Chapter Ten

Grace drove through the outskirts of Midgar Edge, as Kadaj and Loz followed closely behind us. The roar of the engines was relaxing. The cab of the truck enveloped in peace. The outside surrounding went by in a blur as the sounds of soft music played from the radio in the dash. The whole aura of the surroundings on the outside of the truck and the inside was welcoming as I laid my head against the window, closing my eyes. "You feeling alright?"

I heard Graceona ask from the driver's seat; I looked at her as she was focused on the road. "Yeah, I'm still tired, I suppose."

"I offered to let you sleep. We could have taken shifts on watching the house."

"No, it's alright. I'll just get some sleep tonight. I'm sure Kourtney's books will put me to sleep." Thinking of the child's books that put her to sleep, stories of childish adventures caused the child to sleep peacefully. Perhaps, her stories would cause me to fall asleep in a world full of cartoon-like creatures going on simple adventures, anything would beat the fact that my younger brother resented me, as well as knowing my wife didn't like the man that I had become. Perhaps, if I were smart, I would listen to the two of them and change into the man that the two of them enjoyed.

"You're thinking again, Leonard." Graceona sighed.

"Well, no one tells you to read my thoughts like they were your storybook, Graceona. Of course, I'm going to think you and Nicolae have given me a lot to think about. Who wouldn't think about the people they love the most, being the people who resent them the most? I feel entitled to think once they threw those terms in my path. Wouldn't you think so?"

"We don't resent you, Leonard. We miss when you were." I interrupted her.

"Grace, you and Nicolae want me to be the same way I was when I took Kadaj and his brothers in, the same man that would take care of thirty-some orphans. I would do so again if I was asked to take care of orphans again. That part hasn't changed. I've not changed much. I was happy then and I'm happy now. It's just you and Nicolae that have the issues with the way I am."

"We don't have issues with you, or who you've grown up to be. My issues with you are what happened a few months ago, the divorce, your life choices of trying to take your life. My concern with you is your emotional status." She sighed, looking at me. "This has nothing to do with resentment. We still love you. We want what is best for you and to see you happy. I feel like we're entitled to see that, Nicolae, more so than myself. It was his life he threw away to give you life. Are you going to throw that away?"

I looked at her as she looked out the windshield. "No." I sighed. "It sounds selfish of me when you put it like that. Having Kourt say something about it was bad enough, but when you say it that way. It cuts deep. I promised Nicolae that I would live a long happy life, growing old with a family, sitting on a front porch with my wife watching grandchildren play in the yard. I can see why he is coming at me. He would have done the same thing if he were still alive, but it would probably be worse if he were human."

She glanced over at me. "It may cut deep, Leonard. If it takes you being cut deep to listen to reason, then I apologize for nothing. But Nicolae paid the price for you. You could at least repay him by fulfilling your promise to him and living the life that he may have wanted to live. Live a life that the two of you would be proud of if he were still here."

"You have a point, as always, Grace. I can't argue with facts like that." Graceona looked back out the windshield. With a sigh, she looked back at the riders that followed us with ease.

"Leonard, you have people who love you, those two behind us, for one. Kadaj, I know he hates me. I accept it, but I feel he would go to great lengths to see you safe if you were in danger. Do you think he wanted to stay in Midgar Edge if you would have turned him down, do you think that his refusing to go shopping with us was something that he wanted to do, he was hurting, which is something I feel he has felt little of, not since the reunion. Kadaj cares for you. You're the only father figure the boy has known, Loz, he may be childish. He is also a powerful teenager, who is part of Sephiroth, Yazoo. I don't know what happened between the two of you over the years, but I feel like the two of you have this special bond. Those three boys love you. I feel you somehow hold the keys to them controlling my father. The three of them have worked to change themselves, the three of them have grown a sense of humor, and the three of them being created by a madman, they can be funny and you have made them more human than they were during the reunion."

"Sounds like I performed miracles then." I looked at her as she chuckled.

"Leonard, I don't know what spell you cast on the three of them, but you've changed them. You've changed me as well. You have this positive energy. You gave me a new reason to live, and that has made me want to protect that positive energy."

"Positive energy? Graceona, seriously. No one gives off energy."

She looked at me. "If you say so, Leonard. The point is, you said you felt resentment, I'm proving with facts once again that you are paranoid as my father is crazy, but we all love the paranoid you, and we want to see you happy not dead set on taking yourself out of the picture. In terms your peanut mind can understand when you are lacking sleep, you are loved and we would think of it as unfair if you took something that we love away from us. We love you and enjoy your company."

"Dang, peanut mind, I'm sensing hostility here." I held in a laugh.

"Your sarcasm, Leonard. This is a serious conversation I'm having here. Can you continue to be serious for a minute?" she looked at me, holding in her laugh as she looked back out the window. "Or could you pretend to be serious, you with a tired mind and sarcastic nature? I sense it is difficult for you, but at least attempt to be serious."

I sighed. "Grace, you know serious conversations make my sarcastic tone come out. I'm listening to you. I get the fact that you, and the children, love me and enjoy my company. I've learned my lesson. I let assumptions take over again. I get that. I'll do my best to give you and Nicolae what you want. So, he can finally rest, and you can be happy. I'm sorry for letting assumptions constantly cloud my better judgment. I'll try to do better in the future, I promise."

"Good, I'm going to hold you to it." She smiled. "If you act like this again, I will hang you on the wall by your bootstraps."

"Savage."

"You got that right. We're finally home, thank Gaia. This has been a rough few days. That hot bath is screaming my name, while the bed is screaming yours. Later, we can go get some stuff for the boy's rooms, or we can let them borrow the truck. We need to go to work in the morning, and I don't know about you, but I need some R&R before I put up with TSUNG and Reno." She parked in the driveway, turning off the engine. She looked at me. "Tomorrow should be interesting having two negative Nancy-like characters under the same roof," she chuckled. "I'm interested in seeing who will crack first. This should be fun. I'm looking forward to tomorrow." She got from the truck as I followed her.