In response, he pointed at the box and gave her another pleading look, so sad, he would justdieif he didn’t get to see the snake, couldn’t she understand?
“Um, is it okay to see—?”
“If Ericks says it’s okay,” said Luca, who looked pleased to no longer be in charge of the cerastes.
“Yes, everyone who wants to see can come over and see, but please be quiet. The cerastes is stressed, and we should all be respectful.”
Yes, absolutely going to grab her for the science fair next year,Macy thought.
To her surprise, AJ held up his arms to be picked up, and she carried him over to the box to see the cerastes. By the light of day, the cryptid was gorgeous, coils and coils of copper scales, a flash of brilliant orange eyes visible for just a moment, and horns that had a distinctly golden shade to them. Even in the plastic box, there was something mythical about it, and AJ made a soft sound of wonder.
He fussed slightly when Macy stepped aside to let Ellie’s twins take her place, but then he sighed with satisfaction, leaning in to rest his head against her shoulder.
“I thought he didn’t much like to be held,” she said with surprise, and Luca grinned.
“I think he just likes you. I understand how he feels.”
In fairly short order, Dr. Ericks and Luca maneuvered the plastic box into Dr. Ericks’ minivan, and they were all out in the parking lot, saying goodbye to the cerastes that had given them such an eventful few days.
No sooner than Dr. Ericks had pulled out then another car pulled in, and by Macy’s side, Luca laughed softly.
“Well, guess you’re going to meet the family,” he said, pleased.
Luca’s sister Luisa had an athlete’s build and eyes just like her brother’s, and the minute she spotted Macy, she strode over and pulled her into a firm hug.
“I have so many embarrassing baby pictures of Luca to show you,” she said intently, and Macy laughed, giving her another hug.
“I want all of them.”
Allison, taller with fly-away curly brown hair that threatened to eat the world, was quieter, and she scooped up her son in her arms, shaking hands with Ellie and then with their twins.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” said Ellie, “I meant to ask Luca, but your kid. What’s his name? We got introduced to him as AJ, but I never heard what that’s short for.”
Beside Macy, Luca stood up straighter, and somehow she could feel his attention sharpen.
Allison laughed, nuzzling AJ’s fluffy head.
“Oh, his name’s Benjamin.”
“How?”
Everyone turned and looked at Luca, who was staring at his sister with a mixture of confusion and desperation.
“How what?” asked Luisa innocently, and if Macy had any doubts over who was the younger sibling they went right out the window.
“How in the world do you get AJ from Benjamin?”
“Gee, Luca, don’t you know? I thought you would be able to answer right away, given that you’re AJ’s uncleandhis godfather, so—”
“It’s short for Allison Junior,” said Allison, unable to hide her own amusement. “There was a little bit where the only thing he wanted to eat were these sweet little pickles, which, well. Sometimes that’s all I want to eat too, so we made a deal. We’d each have a pickle, and then we had to eat something else. Luisa started calling him Allison Junior, and then he became AJ.”
“Come over and visit more often, and you’d know these things,” said Luisa with a smirk, punching Luca on the shoulder.
It turned out that Allison and Luisa had been driving all morning, and that Ellie and the kids had only managed donuts so far, so Macy pulled rank and said that they were all going to sit down to a proper fry-up in her kitchen.
“Everyone, make yourselves comfortable, open the doors to the balcony to let the breeze in. There’s cable for the kids, help yourself to whatever. Luca and I are going to get eggs, bread,bacon and some darned fruits and vegetables, and we’ll be back in just a few.”
It was almost uncannily quiet in her car after all the people at her apartment, and from the passenger’s seat, she could feel Luca watching her steadily.
