The Gender Game 5 (The Gender Fall)(55)

The three of them continued to chat, which was good—I was less apprehensive than earlier, but I still wasn’t feeling at my best, conversationally speaking. I kept one ear on the conversation between the adults, but focused on Henry and Alice. Dropping down into a squat took a little bit of effort, but I managed, grateful my legs hadn’t been damaged along with the rest of me. Margot, aware of what I was doing, immediately sat Henry down next to his sister, and I shot her a smile before giving the two children my full attention.

The little ones stared at me, and I could sense their nervousness. After a moment, I slowly puckered my lips like a fish, then stuck out my tongue. I waited for some response—then Samuel, noticing that I was at his level, came snuffling over and tried to kiss my face. “Oop,” I said, pushing away the wet, sloppy dog; by the time I managed to calm him down, I saw that Alice was smiling shyly.

“Ew,” she said to the dog. “Bad Sammy!” I laughed a little. Meanwhile, Henry had come closer and reached out his hand to touch my face.

I let his fingers stroke lightly over the bruises, tracing them. “Are you a Valkyrie?” he whispered after a second.

“What an interesting question,” I replied, stifling my embarrassment. “Why do you ask?”

“Mama says Valkyries are women who save people,” Alice replied, her voice whisper-thin. “Mama says you saved us.”

“Well, do you think I’m a Valkyrie?”

“No,” replied Henry, almost belligerently. “Mama says Valkyries ride horses and hold fiery swords. But you don’t have any.”

“That’s very true. You’re really smart, aren’t you?”

Henry nodded and puffed his chest out proudly. “I got the best scores in letters and spelling,” he proclaimed.

I smiled. “My brother is good at math. Are you?”

Henry shook his head, but Alice perked up. “I am! Do you want to hear me do multiplication?”

“You can multiply?” I asked, filling my voice with awe.

She nodded, her eyes glowing. “Dad taught me. I can do nines! I know a trick!”

“Really? Can you teach me?”

Biting her lip, she nodded, and began to show me the trick using her fingers, peeking slyly up at me every so often as though to check whether I was baffled. I figured out the trick by nine times two, but let her continue anyway, looking properly excited. Henry, seemingly bothered by being ignored, stepped closer and opened his arms. I immediately settled back down into a seated position, glad for the opportunity to relax from my crouch, and he climbed into my lap while we watched his sister.

We were at nine times six when Cad squatted down. “All right, kiddos—it’s time to go. Tell Violet goodbye.”

A surge of pleasure washed over me at their plaintive protests. “It’s all right, guys. I have to go anyway. But we’ll see each other again soon—I promise.”

The two children immediately held up their pinkies, and I grinned, recognizing the gesture. It was awkward with my left hand, but I held it out, pinky extended. Alice wrapped her pinky around mine, and Henry followed.

“Okay, ankle-biters,” Cad said. “Let’s go. C’mon, Samuel, I guess we’d better get you back too.”

I watched as he took his children’s small hands and began heading down the hill. Margot and Viggo helped me up, and Margot gave me a soft yet warm hug. “Thank you,” she said against my shoulder. “Thank you so much for coming for us. We will never forget it, and you are always welcome with us, whenever you need anything.”

“Thank you,” I whispered back, holding her close for a moment longer before releasing her.

She nodded, raising a hand to Viggo before following Cad and their children down the hill. I watched them go, and then turned to Viggo, prepared to let him know I was ready to go back in, when the contemplative look on his face made me pause.

“What?” I asked, looking down at my arms and legs as though they were somehow accountable for the warmth in his expression.

“Nothing,” he said nonchalantly. “It’s just… you seem really good with kids.”

Slightly dazed by his words, I immediately deflected. “Yeah, well, at the rate we’re going, this will be a kid-free zone until you put a ring on my finger.”

“Hmmm…” Viggo said, his green eyes growing even more thoughtful. “Noted.”

I chuckled and slipped my arm through his as we got up and made our way down the gently sloping hill. As we walked, I couldn’t help imagining holding a small boy with Viggo’s eyes in my arms, nestling him close to my chest. Blinking at the unaccustomed thoughts of a future I wasn’t sure would ever happen, I decided I didn’t quite hate the idea. In fact, it filled me with a thrill of excitement.