Mateo and Kivi yawn at the same time, the fourth in a series of yawns that
started ten minutes ago. Everyone knows that yawning is contagious—though no
one is a hundred percent sure why—but this is getting ridiculous. They both
laugh, because that is also contagious. “Boredom is a sign of an
unstimulated mind,” Kivi muses.
He looks at her differently. “That’s just the definition of boredom.”
“Oh. I thought it made me sound smart.”
“Are you not?”
“No, I’m cognizant of my alternate selves, but I don’t know the things they
do. I should say that I’m cognizant of their existence. I don’t know
anything about them. Are most of them smart?”
“A few of them are lawyers, but I don’t think we have any scientists in the
family.”
She nods. “So, you’re my father, eh?”
“Leona’s theory is that your mother and I conceived you in an old timeline
in the main sequence. Due to what you are, you managed to survive, and keep
coming back in later timelines, including ones where Eseosie and I never
met, or I didn’t even exist.”
“Now we’re in a reality where neither of you exists. I don’t know who my
parents are supposed to be.”
“Let’s just say it’s me.”
“I think I would like that, if you’re okay with it.”
“You’re not the only daughter I have out there that I never took care of.
You got a half brother too. He and his full sister do their own things, and
I don’t know anything about them, though I’ve heard they’re incredibly
powerful. Like..Meliora Rutherford-level powerful.”
She nods and yawns. He yawns. They sit in silence for another few minutes.
“I don’t even think I know how to ride a bike.”
“Are you sure?” he asks. “You know how to speak English, and tie your
shoes?”
“Yeah. Maybe I do.”
As dense as he is, he should’ve realized right away that she was asking him
to teach her. Marie does have a bike that she stores above their parking
space in the underground garage. “I could teach you.”
“Would you? I would love that!” She’s excited.
“Yeah, I haven’t done it in...” He looks at his watch. “Oh, a few thousand
years, give or take a few timelines.”
“It’ll be fun. We certainly don’t have anything better to do, do we?”
“No laboratories to set up, no couples trips to go on, no job to do.”
They go downstairs and retrieve the bicycle. He walks it down the hill to
the park for her, where a father is already teaching his own daughter to
ride. She’s at a typical age. Hopefully people won’t judge Kivi. Not
everyone is born with the same privileges, weird temporal condition or
otherwise. She gets on the bike, and tries to pedal. They quickly learn that
she was right about not knowing how. He never had a younger sibling, and as
he was saying before, didn’t ever get the chance to raise his children. It’s
nice, even though she’s an adult, that they can share this one experience.
Perhaps there will be more down the line. She might not know how to catch a
ball, or talk to a crush either.
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