A Bonding

            The next morning Brannigaan was up and out on the beach before his mother or Jonathan had gotten out of bed. He’d rummaged around in the kitchen and found something in a jar labeled peaches that were edible, and good. That would be enough for now, until he was too tired to run anymore. Weeks on the ship were fun, but nothing like the sand and water between his toes; the damp air they called fog was cool and misty on his face, like running through a cloud. It was freedom!

            Jonathan rolled toward the center of the bed, briefly surprised to find Riaan in his bedroom. She lay facing him, asleep. He stretched another couple of centimeters and pressed his lips upon hers for a short moment. A smile appeared while her eyes remained closed.

            “Hmmm, it must be morning,” she said. Jonathan reached for her shoulder under the covers and kissed her again. From her shoulder he stroked down her satin skin to caress her femininity, and then reaching around to her back to pull her closer. “Oh, I can’t Jon, I’m so tired. And Branni…” she mumbled. She finally opened her eyes.

            “No worries. Just saying good morning. I might have pulled a muscle last night,” he laughed softly.

            “What time is it?”

            “Breakfast time, I’m starving. It’s oh six hundred.” Jon kissed aside her lips and rolled up to get out of bed. He pulled on some lounge pants and wandered into the bathroom. Riaan heard the water running and still puzzled how simple life could be with just electricity and running water in the home. Cities on Akal were on the brink of these discoveries, but not the countryside. She thought the Endeavour was modern, but even on the planet technology was so advanced it was hard to take it all in. She pulled the white, baffled cover up to her ears and closed her eyes.

            Jonathan returned eight or nine minutes later with a towel and wet hair; he sat down on the edge of the bed and Riaan opened her eyes.

            “Getting up?”

            “Do I have to? I just need a few more minutes.”

            “I’ll put some breakfast up and see what Branni wants to do today.”

            “No wonder I love you,” she whispered still partly asleep. Jonathan bent over and kissed between the crests on her forehead. He was still intrigued by the physical differences between them, minor as they were. The little crests on the outside of her ankles, the invisible down that covered her entire angelic body, hearing her heart beat when he placed his ear to the center of her haven.

            Jonathan dressed casually and went to wake up Brannigaan. Before he got to the other side of the apartment, Branni came in the front door.

            “Really? You were outside alone and didn’t tell us?” Branni shut the door.

            “I didn’t want to wake you up.”

            “You didn’t even leave a note?”

            “I didn’t know I had to. I’m sorry Jon. I was just down on the beach.” Jonathan corralled the boy into the kitchen to talk.

            “Sit.” Jonathan got a cup for his coffee, and saw the empty jar on the counter top. Brannigaan sat at a bar chair that faced the kitchen counter top. “Now, this is not the Akal countryside. San Francisco is a very safe city, but also a very big city; you could get lost. If you got hurt or lost, how would we know where to even look for you?”

            “I won’t do it again. I promise.”

            “It’s okay, Branni, you didn’t know. I’m glad nothing happened. And let’s not tell your mother. Mothers have a way of holding on tight to their boys,” he pointed out. “You know, my mother was that way. I tended to get lost in my own head and forget all about dinner time, my poor mother. She’s still alive, she lives in San Francisco. We’ll visit her someday.”

            “You said your dad died, too.”  Jonathan pushed his hair out of his face so it wouldn’t dry looking like it had been on fire. He nodded.

            “Yes, he died from a genetic condition called Clark’s Syndrome, when I was twelve. That’d be about 8 or 9 in your years.”

            “They couldn’t cure it?”

            “Genes are funny things. Humans didn’t allow genetic engineering in his day, for a lot of reasons that would take all day to explain.”

            “What are genes?”

            “I guess that might be a little beyond your years. Hmm. Well, they are tiny messages in your body that decide how you look, if you’re male or female, how tall you will be, and the kinds of things that can make you sick.”

            “Wow, and you can’t change them?”

            “Yes, you can, but it’s difficult. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.” They sat quietly for a few moments. Jonathan took another sip of his morning coffee. He wondered why Riaan hadn’t gotten up yet, but didn’t disturb her. “Hungry? I see you found some peaches. The groceries will be here soon. Not much here since I was gone so long.”

            “Do you miss him? Your dad?” Brannigaan asked.

            “You bet I do. You know, he was very well known here on Earth. I remember visiting the Warp 5 complex where the star ship engines were built, Air and Space Museum, and sometimes we just spent 10 or 15 minutes out here on these beaches in San Francisco flying model ships. I wish he’d been able to live long enough to see his work succeed.”

            “I wish my dad was still alive to see Earth, and Endeavour. He would have liked it here.” The irony of Brannigaan’s statement wasn’t lost on Jonathan.

            “I think he would have liked it here, too,” Jonathan replied. The door signal chirped. “I think breakfast is here, or at least the ingredients.” He answered the door and the delivery man brought a large container of fresh foods into the kitchen, and promptly left the admiral’s home.

            “I’m not a great cook, but I think I can put breakfast together. Come on in here,” Jonathan asked. The boy hopped off the tall-legged chair and started to empty the container.