“That makes sense, if you need to fend for yourself from birth.” I cross my arms while I watch. The two tiny mothlings have already fully thrown themselves onto the playground, clambering over the jungle gym. They couldn’t possibly be cuter, it hurts thinking about them truly fending for themselves. The thought of tiny Ant all alone makes my heart squeeze.
“Do you want to meet them?” Ant’s voice cuts through my thoughts.
I nod easily. “Okay.” I really would.
22
PIPER
I know it’s probably a bad idea, but I follow Ant back to the group, and he introduces me to everyone.
Maisie Hill, his sister, is nice. No one is sure if they are actually blood related, but they’ve decided to embrace the family culture anyway. Her wife, Janelle, offers me a sandwich from their supplies. Their kids, Monty and Helen, are tiny, sweet, and so cute that it borders on annoying the crap out of me. They say ‘please’, ‘thank you’, and ‘nice to meet you’ in near unison, but don’t bother pretending to actually be interested in me. They take snacks from their mothers and then race back to the jungle gym.
Ant plays with his niblings, chasing them around, holding them above his head so they can spread their wings and catch the wind. The kids are covered in a light brown fuzz. Maisie explains the fur will get darker as they age and they will be able to fly when their wings mature.
Watching them interact has my ovaries twinging. I’ve always wanted kids of my own. Or I always thought Iwouldwant kids of my own, eventually. Watching him now confirms to my brainI’d be happy even if they were tiny adorable moth creatures that look nothing like me.
Not that I am going to raise any kind of child with Ant.
“You came here to see Pontius?” Janelle interrupts my staring.
“I just had a question about our work.” I laugh, trying to disguise my real motivation. “He visited you two in Canada?”
“He stayed with us for the holidays.” Janelle lounges on a bench beside me. She looks tired, but the kind of satisfied exhaustion that comes with being a new mom.
“All of the holidays?” I specify.
“Just from early November until the new year,” Maisie confirms everything I’ve been told.
“Maisie doesn’t have a family. It was nice to watch them connect and talk about their shared experiences,” Janelle adds.
“I’m sure that was nice.” I feel myself smiling.
“It really meant a lot to Maisie, to have family. That’s part of why we jumped at the chance to adopt. It probably wouldn’t have happened for us if Pontius wasn’t involved.” In one hand, Janelle holds a stuffed doll, and in the other, a small, but very important, rock she was given for safekeeping by the littlest mothling. “He’s a really solid man. Are you two seeing each other?”
I ignore the question and decide to change the topic. “How did you two meet?”
“Mutual friends introduced us,” the Mothwoman steps into the conversation.
“Maisie came into my workplace every day for dinner for a month before she got the guts to actually ask me on a date.”
Maisie gives a sheepish smile. “I was a bit obsessed.”
“What did you do? Follow her home? Steal all her underwear?” I laugh.
The two women exchange a knowing glance.
“Something like that,” Maisie mutters sheepishly.
My eyes widen.
“Maisie! Janelle!” Ant’s voice is raised with some concern, followed by a toddler’s scream, across the playground.
When I look up, Ant is using his long arms to keep the toddlers, who are invested in having an all-out-brawl, separate. He holds Helen in the air, by the back of her neck scruff, as she flutters her tiny wings ineffectively. Monty is attempting to scale Ant’s leg with an impressively loud, but still adorable, growl.
“A little help, please.” Ant laughs as the mothlings gnash their teeth, desperately trying to bite each other.
“Coming!” Janelle and Maisie race to him, to scold and console each of the twins in turn.
