Page 30 of The Seducer
“Yes, all the others are in school, and soon Charlotte and I will be in school too.”
“You mean next year?” I asked.
Samuel shrugged. “Momma Karina says that’s soon.”
“How old are you two?” Finn asked.
Charlotte held up five fingers.
“You are five years old?” Finn asked to confirm it.
“That’s right,” Samuel said. “And I’m the oldest because Charlotte came seven minutes after me.”
“I suppose that makes you her big brother and protector?” Finn concluded.
Samuel furrowed his brow. “Who are you?”
I leaned down and spoke in a soft voice. “My apologies for not introducing you to my friend, Finn. He’s visiting from the Northlands and he was curious to see a family unit.”
“Why?” Samuel asked. “What’s so special about that?”
“What’s special is that it’s very different for children to grow up in the Northlands. Finn has never seen a family unit before.”
“That’s right.” Finn nodded and squatted down in front of the two children. “So, I was hoping you two experts could tell me about what it’s like to grow up in one.”
Samuel and Charlotte exchanged a smile, flattered to be called experts.
“Why don’t you start by telling Finn how many people live in this family unit,” I suggested.
“All right, there’s me and Charlotte, and then there’s Deshaun, Kate, Holly, Teri Lynn, Reva, and Tristan.” Samuel listed.
“You forgot Marita,” Charlotte reminded him.
Using the back of his hand to wipe his nose, Samuel shrugged. “Yeah, but that’s just because she’s so little.”
“She still counts,” Charlotte insisted.
“So that makes nine children,” Finn summed up.
Samuel counted on his fingers and we patiently waited for him to get to nine before he nodded his head in agreement. “But that’s just us kids, you know, we also have five parents living here.” With the help of Charlotte, he named all five parents living in the family unit. “Karina is the only one who stays home to watch us while the others go to work.”
“And is Karina your mom?” Finn asked.
“We’ve got four moms and Martin is our dad,” Charlotte said in a soft voice.
Finn gave a small whistle. “Four moms – wow, that’s a lot. You know, where I come from most of us don’t even have one mom and most of us don’t have sisters or brothers either.”
Samuel tilted his head. “Then who is in your family?”
Finn threw out his hands. “That’s just the thing; most of us don’t have families.”
“But then who sings to you?” Charlotte asked with a troubled look. “And who celebrates your birthday with you?”
Finn brushed his hair back and shook his head. “No one does. Why? What happens on your birthday?”
Samuel took it upon himself to explain the tradition of getting presents for your birthday.
“And you also get a cake with your name on it,” Charlotte added.
