A future with Clem is all that I wish for, a youngling or two if the gods and goddesses smile upon us. I am in constant wonderment at the ease of our communication, the fun we have, our passionate lovemaking. My life goals are modest; a happy home, a family, a loving partner to share my bed. It’s simple, but profoundly fulfilling for orcs who find such a life.
Seems like I may be one of the lucky ones, after all.
Our evenings after work go like this: We prep dinner together, make love, eat dinner, make love again. Wake in the night and make love all over again.
We’ve also visited Mom twice this week. Each time, she seems to come out of her shell a little more. It’s wonderful to behold. Two days ago, Clem styled Mom’s hair into plaits, and tied them with ribbons from the market. Today, Mom asked Clem about her life up in Sparkle City. Clem hesitated, but then told Mom how her own mother disappeared when she was nine years old. Mom’s eyes filled with tears, and then her arms came around Clem and they hugged each other close.
I truly believe that conversation was healing for them both.
I had to turn away to hide a tear in my eye.
As we leave the care home now, I say to Clem, “It’s Mom’s birthday next week, I can’t believe it’s come around again. And this is a special one. She’ll be turning fifty.”
She looks up at me. “That calls for an extra special cake then.”
“Sure does.”
“Have you reminded your siblings?”
I shake my head, heave a sigh.
“I’ve let them know about her last two birthdays and they didn’t turn up. They just send a card and a present. Every year, I have to witness the disappointment in her eyes.”
“Maybe this time they will come, being her fiftieth and all.”
I bend and kiss the top of her head. “I love your optimism.”
She looks up at me, and her mouth opens as if she’s about to say something, but then she seems to think better of it.
I hug her to my flank as we walk out. Turn the topic to something lighter. “Want to take a trip to the orchards?”
Her face breaks into a beaming smile. “What, now?”
I nod.
“Ooh, yes, let’s go get berries,” Clem exclaims.
And so instead of going home, we head to the south side of level one. As we pass the elevators that head down to the lower levels, Clem looks at them wistfully. “I’d love to go and visit Sammy.”
“Soon, I promise.”
“I want to meet this Traggar guy too. It feels like he’s a stepbrother almost, since he’s turned Jax into a werewolf.”
I rub a finger along my tusk. “I guess there’s a certain logic in that, not that anything that happens in the Labyrinth is really logical.”
“Or up in Sparkle, for that matter, when you start to unpack it.”
“How d’you mean?”
“Well, it’s no more logical that humans should be living in a domed city full of constant entertainment than it is for thousands of monsters to be living in tunnels underground, manufacturing everything we buy. I guess whatever we’ve gotten used to, we assume it’s normal.”
“Yeah, which means it could one day be normal for humans to mix with monsters.”
“And work with monsters,” she adds.
“Marry monsters, even…” I reply.
She doesn’t say anything and I kick myself.
