Chapter 15: Unfinished Business

~~ Delta - Jan/03 - (Earth - July/2095) ~~

The rest of January flew by.

On the last weekend of the month, we went to meet James parents. When I was introduced to James’ family, I could see where he got his good looks from. His dad was a real honey. His mother, however, was a little stiff to start with.

I got the impression James’s failed marriage had cost them some loss of face in their community according to his mother. Having a son set aside as first husband had apparently been a really big thing, as I was starting to appreciate.

James also had a lot of his mother’s pride and things were a bit stilted between them at the start. Soot and Ash had actually helped a lot as icebreakers. The fact that I was more than happy to have James for my first husband and the fact that I carried not one, but two children by him had also helped.

Having faerie servants and dragonets, put me up there with royalty. The fact I was related to both Lord Wizard Sean, whom they apparently idolised and Prince Wizard Allan Ubobo, had James’s mother, Agnes, in a bit of shock.

She couldn’t see why I had accepted a failed first husband as my choice. I could have had my pick from any of the Royal family’s sons on Rahia Island and been received with open arms and a considerable dowry.

I was starting to understand that political and family connections were vital to these people. On the first afternoon we spent there, James’s father told me that his son had been married to a minor princess of their neighbouring clan.

John took me for a walk around the estate, but I had a feeling he wanted me to understand James’s situation, as a few earlier comments had him believe that I was unaware what had gone on in James past. “And forearmed is forewarned,” he told me.

The marriage had brought his wife a lot of prestige and business contracts. She is what we would know of as an Antique Dealer, and she deals with the high end of the market. They were quite well off. He being a popular Doctor didn’t hurt them either.

When Heidi had set James aside and then married a man from another clan, it had hurt his wife politically and financially. James had moved back to the Science Village and hadn’t been home in the five years since.

“He never should have married her,” John said, shaking his head. “She wasn’t right for him, but his mother wished it, and he has always had a hard time saying no to his mother.”

“I was amazed when he bucked her on becoming a doctor, but she had finally let him have his way when he threatened to leave.” He looked at me with speculation, “Did James tell you that his wife became pregnant that last season he didn’t come home?”

I shook my head. It would have added insult to injury that she had been fucking another man, while he wasn’t home if she had been in season. I understood this was strictly not on, at least until she had given James a chance to get her pregnant first.

She could have fucked whomever she liked after she’d had the first kid, as long as she wasn’t in season. Only James was supposed to touch her then.

John took another swig of the drink he was carrying. “I did some digging after the whole debacle and learnt that her family were in financial difficulties, but they had kept it hush-hush.”

“James had offered the largest dowry, so her parents picked him, even though he wasn’t Heidi’s first choice. Heidi is small and has a lot of Genteli blood in her veins. I told Agnes that James was even bigger than I was, and if we had to be careful, they were in for trouble. But she wouldn’t accept that it could be a problem.”

“Raymond, the guy that Heidi more or less ran off with, was more Genteli like her. I had told Agnes that it wouldn’t work. I love that woman, but she can be as stubborn as a camla. She pushed and argued James into the marriage.”

“I don’t really think he was that ready, either. But the prestige of being a first husband is banged into their heads. I sure hope you human women will help get rid of that nonsense,” John said.

Since he had been so open with me, I told him of my error regarding James and his culture and the issue of first husbands versus second ones. He nodded in understanding and said he was sure glad I had found James and taken the time to work him out. He was a good man, but complex, and it wasn’t hard to see why his son loved me.

I smiled and kissed his cheek, “I love him very much too, John. He will also be my first and only husband. I don’t need or want a second husband; James is all I need.”

I think this pleased James’s father and I felt him relax. I knew he was in my court. We arrived back at the house in time for dinner. As I was the guest, I was seated across from John on Agnes’ right. James was beside me, and Joe, his younger brother, was sitting beside John.

Joe wasn’t quite as tall as James, but not by much. He was also five years younger, so about the same age as me. I looked at him with speculation.

He looked up, “What?”

I grinned and said to James, “I think Joe should come to visit us.”

James looked at his brother, then back at me, “Why?”

“Well, he could open a branch for your mother. I understand the doctoring trade ain’t what it used to be, and your father said Joe often works with her and has a good eye.”

“Utopian made furniture is snapped up by all the new visitors to Harmony. I believe Lee reserves particular cargo space to encourage your people to branch out and trade.”

I let the idea sink in. I glanced at Agnes and could see the speculation on her face, as she worked out how this was good for her. She brushed her hand across her stomach. She was nearly five months pregnant and was just showing nicely.

John had taken advantage of Lee’s fix, and he had managed to knock his wife up pretty quick, after twenty-six years of no new children. I got the distinct impression he was quite proud of this achievement. There was nothing wrong with his seed.

His first-husband status would be safe for a long time to come. I got the feeling that he planned to do it again, as soon as she had this one. He had his own pride.

Lee, by the way, is a very gifted healer. She had worked out that the Grandteli and the Genteli women’s DNA, had been tampered with in the past and it was why they had a lot of trouble falling pregnant, giving birth and carrying children, so she had fixed it.

James had told me that his mother had a second husband, but he hadn’t managed the deed after five seasons, so she had dumped him. She had apparently done the same to the one that followed. She had then given up, believing she had all the children she was able to have.

I now knew that the secession of second husbands had also affected James and John. However, she hadn’t dumped John. His political clout and family connections were worth a lot to her. I also had a feeling that in spite of herself, she did love, John.

I also believed that she was jubilant to be carrying his third child, especially because it was a girl. If John was half as good in bed as James, it could well be another reason why Agnes had kept him.

Agnes frowned, “But what about your offer to Sarah?”

Joe’s lips tightened. He looked at James and then at me. He pulled himself up straight and said to his mother, “I retracted the offer this afternoon.”

“What?” she exploded. Her chair hit the deck when she burst to her feet.

A mulish expression came over Joe’s face, but he did stand up for himself. “I don’t really want her, and she doesn’t really want me. So, I retracted the offer, and there are no hard feelings.”

“Her mother told me that Sarah could now pick the man she wanted since she didn’t have to accept me because of the size of the dowry I offered. I told you it was way too much. Things have changed, Mother. With all the new females coming here and to Harmony, I have a chance of finding someone who wants me, for me, like James has.”

James looked at his brother in surprise. “Ah come on Bro, I’ve seen the way she looks at you. It makes me green with envy that you’ve found such a gorgeous woman that loves you as she obviously does. Well, I want that too. Mother, I love you, but I’ll not go through what you did to James.”

“I think Trixy’s idea is a bloody good one. You know I enjoy working in our shop and I am good at it. You’ve got a new baby coming; me heading to Harmony and setting up shop for us there would be a good thing for both of us. Plus, you know that I hate being a dentist,” he concluded.

His mother gaped at her youngest son. She flicked her eyes to James, and I saw guilt on her face. She had known Heidi didn’t love her son. I think she knew a lot more about Heidi than she had told James.

James’s face darkened, and he stood abruptly. Agnes went to put out a hand, but he brushed it aside. He turned and walked stiffly from the room. Tears coursed down Agnes’s cheeks, and she turned and ran from the room. Joe looked stricken and turned to his father.

John shook his head, “No, son, you are doing the right thing. Go stay at Matt’s. You boys put a business plan together and have a look at what stock you think would be best to take. Come back and see your mother in a couple of days. She will probably pull your plans to pieces, but she will agree to front you. I think this solution is a good one for you, as I agree with Trixy.”

Relieved, Joe smiled at me and then at his dad. He got up and kissed John’s cheek, and they hugged before Joe left. I decided John was a very shrewd man and agreed his advice was sound. I looked at the doorway James had disappeared through; I wasn’t sure if I should go after him or not.

“No, little missy, this has been coming for a while. Let him brood for a bit. Just make sure when he comes to bed you screw him for all you’re worth.”

I giggled and agreed this was sound advice. John challenged me to their form of chess called Kings, and we spent a lovely hour chatting and learning some more about each other. I decided I loved my father-in-law to be.

I was woken a couple of hours later, as James’s chilled body crawled into bed with me. I turned and hugged him tightly. I then climbed on top and proceeded to warm him back up. I loved making out with my man. He ended up rolling me over and making the sweet love that he loved to share with me.

The things that man could do with his tongue and fingers were just short of astounding. I lay curled in his arms afterwards. He needed me to hug him, so that was what I did. He went to sleep with his head on my chest, and his arms wrapped around me.

I told him that I loved him, many times, as I stroked his hair.

------

Things were still a bit tense the following morning.

James needed out, so he took me to see the sights. Kale and Arnett were happy to come, as were Soot and Ash. They were strong enough now to ride on our shoulders. I’m sure we looked a sight walking around with a baby dragonet on one shoulder and a faerie on the other.

Kale and Arnett both found all the strange stares we received quite amusing. For our part, they were our family, and we were so used to them being with us, we hardly thought about it at all.

James’ mood improved as he showed me his hometown. Their architecture was very different, and I was fascinated. If anything, the fact I was on a different planet, was brought home to me at this point. I was also starting to get used to the slightly heavier gravity of Utopia.

We decided to stop off at a bakery that he used to frequent. As per usual, I was hungry. I was already showing since I was having twins and already three months along. Apparently, the couple who owned the shop made the best pies that could be bought.

We were at the counter when another couple walked in. The others and I were still trying to decide which pies we wanted, and James was giving his order. We were not close together, so it may not have seemed like we were together.