[ussbansheec] Teaching Fathers and Sons
- From: Andy Maluhia <CaptainAndy@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: ussbansheec@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2009 13:47:49 -0500
_Teaching Fathers and Sons
_by Pas & Adonis Kaartaren/
When you teach your son, you teach your son's son. ~The Talmud/
***follows right after 'Feeling Deeply'
While Adonis would readily admit to being a terrible housekeeper, he
didn't find himself to be lazy or slothful. He did, however, give
himself a break the next morning. He slept late, the first decent
night's sleep he'd had in a very long while, then, when he got up, he
showered and put on a loose t-shirt and equally loose lounge pants.
Maria, that wonderful creature he'd love for the rest of his life, had
risen much earlier. She dressed without putting on a light but he'd
watched her anyway, reveling in the simple fact that he could do that.
She kissed him before leaving and a thorough kiss it was. Just thinking
about it made him smile as he sat there on the sofa in the den, eating
the breakfast she left for him. That in itself was another thing that
had made the morning so sweet. Not only did Maria clean up their
aborted dinner, she made breakfast for him and left it in the stasis warmer.
He heard the voice almost at the same time as he felt the mind of its
owner. He blamed that inattention on the fact that it was, in theory,
his childhood home and so he could relax.
"Well, don't you look comfortable."
Adonis didn't quite jump up but he did put his breakfast down very
quickly and turn around to kneel on the sofa, staring hard at his
father. "Well, somebody was kind enough to make me breakfast so the
least I could do is enjoy it properly."
Pas regarded his son as intently as he himself was being regarded. The
man looked different. "You cut your hair."
"Yeah, last week," Adonis replied. Alright, he told himself, he wants
to play roundabout then I can play roundabout. "Have a seat, dad. I
was just doing some reading while I ate."
Pas bit back a sigh. Wariness, curiosity, anger, and grief: they all
emanated from his son but they were remote as if they were being tightly
shielded. I should have expected that. The man is as psi talented as
me. With a mental shrug, he stepped farther into the room, still eyeing
the younger man. At almost eighty-one, there was still nothing wrong
with his eyesight yet his eyes, as dark as his sons', narrowed. There
was a bruise (or was it a bite mark) at the juncture of Adonis' neck and
shoulder and possibly one on his collarbone. The 'somebody', he
realized, who made breakfast. He sat next to Adonis then raised a broad
hand to caress the younger man's cheek while inspecting the now shorn head.
"It looks good on you, son. It makes you look like a baby face but it
fits," he mused.
Adonis covered his father's hand with his own, holding it to his cheek.
"This is ridiculous you know," he finally snorted before embracing him,
grateful when the hug was returned as fiercely as it was being given.
Then he kissed his father's forehead before sitting back and finally
relaxing his mental shields. "Where," he began, "the hell have you been
and what the hell went on?"
"Eat while we talk, son. This may take a while."
Pas began with realizing that Calista had left, taking Audra, Jaresh,
and Artemis with her. It pained him to see the outrage and sadness in
Adonis' eyes. He certainly expected them both when he considered this
was the man's mother and sister they were talking about, not to mention
lifelong family servants he cared for. That Artemis was mixed up in any
of it seemed to enrage him more than anything else.
"What the hell has gotten into her? I always---I mean I always assumed
she hated our hag of a grandmother as much as I did," Adonis grumbled.
Long hair made it easier to express frustration. He found that out
quite readily when he went to run his hand through his hair and
remembered how short it was. He dropped his head against the back of
the sofa. "I can't believe this."
"Your grandmother is no doubt the one who put the bug in Calista's ear,
child, and she no doubt put it in Artemis'." Pas blew out a soft
breath, fingers steepled in front of his lips, as he realized how his
own daughter had sought t harm him. "You, ah, did ask where I've been,"
he ventured.
"That's another thing, Dad. I called and you're not home and all I felt
were relief and anger. What the hell, Dad?" Adonis demanded.
"Your mother was never a reasonable woman, Adonis," Pas told him.
"Jealous, you know?"
"Yeah, I know. I used to think you took all those off planet trips and
conference invites just to get away from her," Adonis said, smirking as
he crossed arms over his chest.
"Well, there was that, too," Pas mused though his tone was guarded.
"Too?" Adonis shifted to look directly at his father, watching a face
very similar to his own. After a few moments, an odd grin spread across
his face. "Get away from and toward. You have a girlfriend! That
long? Because I also remember thinking that wanted away from Mom when I
was fourteen."
It was Pas' turn to stare. The younger man was utterly pleased with
himself, the emotion wafting from him like a warm breeze. "You're not
surprised." It was both a question and a statement.
"One," Adonis began, holding up a finger, "any sane person would need a
break from the constant prying she did and the godsawful Joshua Garrity
worship and, two, you're a Betazoid so it wouldn't be unheard of."
"You're taking this a lot better than I thought you would," Pas stated.
Adonis shrugged. "You can't change who you are, sir, nor should you if
you're happy. You never slighted us or made Mom feel lesser." He
glanced sideways at his father, absently picking up the last piece of
bacon. "Dare I ask how long?"
"Funny you should have mentioned you were fourteen when you thought
something wasn't right. It was close to that time when I met her. You
were actually twelve." Pas paused in his thoughts a moment, breathing a
sigh that Iefan was alright. "Your little brother was born when you
were thirteen."
Adonis mouthed the words 'little brother' several times. Gods but it
all made so much sense now! Of course his father's mind felt different
when he came home. "You were afraid Mom knew and that she would
do---she didn't did she?"
"No," Pas said firmly. The spike in anxiety from his son was strong and
understandable. Bad enough he had to find out that his mother had left
him then died but to know she was a killer? That would have wounded him
badly. "No, Iefan's fine. His mother is El-Aurian, a Marine."
"I'd like to meet them, Dad, when you think the time's right," Adonis
said simply.
There was the look of a lost little boy on Adonis' face enhanced, Pas
thought, by the shorter haircut. "Of course," he said aloud as he put
an arm around him. "You know I love you, son. I have never loved you
any less. You know that don't you?"
"I know. I always felt something was off whenever I walked in the front
door. It never felt quite right, and I don't mean because of the glare
off the halo of Joshua Garrity, but I never doubted you." Finally, for
the first time since his father had come in the room, Adonis felt at
ease. He handed the bacon piece to him with a snort of amusement. "Do
you realize that I spent a hell of a lot of time actively not being
anything like the man?"
"His name grated on my nerves every time I heard it," Pas muttered, "but
how so?"
"I could have been an engineer but he was one so that was out. I picked
your path and not just because you are good at what you do."
"Well, thanks, kid," Pas said with a touch of humility. It wasn't
flattery from his son. The man felt it was the honest truth.
"Not a problem but think about this. The great Joshua was anti-social
and hated talking? I talk as part of what I do and I like to think I'm
an outgoing sort to begin with. I don't shy away from new people or
different things." He gave a self-deprecating snort. "The way Mom
blathered on about him, I think he was severely OCD and you know damned
well that I am not anywhere near a good housekeeper."
At that, Pas laughed outright. Eating in the den and putting feet up on
the furniture would have sent Calista and Audra into fits. "I noticed,
I actually told Calista and Audra that your room was off limits when you
hit the teens. Personal space is just something a boy needs."
"Thanks," Adonis said easily before nudging his father with an elbow.
"I forgot one more thing and it's thanks to you."
"Go on." The amusement coming from Adonis was quite clear. "I can't
wait to hear this."
"Do I look skeletally thin to you?" Adonis tried to keep a straight
face but he couldn't, especially when his father gave him a friendly shove.
"Smart ass." Pas Finally, Pas nodded his chin toward Adonis' neck and
collarbone. "Mind if I ask a question?"
"Go ahead," Adonis replied even as he realized he knew what the question
was going to be. His father had been 'not looking' ever since he walked
into the room.
"This come from the maker of breakfast?" Pas asked as he tapped a mark.
Adonis nodded. "I didn't heal it because it reminds me of how damned
lucky I am that she's given me another chance."
"Maria?" Pas asked. It had to be. That sweet little thing had made his
son so happy, the happiest he'd ever seen him, and, in turn, brought him
so low. He never did find out what broke them apart. It wasn't his
business, he knew that, but he felt his son's pain. The pleased look on
Adonis' face confirmed the verbal answer.
"Mmm hmm. I ran into her yesterday while I was busy feeling sorry for
myself and she, wonderful woman that she is, gave me a second chance.
She loves me the way I am and she said yes."
The last three words were said with great wonderment and joy. "You
asked her to marry you?"
"Just like I should have the first time," Adonis said with a nod.
"I'm glad, son, I'm so glad."
--
for without hope I cannot live, remember the past but do not dwell there,
face the future where all our hopes stand."_- Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
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