He was right, so I walked on with my back straight from pride.
“May you have beautiful daughters and plenty of them,” someone shouted from the back.
Just as we exited the hall through the double doors, I once again raised my hand in victory and led Devina out to my drone waiting outside.
I helped her in by lifting her up to her seat.
“I’m happy that I don’t have to disguise myself as a boy any longer.”
With her sitting and me standing, we were the same height and I kissed her nose. “Never again. From now on you never have to hide yourself or your talent.”
I closed the door to the drone and walked around to the other side to get in myself. It gave Devina time to think and when I buckled up, she asked. “Do you think Nmen would read my books? Is that what you meant by talent?”
“Are you kidding me? We’re all curious about the Motherlands. Your books are going to be bestsellers because you’re a credible source and you’re a great writer.” I programmed the drone and as it lifted up, I turned to her. “I still have the last manuscript ofForbidden Letters from the North. The fact that it’s banned in the Motherlands is going to make everyone on this side want to read it. We’ll have a publishing deal before you know it.”
Devina sat awestruck.
“What’s wrong? Did you think you’d have to give up your writing or something?”
“No, yes… I don’t know. I haven’t had time to think about it.”
“That’s okay. I predict that you’ll be the biggest author in the Northlands before the year is over.”
“You meanwe. I didn’t write that book alone.”
I just smiled at her.
“If we publish it here, we should do it in both our names.”
“You mean that?”
Devina nodded. “Yes. I mean it.”
“Wow, that would make me a published author like you.”
“Yes, it would.”
I scratched my stubble. “Maybe we could write more books together. I mean, Mark and Deidra still had a lot of those one hundred and eighty positions left from the Kama Sutra book.”
Devina laughed. “That’s not a bad idea, but all great writers take research seriously, so we would need to go over each position to better understand what we’re putting our characters through.”
I reached my hand out to her and when she took it, I lifted it to my lips and placed a kiss on the back of her hand. “Consider it a deal!”
Epilogue
Seven Years Later
Devina
With the garden full of people, it would look like a large party to anyone stopping by. To us it was a standard Sunday get-together.
My three oldest children were playing with their cousins and were far too busy to listen when I repeated, “Food is ready, come and eat.”
“Hey, Spartan…” Marni gave a loud whistle and got the attention of her youngest son, who was still older than all of Tyton’s and my kids. “Dinner is ready, tell the others.”
“But we’re just in the middle of a game,” he protested and took up the chase to get the soccer ball from some of his older brothers.
Marni shook her head. “I swear that boy is turning out like his brothers; they never listen either.”
