Letting go of my hand, she followed Illal to greet Kessra and her brothers.
“Here.” Kessra thrust the paper she was holding into Ene’s hands. “I painted this for your decorations.” She gestured at the strings with pictures above our heads.
“Thanks.” Ene took the picture and gave it to Xavran. “Can you hang it up, Daddy?”
Illal took Kessra’s hand. “Do you want to try some fruit punch? It’s a drink. It’s pink. Susanna made it. It’s pretty sweet, but if you add some ice to it, it’s not so bad.”
“Sure.” Kessra nodded, and they all headed to the food tables.
Arkrel and Yurie followed them, possibly for more pigs-in-a-blanket. Xilvo dragged Stefan and Esstal away to show them the games.
For a moment, Xavran and I happened to be left alone.
“Girls...” Xavran shook his head, watching Ene pour a glass of fruit punch for Kessra. “I’ll never understand them. One day they fight, the next day, they’re best friends.”
“It goes for all kids, I believe.” I might be new to this job, but if I had learned anything about children so far, it was that every day brought something new—sometimes scary, often unpredictable, but also exciting.
Xavran’s communication device lit up in my hand. A message swirled in a circle on its round screen.
“Here,” I handed it to him. The written language of Aldrai remained a complete mystery to me.
He stared at the screen for a second or two. “It’s from the Liaison Committee.”
“What do they want?”
“Mara has submitted the application to dissolve our marriage.”
A hint of regret still tugged at my heart at the sound of my sister’s name. I wished things had been different between us. “She did?”
“They say she wants to go back to Earth. All she needs is my signature for her travel papers to be approved.” His brow ridges moved close together in a frown. “Is it safe for her to return?”
Mara had been living in a hotel in Arqa for the past two weeks. Xavran had been paying her expenses, but we’d had no communication from her. I only knew how she was doing through the Liaison Committee.
“I guess they must’ve finally arrested the bad guys,” I said. “I’ll send her a message to make sure.” Though, I doubted Mara would reply to my messages, at least not until she needed something from me again. So far, she’d ignored the two I’d sent.
Xavran gave me a look. “You’re not interested in going back to Earth, though, are you?”
I smiled, having no desire to play games. “No, Xavran. I’m quite happy where I am. Right here.”
He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, drawing me into his side.
“I’m happy when you are right here too.”
I lifted my face to his, and he placed a kiss on my smiling mouth.
“So, are you going to be officially single, then?” I asked.
“As soon as I reply to this message.” He tapped the screen of the device, selecting a few language characters to send his reply.
“Signed and sent. I no longer have a wife, not even on paper.” He shoved the device back into his pocket, then turned me in his arms to face him. “Though the position is not exactly vacant. It’s reserved for you.”
“For how long?”
“For as long as you need. You promised to think about it,” he reminded me.
For all intents and purposes, we already were a couple. We shared a home, a bed, and all the responsibilities of raising a family. The only reason for us to make it official would be to define my immigration status on Aldrai.
“Well, we did want to take it slow.” I smiled.
He laughed. “Slow? With you? Not a chance!” He grabbed me into a bear hug, kissing me so hard, I forgot about everything around me for a moment.
“I’ve made mistakes,” he said, breaking the kiss. “More mistakes than I care to count. But I’ve never been so sure in my life about anything as I am about us. I love you, my heart. I’ll wait for you forever if you so wish. Because there can never be anyone else for me but you.”
Being with Xavran felt like I had finally arrived in a safe harbor after a long, turbulent journey. He was my destination, my purpose in life.
“I love you, Xavran. I’ll marry you in a heartbeat. Fast or slow doesn’t matter anymore, as long as I’m with you.”