June 20th, 1997
Retirement was not nearly as full of free time as Lia had been told to expect. Of course, anyone who had expected Lia not to keep busy once she was no longer teaching didn't know her very well. Her first fully free summer in decades—she had often taught summer courses once she started teaching at the university instead of secondary schools—had been the perfect time to tackle a wide variety of projects. So far, she had re-stained the wooden back fence, finished sorting out the last of the boxes from their move, re-painted two rooms in the house, finished hanging their art collection, started a flower-and-herb garden in the back yard, and also spent time every day working on training their two young dogs.
The dogs were, as was Ethan's preference, descendants from the line started by Riza Mustang's Black Hayate, which made them great-great-grand cousins of their much loved and missed Bridgette. A brother and sister pair, the female was black-and-cream like their ancestor, and the male red, with hints of black along the ends of his red guard hairs, though he had a bit of cream on his chest and inner legs, as well as under his chin. Ethan and Lia had agreed on names for the dogs together, deciding on Orchid and Hunter. Both were excellent dogs, friendly and energetic. Lia privately wondered if Ethan's need for dogs had to do with the fact that all three of their children—and so their grandchildren—lived multiple days away by travel. They certainly called and wrote often, but it wasn't the same.
Lia had just finished taking the dogs for a training walk and was getting ready to start dinner when the phone rang. "Good afternoon, Elric residence." An answer that always amused her, seeing as how unhelpful that was as an introduction given the number of Elrics in the city. Not that it mattered much. If someone called the wrong house, the message would probably still get to the right people.
"Mrs. Elric, this is Grieg."
Lia recognized the name and voice at once. Grieg Varnes was one of the younger medical alchemists who had been with Ethan and Ren's practice specifically for almost four years now. He had finished his residency period at the hospital while training under them, and decided recently to stay with the practice when Ethan and Ren had invited him to do so. He fit in well with them. Though she couldn't imagine why he was calling. "Hello, Grieg. Is something up? Ethan's over at the hospital today, isn't he?"
"That's where I'm calling from," Grieg replied, sounding hesitant. "And he's why I'm calling. Ethan passed out on duty. He's got a low fever, so he's currently in an empty room resting."
Lia's stomach clenched. It had been a long time since Ethan had fallen unexpectedly ill. It had even been several years since he'd had so much as a really bad cold. While she had half expected him to collapse last fall after the attacks on Resembool and Central, he hadn't gone beyond more normal levels of exhaustion, cured with sleep and food. "What's the prognosis?"
"It seems to be a fairly standard virus, ma'am. We've ruled out anything more serious, but he's not fit for work. I thought you'd want to come over."
"I'll be there as soon as I can," Lia assured him, trying to calm her fears. It wasn't serious. He wasn't dying. Ethan had just done what he always did, and overworked himself until something else got the better of him. If he had been feeling off, he shouldn't have been working anyway, but he hadn't said a word.
Lia hung up the phone and took the bus over to the hospital. Ethan had driven the car that morning, so she would be able to drive them both home. When she arrived, it was clear that the receptionist was expecting her, because she was sent right up to the third floor to a quiet room at the end of a hallway that had very few patients.
She didn't see Grieg and everyone else was busy so they just let her go on down. Lia entered the room, and was relieved to find that Ethan was resting in bed, but he was awake, and he looked reasonably alert.
He looked up as she entered, and the immediate sheepishness on his face told her he knew how happy she definitely was not. "You got here quickly."
"Grieg told me you passed out while on duty. You better believe I got over here fast. If I could have convinced the bus driver to skip a few stops I would have." Lia slipped in and nudged the door closed behind her. "He said you had a virus and a fever. How long have you been feeling under the weather?"
"Just this morning," Ethan replied with the most assuring tone he could manage. "I didn't think it was that bad, Lia, honest. And Grieg's right, it's really nothing worse than a bad cold."
"And months of overwork and exhaustion," she added curtly. "Honestly, I was expecting this to happen months ago. Well, I've come to take you home, and you're not coming back to work until you're entirely well and rested."
Ethan's eyes widened. "But Ren's in Xing for weeks! I can't leave the practice with neither of us."
"Ethan, you have three capable alkahestrists in your practice now under you, besides you and Ren. Grieg was able to handle you. Between them, they'll have everyone covered for a few days. You also have two incredibly well-trained receptionists and a medical technician. Anything else they need they would get done at the hospital anyway. You need to rest. Now, how long are they going to make you stay here?"
"Oh, they haven't actually admitted me," Ethan reassured her. "They just won't let me back on shift. I've already been seen by Grieg—he is, after all, one of those alkahestrists whose praises you just sang—and there's not much else to do for a virus but wait it out, so I guess I'm all yours." He tried to make it sound even remotely seductive, but Lia thought it fell rather flat. The sore throat evident in his voice didn't help.
"Don't make it sound like tonight's going to be fun." Lia shook her head. She would be nursing him for days. At least it meant she could make sure he followed orders. "Let's get you home, and then I can see what needs to be done from there. Can you walk yourself to the car or do I need to find someone with a wheelchair?"
Ethan cringed. "I can walk that far. Do I have permission to get my things from the break room?"
"Yes, but I'll be waiting for you right outside." Lia didn't particularly care if she was supposed to be allowed in any part of the hospital or not. As long as she wasn't in a quarantined area, no one was going to make her go anywhere. Not as long as Ethan had been in practice. Nearly everyone who worked in the building knew her on sight.
She watched Ethan with a hawk's eyes as he sat up and stood. He didn't appear dizzy, which was a good sign, even if his face was flushed. He handed her two slips of paper that had prescriptions on them, and were signed by a different physician. One was for fever, the other congestion. "We'll need to stop by the pharmacy desk downstairs on the way out."
Lia took custody of both slips of paper and followed him from the room. As promised, it took Ethan only a couple of minutes to slip into the breakroom and get his bag. Ten minutes later they had filled both prescriptions and were in the car on the way home.
However not-serious Ethan and even the doctor who had seen him insisted this was, it was definitely taking its drain on her husband. He dozed most of the drive home, and didn't argue when she shoved him into the bedroom to shower and change into something comfortable. Not that she went far, in case he passed out again. He had only gotten about an hour's nap in the hospital.
Having lost over an hour, Lia decided that it was a bit late to start prepping anything complicated for dinner. Instead, she called out for a delivery order of Xingese take-out. Not only could Ethan eat Xingese no matter how sick he was, but she could get dishes that would go easy on his system.
By the time he came out of the bedroom, freshly showered, and in loose sleeping pants of grey-and-blue checked flannel, and a soft blue cotton shirt, dinner was on its way, and Lia had steeped a large pot of green tea, which she dosed liberally with honey and lemon before handing a large mug to her husband.
Ethan took it with an expression of gratitude, and then took a careful sip. "Oh, that's better. Thank you." He headed over the counter, both dogs following him curiously, and read the instructions on the bottles of medication. Then he took out one of each pill and swallowed them down. "I feel like a truck ran me over."
"I might be less frustrated with you if it had," Lia admitted. Not that she actually wished he had been hit by a truck, but at least he probably wouldn't have been at least in part to blame. "Now go sit down and rest until dinner arrives."
"Yes, dear." She took it as a sign of his exhaustion that he didn't even argue. Or at least Ethan's admission of guilt in having overworked himself to this point. He had to know she knew. Now, if she could just make sure he wouldn't do it again.
Ethan wasn't sure if he actually dozed off on the couch or not, but he turned on the television and lay down while he waited for dinner, and the next thing he was really cognizant of, was that food was arriving and that both dogs had jumped up with him and were snuggled up beside him. He had just a moment to admire how well their training was going when they did not run to the door as Lia thanked and paid the driver.
"All right, you two," he nudged Hunter and Orchid, "Dinner time. You can move now."
Lia smiled. "Orchid, Hunter, come!"
Immediately both dogs hopped off the couch and followed her obediently into the kitchen.
"Great, my own dogs won't listen to me," Ethan grumbled good-humoredly as he sat up. "Where are we eating?"
"Don't move. I'll bring plates in there as soon as I've fed the dogs," Lia assured him.
That sounded pretty good to him. Ethan had no idea what Lia had ordered specifically, but from the smells wafting into the room he definitely liked all of it. At least, what he could smell of it. The congestion forming in his nose was going to get worse before it got better, but at least the shower had cleared most of it out for now. Not that the fever was doing much to help his appetite, but he knew he needed to eat.
Fortunately, it was immediately evident when Lia brought in food that she knew him as well as ever. There was a bowl of the egg-and-noodle soup that he loved, and chicken grilled on skewers, pork dumplings, and a pile of steamed vegetables. All things that were easy to eat, easy to digest, and enough to be filling. The perfect sick-day food. "You're a goddess," he smiled tiredly as he started with the bowl of soup, letting the rest sit on the table in front of the couch. "I hope you bought extra."
"Even for you there should be enough to last two or three days," Lia commented with a knowing expression. "Four if you're not too hungry."
"I'll do my best to maintain my usual level of voraciousness."
At that Lia gave a small snort of a laugh. "You know you don't eat as much as you used to. But yes, make sure you're getting enough to heal and get your strength back." She went quiet then and they ate mostly in companionable silence until all of the food on plates was gone.
Ethan had to admit that he was full after just that one plateful, and he decided that asking for seconds would be risking an unpleasant stomach all night. Instead, he picked up his mug of tea, which was cool now, but still sweet. "I'm doing my best."
A small warning bell went off in his head as Lia's expression turned somber. He'd been waiting for a full scolding. The one in the hospital wasn't even close to Lia in full force.
"I don't know what to do with you," she said, surprisingly quiet. "You promised me years ago you'd stop running yourself ragged, pushing yourself until you get deathly ill, risking yourself unnecessarily. And… for a while, I really thought you'd learned. But then the last few months, you've been worn to a frazzle. You work long hours, late hours, take way too many near-fatality patients on yourself to heal them. You don't eat or sleep properly. Ethan… I'm afraid."
Shouting would have been better. Ethan knew how to deal with shouting, even though this was one of the very few things they ever fought about. And, she wasn't wrong. Ethan sighed. "I'm sorry, Lia. I guess it all started in Resembool. I just… I couldn't lose Uncle Al. When Tore sent us down, and we got there, and Resembool was in flames…and Dad and Al were both in the hospital but… I don't even know how Al survived until I got there. He should have been dead on that table. I almost didn't save him, but there was no way I was going to let him go. I just, dug in and dumped everything I had into him. All I could remember was what it felt like as Cayla slipped away right there under my care… and every other patient I've ever lost, and how much it would hurt Dad if he lost his brother. How devastating it would be for all of us. I gave him everything I could except what I needed for myself, and it was barely enough. Then they needed us again, and again, and again. I couldn't let Arsenic claim another life if I could save it. This was all I could do. This is how I fight evil."
He paused, and took another drink of tea. The mug was almost empty. "And I didn't expect to have so little time to recover," he admitted. "I wasn't prepared for the attack on Central. On our family…. We almost lost so many: Franz, Roy, Ted, Cal, Alyse… and that wasn't even everybody hurt, just everyone who took serious injuries. And I couldn't just take care of our family, so I took care of everyone else I had to, and them. Yes, I knew I was pushing too hard, but I couldn't stop. If I'd stopped and someone we loved died… I'd never have forgiven myself. It was bad enough we lost Maes." But he'd never even had a chance to get to Maes. A family friend so long he was basically another older brother to Ethan, he knew from the reports that the alchemy that Maes had pulled off at the last minute—a miracle he should not have been capable of achieving—had drained him far past the capacity to hold on to life when combined with the severity of his own injuries. The emergency medical team that had arrived had found him too late. They had focused their attentions where they should, on the living. Otherwise, Roy and the Rapid Alchemist would both have expired on site as well.
And that would have devastated another friend, and fellow alkahestrist, Amalea. She had been with him at both assignments. Her work as a State Alchemist was exceptional, and if he had let her husband die before they had found the joys of being parents, he would not have forgiven himself for that either.
Now the two State Alchemists were the thrilled parents of an adorable newborn baby girl. The exhaustion and overexertion expended on that life was more than worth it.
"I know you mean well, Ethan," Lia spoke up after a minute, and Ethan realized he had gone very quiet with his thoughts. "And I can't blame you for wanting to save everyone you can. I'm grateful for every life you've saved, not just our friends, and our family. I know they're grateful too, but you can't keep pushing yourself like this either. Or one day, it'll be you we lose and… I'm not willing to consider that an acceptable loss." There was a flash of pain in her eyes. "I've almost lost you more than once. I can't go through it again, and you don't have the stamina to keep pushing yourself this much. We're not young anymore. I know I can't talk you into retirement, but if I thought I had any shot at it, I'd be pushing for it right now."
No, he wouldn't retire. She was right there. Ethan loved his work, even when it was hard. He needed his work. Healing was part of his whole being. "Well, I'm glad you're not. I'm trying not to overdo it, honestly. Sometimes I just get so wrapped up in work I forget."
"Well, you're going to stop forgetting." There was steel in those words. "And you're going to start making some changes. You're a senior physician in your practice. Give more patients to the younger alkahestrists. Stop taking night shifts and weekends except for emergencies. Focus more time on the research with Urey if you need something to do. I know that treatment development is still where a lot of your passion lies, and it's something you can do that isn't nearly as exhausting as pumping every spare bit of alchemical energy you can control into other people. You've trained over three dozen medical alchemists since you and Ren opened your practice. Twenty of them are here practicing in Central, and that does include the medically trained State Alchemists. They are just as capable as you are. Some of them may even be more so considering your age."
He wished she'd stop harping the age point, even though Ethan couldn't ignore it. Ren was planning on retiring. Will was at that point. Lia had just retired, even if she made retirement look like three jobs. Sara and Franz, Aldon and Cassie… everyone was moving on to new things in their lives. But he wasn't ready to let this go yet. He still had more he wanted to accomplish.
Which wouldn't happen if he broke himself. Lia's points were good. If he couldn't trust the alkahestrists he and Ren had trained to do what they had been trained to do, it implied he didn't believe in his own abilities as an instructor or an alchemist. "As usual, my love, you make well-reasoned and excellent points. When I go back to the office, I'll talk to the others about reassigning some of the workload, which will cut back on my patient load for regular visits, and my hospital shifts."
Perhaps Lia had expected more of an argument, because he had clearly caught her by surprise. She nodded, finally. "Good. I also called your office while you were dozing on the couch earlier and let them know you'll be out tomorrow for certain, and probably the rest of the week. They'll expect to hear from you on the schedule going forward after that anyway."
"You're not letting me go in until at least next week, are you?"
"See, you are smart." Lia gave him a small smile. "No, I'm not letting you go back in until I am convinced that you are fully over this virus and you've had enough rest that you don't look like the walking undead. Seriously, you need some sunlight and about a month's worth of proper regular meals. You and that Elric metabolism of yours couldn't afford to be missing them in the first place." Like their nephews Ian and Ted, Ethan was one of the few Elrics who seemed to have fully inherited his father's high-energy devouring metabolism. While it did seem to tone down a bit with age, it didn't ever really seem to stop entirely. "I'm not letting you catch something worse because you went back too quickly."
Ethan smiled back at her, and then reached out and squeezed her hand with his. "Yes, dear." There was no getting out of it, and as puny as he felt at the moment, he didn't really want to argue either. Several days of food and sleep sounded pretty damned good.
He was rewarded with another smile and a peck on the cheek. "Love you. Now, are you feeling up for a little dessert?"
June 21st, 1997
Bonnie had to admit, that it was nice being back on an active film set, especially one in which she had design control of the costumes, and where she could have her family with her. It had been years since she and Ian had gotten to work on a project like this one, and it wouldn't have been possible now if not for the convenience of it being mostly at her parents' place. Her mother and father were having a ball with the grandkids, and she had a feeling they were enjoying having so much "company" too. They rarely got off the farm for more than a few hours at a time, maybe a day trip. Even with June and her husband living just down the road, and helping work it. Though that made it a little easier.
She also enjoyed watching Ian work, and it had been a long time since she'd gotten to see him act outside of rehearsing at home, which never had quite the same impact. There was a lot of nuanced and introspective scenes with this character, but the film had a lot of action as well.
Today was a day with more action shots, because it involved a scene where they were moving cattle. Which meant there were over a dozen ropers on horseback, a small group of her parents' herd—about thirty cattle to be used for the close-up shots—and their involved actors, which in this case was Ian, two actors who played characters who actually worked with him on the ranch who had dialogue, and Teri and Jessica, as this scene was the first time Teri was supposed to demonstrate her roping skills for Ian's character.
Bonnie tried not to be nervous, but there was always an inherent bit of danger in working cattle, even lazy cattle like the ones that lived on her parents' land. They were used to business as usual, but were definitely curious about the set and crew. Having had a couple of days to get used to them, they weren't too skittish.
The horses were all steady and well trained, but they were horses. Fortunately, the actors had been working with theirs back in Central in the stables even before coming out here. They were also all trained cattle horses. Ian's horse—a handsome black gelding named Storm–was eager to work, but waiting for Ian's signals. Which was good, because in a few minutes they would be thundering across the plain with the cameras on tracks running alongside.
For the close-up shots, the actors would all be out there doing parts of the stunt work themselves. For anything really dangerous, Bonnie was relieved that the stunt doubles were ready and waiting.
"Don't worry," Ian grinned at her from the top of Storm. "There's nothing too complicated about this shot. Storm here will take good care of me, won't you fella?" He stroked the horse's mane and gave his neck a firm pat.
Storm snorted, but his ears flickered back and forth, alert but relaxed. The horse was ready to work.
"I'm sure he will." Bonnie stepped back as the directors called for places. Ian road up to his starting mark, and there was a bustle of activity as the crew and cast got ready. Then at the right signal, the cattle workers got the cattle moving, and then the actors and other ropers took off on their cues, riding down the long, flat plain area at what probably would look impressive on camera, but with the up-close shots was really a nicely controlled canter.
Fortunately, there was a good long ways they could roll, because it cut down on the number of times that they had to run the shot. Close-ups only took a couple of runs each, for Ian, then for Teri. By then, the cattle and horses were warmed up, and they moved on to shooting some actual roping, which didn't involve running cows. They would be cutting calves out of the herd, and Teri would be demonstrating her roping skills and getting Ian's character's attention.
The next three hours were spent on shots of Teri and the calves, close-ups of Ian and the other wranglers sitting on their horses, watching, or doing their own parts of the roping. By then, everyone covered in legitimate dust and sweat, it was lunch time.
Lunch time, which was also family time. Something Bonnie had insisted happen even on the film set. Ian had worked it into the contract otherwise Tanner wouldn't have had him for the movie. It was nice that he finally rated the ability to put in requests like this. He was no longer a rising star; he had reached that point. As crazy as it made their life, Bonnie was proud of him.
So, instead of eating at craft services, they took their food back to the house, where they were met at the door by Joanna and Zachary, and her mother and father both, since it took them to handle the triplets. Her parents had set up picnic tables outside, and they took advantage of the nice day by using those.
The older two had adapted quickly to seeing their father in costume, and they thought the film set was possibly the coolest thing ever. The triplets had stopped screaming, but they still gave Ian odd looks. Fortunately, he seemed to find this amusing.
"Can we ride today, Daddy?" Joanna asked over her plate of grilled chicken and salad.
"If there's time when we're finished shooting," Ian promised. "But only if I hear you've behaved all day for Grandma and Grandpa." Their standard deal.
Joanna nodded as if to say, of course. "We'll be good," she promised, giving Zachary a very knowing look.
Zachary nodded. "Yep! We promise." Then he looked over at his younger siblings. "Do they have to be good too?"
Bonnie chuckled. "Well, they need to, but if they're fussy you can still ride as long as you behave and listen."
Her second child looked relieved.
"We were thinking we might take them in to town tomorrow tonight," her father spoke up. "At least, the older two. There's a new movie coming to the cinema we thought they might enjoy."
Bonnie smiled. "The Wishing Carrot?" It was a new children's movie. She and Ian hadn't worked on it but, of course, they had heard about it. Though they hadn't had a chance to take the children either. "I think that should be fine."
Ian nodded. "It's supposed to be really good, and we're not shooting late tomorrow, so you don't have to take everyone."
Bonnie watched her older two light up. An evening out with their grandparents and without their siblings would be a treat. They were so patient most days dealing with them, but the babies could be a lot, even for their older sister and brother.
She turned and fed Leith another spoonful of mashed peas. "That will be perfect. We'll have a nice quiet night here."
"You have a very funny idea of quiet, my darling," Ian chuckled as he finished the last few bites of his lunch.
"Would you prefer me to find somewhere else to be tonight," Urey chimed in with a knowing grin, "Or were you hoping to beg me to babysit?"
"Neither," Bonnie promised her brother-in-law. "I meant that my plan is to get these three in bed and then do nothing complicated for an entire evening. No last-minute costume adjustments, no waiting on set, no chores, just sit and maybe catch something on the television or play a boardgame. Just… relax. Which of course means you're welcome to join us."
"Sounds good to me." Ian drained the last of his glass of water and stood up. "All right. Places in five. See you all later." With that, he was off again.
Urey shook his head. Even he still had food on his plate. "Is it always like this?"
"Hectic? Pretty much, and Ian is never late if he can help it. It's a point of professional pride." One born out of the necessity of proving himself reliable to work with as well as talented.
Urey chuckled. "He was like that from the beginning. In some ways, it's nice to see he hasn't changed much. Though I'm glad it's not me."
June 23rd, 1997
Elicia could remember the last time she and Alphonse had taken a long, romantic trip, but it had been quite a long time. Certainly, they hadn't had this much family along with them either. Still, after everything they had been through over the years, she was incredibly grateful that they both were alive and healthy enough to have made the trip at all. Especially after last fall, when Alphonse had almost died on the operating table.
The festival was a delight, and watching her gentle husband enjoy himself would have been worth the time of coming so far even if they hadn't had the pleasure of skipping weeks of travel through the use of modern technology. Alphonse had always had an innocent joy about the world, no matter how old he got, that she had always found endearing. The world, despite the darkness, had never stolen that away from him; at least not for long.
The past couple of days had been spent enjoying the company of Mei, who had not exaggerated that she, like they, was feeling her advanced age. She wasn't as old as Alphonse, Edward, and Winry, but she did have a few years on Elicia. They talked for hours about all sorts of things from philosophy and alchemy to the history of the region, to whatever fascinating garden plant might catch someone's eye. They played strategy games, card games, and anything else that seemed like fun. One afternoon when they were tired enough, and they didn't feel like going down to the festival during the day, Mei had some of the musicians come up to the palace instead for a private concert. Edward and Winry had also stayed in that day, and it was a quieter, pleasant time while all of the younger generations were out and about.
Not that they hadn't enjoyed a lot of the festival so far. Elicia had enjoyed shopping with the ladies the first morning, but also with various family members as the events went on. The evenings with Alphonse, however, were her definite favorites. She had smiled indulgently when Alphonse insisted on stopping at a shop Alyse and Cal had found that specialized in pet toys, and insisted on getting things for the cats. They had also found the most beautiful windchimes—in both design and low, mellow sounds—to hang on the porch of the hill house when they got home. How he had managed to find three Xingese alkahestry related books, and a history book, in a used book stall she could only imagine. Her own Xingese was passable enough for shopping and basic conversations, but he had somehow maintained fluency quite well.
Elicia had gotten lost this afternoon for nearly an hour in a store that sold fabrics and fabric crafts. Much to her amusement, Alphonse had told her in all seriousness to purchase whatever she wanted, even though he had to know that would end up involving yards and yards of fabrics she could turn into a variety of things; not just clothing or accessories, but there were several beautiful patterns that might make their way into her quilts as well. Thankfully, it turned out she could request a delivery up to the palace for that afternoon.
"You know I would have been willing to carry it for you," Alphonse pointed out, smiling, as they left the shop.
Elicia smiled back, slipping her arm through his. "I appreciate your chivalry, but there's no reason to lug all of that around for the rest of the afternoon. You can carry other things for me, if your pride is stinging."
"I can handle it," Alphonse objected, though he clearly wasn't actually upset. Not in any meaningful way. Elicia knew he was frustrated with how slowly he was recovering, even though he had made excellent progress over the past several months. He exercised daily, even if it was mostly brisk walks, Xingese meditation stretches, and making use of the weights and workout equipment that was in the house, which had once upon a time lived in Edward and Winry's basement in Central. He still stood tall and unbent. Wearing the comfortable, local traditional clothing he looked very at home.
Elicia had noticed that both he and Edward drew a lot of looks, even more than the other Amestrians, and she could guess why. Only one man with golden hair and golden eyes had ever appeared in the Xing Empire before her family. They didn't mistake Edward and Alphonse for the Western Sage, but even knowing they were the famous alchemists who were friends of the Imperial family and heroes who had helped Xing many times, was more than enough to give them some local celebrity.
"Yes, dear, I know," she replied, patting his arm. "If it will make you feel better you can buy me something expensive and reasonably heavy and then carry it for me."
Alphonse laughed briefly; that warm chuckle that always made her feel happy too. "You sound like you might already have something in mind."
"Well, I did see a particularly lovely tea set the other day in a stall just around the corner. It was dark blue, with pale pink cherry blossoms and white cats."
Alphonse's eyes lit up. "Well then, maybe we need a new tea set."
Gloria was incredibly grateful that Kamika had offered to take her, Alexei, and Viola around the festival today. While she and Alexei had managed on their own the first evening—which had proven to be very romantic, and their first real child-free date night in months—it was much more satisfying to have someone who could interpret the questions Gloria wanted to ask, and the responses given, in depth. Not only did Gloria find the shopping and cultural events easier to understand, but she could ask as many investigative curious questions about the festival, the history, the town, and anything that caught her eye, and get answers she would scribble down during breaks in the day.
While today's activities were heavily centered on children, Viola was still far too young to remember it. That didn't mean Gloria didn't want her to have formative experiences in her infancy. Besides, she was having fun now. There was kite-flying on the beach, and while Viola could only watch, she was mesmerized by the brightly colored flapping spectacles in the sky. The wind off the ocean made them fly with a power Gloria had never seen in Amestris. There were so many aquatic themed kites in the sky it could almost have been a second ocean. There were dozens of tropical fish, whales of different varieties, dolphins, sea birds, and even a giant squid and several huge jellyfish kites.
The beach was full of families with excited children that were all running, shouting, pulling their kites, or playing in the sand or the water. Gloria had been relieved that regular Western swimwear was not out of place on the beach, or really all that different from modern Xingese beach clothes. She had been even more grateful to find that, nine months after having Viola, the one she had fit flatteringly enough that she was willing to wear it out in public. Though since she wasn't currently in the water, she was also in a wide-brimmed hat to keep off the sun, and a light throw-over of thin cotton.
Viola, in a little children's suit they had bought here, instead of risking her having a growth spurt before they arrived, looked adorable. The Xingese baby swim dress was bright blue and printed with various colorful ocean fish. There was even a matching hat to help shade her daughter's fair skin, though she kept taking it off and playing with it.
Fortunately, there were huge parasols staked into the ground at regular intervals during the festival, and her little family group had managed to snag one that was bright jade green. Kamika was sitting beside her on the towels they had brought to attempt to keep sand out of at least a few places. She was grinning as she showed Viola how to use a tiny plastic shovel to scoop sand from one spot to another. The baby was fascinated.
Gloria just had to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn't try to eat it. "So, you've been living out here for a while now," she commented curiously to her cousin. While they had grown up right next door to each other, it had been several years since they had been able to do more than exchange letters, and the rare long-distance phone call. The last time Gloria had seen Kamika had been during a very rushed trip to the Imperial City for Michio's wedding to Minsa a couple of years ago. This was her first visit since their baby was born. "I can see why you love it."
Kamika grinned. "It's charming, isn't it? It's not nearly as busy as Central, and it's not as overwhelmingly formal as living in the Imperial City, where no one will let you forget—because they can't forget—if you're related to the Emperor, no matter how distantly."
"You're no more distantly related to Tao than you are to me," Gloria pointed out. Her mother was sister to Kamika's father, and Kamika's mother was sister to Tao's father. They were still first cousins. "The fact that you aren't in line to inherit probably doesn't mean very much."
"Not at all. At least, not there. Here, at least, they're not as formal outside of ceremonial events and festivals like this one." Kamika had taken a job working in the local museum after finishing her degree at the university in the Imperial City. "Living in the palace isn't so bad either," she grinned. "Having Uncle Mao and Aunt Jiu here isn't all that different from living at home, other than they don't seem to forget that I'm a grown woman with a career and loving it. Sometimes I think Mom forgets that even though I'm the youngest, I'm not a kid."
Gloria had to admit she hadn't experienced that. But then, she was the oldest, so maybe she wouldn't. "Is she hounding you about still being single?"
"Not really," Kamika admitted. "Not in words. Just looks on her face every so often. I'm really glad they're here, actually. Maybe now she'll get a chance to see my work and appreciate that my life is great the way it is. If I find the right guy, fantastic, but none of them have worked out to be the right one, and I'd rather wait than settle for the wrong partner. I know she understands that. I mean, she had to go all the way to Amestris to find Dad. That's probably why she hasn't actually said anything."
"But that's why you're happily hanging out with us instead of tagging along with the rest of your family today." Gloria knew that Michio and Minsa and the baby, Minxia and Thrakos and their kids, and Will and Ren were all at the other end of the beach with the other Xingese cousins and their kids, enjoying the activities for the older children.
"That, and it's nice to get my favorite cousin to myself," Kamika chuckled.
"I won't tell Charlie you said that." Gloria grinned back.
"Oh, you don't have to. I told him as much when I was seven," Kamika assured her. "And I haven't changed my mind."
"I hope not, because I just got these drinks ordered," Alexei's deep warm voice chuckled above their heads.
Gloria turned and look upward—which required a little neck straining from the ground—at her towering husband who stood there in his swim trunks and a short-sleeved shirt that rather nicely hugged his wrestler's physique. He was also holding a container with four drinks. "Your timing is impeccable as always," she smiled. "Viola's getting thirsty."
"Then let's get this juice in her sippy cup." Alexei lowered himself to the ground with surprising ease, and handed Gloria the cup of fruit juice which he had apparently ordered already cut with water so it wasn't too much sugar for the baby, and then handed Kamika the iced milk tea she had ordered.
Gloria swapped the watered juice into Viola's cup before offering it to the baby, who giggled and grabbed at it happily with her sturdy little hands. "That's my girl," Gloria smiled as she brought it to her mouth and started sipping.
"And this one's for mine," Alexei grinned, handing Gloria her iced matcha. It was very refreshing she had found, as well as not being loaded with sugar.
Gloria took a long sip, grateful for the cold drink on a hot sunny day. "Thank you for getting them."
"My pleasure," he assured her. "Though I think my accent amused them."
"I don't think they're used to an Amestrian with a bit of a Drachman hint speaking Xingese," Kamika teased. "Though as fast as Minx's kids babble, you'd think they were native, instead of only a quarter."
"They do the same thing in Amestrian and Cretan," Gloria assured her. "If you haven't heard them yet. I don't know what foreign languages will be left by the time they get into the upper grades. Maybe they'll pick up Drachman and Aerugean for the fun of it."
Kamika chuckled. "If Thrakos stays in office for long enough, they might find it useful. It is kind of fun watching my sister have to behave all prim and proper and professional. Though I know she'd rather have her nose in the dirt."
"Didn't you say there's an ancient temple site not too far from here?" Alexei asked as he sipped his own drink, which appeared to be the undiluted version of the local mixed fruit juice that their daughter was sipping.
"I did. It's fully curated and part of our off-site exhibits. We have several locations in the area." Kamika nodded. "And yes, I've already promised Minx a tour before they have to fly back to Creta. You're welcome to come too, if you like, though it will need to be after the festival's over. We have too many special exhibits going right now for me to take too much time off during the festival."
"I'd love that!" Gloria looked at Alexei. "What do you think?"
"Are you asking if I smell another excellent article at the same time that we're supposed to be enjoying our family vacation?" her husband asked with a familiar smug grin. "You assume correctly, tsveta. I'm in."
"Is it safe for infants, or should we leave Viola at the palace?" Gloria asked.
"Perfectly safe," Kamika assured her. "It's been cleaned up and restored at least to the point of being secure. Of course, we've focused on maintaining the accuracy of the restoration, and we haven't tried to build back what's fully gone, though there are detailed models you can look at for those details." Her eyes sparkled. "I built them."
"That's fantastic!" Gloria beamed, her mind already thinking ahead. "Then you'll be able to answer all of my questions."