It was the time of year that many Belreans chose to have grand feasts with their family members to celebrate the changing seasons. Crops had been brought in with such bounty that Maritza was sure the farmer’s must have been proud. From what she’d heard that year had been good to the land and thus good to the Belrean economy. Prices for fresh produce would surely be lower over the coming winter and herds of prey beasts would be fatter for the coming spring.

Last year Maritza had been the mother of three, but now she had four children of her own. The youngest of her brood was bundled up next to her chest as the family chatted over a rare familial meal. Now that Isaia was traveling with his work these moments had become fewer by the day. Lioe preferred to spend time by himself and Zadia would often forgo food in favor of tending to her plants. To have all three of her children there with her was something to be thankful for. Now that they were growing up she could see bits of Uquin in their features, elements they shared with their elder sisters, and bits that she hoped Marcella would have as well. Of course she was also told that they resembled her just as much as they did Uquin, but Maritza hoped not. She didn’t consider herself ugly by any means, but she wasn’t exactly a catch. They would need all the help they could get if they took after her.

She’d never really thought about how grateful she was to have this when she was younger. Quiet little moments where she could simply sit back to watch her family. When she’d first started her relationship with Uquin it hadn’t even been a relationship; just a quick series of lays that scratched a momentary itch. Where would she be now if they hadn’t roomed together? Would she still be a mother? Would she be married or following the same path as her own mother? Thinking about the woman left a bitter taste in Maritza’s mouth. She’d always been so headstrong that she didn’t allow anyone else to get in and it made her worry that she really was just like the woman. Looking around her, though…Maritza knew she didn’t have anything to fear. The fact that her children looked so relaxed around each other, so content just to talk and share stories of their adventures meant that she’d done so much more than her mother.

Seeing Uquin across the table filled her heart with a love that was always so awkward for her to express. Without him none of this would have even been possible. Granted, that also meant she wouldn’t have had triplets and suffered their birth all at once, but still…She couldn’t say she regretted it. Circumstances surrounding it could have been different, but the outcome? Never. And now that they had Marcella she felt like their little “family” was whole.

The simple fact that she’d been able to have a fourth child wasn’t lost on her. Uquin…wasn’t the youngest buck. Maritza was all to aware that the years were weighing heavier on him and she tried her best to accommodate that however she could. He might very well never see Marcella become a mother herself, but so long as their daughter had enough fond memories of her father to see her through Maritza thought that would be just as good. Every day she had with him she would take as a blessing (even when she wanted to strangle him) and would selfishly ask for more.

Marcella would know love. She would know security because of the strength of her siblings and the bonds this unusual family would provide for her. Maritza could rest easy at night knowing that when Isaia landed in Tendaji he had family should he have a need for them. Sisters that cared even if they weren’t as close to him as they were one another. At first Maritza’s relationship with Uquin’s eldest daughters had been strenuous at best, but now she was grateful for them. Regardless of her own personal relationship with the women they provided their father with an inner strength and set an example for their younger siblings (albeit a skeptical one, in Ujana’s case).

Even though she’d never really imagined her life turning out this way Maritza couldn’t say she was upset over it. She’d been given so much in such a short amount of time that the adjustment had been hard, but now she knew she’d just been doubly blessed.

[766]