To his credit, my new brother-in-law straightens, nods like there’s nothing out of the ordinary happening at all and calls some of his men over. That’s the last I hear of it.
“At least it happened here in Russia,” I say. “We’d have had to clean that up ourselves back home.”
Xolotl smiles, then. “And now we should have at least your lifetime horseman-free in the United States.”
No sooner has he said that, than Leonid appears at his elbow. “If I had another horseman show up here, could you repeat that little vanishing act?”
I roll my eyes.
“Unfortunately, they’re not all as easy to dispose of as the new little babies.”
Leonid sighs. “Right, right.”
“Sorry,” Xolotl says.
“It’s fine,” Leonid says. “Carry on.”
And we do.
The rest of the wedding celebration’s as normal as it could possibly be, attended as it is by a half dozen mages who can turn into horses, a former death god, and a magical dictator who was born more than a hundred years ago.
But I wouldn’t have it any other way, because the love of my life is by my side, and my family may be spread across two continents now, but we’re stronger than ever.
“What just happened?” Gabe looms where Xolotl and I are sitting.
I sigh, preparing to explain what we just did. Before I can say a word, Gabe whistles. Then he leans over, and he exhales loudly. “Whoa. I’d be upset, too, man.” He reaches down, and he grabs part of Xolotl’s head. Then he plucks out a hair, and he holds it out to me. “I can’t believe you found a gray hair.”
Xolotl blinks. “What on earth does it mean?”
“It’s normal,” I say. “It happens when you age.”
“No kidding,” Gabe says. “And honestly, I’d say you look pretty good for six thousand, give or take.”
Xolotl slugs him on the shoulder.
Gabe starts to laugh. “Hey, don’t blame the messenger.”
“What’s wrong?” Alexei asks. “Did something happen?”
“Xolotl here just found his first grey hair,” Gabe says.
Alexei Romanov pats him on the back. “Congratulations, my man. Just wait until we start having children. I hear we’re going to get a lot of those showing up then.” He smiles, and I notice for the first time that his wife has a bit of a belly.
“You two are expecting?” I ask.
Alexei beams. “We sure are. We couldn’t be more excited about it.”
That gets me thinking—one day Izzy and I will probably have kids, too. Grey hairs will be the least of our worries, then.
Xolotl drops an arm around my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“Do you want kids?”
He smiles broadly. “Dozens of them.”
“Dozens?” I can’t breathe. “You’re kidding, right?”
He laughs. “I am. But I would like at least one boy and one girl.”
