Jenkins could hear the soft sobs of his mother, Mary, as she held him tightly.
"What's wrong?"
He directed the question to his father, Robert, who looked just as distraught.
"The Church told us... about you."
"So, you know I'm the Savior now? Oh, that's a trendous honor. Far more than being king, being a Savior is the true..."
"Bishop Parrold told us about the dangers you're going to face. He believed we had a right to know."
Newman Williams, the eldest and usually the quietest of the three brothers, spoke up. He was perched awkwardly on the arm of the sofa, his body drawn inward, hands clasped over his knees. He had to look up to et his younger brother's gaze.
"The bishop said... it's very dangerous."
Jenkins didn't answer right away. He gently patted Mary's back, holding her for a mont before easing away from her embrace.
"Actually, this whole thing..."
"Tell us the truth," Mary pleaded, her eyes red as she looked at Jenkins. "How dangerous is it, really?"
He knew he could lie, that his family would likely believe him, but this ti, he wasn't going to.
"Extrely dangerous," he admitted. "There's probably nothing in this world more dangerous."
He was confident in his abilities, but Jenkins was also a realist.
"Do you really have to do this?"
"I do. For the sake of the world."
Mary turned and buried her face in her husband's shoulder, her soft cries finally breaking through. Jenkins managed a faint smile and turned his gaze to his older brother.
"It'll be alright, really. It's dangerous, I know, but soone has to take on this responsibility."
"Jenkins, we will be proud of you."
Newman said.
"Jenkins, you'll always be my big brother."
John added.
A genuine smile returned to Jenkins's face. He was about to say sothing to comfort Mary, but Newman chose that mont to share so good news.
"To change the subject to sothing happier, our family is about to have a new generation."
"What do you an?"
"My fiancée is pregnant."
It was John who made the announcent, as Newman looked down, a little embarrassed.
"Oh, congratulations! That's wonderful news! Robert, Mary, you're going to be grandparents! That's sooner than I expected."
Newman's wedding had been planned for within the next six months. But since Jenkins had officially announced his ascension to the throne a week ago, his fiancée's family had been pushing to move the date up. A shotgun wedding wasn't an issue, but they'd want to schedule it within three months, so the bride's bump wouldn't be too noticeable in her wedding dress. Appearances, after all, had to be maintained.
Jenkins did a quick ntal calculation. In that second future he'd experienced at the Nolan gallery, he had t his niece. The date then was 3:25 PM on the weekend of the first week of the Month of the Artisan and Gentle Rain, Universal Calendar 1880. That was about fourteen years from now. He could safely assu that this unborn child was the very sa girl who would one day call him "Uncle Jenkins."
"Have you thought of any nas yet?"
He didn't want to dwell on his duties as the Savior, hoping this new topic would lift the family's spirits. Though Newman often appeared reserved, he was quite perceptive and readily went along with Jenkins's attempt to change the subject.
"If it's a boy, we were thinking Spencer Robert Williams. If it's a girl, Kris Mary Williams."
"Those are great nas," Jenkins remarked. "I noticed the middle nas are both from our side of the family. Does your fiancée not mind?"
Using a grandparent's na for a middle na was common, but to have both options tied to the Williams family might not sit well with her parents.
"Actually, they were hoping to use the current king's na as a middle na."
Newman shrugged at Jenkins.
"You know how it is. Once our family beca royalty, all their little complaints about vanished. After you beca king, they practically... well, never mind. I don't like to speak ill of people behind their backs."
If Alexia had been there, she could have confird that the baby, who would be born in about a year, was indeed his future niece. Back in the northern kingdom, she and Jenkins had boarded the Dawn Express together. While Jenkins was busy chasing after his runaway cat, Chocolate, Alexia had spoken with the young girl. Not only had she received the box that would give Jenkins a second chance, but she had also learned the girl's na.
For now, though, this niece had no connection to him. Her story wouldn't truly begin for decades.
The conversation with his family wound down, and seeing as there was still so ti before lunch, Jenkins decided to leave the church. He wanted to visit so of his friends outside its walls first: the old elf, Mr. Hood, Mr. Black Cat, and Mr. White Cat. If he had enough ti, he also hoped to greet his neighbors, the Goodman family.
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