The warm morning sunshine felt wonderful on Nervous Subject’s naked head as he and Circe walked from their parking space to the car lot. It was a beautiful morning and, for once, Nervous felt optimistic, not only about what the day might bring, but his entire future. He was taking his first steps towards becoming his own man. He was not going to live under Loki’s thumb any longer. He was taking control of his life; today he was tackling his first objective in his total transformation.

I folded up dad’s letter with the money tucked inside and carefully slid it back into the envelope. I was determined that, when I finally did find my half sisters, they would get everything that my father had intended them to get. Every letter I had read thus far had “Return to Sender” scribbled on the front of the envelope. Even though dad must have been very hurt when every envelope had been returned unwanted, he persisted in writing to his daughters at least every month. Every letter contained money and my father’s never failing conviction that we all would be united as a family one day. There were over two hundred letters in the bundles. I felt a little guilty reading them as they were never meant for my eyes, but it was like reading a chronicle of our lives. Dad mostly wrote about us kids in his letters and very rarely about himself. I felt closer to him as I read them.

 

Nervous Subject opened one eye and looked at the alarm clock. 5:57. He groaned and rolled over, turning his back on the clock, and pulled the covers over his head. He very much wanted to go back to sleep but knew that it would be pointless to even try. In a few minutes Loki would be bellowing down the stairs for Nervous to get his lazy ass out of bed. 

Nervous flipped the blankets aside and threw his legs over the side of the bed. He yawned and stretched while he mentally went over his plans for the day. It was going to be the first day of his new exercise regimen. It was all part of his personal transformation. He figured that in order to feel strong he had to be strong. It wouldn’t be enough to simply stand up to Loki’s words, He needed to stand up to him physically. He needed to become the alpha male.

The only noise around the Beaker dinner table was the sound of silverware on china. It was a seemingly pleasant family scene like any you might see on a 1950’s TV sitcom. The son, Nervous, was absorbed in inhaling his potatoes while his father, Loki, picked through his piece of salmon, inspecting it for any tiny bones that might have evaded detection during the cooking process. The ever diligent wife and mother, Circe, pushed her green beans around on her plate, deep in thought about what she should prepare for the next evening’s meal.

Or not.

Andromeda Lesath Curious arrived on this planet at 3:48 AM on November first. I named her after Andromeda, the beautiful daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, also our nearest large neighbor galaxy, and Lesath, Scorpius's Upsilon star.

When a slightly inebriated Lazlo and Nervous staggered back to the bunker, I had my feet up on the sofa, Star Trek 2.0 on the tube and was half way through a pint of Chunky Monkey. They stumbled over the threshold and into the living room while laughing at Vidcund’s efforts to woo a Ms. Amber St. Clare. The two of them sprawled lazily in front of the TV.