Ch. 6, Part 2: Power of the Son

(Continued from Part 1.)

I just had that feeling that as soon as Kaidan and Lynnette graduated, we'd be hearing about his wedding plans, and he'd be asking us for advice.

And of course, Shark and I wouldn't know what to tell him. We didn't have a fancy wedding ceremony, like our kids thought we had.

I remember one time, Kaidan asked me where my tuxedo was, since he never saw it and wanted to wear it for his wedding.

Kind of obvious why I couldn't let him wear it.

No matter what they wanted, Kaidan opted for something quiet.

Of course, I reminded him that if he wanted to marry her, he had to get permission from Goodwin.
I even let him practice in front of a mirror.

I reminded him to speak respectfully, refer to Goodwin as "Mr. Goode", make it guaranteed that he was willing to commit only to her, I covered all the bases with him as best I could.

Not like I could speak from experience. My own father-in-law was dead when I got married, obviously.

Then I reminded him: you better spend as much time as you can with your parents and siblings before you leave. And the family man he was, he complied.

He made sure he and his younger siblings parted on amicable terms, his younger brother especially.

Kaidan was just as protective of Angelo as we were. It might've been the fact that they were siblings by blood, not just adoption. Angelo's tendency to get sick a lot might've factored into that, as well.

Shark and I told him not to worry, though. We'd take care of Angelo if he had an asthma attack or something just as serious.

 As for Cortana, Kaidan said he wished he spent more time with her.

(Cortana's on the left. The girl on the right's her imaginary friend.)

She said not to worry. She could still visit him when he moved out. She had friends, so she wouldn't be too lonely.

She just made him promise to come see her once in a while. Then they could spend as much time as they wanted.

When the time came for Kaidan's birthday, it was a mix of joy and sorrow for me.

(Dangit, mailman! What'd I tell you last time?)

I knew after he blew out the candles, he'd be all grown up, and preparing for graduation and marriage.

I thought I'd be ready for when it happened, but as it turned out, I really wasn't.

After he graduated, with her by his side, Kaidan more or less made a beeline for Goodwin's house. He admitted before we went to City Hall, that he was nervous. He was afraid that he was going to get rejected.

I knew Goodwin wasn't going to. He wasn't a jerk, just a nice guy that had shit shoveled into his face a few too many times, much of which was my own fault.

He'd been through a lot, you know? Sometimes, that can harden a guy, if it doesn't break him completely.

But no matter how hardened he'd become over the years, Goodwin was willing to let his little girl get married. He must've known that Kaidan was a good kid, and he'd take care of Lynnette.

It wasn't long before the two kids got married, in a rather quiet ceremony. One that didn't take place in my house.

After they tied the knot, Kaidan and Lynnette stayed with us for a while, before moving out into their own place.

The day before they left, Shark and I were able to talk with the both of them about their future.

Shark readily accepted his new daughter-in-law in the family. He asked what job she wanted, how she intended to spend her family holidays, if she and Kaidan intended to have children of their own.

Lynnette answered, probably a firefighter, with both us and her dad and stepmother, and the last question?

She said she wouldn't mind having one or two kids with Kaidan. I guess Shark was just worried that his son wouldn't know the joys of parenting.

That, or he just wanted a bunch more grandkids to spoil when he got old. But he figured her answer there was good enough for him. Besides that, they had a relatively pleasant conversation.

I just wish I could say the same for me and Kaidan. But...

When he and I were discussing what he was going to do now, something in me snapped. I wasn't ready to have my kid leave me already.

It seemed like only yesterday, I was holding him in my arms. Now he was married and ready to start his life without us.

Maybe it was the fact that it confirmed that Kaidan didn't need me anymore.

Or maybe because I just realized that I'd already seen my two eldest daughters leave me, and now I was losing my eldest son as well.

Part of me was raging against the heavens, another part was sobbing at the futility of it all. Nothing could stop time, and Kaidan had to start his own life sooner or later.

 I then remembered what Shark told me many years ago: "If you love something, sometimes you gotta let them go."

As much as it pained me to do so, I figured it was the best thing to do. Kaidan and Lynnette had already exchanged their wedding vows, after all. If I tried to keep him from leaving, that would've been selfish of me.

All I could do was wish my own son the best of luck in his married life without us. But if he needed anything, anything at all, he knew who to ask.

When he was gone, moved into his own house, I realized that I only had two kids left in the house, and even they were growing up fast.

Way too fast.

(A/N: End of Chapter 6, Part 2.)