Zane’s Log 9/25/2038
I must admit, learning my father-in-law was Danua, or Tuatha de’ Danann as they are called on Earth, was a bit disconcerting. He turned out to be someone I trust completely, but it didn’t start that way. Right from the start I could see how much he loved Katarina. That won him a lot of favor, but didn’t mean he was trustworthy by default, especially not when it came to our kids. He didn’t raise Katarina and looking at Kieran didn’t really inspire confidence in regards to his influence on our kids.
Katarina had no worries at all the first time Finn offered to babysit. I, on the other hand, almost decided to never leave the house until they were adults. Instead, I settled on rigging the entire house with cameras– have to thank Robert for that sanity saver. Our first date night together after the kids and all the craziness involved me checking my minicomp every five minutes to make sure Finn hadn’t conjured a baby-eating Minotaur or something.
I almost felt like I owed the man an apology after spying on him all night. He conjured tiny holographic type images that acted out his stories and mesmerized the kids. He sang to them, rocked them, and even changed diapers without resorting to magic. In essence he was far more of a pro than I was. I was still getting the hang of changing Adrian without having to change his entire outfit or having to dodge pee. The kid had excellent aim. As for Colleen, I think she grew extra hands while being changed. By the time we were done, she’d manage to knock every damn thing onto the floor.
Now I’m an old hand, but back then Finn could run circles around me. You’d never guess that looking at him. He’s arrogant and often impatient. Those two qualities don’t seem to lend themselves toward being good with children, but it’s like all of that melts away the moment a kid is around. I’ve seen him at the park and he’s that way with other kids too. Kieran avoids the park like it’s a black hole and other kids as if they are tiny zombies. Needless to say, I trust the kids with Kieran as far as I can dropkick him.
Back to Finn, though…As much as he adores the kids, he doesn’t stop in often. It took me awhile to figure it out. At first I thought he didn’t like me, but then that didn’t make sense. He invites me out on a regular basis. One time we went to an airshow and he told me how he gave Da Vinci his ideas for flying machines. Neither of us are fanatics over Earth sports, but we’ve attended games of various sorts for the experience. He explains the rules and we each back a team. The loser buys the winner a beer. I blame my losing streak on the fact that he’s been following these sports since they were invented.
He spent plenty of time with Katarina as well, but he always seemed to find excuses to avoid spending time with all of us together unless Katarina insisted. I finally realized after out first family holiday that he’s jealous, but not in a mean and spiteful way. He’s in that ‘I am so alone that it hurts to see others happy’ place. If Katarina and I act even slightly annoyed with each other, I think it gives him a panic attack. He wants us to be happy, but he doesn’t think he can be. I wish there was something I could do, but as Katarina says, he has to give himself permission to be happy.
I suppose I’ll happily buy him beers until he realizes that.
Crossroads of Fate Series- By H.C. Playa 
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