hot coffee. Alo emptied the dishwasher, and the boys set the table. David and Henry ate first, then took over cooking. Everyone ate in shifts, and the Valkyries headed to the store to replace the empty larders.
Jeffrey and Willow took over Inola’s chores so she, and Bella, and Ryder could sleep in. Chayton brought them up a breakfast tray so they could have time alone together. With the chores done, the breakfast was cleaned up super-fast by willing hands. Then, some went on trail rides or hiking; Rota leading the hikers on a challenging path, wearing them out.
The rest of them laid around on chairs, the floor, anywhere. The card tables came out, and the Valkyries found they excelled at the board game Splendor. They watched action movies, the Valkyries acting out scenes they liked, and rolling on the floor laughing when the scenes were poorly plotted out. Lunch were trays of sandwiches the Valkyries retrieved for them, along with massive amounts of juices, flavored waters, and sodas. The teens found they couldn’t out-eat hungry Valkyries.
After lunch, the Valkyries sparred. The teens learned new moves. Even Nico and Tam got into it. David, Nantan, and Inola did some trick riding on horses, shooting arrows into targets. The Valkyries shot arrows at targets taped to hay bales that looked too far away to see, much less hit, but they did well.
Afterward, the lines at the showers were astonishingly long. They did indoor games, board and card games across every square surface. They roared with laughter.
They had absolutely no leftovers from the day before, so they ordered pizzas with every imaginable topping, except anchovies. They consumed towers of pizza boxes and guzzled sodas and flavored waters. The delivery guy rejoiced at coming all the way out to the farm; his tip was enough to buy Christmas presents.
The dancing and drumming lasted well into the night, once again. The Valkyries took off in the middle of the night, to celebrate in the desert. The next day as the sun rose, the Nighthawks went to Huntington Beach. They checked into hotels, shed their leathers, put on swimming suits, and took all their kids and teens surfing. Ace had Keiran and Pavel laughing in the water at his attempts to stand on the board. Lily managed to stand up just fine, and caught some big waves.
At the campsite where they grilled chicken and fish, Keiran asked Lily how she was doing. “It killed us not to come, it did,” he said. “Gregory, then my brother when he woke up said, stay put, and it wasn’t safe.”
“It wasn’t,” said Lily, “we were shot at twice.”
“So,” said Pavel, “Katya says she is having a baby for you.”
“Yes,” said Lily. “At first it killed me to hold her babies when mine was gone, but she was wonderful. And now, we’re going to have a baby!”
“Yes,” said Katya, a babbling Ivan on her lap. “I am knocked up. Tiny now, like grain of sand. Soon, fat baby.”
Pavel held the babbling Luka. He talked to the baby in Russian, and Luka tried to grab his nose. He laughed. “Is very good thing you do,” he said.
Gregory kissed Katya’s head. “She’s the best woman in the world.”
“Hey!” said Ace, holding Lily close. “My woman is the best in the world.”
“We tie,” said Katya. “We are both wonderful women. Now, give me back my little ones when they get hungry. Now, I take nap.” She arranged herself on her lounge chair, and went to sleep.
“She hasn’t eaten yet,” said Ace.
“Morning sickness,” said Gregory. “We’re back to crackers and ginger ale. She’ll be fine at one.”
“I have a little… secret,” said Lily.
Ace and Gregory stared at her. “What is it?” asked Ace, confused.
“Your wife is doing a wonderful thing for me, she really is. And, we’ve been really careful because I had such major surgery. And, Katya waited until the doctor released her because of the twins.”
Ace smiled. “You’re…”
“Pregnant,” she said. “Honey, we’re having twins, only with two moms.”
Ace picked up Lily and spun her around, whooping. Gregory slapped his back, once Ace put down his wife. Henry and Numa came over to see what the fuss was about, and Numa let out a war whoop that had the rest of the Nighthawks coming over to ask what was going on.
“No beer for Lily!” shouted Numa. “She’s knocked up!” There were cheers, and a lot of hugging and tears.
“Aiee,” said Katya. “She is having baby. Very good and special. Now, let me sleep.”
Winter Break
Three weeks later, Wraith and Skuld braved a fierce wind that rattled window panes to see how Amelia was doing. Roberto Domingo, the cardiac nurse, was also an Iron Knight who rode on trips with his husband, Georges Paul, on the back of the bike. He would take longer trips, either to cities Georges had to go to for accounting conventions, or alone if Georges flew too far away.
Wraith and Skuld knocked on the door of their low, wide three-bedroom house,
a tan copycat of the closest fourteen neighbors.
A hurried Roberto opened it. “Sorry for the mess,” he said, patting the baby’s back. She stiffened and cried. “Soothing Amelia is a full-time job.”
“That’s fine,” said Wraith.
She moved a pile of laundry to sit down on. Roberto sat down in a rocker and rocked the wailing baby. The couch was covered with baby clothes, blankets, cloth diapers, and a few blue jeans. Skuld made a vague motion about washing her hands as she stripped off her riding gloves. Roberto nodded, and she left the room.
“I just wanted to tell you,” said Wraith, drawing an empty laundry basket next to her as the baby wailed, “Amelia’s mother is still Jane Doe. Her fingerprints and DNA show up nowhere. Your daughter’s DNA don’t hit on anyone, so we can’t find the father, either. We published her picture in the paper, announced her on TV. No dice.” She stripped off her riding gloves, grabbed some diapers, and began folding them.
“You don’t have to do that,” said Roberto.
“Yes, I do,” said Wraith. “If you saw her on Skuld’s lap, all filthy and covered with diaper rash, you’d fold diapers too.”
Roberto cringed. “Such a hard start in life,” he said.
“She has a better start. I talked to Social Services and told them this information. Their wheels grind slowly, but I suspect that you will be able to adopt her. Probably in five months when they notice she’s still here.”
“Oh, Gertie’s been by. She said she’d start the paperwork, was waiting on you.” He rubbed Amelia’s back. “You’re fast,” he said.
“Half the Nighthawks have babies,” she said. “If I didn’t learn how to do this, I’d be lost.”
“She’s precious, our Amelia Lucia Domingo.” He laughed. “Georges didn’t want to saddle her with Paul as a last name.” She began to squall less loudly. “I can try to get some milk down her,” he said. “She spits most of it back up. Hates to eat.”
“I’ll get it,” said Wraith, putting the finished pile of diapers in the laundry basket.
“They’re premade in the refrigerator. Georges is so good to me. He makes them before he leaves in the morning for the whole day. Just shake and heat up for a minute in the microwave, then screw the top on.”
