2.01 – Kraken and Cakes

“Here it is! What do you think?”

Lissa looked over her shoulder at her family, most of whom were gazing at the building in shock.

“Lissi, how..?”

“It turns out that gardening can be pretty good at bringing in money when you’re the main supplier for a couple of businesses” she said, smiling. “Plus, Mrs Secret Agent, you bring in even more than I do.”

“And the design?”

“You can thank your sister for that. Siobhan helped me find some blueprints and we… tweaked them a bit.”

A splash drew their attention around to the side of the house.

“Look Mum, I’m a fish!”

Morgan looked at Lissa and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I’ll teach him how to swim, don’t worry. You’ve got to learn at some point, too!”

“If Sixans were meant to swim, we would have been born with gills” Lissa said. She pecked her wife on the cheek and gave her a little push towards the pool. “I’ll get started on the cake, you two keep him occupied.”

Morgan slipped into her swimsuit and slid into the water.

“So, star boy, what kind of fish do you want to be?”

“A Kraken!”

“I think I’m going to try swimming, too.”

“Really? After all those water safety lectures you gave me?”

“You wouldn’t have built the pool if you hadn’t checked the safety first. Besides, this water doesn’t look like it’s radioactive.”

“RARGHHHH~ BEWARE THE KRAKEN”

Verixe looked over at her grandson. “I promise that if he starts growing tentacles I’ll make him get out.”

“Grandma! Come play with us!”

“I might just sit here and watch for a while.”

Morgan smiled up at her. “That’s fine. If you change your mind, the water is lovely. Come on Lor, you don’t want to be the only kraken that can’t swim, do you?”

Lissa heard the laughter from outside as she worked, and allowed herself to relax. She’d been worried about moving, but everyone seemed to be taking it in their stride. Plus, she admitted, it was nice to have a proper kitchen.

Perfect, she thought, looking at the finished cake. She could hardly believe that Lor’s teenage years would begin today. Had they raised him as well as he deserved? She really hoped so. It wasn’t her birthday, but she closed her eyes and wished before carrying the cake into the dining room. I wish for your happiness.

“Come on Grandma, it’s not that hard – you just move your arms like this!”

Verixe watched, trying not to laugh as Lor swam over to his mother in a strange mix of what Morgan had informed her was called ‘doggy-paddle’ and the style that Morgan had been trying to teach him.

“Much better, love” Veirxe said, smiling as she watched him. Lor’s eyes widened fractionally and he looked back at her. “You love me?”

“Of course I do.” Verixe said, “You’re my grandson.”

Lor swam back over as fast as his flailing could carry him and hugged her. “Love you, too.”

Morgan watched, her heart filling with an emotion she couldn’t quite place. She wiped her eyes on the back of her hand.

“Mum, are you crying?”

“No, Lor, I just got some of the water in my eyes.”

Lissa opened the window and called out to her family. “The cake’s ready!”

“Caaaaaaaaaaaaake~” she heard Lor yell, followed by splashing that she could only assume was his attempt to get out of the pool. She giggled, then leant out of the window again. “Don’t forget to dry your feet before coming in!”

“Yes, Mama.”

“Yes, Mama” Morgan echoed, and blew her a kiss as she walked past. Lissa watched her walk by, entranced by the damp swimming costume that clung to her wife’s body. Maybe she would try swimming after all.

With everyone crowded into the room, Lor closed his eyes and blew out the candles.

I wish for more friends…

Verixe couldn’t take her eyes off his hair. What was that? A fin? Had he been in the water too long? They all sat down and helped themselves to a slice of cake before curiosity got the better of her.

“Lorcán? What is that on your head?”

“It’s called a mohawk, grandma. I probably won’t keep it though, it’d take too much time to fix every day.”

“And you might get stuck in door frames,” she said, nodding sagely. Lor laughed, almost choking on his mouthful of cake.

“That would be pretty bad, wouldn’t it?”

“I know, right!”

But seriously, change your hair.

~~*~~

A/N Here is Lor after his make over!

Everyday:

Look at that smile. It’s the same as the one he had as a child, yay!

Formal (of which there are two pics because I really like it):

I let him keep the swimming shorts, though: