Shattered Bonds (continued)

Trenton stared at the steaming mug, suddenly struck by how much Georgia reminded him of his mother and, in some of the same ways, Edith.

That’s probably why I’ve tried to keep her at a distance, he acknowledged with rueful recognition. Instead of marrying her.

That conclusion, unbidden, stopped his musings like a sudden collision with a ten-ton boulder. Yet, he felt a strange and calm sense of acceptance. A thought that should have alarmed him beyond all reason instead seemed to be the only right one.

I’m having a stroke . . .

Trenton considered that possibility with only a touch of macabre humor. Nonetheless, he checked his vision and dexterity to be certain that it was not the case.

He found that could not deny it. Almost realizing it, he had come to schedule his days around the times when Georgia might arrive, making certain not only that he was home, but also clean and shaved. Days when she did not come, even if he knew that she was all right, felt somehow emptier.

She’d be marrying a corpse, he argued with himself, finding that he did not entirely believe it. I might still have twenty or thirty years left in him—or I might not. Most likely not.

One thing that the plague had reminded the colony of was that life could be taken from them at any time, regardless of their current age and state of fitness.

Trenton looked toward the room where Sean lay, remembering his grandson’s parents—his own daughter and son-in-law, both taken from this life far too soon by that same virus. For a moment, the familiar melancholy that accompanied those memories threatened to overtake him. Trenton forced it away, driving it back with his need to be there for Sean—now even more than he had ever been before.

His fingertips brushed the surface of the plate and he realized with a start that he had managed to eat the entire sandwich and all of the fruit while lost in his ruminations. For some reason, that made him feel better, almost amused. He was still alive . . . and apparently with a healthy appetite.

He yawned and realized that he was also tired. It had been a long day, as many had been since Sean had been brought home, but this one suddenly seemed a little better somehow.