Smiling brightly at the romantic imagery, she made a condescending noise. Jessica looked up at hearing it. “Nonsense, I won’t let him say no.” Smiling crookedly at her suddenly pale granddaughter, Millie gave her as sage advice as the old woman could. “Life is short. You need to seize the opportunities as they arise.” She raised an eyebrow at Jessica Marie, just so she’d be aware that Millie was speaking of her own life, as well as Kai’s.
Jessica finally sighed and nodded, and Millie felt victorious as she carefully sat down on a stool near the counter and instructed her granddaughter on all the other life lessons she’d learned. The slight ache in her hip as she shifted in her chair reminded her that she wasn’t as healed as she would like to believe. It also reminded her that life was indeed short, and before she left this world, she was bound and determined to see her family happy.
It was the least she could do, after all the happiness they had given to her over the years.
(Cut scene #6. This is at the end of chapter 20, when Mason tells Kai the truth.)
Mason was staring at the papers on his desk, but not seeing a word on any page. He had tons of journals open, each bursting with fascinating, meticulously detailed facts and statistics on his favorite winged subject. Some of the things he’d discovered could be vital in determining the reason behind the strange die-off happening among hives worldwide. Somewhere in his mounds of research, could be the key to preserving the tiny, seemingly unimportant creature. But all of life was connected, and the decline of this one small species could perhaps spell out the demise for all life. That was how important his work was. But at the moment, as he stared through the massive amount of data piled in front of him…none of it mattered.
None of it mattered, because of his son. A son that, less than a year ago, he hadn’t known was his. A son who he could not deny parentage too…not after seeing those carbon-copy eyes. And as he’d grown close to Kai over the past few weeks, working long days with him as he played the role of eager assistant, ready and willing to do any task Mason required of him, Mason had begun to develop a certain…fondness for the boy.
After being burdened by Nate and Leilani with the task of informing Kai that he was his biological father, Mason hadn’t been able to show much in the way of warmth to him, but he had definitely grown to look forward to the time they shared. At first, he had merely appreciated Kai’s eagerness to learn and respect for the work. Kai shared many of the same life views that Mason did. And while he still hadn’t felt comfortable enough to engage in long conversations with the young man, he’d overheard him talking to his colleagues and he was quite impressed.
If Kai were a normal employee, he would try to convince him to join him in his important research. He would convince him to be his partner, and perhaps publish their findings together; he respected Kai’s intelligence and insight that much.
But Kai wasn’t just a talented employee. Kai was his illegitimate son, born out of a reckless affair that had permanently driven a wedge between three close friends and colleagues. Mason could scarcely look at Kai without being reminded of that fact. Just seeing his face brought back startlingly clear memories of the woman Mason had loved dearly for a time, possibly even still loved. And when Kai smiled, that ache was scoured open so completely, that Mason almost always had to walk away from him.
Mason was sure Kai didn’t understand his coldness towards him, but he couldn’t tell him the real reason yet. How could he break the boy’s heart? How did he tell him that the man he’d loved and respected all his life, was in no way related to him? For the millionth time, Mason wondered how Leilani could have asked this of him.
She’d called Mason a few times since Kai’s arrival. As always, just the sound of her voice had him agreeing to things that his rational mind would never normally agree to. She always stressed that Nate was growing impatient, that he would tell Kai soon if Mason didn’t. Mason always told her that it should be that way, that Kai should be hearing this hard news from the people he knew as family. But then Leilani would cry, telling him that she couldn’t do it…and Nate would paint her in the worst light possible.
Mason sighed at hearing that. He knew Nate and Leilani still managed a cordial relationship in the work place, but outside of it was a different story. They put on a friendly front for Kai, but Mason knew that Nate had stopped loving Leilani the instant he’d found out Kai wasn’t his. That had been Nate’s breaking point with her. Mason knew…because Nate had called him recently, too.