Understanding that humans have a way with children
This was it. As the car pulled up to the front of the huge estate I drew in a deep breath as the fact suddenly hit me. I was finally going to meet Sarek's mother and three-year-old son in just a few seconds.
"Nervousness is illogical." He stated flatly for the second time. "I have explained that my mother-"
"I know." I interrupted in a soft voice, still nauseous and weak from the injections administered by the hospital.
The door opened and Savik's arm came into view. "Thank you." I said and accepted, getting out of the car slowly as to avoid another fainting episode. As Sarek rounded the back of the hovercar, he took my hand from Savik's arm and wrapped his arm around my waist.
"It's alright, Sarek. I know physical contact is not appropriate in the company of family. I can walk on my own."
"You are still dizzy." He said flatly, "My mother has informed me that she understands the circumstances." As he was walking me around the car and up the first of the three huge steps leading to the main door, it suddenly hit me what he meant.
"Wait, how did you inform your moth-"
Even families create mental bonds, Ashayam.
"I see." I whispered, shooting him a glance.
My heart pounded out of my chest as the huge brown door opened. I looked up to see a tall, thin woman with a tan complexion in the doorway. Standing tall with pointed ears, a stern monotoned face and a fancy long purple robe she reminded me almost of a queen in some old fairytale I read as a child.
"Son," the woman greeted with the same flat tone as her son, "please, come inside."
Walking through the doorway, the rush of cold air hit me. It was releasing and enough to cause me to sign in relief.
"Mother," Sarek greeted, before turning his attention to me, "may I present my ko-kugalsu, Amanda Grayson."
"Ms. Grayson." the woman began, "I apologise that your first encounter with our planet was not a pleasant one. I understand the environment can be quite challenging for many different species."
She was… kind. I was momentarily stunned from shock. Usually Vulcans are known for their cold, blunt nature. Never did I think that one would apologise to me for their planet's environment.
"It is alright, Mrs. Sarek. The temperature is hardly your fault."
"Mrs. Sarek is not my name." She said, correcting me. I felt my asshole clench in fear. "Technically, whomever is being referred to as 'Mrs. Sarek' would be the mate of my son. I trust that I am not the one in that position considering I was the one who gave him life."
"I apologise. I am... feeling really flustered."
"I understand. It is a standard human emotion when you are experiencing nervousness, am I correct?"
"Yes."
"My mother has been fascinated in human emotions for a long while."
"Nothing wrong with being inter-"
"Ko'mekh-il!" Grandma!
Suddenly from further inside the estate, a small figure ran through the corridor. Pointed ears ran past me and arms wrapped around her legs with squeals of laughter and happiness. Sarek's mother looked up from the child, while she was stoic and expressionless, I could tell she was not pleased with the display of emotion from the small Vulcan.
"You may call me T'Rana." She said, "and the child on my leg is Sybok, son of Sarek."
I looked at the child holding his grandmother's leg. This was the first Vulcan child I had seen that was younger than seven, when the teaching of Surak begins, and it was quite a shock seeing a pointy eared child have emotions. I bend down to his level and gave him a smile,
"Hello, Sybok. Its great to meet you. I am Amanda."
The boy reminded me exactly of my three-year-old students back home. His shy response to someone new, hiding behind his grandmother's skirt as he looked at me, trying to judge if I were good or bad person, to the flush of green that appeared on his cheeks when I widened my smile to him.
"Do forgive him, he is overly emotional considering his age." T'Rana said. "Though I believe he is fond of you given his physical reaction. Sarek has told me you are an educator for children his age."
"Yes… well, I teach all ages, but right now yes, I have a class of three-year-olds."
"Sybok," I said softly reaching into the deep pocket of my long dress, "I have a gift for you. Can I give it to you?"
I pulled the six-by-six Rubix cube from my pocket. I watched as his whole face began to turn green, his smile widened, and it was certainly the most fascinating and beautiful thing I had seen. Careful not to get too close, I began to mix the perfectly solved rubric cube.
"Your daddy tells me that you are quite fond of puzzles. It is great to know that we have something in common. I like them too."
I showed him the jumbled Rubix cube hoping he would come and collect it from me. However, he continued to hide behind his grandmother's skirt with the same excited, and shy smile.
"Do you think I can solve it?" I asked him. When he shook his head no, I couldn't help but scoff. "Really now?"
This is perhaps the one time I was happy that my father insisted I not give up until I was able to solve my Rubix cube he got me for Christmas when I was six. I still remember my tears of frustration as my hands tried to move the colours to their spots.
And as if all his emotions exploded from his small body, he squealed and jumped up and down as I finished the Rubix cube and held it out to him.
"Sybok, that is not appropriate." Sarek scolded him.
"He is just excited." I explained softly, "Your turn." I told the boy as he reached to take the cube.
"Mine, Mamanda?" Sybok confirmed.
"Her name is 'Amanda'."
Ignoring Sarek, I simply smiled at Sybok and confirmed "Yes, my dear. It is yours."
"Dank you, Mamanda!"
With that, the boy took the Rubix cube and ran from the room and into what I assumed was the living room yelling in Vulcan that he would solve it.
"May I ask why you did not correct the child?" T'Rana asked.
Sarek offered me his hand, and as I took it he bent down and wrapped his free arm around my waist and helped me back onto my still shaky feet.
"My name is quite difficult for human children to pronounce. I usually don't correct them until age five when they are more advanced in their native phonemes."
"I see. Fascinating concept."
"Mother, perhaps it would be wise to offer Amanda some water for her dehydration."
"Of course, please the kitchen is just to the left."
As she gestured towards my right, I was surprised to find the kitchen tucked away in the side of the house, with a sliding door matching the brown wooden walls.
"I wouldn't have guessed the kitchen was there." I told T'Rana softly. "I like how it can be tucked away, hidden from view. Did you construct this estate?"
Sliding out a high-top chair from the counter, I sat down and watched her round the white marble counter and over to the replicator.
"Indeed. After we wed, Sarek's father entrusted me with reconstructing the interior of the estate. As I trust my son has told you the kitchen is a sacred place for our kind."
I discreetly covered a coy smile that showed its appearance. The kitchen is a sacred place indeed, I thought. It is also your son's favourite place to take me.
A thought that quickly earned me a lingering glance from Sarek who sat beside me.
Handing me a tall glass of cold water, I quickly downed the glass in three large gulps.
"I'm sorry. That wasn't very appropriate."
Her brow rose in confusion "Why do you apologise? Heat exhaustion is hardly your fault, and your body is dehydrated, therefore making it hard for you to control the rate in which you consume your beverage."
She quickly took my glass and refilled it. Pulling up a chair, she joined Sarek and I on the other side of the counter. I found myself relaxing as I spoke to her. I didn't feel judged, or intimidated… she was genuinely curious and patient, waiting for me to find the right words to articulate my meaning.
The conversation seemed to last a while and surprisingly I found myself relaxing more and more. She was nothing but curious, and quite interested in how her son treats me and how we handle 'quarrels' as she phrased it.
"It's really not that different from-"
"Mamanda Mamanda!" Sybok yelled, running into the kitchen and before I even registered that he was there, he placed the half-finished Rubix cube in the crook of my arm.
"Ah, almost!" I smiled, "Are you having trouble? Do you need some help?"
"No, Mamanda. Glantau! Glantau!"
Watch. He wanted me to watch him.
"Nafai. Gluvaya me" I told the show me.
"You speak our language?" I heard T'Rana ask. There was a small tinge of surprise in her voice.
"Mamanda Mamanda!" Sybok's whined, begging for my attention.
"Yes, not fluently, but I can under-"
"Mamanda!" He screamed "Mamanda! Gluvaya!" Sybok tugged hard on my sleeve, the Rubix cube fell from my arm and landed hard on the floor with a hard crashing sound.
"Hiyet Sybok!" Sarek's shouted, his raised voice making me jump from my chair. Enough Sybok. "Amanda nam-tor k' ish-veh ko'mekh-il. Bek-tor." Amanda is with your grandmother. Wait.
A statement that after a moment of silence made Sybok begin to cry. His hand covered his eyes as if he was trying to hide his emotions. It wasn't exactly what Sarek said, it was how he said it.
T'Rana without saying a word walked towards the crying child, she bent down to pick the child up, but he pushed her away, crying in Vulcan that he did not want her.
He began to kick and his crying began to turn into screaming.
"If I may…" I interjected softly. "May I try to calm him?"
"Are you familiar with calming children?" She asked.
"I can try."
Sliding out of my chair I bend down and picked up the cube, "Sybok, can you look at me?" but now, he continued to sit on the floor and cry. I placed my hand gently on his arm, offering a comforting touch. "Your father was very mean, wasn't he?"
"Amand-"
I whipped my head back and spit a firm "Shh!" before turning back to the child. "He was very mean when he said that. And he shouldn't have said it that way, yes?"
After a moment of continuous crying, he looked up at me, wiping his eyes. He gave a small nod and said through his tear strained voice "M-m-me- mean, fa- fa-father."
"Do you think he should apologise for yelling?"
More tears, and then another nod.
I turned to Sarek and gave him a sharp look "Your son, Sybok, was very hurt by your tone. He would appreciate it if you apologise."
There was a moment of hesitation, I would feel a small niggle through our bond. I inhaled and communicated through our bond "You were very harsh when him. That was not logical."
I felt something small on my leg, I turned back to see Sybok crawling to me and sat on my leg, resting his head on my shoulder as he looked at his father waiting for an apology. I adjusted myself onto the floor and held the child in my arms as he now sat in my lap. We both staired at his father waiting for an apology.
"Sybok. I apologise if my tone-"
I cleared my throat "if my tone…"
If looks could kill, his eyes would have set phasers to kill, he drew in a breath and corrected "that my tone offended you."
"Good" I smiled back at the boy. "See-"
"But, you should not have insisting on Amanda's attention when she was in a conversation with your Elders. It is rude"
"And I was just about to say that. Sybok, I know that you wanted my attention, and that is perfectly fine. I'll always be here for you, but when adults are talking with other adults, it can be considered rude to just interrupt unless of an emergency, okay?"
The child's eyes were firm on me, he was listening. "Now, do you think that since Daddy apologized for his actions that you should too? Do you think that is logical, to apologise for one's wrongdoings?"
"Yes, Mamanda"
"Then can you look at Grandma and Papa and apologise to them."
Without hesitation he looked at Sarek and his grandmother and said with a still shaky voice from tears that he was sorry.
"You are forgiven, Grandson." T'Rana said flatly.
I looked up at Sarek who gave a nod to the child.
I smiled and handed him the Rubix cube in my free hand "Good, now that that's settled, you have my attention, what would you like to show me?"
As if nothing had ever happened, the boy smiled excitedly through his green tear-stained cheeks and quickly arranged the half-jumbled Rubik cube into its correct order in what seemed like seconds.
"Oh, my goodness!" I beamed. "That is amazing, you are a very smart boy!"
Sybok was quick to seize the opportunity. He had taken my hand and dragged me out of the kitchen quick to show me more of his puzzles. I didn't mind, he was such a sweet boy and eager for someone to pay attention to him… and love him.
"I'll be back!" I yelled, while being pulled away from the kitchen.
It was when Sybok asked for some kaas juice thirty minutes later, that he took me by the hand and insisted on walking me to the kitchen. As we walked down the corridor, T'Rana words echoed softly throughout kitchen. Sybok stopped around the corner and urged me to do the same
"Shh!" he whispered, "Grandma and Daddy are talking."
Although it wasn't my intention to eavesdrop, it is to this day, as I write this, I tell you that I am glad I did that day for it was something I needed to hear when taking on the daunting task of motherhood at the young age of twenty - three.
"She will learn our ways in time son, I urge you not to worry. However, one thing is certain given all my years researching the different species. Humans have a way with children, some more than others, and I believe she will make a great mother to your son and one day to the children you will have together."
