It was starting to turn out to be a loooong Sunday. Steve contacted his lawyer, Thomas Lang, and told him the whole story. Thomas assured Steve he would put a stop to Mr. Diaz’s machinations and would get in contact with the de la Vega family lawyer, who was the executor of both Luisa’s and her father’s wills.

After that Steve and Steban went shopping for clothes. If there was one thing Steban absolutely HATED with a passion, it was clothes shopping. He tolerated it, just barely, with a semi-well hides scowl on his face.

Fortunately, his next growth spurt wasn’t for a couple of years at the least, so fitting his was not a problem. Steve also thanked God that his son had very simple taste in clothes. T-shirt, pajamas, sneakers, a couple of pairs of swim trunks, underwear, a couple of dress shirts and pants, blue jeans, a football, catcher’s mitt and a baseball were all Steban wanted.

The two of them were starving when they arrived home just after six. Steban’s stomach growled loudly, and he looked at his father pleadingly.

“Popi? What’s for dinner?” he asked in an ever-so-slightly whiny tone.

“Don’t worry, Steban. Someone’s coming over with dinner. I think you’ll like her. Her name is Malani Stewart, and she’s my fiancée. She’s a fantastic cook, she’s gorgeous, and we’re getting married in three weeks time.”

Steban looked down at the floor. This news was disturbing, to say the least. He’d just come from a home where one adult didn’t want him; he didn’t want to go into another one.

Steve took one look at his son’s face and knew what he was thinking. Unlike his father, Steban wore his emotions on his face. Moody little Cancerian that he was, he was highly sensitive, with a strong need for security.

“Does she know about me?”

“Yes, she does.” Steve sat down next to his son, and pulled him close. “You were one of the first things I told her about. She was very upset when I told her about what happened between your mother and I. When I called her this morning, and told her you were here, she was overjoyed, and started screeching over the phone. I thought I was going to go deaf in my right ear,” Steve said the last part mostly to himself, but Steban caught it and grinned at him.

“Really? She’s happy that I’m here?”

“You got it,” Steve said with a smile, “As a matter of fact, I hear her car in the driveway now.”

Steve’s prediction was correct. A blue Mercury four door sedan pulled into the driveway, and parked neatly next to Steve’s car. A young woman got out of the driver’s side, reached back into the car, and picked up two large aluminum trays.

She was a gorgeous young woman, in her mid twenties, of mixed Hawaiian, Chinese and Scottish ancestry, with long, wavy black hair reaching to the middle of her back, and green eyes that sparkled with good humor. She was dressed casually in a pair of denim capris, a white tank top, sandals, and wore a diamond ring on her ring finger that flashed in the late afternoon sunlight.

Steve met her at the door, relieving her of the trays. Steban looked at her with curiosity. There was something about this woman that he could not put his finger on…

“You’re having a baby!” he squawked, and Steve’s face drained of its color.

Malani simply burst out laughing.

“Very good! You have to be Esteban. I’m Malani Stewart, and in three weeks, I’m going to be your new stepmother. There’s paella in the bottom pan and fried chicken in the top pan.” She turned to look at her fiancé. “Stop scowling Steve, he’s right.”

Very slowly, Steve placed the pans on the kitchen counter, and turned back to face her. “You mean he has the same Talent your brother has?”

“Yes, he does. And he’s just a boy yet. By the time he’s and adult, he’ll be quite accomplished.”

She looked carefully at Steban. “So, you have the Talent for Seeing. I have a question for you: how many children am I carrying?”

Steban tilted his head to one side. Using the Sight on purpose was a little harder than using it by instinct. But, it wasn’t impossible.

“Three,” he said in a firm tone, “You’re having two girls and one boy.”

“He’s not fibbing, is he?” Steve asked and Malani shook her head.

“No, he’s not. My brother Sebastian is a Seer. It hasn’t always been easy for him, but we were always there for him. He’ll be glad to take on your son as a student in how to control his power.”

Steban looked down at his feet, suddenly uneasy. Would this revelation make his father send him away? It had been one of the reasons his stepfather had hated him.

Seeing the concern in his son’s eyes, Steve went to reassure him.

“Steban, nothing you do will EVER make me send you away. Nothing. I’ve only just gotten you back and I’m not sending you anywhere. Understand?”

Steban’s head came up and his face lit up like Times Square on New Year’s Eve. He knew his father meant every word he said, his heart, and his Talent told him so.

“Bueno! Can we eat now?”

The two adults smiled at him. ‘Typical twelve year old kid’, hey thought, ‘mostly concerned with his stomach.’

Steban ignored that, and went to set the table, while Steve took the covers off the pans. He served up the food, and the three of them ate in companionable silence.

Steve watched his fiancée pack away the food with amusement. She and her sister were the only ones he knew who were better cooks than he was. As they ate, Malani gently coaxed the entire story of his arrival out of Steban.

That led her to ask about the planning behind it, and he told her the entire tale.

Malani’s emotions ranged from shock, to dismay, to sadness, to rage by the time Steban was finished with his story.

Her eyes flashed with anger at how this child had been treated by his stepfather. ‘If I ever get some time alone with that man, he will be in for a universe of hurt, not just a world! Note to self: Step up sparring intensity, and review the weaknesses in a man’s anatomy.’

“Don’t worry, Steban,” she said soothingly, “Your father will take care of everything.”

Steban, who had been taut with stress, sagged in relief. He liked this lady. It was too bad she was marrying his father. If he were ten years or so older, he’d marry her in a heartbeat.

*****