“But you’re Mylos and maybe only Mylos like me.”
“You’re Mylos now too, and now so is he,” I reminded him. “And have you met any human-born Mylos here that hate you? Does your teacher or any of the young hate you?”
He shook his head no.
“Then no one who is matched to a warrior or approved by the AI to come here to live and work could possibly hate you, right? They might not want to be your best friend, but they wouldn’t be mean to you. But being matched to me, well, that means they are also matched to you.”
“Perfectly?” he asked, his lip no longer quivering. He appeared to be mulling things over.
“Down to the last particle.”
“You should ask if he’s had breakfast.”
I blinked at the sudden change of subject. “Ask if Mitchell has?”
“Uh huh. ’Cuz he might like French toast and be hungry.”
“I can make more when we get home if he is.”
“But then it won’t be a special family meal.”
Oh. I suddenly grasped what he was trying to say. If Mitchell was a perfect fit and was meant to be family, he should get to have some of our special family food.
“I’ll ask,” I assured him, quickly tapping out the question. Moments later my kunnarskyn beeped, letting me know the officer at the center had replied. “He’s eaten already,” I informed Neal.
Neal deflated a bit. “Can we go now? I’m not very hungry.”
I suspected this sudden upset was the culprit, but thought it would be best to not force him to eat and possibly get sick. I took our plates and placed them in the chiller unit. “How about I warm these up for lunch when I get back?”
“Okay.”
“Do you feel up to finishing your milk?”
He nodded and drank his glass down. I decided to allow him to wait to clean his teeth, but he did need to wash the milk mustache off.
“Go wash your face and hands, and then we’ll go.”
I watched him slide out of his chair and walk slowly to the bathroom. I gritted my teeth, seeing the slump to his shoulders. His parent had been most unworthy indeed, having told him his entire life that he was unlovable. It was one of the many reasons he had been removed from her care shortly after his fourth birthday. He had only accepted that I could, and did, love him but he had it in his head that it was because I was Mylos. I loaded the cooled cookware and our flatware into the dish cleaner. I tended to only use the same ones again and again, and not simply replicate new ones. I wanted to give Neal a feeling of permanence, so he would remain confident in us being family forever.
I hoped that Mitchell would understand how delicate Neal was and not give him reason to doubt, even if he himself was grappling to find how he fit in our family.
“I’m ready, Daddy,” Neal said, appearing behind me. I turned a smile on my face. He had not only washed his face and hands but had combed his hair. I saw he had the stuffed cat he slept with clutched tightly in his arms.
“Stitch wanted to come, too, huh?”
“Uh huh,” was all Neal said, taking my proffered hand in his free one and holding on as if I might be snatched from his grasp any second. On impulse, I bent down to pick him up.
“It will be faster this way,” I told him. “Then we can find out what kind of milkshake is his favorite and get some before we come back.”
That got a real smile from him. A tiny one, but it was there. He leaned his head on my shoulder. “Better hurry up then before someone breaks the machine like the last time,” he replied, recalling our last visit down to Earth. We’d stopped at a fast food place for hamburgers and milkshakes during our three day vacation and the machine that made the shakes had been broken.
“Yes, we can’t let that happen again,” I agreed, and strode out the door towards our future.
CHAPTER6
MITCHELL
Today was goingto be an awesome day, I just knew it. First, the guy ahead of me at the drive thru paid for my breakfast. There was no one behind me to pay it forward to, so I went on my way, promising myself that as soon as I had that scholarship money in my hands, I’d be sure to buy some food for the local food pantry.
