Starlight Gleaming Ch. 20

Janetta looked at me. "Ranji, may I step in?"

"All right."

Turning to Sisi, she said, "Sisi, every officer who wears a uniform is a nobleman. That means you can call them by their rank or by lord or lady as appropriate. Your Tenant is a nobleman. He is a Commander in the Air Service. He is also Lord Kandikan. I am a captain. I am also Lady Tlacotli. You are Lady Sisi Kandikan. Mina is Lady Mina Kandikan. That means when you and Mina grow up, you will not only be warriors, if you work and train hard, you can be officers. Leaders. The person in charge.

"Being a warrior means you fight back. It doesn't always mean you use your fists. What did I say to you about big problems?"

"Make them smaller," she answered. "Like I have to clean my room, I do my bed, then one side of the room, then the other, and then the closet."

Holy gods. Janetta's been spending time talking to my daughter, I thought. Huh! And she thinks she'll won't make a good mother!

"Perfect answer," Janetta replied. "Fighting against others is the same way. If you can't take them on all at once, fight them one at a time. Pick your place and time. Remember, no matter what others say to you or call you, you are Sisi Kandikan, daughter of Lord Ranji Kandikan. You are a warrior and a warrior's daughter. Even if you get beaten, you only lose when you admit defeat. Even when you feel bad and want to cry, you are a warrior, Sisi. Your Tenant and your Mama Zinja are warriors, too. If you get knocked down, you pick yourself right back up and you get in there. When another kid says something you don't like or makes you feel bad, you tell them you are a warrior's daughter and they better stop. If they insist, you tell them no! By the same token, you can't boss them around until you grow up and know how to do it properly. If a grown up makes you feel bad or afraid or hurts you, what do you do?"

"I tell someone in my family."

"Very good, Sisi," Zinja murmured.

Janetta continued. "When you have bodyguards nearby, the troopers who work for your Tenant, you can tell them, too. Their job is to protect you and Mina. Don't be afraid and run away, but you don't have to let other kids pick on you either. Am I clear, Sisi?"

"I think so, Captain."

"If you have any questions, you ask your Mama Zinja, your Tenant, or me. Now finish your dinner."

Calia cleared her throat. "Master?"

"Yes," I answered.

"Every night when the girls say their prayers, they ask for every one to be safe. They also include Commander Orchid and Commander Barankoshto--"

"General Barankoshto," Janetta corrected.

"Ah, yes. My mistake. Since this party is a celebration of them becoming your daughters, perhaps they should make a card for each of them, thanking them."

Zinja looked surprised. Janetta pondered a moment, then nodded.

I picked up my cutlery, preparing to finish my own dinner. "I think that's a good idea. General Barankoshto was very pleased to hear that you said prayers for her, Sisi. Calia, if you will help them with that, I will do my best to see that the general gets her card. I am sure she will enjoy it."

* * * * *

Part 16 -- Happy Birthday

* * * * *

The next few days passed with no major incidents. Atlantis, too, was quiet, which I was happy about.

The day of the party arrived, and around lunch time, I swung by General Barankoshto's office. She was out, but Sergeant Barris was there, and she greeted me warmly. I handed her the envelope, addressed in a child's writing, and explained what it was for.

Barris laughed quietly. "I'll make sure she gets it."

When I got there, the girls were working on their tablets at the table. I stopped by the Commissary and picked up the two large cakes and almost five gallons of ice cream that I'd ordered. There were a few fruit pies, too, and about ten pounds of wedgies still warm in their boxes along with various types of dipping sauces. From my time watching the kids at the school and my own girls, I thought they would go over well.

When Janetta and the others arrived, they quickly changed to civvies and set about relaxing. Calia, Terra, and Sowitwee set up plates, napkins, and food for adults to sample buffet style. The table was set up for the kids to eat at. As the trash bin filled, Sowitwee kept it emptied. Interestingly, Daydo was ensconced in Salvia's room, helping her with her reading.

Cholan went to the front room and started the call to my parents' home. Once the connection was made, there was Rana sitting beside my mother sitting in the library. Soon Powan and Mika joined them. Rana showed off baby Shanti, to the open admiration of Nariya, Calia, and Ixma. Even Cholan said she looked adorable. On a ten foot by six foot monitor, it's an entirely different experience. Sort of like a monster-cloud of cuteness.

The excited Sisi wanted to chat with her Princes, so we let them talk. Which worked out, because Pen, Tanti, Breena, and the children with the nanny showed up. Pen brought two gallons of fruit juice for the kids and a four-pack of blue metl juice, which Janetta immediately accepted as being hers. "Ooh, I like you, Lieutenant! Perfect choice!"

Other children with at least one parent began to arrive, sometimes both. Sisi happily introduced people, and the children chatted with Powan and Mika about their favorite games to play.

Mack wandered about, checking rooms. Akama sat out in their cruiser, keeping an eye on vehicles, giving directions on parking, and in general keeping watch. Pen's guards, in a second cruiser, roamed the neighborhood.

Mina sat on Ixma's lap on the couch. I parked on the floor at Ixma's feet, which pleased the young woman immensely. Once her grandma Shanti had left the monitor, Mina lost interest in all the hubbub. Breena sat down on the couch with Siénte, while Cholan herded off her nephews and spent time in the living room talking with them.

The other parents also gathered in the living room, grabbing snacks and drinks and chatting about their children and what they might have in common. Calia moved among them, listening and making comments here and there. There were two couples, and three mothers without their spouses. Aside from the five guests, there were eight more exploring, running to the bathroom, asking for a snack, and the like.

Sisi had fun teaching her friends her version of the birthday song, and they sang it for Mina first.

"Happy birthday, Mina, dear Mina. Happy birthday to you. May each day be fun, with hugs and kisses, too. Happy birthday, Mina, dear Mina. We love you."

Sisi kissed Mina while the others clapped. Then the children started playing board games. Sachi came and asked if he could play with Mina's toys in the box under the coffee table, but she ignored him and started to fuss. Her actual birthday was a few months away, and she'd missed her nap. Seeking compensation, Mina was trying to breastfeed, which she saw Siénte doing.

Sachi looked forlorn, so I grabbed a book from under the table and asked him to sit next to me, and I began to read to him.

Because Mina needed to lay down, Ixma took her upstairs, saying she was going to lay down with her. In other parts of the room, games were underway. Kids streamed to the table to eat cashew butter and jelly sandwiches, dip wedgies into sauce, drink some juice or water, and scarf down some cake slices when they thought adults weren't looking.

Once we finished the first book, I asked Sachi if he wanted to hear another and he nodded vigorously. So I grabbed another from the collection and started to read that one to him. When I finished, Breena was burping her baby.

Before I knew it, tears started spilling down Breena's cheeks, and she started loudly blubbering. "Thank you for saving us, my lord. Thank you!"

Seeing his mother cry distressed Sachi, so he got up and tried to comfort her. "Please don't cry, Mama."

After she gave him a brief hug, I squatted down next to the boy. "It's all right. Your mom is still sad about your grandparents passing away. Sometimes your Aunt Cholan cries for them, too. In the meantime, I'd like you to come with me."

He looked at Breena and asked, "Is it okay to go with him, Mama?"

"Yes, of course!" she said, wiping at her eyes.

"Follow me, Sachi." We headed out of the front room, past the living room. Cholan saw me and called out, "Is it time?"

"It's time," I replied, heading up the stairs. I checked to make sure Sachi was still with me.

Cholan said, "Come on, Aarpo. Let's go follow them!"

Leading them into master bedroom, I told both boys to wait while I went into the closet and dug around. "Where did I leave that? Hmm. Is it under here? No. Not there. I'm sure I put it here earlier. Oh, there's one. Aha! And there's the other."

I remembered that Sachi was absorbed in playing with blocks. His grandparents had both been civil engineers, so it was likely he would inherit an interest in building things. With Cholan's help, I had bought him two boxes. One was a large collection of wooden blocks, similar in style to the ones I'd first seen him playing with in Copán. The second box contained a collection of cars, animals, plastic fences, street signs, and the like, to add to his building fantasies. Both had handy carrying cases to store the pieces in.

"These are for me?" he exclaimed, his eyes wide.

Cholan grinned. "They sure are, Sachi. We both picked them out for you."

On the other hand, Aarpo seemed to be a reader, so I got him a couple of add-on modules for his child's tablet. Two were of various child games recommended by Calia, one of music, and two more of children's stories, with the option to read alone or to read-along with narration. I also bought him four actual hold-in-your-hands books. Reading on tablets is convenient. You can easily search, index, and several other things. But a book in your hands and reading the words? That's something special.

Sachi wasn't sure what to do about the gift. Cholan said they would take it and he could play with the blocks down in the front room. Aarpo accepted his gifts, thanking me gravely.

"They are from your Aunt Cholan and me. She helped pick them out, too."

Cholan carefully helped Sachi unwrap the blocks, keeping an eye on her other nephew and glancing at me with gratitude and affection.

"Something on your mind, Aarpo?" I asked.

"Aunt Cholan lives with you?"

"Yes, she does."

"Is she your wife?"

"She's my woman, which I guess is nearly the same thing. Why do you ask?"

"Mother says I should call you Lord, but if you are married to Aunt Cholan, shouldn't I call you Uncle instead?"

"What would you like to do?" I asked him.

He looked a little unsure. "I had an uncle once. Uncle Xipan. He was father's younger brother. I don't remember much, except that he used to make me smile. But he died. I should like to have an uncle again."

"Then you and Sachi can call me uncle," I told him.

Cholan sniffed as she drew Sachi in for a hug. Together they looked at the pictures in the instruction booklet that came with the blocks.

"Mother says bad men killed grandfather and grandmother, and that you saved us. She also said bad men hurt you and Pen and Aunt Cholan. Are we going to die, Uncle?"

"Not if I can help it. Pen is working to keep you safe, too. If someone makes you afraid, you tell your mother, Aunt Tanti, Aunt Cholan, or Pen. We'll take care of you."

He nodded. "I miss father. But I'm glad he doesn't hit us anymore."

"Me, too, Aarpo. Me, too."

I wanted to break a lot of that man's bones for what he had done to his own kids. Disowning them was bad, but getting them away from him was much better than their remaining within his clutches. If I ever saw him again, I was pretty sure I would hurt him.

We collected the boys and their bundles of toys and returned downstairs. Cholan gently hip-checked me, then whispered, "If I tried to show you how much I loved you, it would cause such a scene." Then she told the boys they needed to eat before playing with their gifts as she collected the second package from Sachi.

Wandering back to the front room, Sisi approached me, frowning. "Tenant, everybody sang happy birthday to me, but you. Where were you?"

"Oh, my. You've caught me! You are my favorite daughter named Sisi, so I need to sing to you!"

"Tenant! I'm your only daughter named Sisi!"

"You're absolutely right!" So I immediately began singing Sisi's birthday song to her. Then sang it again for good measure. Which put things right with the world again for her.

Terra and Zinja brought in three huge bowls of buttered and salted quinoa, with spoons and smaller bowls for the kids gathered around. The enticing smell filled the air, so I reached over and grabbed a handful and munched. Cholan tinkered with the monitor, and set up a movie for the kids to watch.

Breena managed to keep it together when Aarpo parked next to me, quietly showing his mother what he'd received. "You say your uncle gave you that?"

"Yes, mother."

She glanced at me gratefully, then focused on him as her daughter slept in her lap. "Come, show me what it can do."

Sisi climbed into my lap cradling her own bowl, munching as her attention was drawn to the big screen. Sachi played quietly off to the side with his blocks. As the video ran -- it was some show about an anthropomorphic talking guinea pig child that always seemed to get into trouble. It was silly, but Sisi and Mina both seemed entranced by the show and watched various episodes frequently. A few times I saw parents peek around the corner into the front room before they returned to their chatting elsewhere.

I hadn't seen Doyya or Chita yet, but I suspected they were just running behind. It was fun to just sit down and relax.

Unsurprisingly, I fell asleep.

A voice quietly called to me, and I slowly opened my eyes. As my eyes blinked open, I saw Calia and Cholan crouched in front of me. Janetta stood a short distance behind them. Then I suddenly winced at the kink in my neck.

Calia looked sympathetic. "Do you wish me to work on your shoulders, Master?"

"No, but thank you," I said. "I'll be fine in a bit. How long was I out?"

"About two hours," Cholan said with a grin. "The kids had a great time and Sisi is quite happy with the results. She made them into generals, so her title seems more secure."

I chuckled as I sat up and slowly rolled my neck. "That's good. It seems unusually quiet. Where is everyone?"

They moved to give me room to stand.

"The parents have taken them home, so it's just us," Cholan answered. "Nobody's all that hungry, but Captain said it was past the dinner hour and we needed to have our evening meal."

Glancing at Janetta as she left the room, I nodded as I stretched. "Sorry about falling asleep like that."

"Oh, that's all right," Cholan said. "We got plenty of pictures to blackmail you with."

"What?"

"Oh, you know," Cholan said with a smile. "Drool coming out of your mouth. Snoring. There might have been discussion of putting quinoa in your nose. Using a marker to put a mustache on you. You know. Harmless stuff."

Calia snickered.

After a quick rub of my nose to verify the absence of the grain, I headed to the downstairs bathroom to wash up. Along the way, I passed Breena's nanny keeping watch over Breena's baby. Nearby were Mack and Akama chatting quietly. As I passed them, they both gave me an odd look, like they were trying to stifle laughter. My suspicions rose.

After flicking on the light, my reflection in the mirror caught my attention. I had several distinct lipstick kisses all over my face. Different shades, too. And one that was smaller than the others. Probably my daughter. While I washed my hands, I decided to leave them on. Better than a fake mustache.

On the way back, I nodded to Mack and Akama as they watched me walk by, openly grinning now.

Entering the kitchen, I saw that both table inserts had been added, and it was still crowded. Pen, Tanti, Breena, and the boys were at the table. Daydo, Terra and a paler Salvia, then Nariya and Sowitwee. Sometime while I was alseep, Doyya and Chita had arrived and were seated between Calia and Cholan, making for a line of seven women on one side. Eight, if I counted Mina on Ixma's lap.

Tanti saw me and gasped, her mouth dropping open. Followed by Doyya and Chita. Sowitwee looked gobsmacked. I calmly looked around the room. All six of the older women of my House wore different shades of lipstick. Even Janetta, keeping her face focused on her place setting, wore a look of vast amusement.

"He's still wearing them! That one's mine, Tenant!" Sisi exclaimed with glee, pointing out and claiming the small one.

"Of course. Since all of you went to all the trouble, it seemed the thing to do. I'm trying to decide if tomorrow I'm going to have all these permanently tattooed."

Pen was the first to crack, and all the others quickly crumbled into gales of laughter. Doyya laughed so hard, her voice faded and a couple of tears escaped. Seeing their happy faces, I couldn't help but join them.

As things calmed down, I got a look at Sisi. She wore new clothing. It was a child's Air Service uniform, with "Kandikan" and "Air Service" over her breast pockets. There was no grade, but she did have the medium blue shoulder boards of a cadet officer. It made her look twice her age.

"Sisi, come around where I can see you."

Getting down, she made her way around the crowded table.

It was indeed a replica of an Air Service Uniform fitted for a child. Then I caught sight of the fuzzy grey bunny slippers she wore, complete with floppy ears and face over the toes and a cottontail above the heel.

"Where did you get that?" I asked, grinning at her.

"Mama Zinja and Captain bought it for me for my birthday. Captain said since I had a birthday, I should have a present, too. Ixma bought me the slippers. They're nice and warm! Mina got slippers, too. Do you like it?"

"Yes, I do."

"Mama Zinja said I had to ask you before I wore it to school."

"Sure, if that's what you want. I didn't know they made clothing like this."

Calia said to me, "Some of the other children have started showing up with uniforms. The choice usually reflects the service branch of the father. The school, too, is considering making it mandatory for the secondary level."

"Okay. Thank you, Sisi. You should sit down now."

The rest of the dinner was pleasant, and passed rather quickly.

Afterward, Sowitwee and I helped gather up the toys, reaching under furniture and collecting trash while we were at it. The amount of food and wet spots from spilled drinks was daunting. Nonetheless, we persevered. Sachi's new toys went into the boot, and the family squeezed into Pen's ChoCac sedan. Akama and Mack kept watch by the front step while Pen's pair sat in their cruiser. Because of the safety seats, there was no space, so Zeezu the nanny rode in the back of the security vehicle.

"Better get a ChoCac wagon," I advised him.

He nodded.

An exuberant Tanti leaned over and said, "He's going to teach me how to drive! Isn't he wonderful?"

"My thoughts exactly," I replied. "Maybe he can teach me, too."

Pen wrinkled his face and gave me a put-upon smile.

The window was going up when Aarpo called out, "Good night, Uncle!"

"Good night, Aarpo. You, too, Sachi," I replied.

Pen blinked, then raised his eyebrows at me. "Uncle? Something I should know?"

"We'll talk tomorrow," I told him.

"Okay. It was fun visiting. Good night, Ranji."

He backed out onto the street, then he drove off, his escort keeping pace behind them.

As the boys has stayed long enough to enjoy story time with us, I said goodnight to both my girls, and Zinja and Ixma took them upstairs.