Page 24 of The Arrival
“Yet.” Cellina lifts a shoulder, smiling.
“Sure. Radiating my energy as a shield is much easier now, too. I barely have to think about it.” He does this now, feeling the power and vigor of his aura within himself and flaring it outward so that it covers them both on the bench. The world around them becomes filtered in golden-crimson light.
“Very nice. Your energy has always been so comforting.” Cellina leans into him, and Nino returns the gesture, snuggling into her shoulder.
“Thanks.” Nino smiles. “Me and Asao tested the strength of this shield once. He couldn’t even break it with a metal baseball bat.”
Cellina sits up. “What the fuck? Why were you doing that?”
“We wanted to test it! Haru wasn’t around, so don’t tell him. He doesn’t know we did that.”
“Oh my God—”
The sharp tap of knuckles hitting glass makes Cellina turn and look over her shoulder. Nino already senses and knows it’s his brother.
“Hey,” Giovanni says.
“Hey yourself,” Cellina says. “Did you know that Nino’s shield can withstand a metal baseball bat?”
There’s a long pause while Nino closes his eyes and takes another sip.
“No,” Giovanni says. “I was not aware of that strange fact. Why do we know this?”
“Because Asao tried to break it,” Cellina says, “but he couldn’t.”
“Why the fuck does Asao own a metal baseball bat?”
Nino sighs. “I don’t question Asao about why he owns the things he does.”
“Weird.”
“Oh, and don’t tell Haru,” Cellina chirps. “He wasn’t there.”
Giovanni scoffs. “I’ll bet he wasn’t. Are you busy? Do you have a moment to talk?”
Nino tilts his head backward, viewing his brother upside down as he stands behind them, filtered in sunset from outside of his shield. “Are you talking to me? Is this our official biannual conversation?” Cellina elbows him in his side.
“Yes,” Giovanni says. “Do you have time or not?”
The protection and solidity of Nino’s aura dissipates. Like a vacuum, it draws into him, settling within his core. “I do,” he says, standing. He sets his empty coffee mug on the side table and stretches his arms up. “Do you want to talk here?”
“No,” Giovanni says. “Let’s walk.” He takes a few steps toward a stone path that leads down to the lake shore, but then turns back to Cellina. “They’re going to set lunch up for everyone out here. We’ll be back by the time they’re ready.”
“Kaay. Be nice.”
“I’m always nice.”
Nino rolls his eyes, stepping ahead of his brother on the speckled path. Soon, Giovanni meets his casual stride. “A metal baseball bat, huh?”
“It was Asao’s idea.”
“I’m not surprised. How are things going with the surrogate? Cellina told me you’re starting the first transfer soon?”
“Yeah, when we get back to Japan, it’s pretty much full speed ahead. Jae’s taken care of everything—the identities of both the donor and carrier are anonymous to us, although Jae did disclose that the carrier is a Socotra refugee. Once we know that the transfer is a success, Haru will start doing blood draws for her weekly. Everything is in place.”
“This is happening pretty fast…” Giovanni glances over, his eyebrow raised. “You excited?”
“I am. And nervous. A lot of things can go wrong. Plus, the thought of an actual child depending on me is scary.”
