Heritage (Under Revision)

Chapter 7 - Ethan

I sit back in my chair take a sigh of relief as I finally finish my paperwork that has been stacked on my desk for weeks. I stand up and put on my jacket, buttoning it up as I walk out of my office.

I begin to head down the hall toward Elena’s classroom to inform her of some news I have. As I approach her class I see the rush of her students hurrying out her class to go wherever they need to be. Once the Cadets file out of her room I poke my head in her room with a grin on my face.

“What would you say if I told you that I have reservations at your favorite restaurant tonight?’ I say perching myself on her desk.

“Nova? You really got us reservations?”

“I sure did, baby. For seven. So you have plenty of time to relax in the HabMod before you get ready,” I say taking her hand and kissing her wedding band.

We didn’t take the time to wait for our wedding. We both knew for sure that we wanted it so we had a quick and quiet wedding performed by a Justice of the Peace. I had Damien as my best man. Leon I believe was only a week old by that point. We lived in peace for a while, then around a week after Leon’s third birthday, we received a call from the President.

He had explained to us about the Poseidon, which was at the time, only a prototype vessel. At the time, it was the only vessel in space that generated its own oxygen from a greenhouse placed on the ship.

Even now, as more of this class of ship are being built, this one is still hailed as the best and most well-built ship in the fleet. This ship was built for a reason though; the war had begun again with a major offensive being launched by the Sekrid army, and the taking of planet Carmen and all of its human colonies.

During the first years the Poseidon faced many skirmishes and tore the enemy to pieces with its state of the art weaponry. But now, it’s become a training ship for all new Cadets as can be plainly seen.

Elena and I walk hand-in-hand back to our Habmod. As we enter, the first thing she does is unpin her dark auburn hair.

Her hair is one my favorite things about her, among everything else. I walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her close to me, and kissing her neck.

“How was your day?” She asks me while unbuttoning her jacket and tossing it onto the bed.

“Besides our son wreaking havoc? Not too thrilling. Pushing papers mostly,” I respond, running my hands down her arms as she removes her regulation belt.

After Elena is done undressing, and smacking my hand for trying to get touchy-feely with her, she goes into the bathroom and takes a long bath, leaving me grinning at her.

After she spends a half hour in the bath, we take turns using the bathroom mirror and sink to get ready for our reservation at Nova.

After finishing our last minute preparations, I lead her to the hangar and unlock our Hydrapod with my TAPs device. I quickly make my way to Elena’s door and open it for her, kissing her as she takes a seat in the vehicle.

“Been waiting all day to do that properly. Hop in, I’m starved,” I say to her, sliding into the driver’s seat.

I pick up speed as I exit the hangar and go down the runway. I touch one simple button on the touchpad in the Hydrapod, and it lifts off. The trip takes a couple minutes at most and upon stopping, I quickly open Elena’s door for her.

We walk another two blocks to reach Nova, mine and Elena’s favorite restaurant.

We are greeted by a blonde woman who seems to be trying as hard as she can to flaunt her assets. I hardly notice her though, as I already have the perfect women for me.

Surprisingly, my TAPs beeps, and I quickly pull it out of my pocket to turn it off, when I see that it’s a message from Leon asking me about his birthday present. I can’t help but chuckle somewhat at his message.

“That son of ours is a piece of work,” I say putting my TAPs back into my jacket pocket.

“I wonder where he gets it from,” Elena replies jokingly blaming me

“Yes, I wonder. He didn’t pick up his mischievous nature entirely from me, Mommy dearest,” I say, grinning back at her as the blonde comes to take our order.

We order the same thing every time we come here, lasagna for me, and the Mexican plate for Elena.

“I’m actually kind of glad he brought that up, to be honest it slipped my mind. Not his birthday, of course, just the fact that we haven t bought him a gift yet. Do you have any ideas?” Elena asks me as she clasps her fingers with mine.

“Well, he did mention a few weeks back that he wants this plasma cutter that he saw in Ronnie’s window. It’s kind of beat up looking, to be honest. I was thinking that since it’s his eighteenth birthday, that maybe we could get him a new one. One of those really fancy ones like the one you use for your repairs,” I reply while glancing at her, waiting for her reaction.

“I think that’s a great idea, honey. As a matter of fact, Rarefield’s carries the latest models of plasma cutters. I saw one a couple days ago when I was browsing that I think would be perfect for him. Maybe it’ll encourage him to focus more on his studies than misbehaving and chasing after Stella. She’s clearly not interested in him,” she says to me as the waitress places our plates in front of us.

“You can’t blame the kid for trying, El, and with the way those other girls look at him, I’m surprised he isn’t getting any tail yet.”

“Ethan Blake! Elena yells at me. That is your son! Don t encourage him to be a manwhore!”

I grin at her and we both laugh.

“Baby, I’m not encouraging anything of the sort. I’m simply stating a fact. He’s a good looking kid, I’m surprised…and proud, that he hasn’t been with anyone yet”.

“And how would you know if he has or not?” Elena questions me as if she were an interrogator.

“Because, El, he’s my son. I was his age once, I can tell. And to be completely truthful, I wish Stella were interested in him. I think she‘d do him a lot of good. Maybe she could set him on track,” I reply.

“I can’t argue with you there. That girl is the total package, and Leon would jump at the chance to be with her, I’m positive. But can you blame Stella for not wanting anything to do with him? Yes, he is my son, and of course, I love him, but his attitude is irritating and he’s just a little too confident in himself.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” I say as I take a bite of my lasagna. The conversation goes on for another twenty minutes, and after sharing dessert, I pay the bill, and we head for the shop to get Leon’s present.

We enter Rarefield’s Technologies, and after Elena greets the cashier we head to the back wall to see the new products.

“That one, third one up,” Elena says, pointing to a sleek blue plasma cutter on the top shelf of the glass case itss enclosed in.

“Elena, can I help you with anything today?” Gemma asks Elena. The cashier is very friendly and helpful, even if she is just a little awkward, in personality and looks.

“Yes, please. I need that Laseron plasma cutter on the top shelf, it’s for Leon s birthday.”

“Ah, so he’s got his mother’s talents, I see! Just a moment, let me open the case,” she says, flipping open the top of the keypad, which is affixed to the front of the glass case and pressing her finger to the plasma screen.

It scans her fingerprint quickly and the case slides open impressively. She lifts down one of the many slim cases, which are made from titanium and house the plasma cutter, and brings it back to the cashier’s counter to be paid for.

“Could we possibly get the case engraved? It’s his eighteenth birthday and it’s a special one,” I ask the cashier.

“Of course, General, What would you like to have engraved on it?” Gemma asks, gently setting the plasma cutter down on a cloth on the counter and carrying the case to the slim engraving machine.

“I want his name, first and last, engraved on the front. Leon Blake,” I request, as Gemma types in the according keys. The machine sets to work and thirty seconds later it glides smoothly out the other end. She picks it up, examines it and nods.

“Anything on the back?” Gemma asks.

“Yeah…How about reach for the stars, they’re within your grasp?” Elena says as she looks at me.

I give her a nod of approval She repeats the process again, this time engraving the backside of the case, and when it’s finished she brings it back to the counter for Elena and I to inspect.

“It looks great, Gem, thanks so much,” Elena says with a big grin. She quickly gift wraps it in shiny silver paper and hands it back to me.

“I can’t wait till he opens this. We should save this gift for last,” Elena says to me with pride.

As we make our way back to the Hydrapod, we discuss the remaining preparations for Leon’s party as well as wondering if he’ll ever gain the gumption to invite Stella to his party. This party has been planned for two months, and all of the invitations have been given out, except for Stella’s. So at sometime this week, I expect him to give it to her.

I’ve been wondering if maybe I should have a conversation with him about it.