2.10 Not Real Things

Viktor Beaker, son of that guy Mariposa assaulted for no reason a few chapters ago, follows Lydia home from school to do homework.

"What are you afraid of? It's just my house." At first, Lydia shows a remarkable lack of empathy for a fellow coward.

 But they become friends soon enough.

Solana is taking an unusually long time with her homework.

Her father frowns at her. She hasn't taken that astronaut costume off for a while, and he's noticed this is something she does when she is very stressed. "What's the matter, Lana?"

"There's something Mom told me..."

"Oh?" Lynx feels his heart sink. He's tried to supervise the visits, but it can be difficult, what with Lydia and Laurel sometimes needing his attention during those spans of time as well. "Is it the lizards again?"

"Is my sisters' mom named Brooke?"

Lynx is quiet for a moment, then decides he should not lie. "Yes."

"What does Arne's dad have to do with any of it?"

Lynx looks squicked out for a second. "What? Absolutely nothing."

"Mom said Valter knew about the lies, and that I shouldn't be around Arne anymore. What lies?"

"Mariposa and I had a really big disagreement when you were just a baby, Solana. You know this. Valter had nothing to do with it, neither did you. Your mother just wants more people to blame, but it's my fault and no one else's."

The little girl stares at him, eyes sharp. "What did you disagree about?"

Lynx does his best to not look away, "I guess you're old enough to deserve an answer to that. I... I wasn't in love with your mother. I was in love with Brooke. In anticipation of your questions, Brooke was not in love with me. Your mother convinced herself we had a future, when we didn't. Around the time your sisters were born, she realized we weren't good for each other, so she left."

"That's why she hates my sisters. I kind of figured it was something like that."

"It's not Lydia or Laurel's fault. I couldn't get along super well with either of your mothers. That's just how things are sometimes."

Solana hugs herself. "Why don't you love Mom?"

"We just don't have much in common."

Solana lays her head down on the table. "I don't think I love her either."

Lynx pets the top of her head. "I'm sorry."

"Sometimes I like her... but I never feel like she likes me... because I don't feel like she knows me, I guess? She treats me like she's had this idea of who her daughter was in her head this whole time... and she sees that most of the time, and not me... and when she does, like, snap out of it and see me... she's not happy. She doesn't like me."

Lynx cringes. "You're growing up fast, Solana..."

"I know you don't want to talk to me about this but I am old enough."

"Heh. No. But listen. A lot of... not real things happen in Mariposa's head. A lot of her relationship with you is just her fantasy." Lynx feels his face redden, "That's kind of how she was with me too."

Solana picks at the patches on her costume. The astronaut is her favorite, because it's her best friend's favorite, and when she wears it she feels confident, and approved of, even if Arne's not here to see her.

"Please don't mention Brooke to your sisters."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want them stressing out about her. It's something I'll talk to them about when the time is right. And I know that you're a kind sister, and mature enough to not bring it up."

"Do you still love Brooke?"

"I don't know how to answer that, Lana."

"...Do you love Lydia and Laurel more? Because they're Brooke's daughters?"

"Of course not, Lana. I love all of you just as much." Lynx doesn't even think of them as Brooke's daughters anymore, and he's not sure if Brooke ever thought of the twins as her daughters, but he leaves that unsaid.

"Are you going to stop loving us? Like you don't love our mothers anymore."

"Nope, never in a billion years. A parent and child relationship is a lot different than a romance."

 "Because there's woo-"

Lynx interrupts her, "It's just a completely different set of expectations and responsibilities."

Solana seems puzzled. All love is to her is attachment. She loves her sisters, and she loves her father, and she loves her best friend, and despite the genius trait, she doesn't quite get why it's different.

"I'm always going to be your Dad," Lynx tries to reassure her.

Lynx's youth is leaving him. He ages into the Adult stage that night.

"What the? My hair!!!"

"Okay... all fixed... nothing to see here... nobody saw that..."

We all saw it, Lynx. 

Solana pages through a mystery novel she and Arne have been reading. They've made a game of it. They write down their predictions, and the page number and line that clued them in, then compare notes and see who gets bragging rights in the end. But Solana's heart isn't in it today. She keeps having to read the same lines over and over, failing each time to absorb them.

"Lydia... you read a lot about relationships, right?"

Lydia looks up from her book for a second. "Huh? I'm not allowed to read romance novels."

"Forget I asked..."

"What were you gonna ask?"

"Why is "a father's love" different from normal love?"

"Uhhh..."

"You can abandon your girlfriend, but you can't abandon your daughters. Right? No! Wrong. Some fathers do abandon their children."

Lydia looks terrified. "Is Dad leaving?"

"No, but when he tried to explain why he wouldn't, I didn't really get it."

"...Oh..." Lydia calms down. "Well, Dad is responsible for us. You're not responsible for your love interests in the same way."

"So we're like pets?"

Lydia looks horrified again. "No, pets don't grow up and live their own lives. Oh, oh, is Dad just waiting for us to leave?"

Solana realizes she made a mistake when Lydia starts crying.

An elderly Ivy Law retires from her long career. Lynx stops by the retirement party.

Embla is telling Epiphany about her latest promotion.

Lynx tries to socialize with his nephew, Andrew.

There's as much of an age difference between Lynx's kids and Ivy's kids as there was between Lynx and Ivy, so Andrew and Lily haven't made it into the story much. Lily has already moved out of her mother's place and is happily married.

Pippy comes to rescue Andrew from the awkwardness.

The seasons change again. It is the end of hamburgers grilled in the back yard, the end of water balloon wars in the park, the end of warm nights running back and forth between Solana's home and Arne's.

 A burglar makes an attempt, but for some reason just starts crying before he even gets in the door.

The universe does not want you to have a good night's sleep, Lynx.

The kids' teen birthday is coming up, and their father promised them cakes and a small house party. Solana worries about her mother ruining the party. Mariposa might even try to fight with Arne or something.

"Just tell Dad you don't want your mom there," Laurel suggests.

Laurel makes everything sound so easy.

The guests arrive, and most immediately cram themselves into the house's mini-arcade. Ivy starts dancin', and Lydia's friend Viktor, newly a teen, decides to tell Lynx about his hobbies.

Lynx summons all of his 'roleplaying a dad' skills to just smile and nod.

Lynx hates parties.

Solana almost mistakes her now teenage best friend for one of cousin Andrew's friends. "Arne! You... you have... new hair..."

"I want to look less approachable," Arne explains his fashion choices.

He wants less people to bother him, apparently. 

Solana is the first to blow out her candles.

Solana becomes a teen.

Lydia next.

Here's teen Lydia.

 She has a strong awareness and fear of her own mortality.

There wasn't enough room for a third cake on the dining table, but Laurel still gets her own cake.

Laurel joins her sisters in the teen stage.

Mariposa was not told about the little celebration, so for the most part, it proceeds with minimal drama.

Epiphany is sadly absent, having finally fallen in love with someone in a faraway town. She now communicates with the family via letters only.

Solana pulls her very shy friend up to dance.

Inspired, Lydia overcomes her anxiety to ask stammering, cowardly Viktor to dance as well.

"Well I feel pathetic now," Laurel grumbles, the only sister left without a dance partner.

Lydia flashes her most confident smile, which is a bit of a terrified cringe. "Well, prom will be here eventually, and I kind of need a date, so I was wondering if..."

"S-sorry Lydia, Janette Elliot already asked me... and I was too scared to say anything but yes," Viktor stammers. "I didn't want to hurt her feelings."

"Oh." Lydia's face falls.

It's her first day as a teenager, and she already feels like her life is ruined forever.

Solana was supposed to go visit her mother after the party, but she figures she has enough time to follow Arne home first.

"You really don't like my hair," he mumbles, almost inaudible, the first thing he's said in hours.

Of course not speaking in front of crowds is normal for him, so Solana did not think much of it until now. "I don't care how you wear your hair, silly. I was just surprised."

Arne contemplates that response for a moment, then shakes his head. "No, you really hated it."

Solana lowers her voice, embarrassed, because Arne's mom is eating ice cream behind them. "Okay. I really hate it. But I can't tell you to just change your hair for me... that's the kind of controlling, insulting thing my mother would do... but... umm... hey, I have some scissors, you want me to give it a try?"

He blinks at her.

"I always carry scissors, in case I get assaulted and need to stab someone," Solana explains.

"Your mom's advice?" he guesses.

"Yeah." She laughs, uncomfortably.

So, while Valter and Embla piddle around in the kitchen, the teens scurry up to Arne's room.

Solana feels a little silly, like a small child using a friend like a doll to be styled up, but she does what she can to even out his hair, and they decide on a different pair of glasses.

"These were the first ones I got. I thought they looked too much like my dad's."

"You got your mom's face. I think the resemblance to your dad will be minimal," Solana reassures him.

"Whatever you like, Solana."

"Well, you have to like it too," she says quickly.

"I don't think I have much style. My parents just look at me funny when I ask what I should wear. Like they think I should just know."

"Well, I'll help you, but I'm just winging it myself." Solana smiles at him. "You're really cute, you know."

Arne tenses up, then tries to smile back at her. "Solana, do you think we could become more than friends?"

"I don't know... but I'd like to try," she says.

They go outside to watch the stars.

Every star is lovely, but Solana is his favorite.

Mariposa is waiting for Solana when she gets home. "I want to see you on your birthday. Is that too much to ask? Huh? Is it? My own flesh and blood betrays me..."

Solana's eyes widen. "Oh... I'm sorry, Mom. I lost track of time. I forgot..."

"You were with that boy, weren't you?"

Solana decides now is the time to be assertive and have boundaries. "He's my boyfriend."

"I had one of those once. It was an awful idea," Mariposa snarls.

Solana tries not to feel hurt. Feeling hurt would be childish, wouldn't it? Her mother has every right to feel bitter about how her relationship with her father ended.

Her face must have given something away though, because Mariposa's gaze softens. "The only good that came out of it was you."

"I didn't mean to disappoint you," Solana says carefully.

"Forget it. Come, I want to take you fishing."

"...Fishing?"

"Survival skills! Also, you're old enough to not have your father snooping around our mother-daughter conversations."

"I'm still going to tell him where I'm going, so..." Solana walks around her mother, into the house. "Wait here. I'll be right back."






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Etc.: Solana is a Spanish name meaning "sunshine". It worked its way down from Latin roots, with Sol being the word for our Sun. English speaking astronomers and authors often use Sol to refer to our sun or solar system, differentiating it from other stars and solar systems.

Mariposa, who would have named her, also has a Spanish name. Mariposa means butterfly. Her parents were Leena Fernandez and Aaron Lopez, a mail carrier and repairman who come with Aurora Skies.