At 6 p. m., she heard a car drive in, and she knew it was Lionel. She went into Zion’s room and took his hand, and together they made their way out of the bedroom and into the living room. She let him hold on to the birthday gift bag they got for Nine and Nina, Greg and Diya’s twin girls.
They came outside the house, and they met Lionel beside his car and Ivan standing beside him. Whatever they spoke about didn’t lighten Lionel’s mood or worsen it. He kept a neutral expression, and she didn’t want to listen to it. He looked neat and in good spirits; he had his hair brushed to the side, which gave him a mature look. He had a cream shirt and green trousers to keep it simple.
“Uncle Lionel! Uncle Ivan!” Zion called out, released her hand, and raced towards them.
The two uncles turned to face him, and Lionel bent and picked him up when he got close to him. “You’re so big. You’re even bigger now than the last time I saw you.” Lionel spoke with an incredibly cheerful tone of voice, and if she didn’t know how he felt about his heartbreak, she wouldn’t tell it from his voice.
Zion giggled. “That was two days ago, Uncle Lionel. I couldn’t have gotten bigger.”
His eyes grew wide. “Oh, but you have.”
Ivan turned to her and nodded before taking his leave.
“Shall we go?”
The party started at six, but they were an hour and thirty minutes late. They still met up with the party, as there were many things they wanted to do.
She asked Lionel what Ivan told him. He told her he had spoken about unmarking him and also apologised for how things turned out, even though it wasn’t his fault to begin with. Ivan told him the unmarking would happen after the next full moon. He was optimistic and looking forward to it.
Diya looked excited to see them and hugged them tightly, then informed them that Greg was with the other guest. Zera asked after Nine and Nina, and she told them they were with their grandparents in the kitchen. Zion had gifts for the celebrants and handed them over to Diya before moving to join a few kids his age, who were also in attendance. Lionel exchanged greetings with Diya before leaving them alone.
Diya’s eyes lingered on Lionel, and then she turned to her with narrowed brows. “What happened to him?”
“He and Sesi broke up,” was all she said, without adding any more details.
Her eyes dropped. “Ouch! That sucks! I thought they were meant to be and were already planning their wedding.”
She nodded. “He was going to propose. It makes it even worse, but he’s trying to move on.”
“I hope he finds some sort of happiness somehow.”
Diya’s knowledge was limited. Zera still considered Diya her best friend, but she didn’t know how true that was since she didn’t know much about her life anymore. Diya didn’t know she was a sage, nor did she know Aaron and his family were werewolves. She also didn’t know Daniel was a hunter, or that Lionel had the blood of a hunter flowing through him. It was just too much information to reveal, so instead, she kept things simple and told her human-related things. Diya still confided in her, and she did the same for work- and family-related issues.
She remembered when Diya found out she was pregnant almost two years ago. She called her first, screaming on the phone the same way she did when Greg asked her to marry him. She was happy, perhaps even happier than Diya was, because she knew how badly her friend wanted children, and fate gave her two instead of one. Diya always wanted two, and so did she, and while Diya has now gotten her wish, Zera has given up on hers.
She remembered telling Diya not to worry too much about having a baby a few years ago and that one would come in its time. Now here they were, with not one but two girls.
Diya, being intrusive, asked if they had any plans for another baby. Of course, no one stops asking the question. Still, she played along because that was better than telling her the truth.
Zera told her she wanted another child but would not worry Aaron to death because of it.
Despite what she knew, she would always long for another; there was no helping it. But she also knew the truth.
Last night, while they made love into the night, Aaron told her he was her baby. He was right; he would always be her baby.
“What did the doctors say?” Diya, the ever curious one, asked, hoping to prolong the talk.
“Nothing, because we haven’t even gone to see them. I don’t think that it’s necessary.”
They didn’t consult the doctors because they knew the truth about their condition already. She was a sage, and that was it. Diya didn’t know that, and she didn’t want to tell her about it.
She stayed silent for a while. “It’s always best to know why, ‘cos I’m certain you and Aaron are going at it almost always.”
Zera’s cheeks heat. Diya could always read her like a book, and she never liked that sometimes, but having known her for years, that was expected. “We are happy, Diya; that’s what’s important.”
“That’s true, though. Whatever your decision is, just know that I support it.” She said, reaching for her hand and squeezing on it with a smile on her face.
Zera left Diya after Greg came over to them and they exchanged pleasantries, and she moved to find Lionel and Zion. She spotted Lionel at the corner of the room and a brunette woman standing beside him. They seemed to exchange a light-hearted talk because Lionel had a smile on his face. It was a sight to see, and she couldn’t get enough of it.
He saw her drawing near, and the smile on his face disappeared.
Oh, come on, she cannot be a killer of joy, can she? Well, he probably thought she was.
The lady’s gaze followed the direction of his gaze, and it landed on her. “Is she the one?” she asked.
He immediately shook his head. Zera couldn’t believe she thought this lady was his girlfriend. Did they not look alike to her?
“That’s my sister,” she heard him say.
She sighed and turned away. She was happy Lionel was talking to someone of the opposite sex; it would help him come out of his shell and socialise again. The next full moon was still a few weeks away, despite Lionel’s optimism. He needed to fill his life with a lot of other things until then.