Page 30 of The Champion
Marco shook his head. “But let’s keep an eye out for them, shall we?”
We didn’t see any yellow roses on the way back to the Blue Tower, but once we got there, Shelly leaned her head back and held a hand to her forehead, shielding her eyes from the bright sun. “Hey, Victor, is it true that this building is named after you?”
“No. It’s the park that’s named after me. It’s called Victory Park. I have the penthouse apartment here in the Blue Tower, which offers a beautiful view.”
“Not bad.”
Victor agreed with Shelly: “Not bad at all.”
Celeste, Victor, and I squeezed in with the Polo family in the elevator while the other five scientists told Shelly that they looked forward to seeing her later.
“I’m afraid that the apartments here in France are small.”
“Don’t worry, we’re used to small since we live in the Motherlands,” Marco assured Celeste, but the moment we entered the place that was supposed to be home for the Polo family and me for the next five weeks, he protested.
“Look, there’s no way we can make this work with two bedrooms. I don’t want Albert and Ada sharing a bed and where is Freya supposed to sleep?”
“Maybe Ada and Freya can share a room and then Albert can sleep in the living room,” Celeste suggested.
“On that thing?” Marco pointed to the small sofa and snorted. “Have you seen how tall my son is? I’m sorry, but this isn’t going to work.”
Victor had that tiny smile on his face that meant everything was going according to his plan. “I see your point, but I’m afraid we don’t have any apartments bigger than this.”
“Available or in all of France?” Albert asked.
“In all of France. We don’t build for families. Everyone here is single and you can’t be forced to have more than one roommate.”
“Right, but you can’t expect us to live five people in an apartment built for two.”
“The problem is that we don’t have anything else available. Our housing situation is pressured,” Celeste said in an apologetic tone. "Maybe we could find a place in one of the subterranean levels for Albert and Ada. Would that help?”
“Yes, that would be great,” Shelly said but again Marco protested.
“Are you out of your mind? I’m not letting Ada out of my sight in this place. Have you forgotten the warnings we received from Aubri and Indiana?”
“Dad, I’m not going to sleep with a hundred people,” Ada said and crossed her arms.
“The French are seductive and cunning. I’m not letting our children live alone while we’re here.”
“Why not?” Shelly asked. “So what if they have some fun and explore their sexuality? You always said that it was a good thing.”
Marco rolled his eyes. “Yeah, for you and me, but Ada is sixteen!”
“So?” Shelly looked to her daughter. “She’s smart and perfectly capable of setting her own boundaries. She doesn’t need us to make decisions for her.”
“I agree with Mom,” Ada said and received a strict glance from her father.
“Should we find an underground apartment then?” Victor asked.
At the same time that Albert, Ada, and Shelly answered “Yes,” Marco barked out a loud “No!”
I stood watching the family drama with a feeling that Victor was playing one of his games.
“I said no!” Marco placed both hands on his hips and lowered his brow with a sullen expression. “It’s not fucking happening.”
“Then how about we find another place for Freya to live here in the building? Then at least you’ll have two bedrooms for four people.”
“But I’m supposed to protect Freya. I promised Khan that I would.” Marco looked torn, so I hurried to assure him:
