Chapter 12

Steven watched Kristen run up the stairs. "Alright, what is it you didn't want her to hear?"

Mark sipped his vodka. "A couple of things. One is something ... well, it's none of my business, but I think you'd want to know -- I would, if she was my daughter -- and I don't think she'd tell you." He looked at his glass, obviously summoning his courage. "She's ... confused by the women you are dating. She doesn't understand why you are looking at women so different from her mother." He looked up, meeting Steven's eyes. "I did. I do even more after hearing what happened. But ... she doesn't. And I don't think she likes them. I don't know if she's just upset at the idea of them replacing her mother, or ... well, she is unbelievably smart. As Kayla put it, she's spent the last three years in school trying to concentrate while she was starving in the middle of a McDonalds. And she still made almost straight A's. She could be seeing something you don't. I don't know; I'm just pointing out the possibility."

Steven sighed. "The women have been ... an experiment. I don't think it's working out."

Mark raised an eyebrow. "She thinks you're about to marry the latest one."

"If she hadn't turned out to be a total bitch, I might have. If I had a woman living here with me, I might could stay home more."

"Sorry, I didn't follow that," Mark said, obviously puzzled.

"Son, her power isn't discriminatory," Steven said gently.

Mark blinked, then his mouth fell open as comprehension dawned. "Good lord. I never thought of that. Your life must have been hell." He paused. "Do you mind if I tell her that? I'm sure she'd understand why you didn't tell her yourself, and ... I think she'd feel a lot better, knowing. I think she thought you were trying to replace her mother."

"No," Steven said firmly. "That is one thing I've always tried to protect her from. You can tell her, though, that I've decided they're not worth bothering with anymore, and I have no further intention of re-marrying."

"Okay," Mark agreed with a sigh, "But she's not stupid, you know. She might well figure it out on her own, and if she flat out asks me, I won't lie to her. That's a hard limit for me." He glanced around the room, noticing the furnishings, and his brow furrowed. "I have to admit, I'm puzzled by one thing. Why wouldn't you give her the money for her art supplies?"

It was Steven's turn to frown in puzzlement. "What money for art supplies?"

Mark stared at him, confused. "A couple of weeks ago, she told me she didn't have money for the supplies for her advanced art class."

"Kristen can have anything she needs. I've set up an account for her school expenses and Vanessa withdraws an allowance for her every week," Steven said, still puzzled and a bit defensive.

"I don't get it, then," Mark admitted.

Steven shook his head. "Neither do I. If she needed extra money, all she had to do was ask my secretary to pull it out for her."

Mark suddenly looked thoughtful. "Unless she was looking for an excuse to get close to me. If she felt the way I did about her when I first saw her, combined with her other needs... " He smirked. "Maybe she was disappointed that I didn't tell her she could 'pay me back'..."

Steven nodded, smiling. "That could definitely be it. She is fourteen. Straightforward confrontation isn't something teenage girls usually think of. I'll write you a check for the money, of course."

The younger man smiled, the thought of Kristen going to such trouble to attract his attention warming him. "I think I might have to tweak her nose about it a little." He shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Steven. It was ... You've seen her work? It was my pleasure."

Steven nodded proudly. "She's really very good, I know. I've been thinking of surprising her with a studio for Christmas."

"She'd love that," Mark agreed. "And I have to wonder ... she was able to draw like that while distracted." He laughed. "When I asked her to marry me, she was worried about being a burden. I told her she might well make more from her art than I do, someday. After discovering what I have ... well."

Steven smiled fondly, then sobered. "I should tell you about the physical problems while she's upstairs."

"Physical problems?"

He nodded. "They were the first hint I had that she took after her mother. She might have just been an ordinary exceptionally lovely girl."

"What are they?" Mark asked.

"She's been on birth-control pills since she was eleven. Without them, she only has about one menstrual cycle every six months, but that one is totally debilitating. Extreme pain, heavy enough bleeding to lower her blood pressure significantly, and unrelievable nausea."

Mark winced. "Ouch."

"And I don't know if she will want children, and even if she does, you'd damned well better wait for them, but if she can conceive, the delivery will likely be very, very rough. Don't even try natural childbirth, it would tear her apart. Jarai was on complete bed-rest for five months, and we still nearly lost her. Their bodies just aren't made for carrying a child."

"Got you," Mark nodded solemnly. "She hasn't said anything about wanting children, but I'll tell her. And... " He paused. "If she ends up falling in love with Kayla, which wouldn't surprise me at all, maybe she won't feel she has to have them herself."

"She might want the side effect of pregnancy, though," Steven pointed out. "While pregnant, Jarai didn't need sex. She glowed the whole time, no matter how miserable she was." He sighed. "But she might not even be fertile. It took most of a year of trying for Jarai to conceive. And several years with no birth-control before she went to a doctor for her painful periods didn't knock her up."

"Interesting. Although if ... well. I think I know how to make her glow whenever she wants. In fact, I think the glowing is going to be a problem -- she can't go to school while she's glowing," Mark said with a touch of regret.

"Oh, and I think they're immune to disease, too," Steven said.

Mark nodded thoughtfully. "That would make sense."

"Jarai never even caught a cold," Steven told him. "Neither has Kristen. The only times she's been ill were things like food-poisoning, or injury. Heat-exhaustion once."

"Interesting," Mark repeated, "But logical -- not having that would lead to disaster, with their needs."

Steven nodded. "She should be able to learn to tone down the glow. It won't go totally away, but it can be restrained enough that people don't realize what they're seeing ... they just think she's even more beautiful than usual. Unless she's caught in the dark, of course."

"When she tried to hide it last night," Mark said, "it all concentrated in her eyes. It was beautiful, but definitely not something she could go out with."

Steven gave him a relieved smile. "I really was afraid that she'd never glow. Jarai never needed more than two or three times a day, and according to my sources, Kristen's needs have been much higher. I was beginning to think that her human blood had caused her to have some sort of flaw that made her need more than could ever be provided for her."

"I couldn't make her glow at all," Mark said, with a thoughtful look. "It took two of us. Kristen said there was some sort of feedback loop. She glowed brightly enough that she was still glowing this morning. Maybe that's the difference?"

Steven frowned. "Hmm. That's the one thing I don't think she's ever tried. My informants say she's stuck to one at a time, no matter how many a day. I never thought it would make a difference.

"Well, she also said that I was more ... filling, than the others. I think maybe it's the fact that we are in love with her that helps, too."

"Yes. Jarai never glowed before we fell in love. I remember the first time it happened." A soft, loving smile spread across his face. "I thought she really was an angel, some amazing spirit who'd for some inexplicable reason, chosen to give me a remarkable gift."

Mark mirrored the smile, thinking about Kristen. "Maybe you were right."

"Take care of her, Mark." Steven looked away, voice choked off by the lump in his throat. "You'll never find anyone else like her."

Mark said, softly, "I know. I will." He stood. "Shall we drive up tomorrow and apply for the license, or do you have things you need to do? You'll have to be with us to apply, of course."

He nodded. "Normally, you couldn't on a Saturday, but I know someone who'd be willing to come in and take care of the paperwork. I'll make some calls, see what I can do."

"Okay. I figure we'd have to leave pretty early, right?"

"As early as possible."

"Okay. We may have someone else coming with us; at least, I think Kayla would like to come. I guess Kristen and I had better get going."

"Or you could stay," Steven offered. "Park your jeep in the garage."

Mark looked thoughtful, then nodded. "That works. Be right back."

It was a huge garage, and full of stuff. The back half had a separate door and looked rather like a stable. Mark eased carefully into the parking space, then went back inside, taking the stairs at a jog.

Kristen was in her room, sitting cross-legged on the bed with her sketchbook open in her lap. Her face was a mask of intense concentration, and she didn't even look up when he leaned against the door frame.

He smiled. "Hey, love. Looks like we're going to stay here, so that we can get an early start in the morning. You okay?"

"Hmm?" She smiled a bit weakly. "Yeah, just trying to get centered, y'know?"

"We're staying here? What about your car?"

"In the garage." He paused. "Sorry for jumping up like that, earlier, but ... I was about to break my promise to Kayla, and I couldn't do that. I didn't mean to upset you."

Kristen concentrated on her drawing, carefully brushing the pencil across the paper. "It's okay. I ... it's been a very strange day. So much has happened."

Mark nodded. "It has been. I never expected this outcome but ... I'm not complaining." He sat down next to her, carefully, so as not to jostle her. "You do understand why she made me promise not to tell you?"

She shook her head. "Not really. Well, maybe. Hell, I don't know, Mark."

Kristen tossed sketchbook and pencil on the bedside table.

He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. "She didn't want you to feel bad about not loving her, and she's convinced that you can't love her."

"Why not?"

Mark shrugged. "Because you swore you'd never fall in love again, and you have with me, and she just doesn't think you can fall in love with someone else. And she'd rather give up her own happiness than pressure you for something you can't give her."

"Oh. I really don't know what to think. I mean, until this year I would have sworn she didn't even like me. She was nice to me, yeah, but I thought she just felt sorry for me."

He nodded. "I think she was hiding how she felt behind a mask of indifference. But she did what she could for you, secretly."

Kristen crawled into his lap, wrapping her arms around him tightly, and he held her close.

"This is all moving so fast!" She buried her face against his chest. "I don't want to hurt anyone, but I just need time to think."

"I know, love," he soothed. "I know. Take the time you need, okay? Although ... I do think it would be nice to invite her to come with us tomorrow."

"Where are we going tomorrow?"

"Oh! Did you want to wait to apply for the license? I'm sorry, I assumed again."

"Um ... tomorrow is Saturday."

Mark nodded. "Your dad is going to make a few phone calls -- unless you want to wait?"

"No!" She blushed. "I mean, I don't want to wait. I got to thinking..."

"Oh?"

"We couldn't be seen together in public here ... but we could maybe drive to Dallas and spend the weekend sometime, if we were married." He blinked, and then smiled. "We could. Would you like to do that? Go out to movies, dinner, that sort of thing?"

"If you would," she murmured shyly.

He kissed her forehead. "I'd love to." Then he frowned, looking very serious. "But there's something very important I think we need to talk about.""

"What's wrong?"

"We need to talk about your art supplies."

"What about them?" she asked.

"Why did you tell me you didn't have money for them?"

"I didn't."

"Why didn't you have the money then?" he asked.

Kristen crawled off of his lap and reached into the drawer beside the desk, pulling out a brush and starting to brush her hair, letting it cover her face. "I just didn't. I hadn't had time to save up any money this year, yet."

Mark frowned. "Why didn't you have Vanessa just draw some more out of the account your dad set up for your school expenses?"

He wouldn't have noticed her slight flinch if he had not been watching her so closely. "Love?" he asked gently.