Knight swore up and down that he would never be behind the wheel of a mini-van. So he compromised. Scott bought them a fancy SUV, with enough seating for like 20 people.
Knight kept looking in the back window at the empty space between Roland and ‘Seph. He wondered if they knew, if they understood their litter mate was going to be gone from them now. But not always gone, they would visit every day, they would see each other every day, they would go to school together, they would grow up together.
But he wondered how he was going to answer the question of “Why?” I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it, he thought, as he pulled off the street to park before a gated and walled-in home. He pressed the intercom button that was just a bit below his window.
A cultured voice answered, “May I help you?”
“I’m here to see Caroline,” he said. “I’m Knight, and I have her litter mates with me–”
The gate yawned open before he finished his sentence. He drove down a cobblestone drive, passed under a series of arching trees, and came out to see a castle.
It almost was a castle, with gables and stone on the outside. The driveway looped around the front of the house. In the center of the loop was a patch of grass and flowers, pansies and other annuals. He parked the SUV at the opposite end of the loop and sniffed the air.
It wasn’t grass. It was catnip.
He got out of the SUV and got the stroller, then unbuckled the two baby carriers. He set the baby carriers on the stroller, specially made for three. Roland pointed outward, ‘Seph was on top of Roland, and Caroline would usually be facing him. Instead, ‘Seph was.
He made her laugh, which made him laugh, and he looked up at the house. A man in a suit stood at the door outside. Knight had certainly underdressed for this crowd, with his t-shirt and jeans. He pushed the stroller through the gravel, took a whiff of the catnip, and met the man at the door.
“Good morning,” said the man, with a smile, a bow, and an accent that Knight couldn’t place. “Allow me to assist you.” He bent down and picked up the front of the stroller, pulling it up the stairs. “We will put in a temporary ramp for you, Mr. Knight.”
“Just Knight,” he said, as he walked into the house.
It was beautiful. The front of the house was bathed in light from outside, from the huge window in front. In front of him were a pair of stairs, which he could imagine Caroline come sweeping down someday. The man crossed in front of Knight. “Please follow me, sir.”
Knight pushed the stroller and followed him, going under the stairs to small hallway. He saw that it led to another sunlit room. In here, there was a breakfast nook to his right, and Caroline in a baby carrier, sucking on a bottle.
She turned to see her father, and Knight smiled at her. She smiled back, still sucking on the bottle. Next to Caroline was a woman seated at the breakfast nook. She wore a long white tank dress and was barefoot. Her hair was worn loose, with a headband with an ankh on her head. She rose and bowed slightly. She offered her seat.
Knight nodded and undid the baby carriers for Roland and Seph. Seph started talking to Caroline, making nonsense noise or trying to copy Knight when he talked. Roland reached for Knight. Knight took him out of the baby carrier and held him on his knee, while the two girls made their noise. Roland reached for Caroline’s foot and grabbed it. Caroline laughed and kicked. Roland did it again.
Roland liked to touch, and Seph liked to be touched, Knight had found out. Caroline liked to play with both, letting Roland touch, or “talking” to Seph. She was the oldest, the first. The one given to Bast.
Knight bounced Roland, and watched as Caroline dropped the bottle. Knight put Roland back into the baby carrier, and he squalled. Knight burped Caroline, picked up Roland again so he could play his game.
It was just like home, except they were in a different room. After some time, Knight checked the clock, and realized it was time for him to go soon, to meet Baba back home and for him to head to work. He got up, and the woman appeared again seemingly out of nowhere. She smiled, helped him pack up. Knight saw that Caroline was getting tired, as she normally did after playing with Roland and after a full bottle. He put her back in the baby seat, kissed her forehead. “I’ll be back tomorrow,” he said, “And every day.”
He noticed that inside the baby seat was the shirt he had given them last night. Mal had suggested that they give up a shirt so that she would have their scent. Knight looked at the woman, and nodded to her. “What’s your name?”
She only smiled and nodded.
“Her name is Ana,” said the man in the suit, standing in the doorway. “She is descended from the queen Hent.”
He looked at Ana, who was still smiling.
“She will teach her ancient Egyptian so she may speak with Our Lady,” said the man.
“What’s your name?”
“Merka. I am descended from servants and scribes from our land.”
“Merka.” He glanced back, to see Ana had taken the baby out of the chair and was walking to another room. “Where’s she going?”
“She will put Caroline to bed.”
“Not too much TV. You got toys, right?”
“We have many toys, yes.”
He followed Merka out. Merka helped him bring the stroller to the SUV.
“Thanks,” said Knight. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“We will expect you,” he said, and bowed.