Page 25 of Not So Stranded
“You’ll find pretty much anything goes around here,” the woman said as she held her hand out for a shake. “I’m Angelica Boes. My mate is Hessan, who is Ty’s parent’s sibling.”
“Ty is your mate,” Kit said to Eric, but then had to take a second to try and map out the rest. “And Hessan is like an aunt or uncle?”
“Right.” Angelica nodded. “The cecaelia don’t really have words like that for relatives, unfortunately, so it sometimes feels like you need a family tree and to just point.”
Kit couldn’t help the little thrill of excitement that had him grinning. “Has anyone made a family tree yet? If they haven’t, I’d love to. Data is my life.”
“That could be fun,” Eric said. “A great way to get to know everyone, too.”
“We could print it out and put it up in the house,” the last young guy said before putting his hand out to shake Kit’s. “I’m Kevin Atchley. I’m mated to Quatrus, so Eric’s my father-in-law.”
“Oh, okay.” Kit shook Kevin’s hand as Eric chuckled.
“And my twin, Jonah,” Kevin continued, “is mated to Primus—Eric’s oldest—and they’re expecting their first clutch right now.”
“Babies? How wonderful,” Kit said with real delight. “Will these be your first grandchildren?”
Eric led the way up the path away from the dock. “No, Primus and Jonah will be the last of my oldest children to have kids of their own, actually. They’ve been having adventures all over the ocean for a few years, but have decided to settle down and raise their family now.”
“I’m glad they’re doing it here. I still feel bad that Hiaka and Zenori didn’t get to use the island where we met to start their family. Maybe having a new clutch hatching here will help them feel better about losing that spot.”
“This is the safest place for breeding and raising the littles,” Eric said from the head of the line. “Ty and I designed it to be that way. There are some good spots down in the Solomon Islands, but even with hundreds of islands to choose from, it’s still getting pretty crowded out there.”
Nodding, Kit added, “Tourists have been getting more and more curious about the leeward islands right here.”
Larkin said, “We’ve had to double the height of the gate and put out buoys warning folks away.”
They crested the hill, and Kit stopped to stare down into the lagoon. At first, it looked like a resort with decks, lounge chairs, and cabanas full of people enjoying themselves, hundreds of fairy lights above their heads and a massive movie screen showing an episode ofBluey. For a second, the sight before him could’ve been from any seaside college town on spring break. But then it registered that most of the people were every shade of blue and there were a whole lot of tentacles.
“Wow,” Kit breathed. “That’s incredible.”
Eric chuckled and patted Kit’s back. “Wait until morning when all the kids are awake. We’ll look like a waterpark and sound like one, too.”
“Oh, I see the slides,” Kit said, pointing, as he followed everyone down the hill. “And a zip-line?”
“Jonah did that,” Kevin volunteered, “just before Primus knocked him up.”
That last bit intrigued Kit. “So Jonah’s hosting the eggs right now?”
Kevin pointed toward the lagoon. “See that guy with the big belly floating like a corpse over there? That’s Jonah.”
“Ew, Kevin,” Angelica said at the same time Larkin groaned.
“What? Tell me he doesn’t look like that.”
Kit chuckled and had to agree. “It’s an apt description. I saw him right away.”
“Exactly. And honestly, all of us have done it.” Kevin smirked at Kit. “Or will eventually.”
That gave Kit pause. He literally stopped walking and Larkin bumped into him. “Oh, sorry. Kit?”
“I, uh,” he said, blushing, “guess I hadn’t considered that.”
“Hosting?” Kevin said, looking contrite. “It’s totally voluntary.”
“Especially since Hiaka can always host,” Eric added. “Primus isn’t a hybrid, so they couldn’t have hosted their own eggs. That’s why Jonah’s doing it.”
“But having kids isn’t compulsory in any way,” Angelica said with a hand on Kit’s arm. “No one’s going to pressure any of you either.”
