How Green Becomes Wood

"In Europe they still are," Dark mentioned, "I think his truck is manual. I do not remember. It is a good skill to have." He glanced behind himself as they all piled in, "Which one of you is going to sit in the front when we go somewhere as a family? Daizi wants to sit in the back with Ivy at least until she is old enough to sit in a front facing carseat." He squinted at the back seat, "We also need to get a carseat."
 
"It'll be a while before we're all fo-five of us are going anywhere at the same time, but I suppose Xander will be sitting up front," Alec said thoughtfully.

"I'm hoping to get my license and a car sooner rather than later," Xander said. "I've made a couple of sales for my leather stuff already. It shouldn't take too long before I can afford a second-hand car." He paused. "Maybe third- or fourth-hand. Something that runs."

Neither twin said it as they figured this was not something Dark needed to deal with right now, but neither understood Daizi's need to be beside Ivy while they drove. They weren't going to argue, and they guessed it had something to do with the entire circumstances surrounding Ivy's life, but they didn't understand the need. Then again, they had been raised by a single mother who had no choice but to put them both in the back seat and hope for the best. If something happened, she'd pull over and deal with them then, but nothing really happened until Xander was about two and figured out how to unbuckle himself from his seat while they were on the interstate. It was one of the only memories either of them had from before the time they were about four.
 
"Well, when she gets discharged, if she is sent home on a weekend or after school, you might be there. And we could all go home together. But we have spent so long being taken by surprise, it only seems right to plan out the little things. Just in case." He glanced at Xander with the quiet, proud look he had sometimes, "I am so glad you have been successful with your craft. I can help you look and haggle, when it comes time for it. And if you are a little short..." He probably would have offered to pay for half, but he suspected Xander wanted to afford it on his own, and didn't want to rob him of that pride.
 
"Cool," Xander said, grinning to himself. "I have time before I even get my license, and it's not like goods are flying off the shelves, as they say, but if I need a bit, it'll be easier to pay you back than a bank. But we'll see." He would rather buy it all on his own, but the freedom of owning a car slightly outweighed the pride of paying for it exclusively. He'd just have to try to get more sales so he wouldn't have to accept any kind of loan from anyone.

"Oh, goody, he'll be driving soon. I can't wait," Alec said dryly, but he smiled at his brother, glad to see him so excited about something.
 
"You would not have to pay me back," Dark said softly, "unless you want to. Or need to. And we are already going to increase your allowance since you have taken over so many of the household chores for us, that will help." He gave a slight smile and looked back at the road. There was also the savings account he and Daizi had created for them, the one where they had deposited all the state foster care checks. But he didn't know if it was better to keep that quiet until they turned 18, "I think, all told, he will be a good driver, actually. He may accrue speeding tickets, and that will be a problem, but besides that."
 
Xander just grunted, not really wanting to talk about money at that moment. He figured they'd hash that out later. A car was still a moderately distant dream, and he didn't want to get his heart too set on it just yet.

Alec made a face. "Harrah, speeding tickets. Another reason to not ride with him."

"I promise to not speed ever when there is another person in the car," Xander said, rolling his eyes.
 
Dark chuckled to himself as he parked into the hospital parking lot, and then looked up at the building and felt so strongly that he had no interest in going back inside that building... But he did want to see his wife and baby. So he steeled his nerve and got out, leading the twins up to the room and making quick hellos to familiar faces.

Inside, the room was about as he left it, and he greeted the adults first and then went to pick up Ivy and greet her directly.

"I thought you were supposed to be back earlier," Saladin commented, and then smiled at the twins, "Hello again. It's good to be Friday, right?"

"Baba, I told you," Daizi said in a gentle voice, "their bus had a flat tire on the drive home."
 
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make anyone late," Alec apologized, moving to say hello to Daizi once Dark had done so.

"Have you ever been on a bus with a flat tire and like twenty kids all wanting to go home?" Xander grumbled, finding his way to his usual corner. "It sucks eggs, man! The worst."

Alec touched Daizi's arm before leaning over to hug her gently.
 
"It's not your fault, habibi," Daizi replied, still hugging Alec more tightly than he held her, "I missed you. Was school okay?" She cupped his face in one hand, talking to him then as if there were no other relatives in the room.

"I actually have been," Dark murmured, "except we were on the way back to school after a field trip. Absolutely terrible."

"Are you still just a teacher?" Saladin asked flatly, "Did you hear, Daizi, my dear, Masoud recently made partner at his firm."
 
"School was good. Mostly the usual," Alec told her, leaning into her hand lightly. "Apparently, Merideth is back with her boyfriend... who didn't even know they were dating."

Xander snorted. "Why, because he couldn't handle the stress of real work down on the ground? Being a teacher sucks because no one respects them, but they're still supposed to e helping to shape our future. Back-ass-ward thinking, yeah?"
 
"I don't miss that part of high school," Daizi said with a soft laugh, "I wish you were still on break so I wasn't so separated from you and your brother. It wasn't so bad when I was at work too." She closed her eyes and then squeezed Alec close again, "But it is finally the weekend, right?"

Saladin looked at Xander, confused, "Masoud's wife doesn't need to work."
 
"At least it means there's something to tell you about," Alec grinned, hugging her tight. "I am very happy it's the weekend! I need a school break. It's too much to think about with everything else."

Xander stared at Saladin uncertainly. Finally, he turned to Dark. "I think something got lost in translation between us."
 
"I know," she replied, resting her chin ontop of his head, "I know. If you need a day off, we'll call you in, okay? Mental health days are just as important as physical health days. And I'll miss you, but if you need a day where you don't come visit, that's okay too, Alec, okay? Don't run yourself ragged for me, because I want to come home to you, not the shell of you."

Dark inhaled, trying very hard not to be pulled into it, "I believe what Saladin is saying is, had Daizi married Masoud, she would not need to work, whereas she outearns me."

"Masoud has a maid, you know," Saladin said, confirming Dark's hunch, "and she never would have had to live in that box you forced her into," he looked at Xander, "Really, teachers are very respectable morally, but because you're right and they aren't compensated fairly, it means their families risk going into debt to support them, when really they could've made a better choice for everyone."
 
Alec smiled, thinking of how Daizi would have reacted had their roles been reversed. He said nothing, though, just let her lean on him. "I know. I'll do my best to keep all of me inside this shell. I would say we're balancing the least weight of all, so it's the least I can do."

"So," Xander said, drawing it out longer than necessary and pretending to be confused. "You'd much rather your daughter be married to a man of wealth who never sees her, never talks to her, and cares for nothing at all about her as long as he keeps her in comfort and luxury while her brain wastes away into nothing? You'd rather that than she marries a poor person who worships the ground she walks on, adores every aspect of her, and encourages her to be the best person she can possibly and supports her in whatever she wants to do without a thought to his own ego? Yeah, I suppose you might be right."
 
"Xander." Dark said quickly, making eye contact with the teen.

Saladin only shrugged, "I think you are presuming Masoud wouldn't have loved her. But I do know he is a nice man," his eyes flicked to Dark, "who comes from a good family," back to Xander, "and who is respectful and has not raised his family to believe everything is permissible. And my daughter would not live an ocean away from me. It would be a different life, but a good one. My wife and I were happy."
 
Xander wanted to lay into Saladin. He wanted to point out how the stuffy man was stealing happiness from others just out of spite. He wanted to remind the man of how he was the one to send Daizi away in the first place and how she might not have returned out of her own volition. He wanted to yell at the man to open his eyes and see how much he was hurting those he claimed to love. Sure, Saladin had the right to not like Dark and even hold a grudge, loads of people did that, but they did it politely. It was called manners. He wanted to tell the man how both of his own parents had technically come from decent families - especially his mother - and look how that had turned out!

But Dark was looking at him. Dark was asking him not to. They were in a hospital with a bunch of literal babies. Most of all, this was Ivy's special day. Maybe she wouldn't remember the details, but what if she remembered the impressions? What if she remembered the yelling? Or at least the tones and the vibes? No, he couldn't do that to her.

Xander literally bit his tongue and forced his expression into one of neutrality. He was no stone-face like Dark, but he could shut things down when he needed to. "I'm a teenager. I tend to assume a lot," he said with an indifferent shrug. It wasn't an apology, but maybe Saladin would take it as one. "So, when is this... Subaru starting?"

"Sebou," Alec whispered, though it wasn't likely anyone but Daizi heard him.
 
Dark gave a brief nod to Xander, and then looked back down at the wiggling, temporarily awake, baby in his arms. He didn't want to say anything out loud and risk an argument, so he kissed the top of her head and gave her a big smile, hoping she could somehow understand from it how much he loved her mother, how important his family was to him, and how he wouldn't care who she grew up to love if she was happy and her partner was safe and kind. But then he looked at her little face as she sucked on her tiny hand, and felt content that even if she couldn't pick up on all that, she would know, for certain, that at the very least he loved her. He ran his thumb down the back of her head... At least with all the kangaroo care, they didn't have to worry about her getting a flat spot on the back of her head. "Ahebbak," He whispered, "Ya rouhi." Ivy made a quiet noise and stretched, which in turn caused Dark to make a quiet, but involuntary, noise, because his daughter's tiny movement was emotionally overwhelming. Hoping nobody had heard it, he calmly scurried over to Xander's corner, deciding it was the place fewest people noticed.

Once there, he very briefly bumped against Xander and whispered, knowing for certain it would not have been heard, "Thank you."

But in the time Dark was having his moment with his baby, Saladin had shrugged off Xander's comments, and gave him a smile, "You will understand how I feel if you ever have kids. And it is Sebou."

Daizi laughed at Xander's mispronounciation, and squeezed Alec lightly when he also corrected his brother, "It'll be soon. We're just waiting on Amty Zeinab and Khalaty Neha. I think Cooger is bringing them back, but they have all the food, supplies, and everything else we need."

Fadia, who was very curious about what Xander would have said, had he not been hushed, said, "Normally it is meant to start in the evening, since it is about making it seven days of life, but we have to contend with visiting hours."
 
Xander flinched a little when Dark bumped against him, mostly because he hadn't expected it and was currently a bit overstimulated. He recognized the touch for what it was, though, and gave Dark a tiny nod. If what he wanted was for Xander to stay out of it, the teen would do so. Or at least try.

Alec sat up a little bit but didn't fully pull away. "I'm sorry it can't be done quite right, but I'm so honored we get to be a part of it!"

"What's the game plan?" Xander asked. "We were told a little bit about it, but not, you know, exactly what happens when."
 
"It's good enough," Amira said cheerfully, "this isn't the first one to be imperfect, but the worst person alive may have had a perfect ceremony."

"You haven't been told?" Fadia asked, but without the shade the question might have had if it were Saladin, "Well, it will start with us putting her in a sieve--not a real one, they sell fancy ones for this purpose, and then all of us will clang on mortar and pestles, and we will carefully jostle the sieve. Then there is lots of singing and dancing, and we put the sieve on the ground and all us extended relatives put gifts around it. You two," she meant the twins, "Being the only other children will hold candles--we're making do with LED ones--and Daizi will step over it seven times, and we put out candy and feast. It's really not all that formal, it's a celebration, not, eh, drudgery."
 
"Huh. It is basically what we were told, though I don't remember the candle bit," Xander admitted.

"Daizi told us about it earlier, but we've been distracted," Alec told them. "This is going to be fun!"

"And delicious," Xander grinned.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top