Chapter Twelve

I ran into the house when I heard Rynn scream my name. I knew what it meant because she had been having issues all night. Her water broke. Shesha, Ireena, and I helped her into the roller, and then we raced to Defiance. It was so cold that I could barely take it. It took us about thirty minutes to make it into the city, and as soon as we approached the stasis net, it came down for us. I rolled up to the Doctor's office, and she was already waiting for us. Rynn was in agony, but we got her on the delivery bed just in time, and Doc Yewll worked her magic. The delivery happened rather fast, and I was happy about that. The baby came out with apricot hair, dark skin, and smiling. When I placed the child in Rynn's arms, she said, "Welcome to the New World, I-ron Tar." She looked up at me and placed my right hand on the left side of her face. She looked so innocent to me.

"You did a wonderful job, honey," I said, "He's beautiful like his Mama." She looked down at the child and smiled at me. For a moment, she was the prettiest woman I had ever seen.

"And handsome like his father," she said.

It was about eleven o'clock in the morning when Shesha ran across the street to the food market. I was with Rynn as she held the baby close to her. I was so happy the baby came out strong like his Mama. He had so many people who loved him, and I wished his grandfather was here to see him. Irocuz would have been proud of Rynn. I know he would have because I was proud of her. I kind of broke out in a giggle because the little girl I met in the Bazaar at the age of six gave me my first child. Everything happened so fast that I didn't know how to process it. The child represented our tenaciousness to see things through. I remembered when I told her that I would find her one day, and I did just that. We settled our differences, and finally brought a wonderful child in the world, and I gave Irzu all the praise.

"Where's Shesha?" She asked. Her mouth looked dry, so I got her a cup of water.

"Getting food," I said. "I had her run over to the Bazaar and grab us a bite to eat." I handed her the cup of water, and she took a sip. She looked up at me for a moment.

"Oh! Make sure she picks up some extra Whacky Sauce," she said. "I'm in the mood for something with a lot of flavors."

"Some penis?" I asked.

"Not in front of our child, Tommy," she said.

"Not in front of me either," Doc Yewll said. "I may be a freak, but I got limits."

"Okay," I said as I laughed at Doc Yewll's jokes. I ran out of her office, walked toward Rory's booth, and somebody was manhandling Shesha. When I saw the man push her around, I thought I was going to have to kill him. I had my gun on my right ankle, and I wasn't in the mood to play games. Immediately, I pushed the Castithan male off her, and asked, "What's the meaning of this?" He was an older man with a craggy face. His clothes were worn, and his hands were large and rough. He stood approximately six-feet-two-inches. I approached the man, and said, "Tell me why you're attacking my assistant?" He looked like he barely had two coins to rub together.

"My name is Argus P'larious. Her master," he said. "The hoodlums stole her from me years ago."

Shesha was on her knees and clamped on to my right leg. I realized immediately that she wasn't about to let my leg go, and go with the poor sap. She trembled with fear because she didn't want to return to the P'larious household. "I don't want to leave the House of Tar, Favi."

"She's part of my family, P'larious" I said with a grimace. "I can't part with a family member. She lives in a nice house, eats good food, and has all the amenities she needs for a comfortable life. She's well read now."

"You've ruined her," he said. "She's only worth about a thousand scripts soaking wet. You don't teach slaves to read. Don't you know that?"

"She's not my slave. She's a respected member of my family. She eats at the table with the family. She's part of my family, and I don't want anybody to ever stake a claim on her again," I said, "You don't look like you have the means to take care of Shesha."

He looked flustered. "I've fallen upon hard times. I only paid five hundred scripts for her when she was but a child. A gang of miscreants stole her when I traveled to Oklahoma."

I placed my left hand on the back of Shesha's neck, and said, "I value Shesha's life. More so than I value your life, P'larious. I've taught her how to read, write, and a bunch of other things. I'm willing to go to war over her," I said, "Are you willing to die to have her back?"

"Of course not," he said, "But I'm out of five hundred dollars." He looked down at the ground for a moment and shook his head in shame. "I have nothing. I lost everything gambling in the Hollows, but I have a claim to this slave."

"I paid a great deal of money for her," I said.

"How much did you pay?" He asked with a grimace.

"Three thousand scripts," I said, "That's two times market value."

"Holy shit! Do you just give money away?" He asked. "No man in his right man would pay that much money for such a lowly slave."

"I was being generous," I said, "I killed three men and one woman for her. I'm willing to kill one more if the need arises."

I see," he said with a grimace. "You give me five hundred dollars, and we can settle all this right now with no bloodshed."

"You give me all the paperwork on her," I said, "I'll pay you fair market value on Shesha." Rory went into her safe, pulled out fifteen hundred dollars, and handed it to me. The old, Castithan man ran back to his hovel, and then returned with the paperwork. Shesha quickly ran Rynn's food to her, and then returned to me. We signed all the proper paperwork, and he took the money, praised my generosity, and then scurried off. When we returned to Rynn, I kindly told her what happened, and now that we had the paperwork, we no longer worried about not having legal possession of Shesha. The entire situation caused my assistant dismay, and she laid her head in my lap for nearly two hours before she could muster up enough strength to relax on the floor.

Irisa lent me two cots from the law-keeper stash, and we stayed with Rynn the entire time she was in the hospital. Irisa meander into the room during her rounds, and I loved seeing her.

"You don't have to stay with me the whole time," Rynn said.

My assistant was on her cot reading her book. I looked over at her for a moment. "Shesha, please tell Rynn what I'm thinking," I said as I sat up on my cot.

"We're not going anywhere without you," she said.

"I see," Rynn said, "Okay. Please keep the chit chat down to a minimum then."

"Yes, ma'am," she said.

I sat on my cot opposite of my wife, and she looked serene. I loved the peaceful look on her visage, but when it came to Rynn, I loved her in every way imaginable. She had an elegant visage that often caught my attention, and I still remembered how I felt about her when I was only six. She lay in the hospital bed, breastfed our child, and it was a picture of beauty. She had the same visage I remember from my childhood, and when it came to her scar, it was part of her character. I rarely noticed it even when I looked at her directly, which was all the time. There was nothing more peaceful than to listen to Rynn discussing things with me. She was so calm and beautiful that I loved just laying in bed next to her, and listening to her go over the status report on our wine sales.

After two days in the infirmary with the baby, Doc Yewll said, "Good riddance." I laughed, but I'm sure she was serious. I asked Shesha to drive Rynn to her doctor's appointment, but she didn't know how to drive, so I spent the weekend after the pregnancy to show her how to drive. I'd fuel up the roller, and let her drive me back and forth to Defiance to all my meetings, and the Castithan males complained. Eventually, the Castithan elite looked the other way because she was taking care of my wife.

It was approximately two weeks after Rynn gave birth to I-ron that she had her first Doctor's appointment. Shesha drove her, and then Datak sent me a nasty message on the hailer about it. He claimed my assistant was hurting the natural order of things. I simply told him I needed her to take care of Rynn when I was busy working with Mister Bixby. I didn't attend the appointment because I had a meeting with Mister Bixby in Arkansas over a new wine flavor. It had an appley tang to it that I thought would be big among the meth heads in the midwestern part of the country. When I arrived home, Shesha met me at the door, took off my jacket, hung it up, took off my shoes, and placed slippers on my feet. Rynn quickly went through a massive weight-loss phase, and I could tell it in her face. I found it odd because her scar wasn't as prominent either. I looked at her for a long time as she lay asleep on the living room sofa, and tried to determine if something had changed with her visage. The very top portion of the scar that looked like a half moon was barely visible, but I simply thought my mind over exaggerated it at some point.

The baby lay in his crib. I mainly kept the crib in the corner of the living room and had another one in our bedroom. The child wore out my wife because he always wanted to feed. She wanted to diet, and Doc Yewll told her she needed the calories for the baby. We had been married for six years, and I didn't recall Rynn ever being worried about her weight. I lay on the floor against the couch, and Rynn's right arm hung down on my bare chest. I was in and out of sleep when Shesha came into the room ready to take her daily bath.

"Favi, may I take some time for myself?" She asked with a smile. I sat on the floor and had to look up at her. She already had her towel, flip flops, and beaded suite on.

"Go ahead," I said. I wasn't going to say no. If I needed her, I would say, "I need your assistance." She would postpone her need to bathe to help me in whatever I had to do. "I hope you're enjoying your gift." I smiled.

"Favi, I owe you my life," she said. "You've saved me from a life of abuse. For the first time in my life, I feel like I matter."

"You do matter," I said, "You're family."

"Thank you, Favi Tar," she said as she nodded to me out of respect.

Rynn's next appointment with Meh Yewll came around April fifth, and I had recently turned twenty-two. With the excitement of I-ron, nobody made a fuss about my birthday, and I was okay with that. I didn't think much about it at the time when Shesha drove her to the doctor's office. Ireena and I played a game of cards, and she was upset because I beat her like three times in a row. Ivy played Tea Time in the dining room, and Mama worked over a crossword puzzle. Irisa had the day off, and she lay on the floor asleep. She was sleeping good too because she was snoring. When Rynn walked through the door, it was about two o'clock in the afternoon. Shesha came in with a new beaded, blue bathing suit to enjoy in her tub. I couldn't believe nobody at least acknowledged my birthday.

"Favi, thank you for buying me the new suit," she said.

"You're welcome," I said.

Rynn placed I-ron in his crib, and said, "He's almost thirteen pounds, honey."

"Sweet," I said.

"That's a pretty good weight," Irisa said while she lay on the floor.

Shesha sat a chocolate bar in front of me, and I gave half to Ivy. She loved chocolate like all kids, but if I didn't give her some, she would beg me until I did. Rynn sat at the end of the table, and I reached over, gave her a kiss, and she frowned at me.

"You taste like peanuts," she said. "Ewww."

"You never complained before," I said. When I tried to kiss her again, she turned her head.

"Tommy, nine," she snapped. That translated to "Tommy quit!"

I sat back down for a moment and realized she wasn't in a playful mood. In addition, I noticed the top part of her head didn't have a single blemish on it. For a moment, I paused at her smooth forehead and wondered when she planned on telling me what she was doing. She wasn't merely seeing the doctor about our child, but she was having work done on her face. For years I had known Rynn, and even when she refused to be with me as long as I was a law-keeper, she wasn't ever short with me. But now as her scar dissipated, she seemed to act differently towards me. I sat back in the chair and finished my chocolate bar.

Ireena said, "I-ron is such a quiet child. Ivy made such a raucous the first year that I thought I wasn't going to make it."

"I think he has Rynn's disposition," Mama said.

It was a weird moment for me. I was an emotional wreck for some reason, and nobody noticed at all. Shesha sat in the corner, and she was looking directly at me, and I wondered if she sensed something about me. Rynn grabbed me by that hand at the very moment that my heart was filled with the most doubts, and we walked out on the front porch, and then into the yard. It was cold. I felt a certain, negative way about myself. I didn't like the fact that I felt anger over Rynn having her scars removed.

"Tommy, nia oshea," she said. "Ni sudi hena kovac inyee ibra izago." I looked at her for a moment and shook my head in disbelief.

"You're right, Rynn. You should have told me you were having your scars removed."

"Viti oadi fooagi," she snapped. She looked over at me for a moment, and I didn't quite understand the anger. She said to me with a nasty tone that it was her face. I never said that it wasn't, and I didn't know why we were fighting.

"We talk about everything, Rynn," I said calmly. "Why haven't we talked about this?" I asked.

"Because I want this," she said, "For me, Tommy." She slapped her chest. "No girl wants to be scarred."

"When I see your face, I don't notice the scars," I said.

"That's bullshit," she snapped. "You sure notice when they're not there."

"So, you think you have to be sneaky about this?" I asked. "What's happening with us?"

"It's just that I know you see the scars as part of me as part of who I am," she said. "I know you're going to think I'm not your Rynn when they're gone."

"Are you my Rynn?" I asked. "I don't remember a time when I didn't love you. Are you still my Rynn?"

"Yes, Tommy! Yes! I love you and when the scars are gone I'll love you," she said. "Don't make me feel bad about this."

"It's not fair that you're not allowing me to be part of this," I said, "It's not fair that I'm not with you during the treatments."

"I'm sorry," she said, "For now on you'll come with me." She began to cry loudly. "I'm sorry, Tommy." I hugged her for a long time in the middle of the yard. She cried in my arms.

"I love you, Rynn. There hasn't been a time I haven't loved you. I just wish you believed that," I said, "If you don't understand that now, then I don't know how to make you see it. You should have never done this alone because it makes me think something is wrong with our relationship. I don't want to ever think there is something wrong with our relationship."

Rynn and I walked back into the house, and Ivy colored in her coloring book. She looked up at me, smiled, and then said, "Happy birthday, Uncle Tommy."

Shesha immediately stood to her feet, grabbed the calendar off the wall, and said, "Dammit!" She ran over to me crying, and hugged me around the waist, "Favi, please forgive me for not realizing today was your day?"

"Dammit! I'm sorry, Tommy," Rynn said.

"It's my fault," Mama said.

"Don't worry about it," I said. "We've been busy."

Irsia hopped off the floor, grabbed her suitcase, opened it, and pulled out a brand new coat for me. "Happy birthday, Tommy!"

Rynn ran to the bedroom, and then I ran after her. "What's wrong?"

"I've failed," she said, "It was my responsibility to remember your birthday."

"We've been busy," I said, "Don't worry about it."

Later…

Irisa, Rynn, Ireena, Shesha and I listened to some music and ate some pow jerky that Mama made. They discussed a million and one things about life in Defiance, and Irisa said something about she enjoyed living there. Rynn fed the baby, and Irisa's head was on my lap. Shesha was in the room too, and she was asleep at the foot of the bed. We were drinking some wine, but my wife wasn't participating because she was breastfeeding. Shesha only had a few glasses, and then she was out cold at the foot of the bed. The room was toasty. By ten o'clock at night, everybody was sound asleep except for Rynn and me, and we went into Ireena's room to talk. Ivy was with Mama, and the baby was with us.

When we walked into Ireena's room, she had toys on the floor, and some of them were metal cars, and I immediately picked them up. Her room smelled like roses all the time. She had some kind of sweet-smelling air freshener that let off a scent automatically. Rynn sat on the edge of the bed and laid I-ron on the pillow at the front of the bed. I didn't know exactly what she wanted to discuss, but I was hoping for a little sex. She had her shirt halfway buttoned up, and I could see her cleavage. Doc Yewll cleared her for coitus, and I was ready to test her out, but that wasn't what she wanted to discuss. I almost laughed when she looked up at me with her big, round yellow eyes, and she began buttoning up her shirt like she knew what I wanted. She clasped her hands together, and said, "I'm insecure, Tommy." She looked down at the ground for a moment, and tears raced down her face. "I looked at Naria at Mister Shooty's house all those months back, and I couldn't understand why you chose me."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "I chose you when I was six."

She placed her left hand on my right knee. I was sitting next to her on the edge of the bed. We didn't have any shoes on, and the carpet in Ireena's room was fluffy and thick. I was rolling my left foot on one of Ivy's tubular toys. It felt good as it rolled into the arch of my foot. When I looked down at the toy, I realized it was actually Ireena's toy, and I quickly knocked it under the bed. I grabbed some alcohol and a cotton ball off her dresser, and wiped off the bottom of my left foot.

"What are you doing?" Rynn asked grimacing. "You're making up a lot of noise."

"Sorry," I said. I tossed the cotton ball in the trash, and then she started to speak about the time we spent at Mister Shooty's.

"You could have had Naria, Rory, or any girl without all my crassness and scars," she said, "I'm damaged." I looked over at her, and she had a frown on her face. I didn't feel sorry for her pain because it was all new to me. In fact, I hadn't ever heard her talk about her scar until after the baby was born. I was kind of upset about the way she was acting because I always saw the Rynn I knew before the scar. It was like the scar was part of her. "I'm the apple that you throw back because it's badly bruised."

I walked over to her, placed my right hand on the back of her neck, and said, "These are your thoughts. You're thinking things that haven't crossed my mind. Maybe you're experiencing depression?"

"How could I not?" She asked. "I feel so ugly."

"You're the girl that took my breath away. Then and now," I said. "You're the girl that I killed three Ark Hunters to have by my side." She placed her head against my outer thigh. "I see all your beauty. Have you ever thought what I've done for you?"

"Sometimes," she said.

"I removed most of Aaron Baker's face for slandering you," I said, "Irocuz shot Billy De Baker in the chest for threatening you. You're jealous of women who can't compare to you." I stopped speaking for a moment and said, "I'm sorry, Rynn. I need to let you speak. I want to know all your feelings so we can move past this."

She smiled sheepishly for a moment. "I think I'll feel better once the scars are completely gone, Tommy."

"We're children of the Badlands, Rynn," I said, "We're all damaged." I walked over to the window for a moment and looked back at my wife. She continued to sit on the edge of the bed with a distressed look on her face. "How did you forget my birthday?"

"I don't know," she said softly. "I'm not happy about that. Are you going to beat me up over it when I'm already beating myself up?" She didn't mean physically beat her up because I'd never raise an angry hand towards her. I wasn't a Castithan male who ruled his household with an angry fist and threatened expulsion from the family at the slightest offense.

"It's funny that I'd gladly sacrifice myself for everybody in this house, but only the next to the youngest person thought about my day," I said. "Well, Shesha knew it was my birthday."

"No she didn't," Rynn snapped.

"She's so thoughtful that she pretended like she didn't know," I said, "She took the calendar down like she completely forgot, so everybody else wouldn't feel bad for forgetting."

Rynn laughed. "How do you know?" She asked.

I pulled out the candy wrapper and handed it to her. It had "Happy Birthday, Favi" written across the package. "See?"

"Fine," she said, "Your little Castithan assistant is perfect."

"Can I be honest with you?" I asked.

She looked at me for a second with her sad eyes, and said, "Sure."

"I'm hurt you forgot my birthday. That's the truth, Rynn. Am I not worth the fuss?" I asked.

"Fuck you, Tommy," she said. "Okay. Fuck you!"

"So, we're taking it there?" I asked.

"You damn right," she said, "I told you I was sorry, but then you have to make me feel like shit over it."

"You're my wife, Rynn," I said, "I've chased you to hell and back, and I've practically thrown my heart at you. You have your scars removed behind my back. You forget my birthday." I sat on the floor. "I shouldn't have one doubt about us."

"What do you want from me, Tommy?" She asked with tears streaming down her face. "I back you in everything you do, and I don't rake you over the coals like this."

"I want to look at you and you look at me and just know you're taking care of my heart," I said. "Is that too much to ask?"

"No." She paused for a moment. "Doc Yewll promises in a few more treatments I won't have any more scars." She began to weep. "I deserve to have a pretty face, Tommy."

I looked at her for a moment, and she was actually looking at me with anger. Her apricot hair set on her head wildly. I tried to place my left hand up against her face, and she knocked it down quickly. "You already look good."

She scoffed at that, and said, "You think this is about you, Mister Tar? It's not about you. It's about me, Tommy. You always try to make shit about you, but it's not about you this time. I want to see a beautiful girl looking back at me when I look in the mirror. Is that okay with you? Is it?" I laid back on the bed, and I-ron lay next to me while Rynn paced back and forth in front of me. "You say you love me…"

"Enough of that, Rynn. I won't lay here, and let you question my love for you," I said, "I don't know why you keep acting crazy over this issue. I told you I'm okay with this. I just want to be included."

"So, you're okay with this?" She asked with a half smile.

"Yes," I said.