La Crema didn’t turn out to be particularly busy on a Wednesday evening. Clay had his hand on my lower back when we walked into the restaurant. One older woman with black hair and green eyes stood at the hostess stand. Tommy approached her, but she held up her hand, signaling us to follow her through the nearly empty restaurant without actually speaking a word.

Goosebumps crept along my skin. What was going on? I turned towards Keith, and he shook his head. He didn’t know either. I loved that we were at this level, where we could understand each other without words.

Of course, we’d managed non-verbal talking with the hostess too… so maybe we were just good at it.

There were five people eating at a table in the corner. They didn’t look up when we passed. Either the food was incredibly good, or this was a place people came to when they didn’t want to be seen and no one remembered each other afterward. We were headed all the way to the back room.

Quinn leaned over to whisper in my ear. “Don’t worry. Tommy sent Graham a message that we’re headed here tonight. If we’re all found dead, they’ll investigate.”

I groaned. “Thanks for making me feel so much better.”

“You’re welcome, P. Anything I can do, anytime.”

The hostess pulled back a curtain, and we stepped inside. I came up short, abruptly stopping. Seated at the table was my entire family: My father, my mother, my sister, and her three husbands.

“I’ve had bad dreams that started like this.” It took me a moment to realize that I’d actually spoken that aloud.

“Now, now.” My father stood. “I know you were raised with better manners than that.”

Amber’s gaze met mine before she quickly looked away. Her husbands rose to shake my husbands’ hands. My mother was pale and silent.

Tommy turned to me. “Want to leave?”

“I saved all your lives. I think a few thanks are in order. Don’t you?”

I nodded at Tommy, and he pulled out a chair for me, placing me in between himself and Quinn. Keith sat next to Tommy and Clay next to Quinn. I tried to swallow, and when I couldn’t, I picked up a glass of water to do so.

Quinn spoke first, which surprised me. I would have assumed Tommy would have taken the lead. Quinn was usually so quiet in these moments. “I’m very grateful to you that you saved my brother’s life.” A muscle ticked in his jaw, which wasn’t a good sign. “I can’t help but notice, however, that you knew the exact phraseology our father’s people use to describe us and that you were in possession of intel that only my father’s people would have. We know you wanted Paloma to marry Tommy. Funny it worked out that way. I digress. Were you always in his pocket or did you officially get there recently?”

My father held up his hand. “I am not in his pocket. I wish I was; I hear he pays well.” He grinned like he’d made a very funny joke, but nobody laughed.

Amari, my sister’s oldest husband, spoke. “We need to back up a second. What is going on here?”

Keith pointed at them. “You brought them and didn’t tell them why?”

“I thought it best we all hear about it at the same time.” My father sat forward. “We’re all family now.”

Amari shook his head. “As my distinguished father-in-law knows, our family is only interested in politics in as far as it pertains to our water rights. We were happy to set you up here when we married Amber, as was your wish.” He cleared his throat. “But this goes beyond how far we are willing to play this game.”

My father shook his head. “This will concern you. Tommy is going to give me things for information. One of those things I’ve decided on is that I want you to have all rights to water on Sandler’s home planet.”

In his seat, I felt Tommy tense. I knew they were giving away a lot of things to get the fleet they needed, but I didn’t know if any of it went so far as to sign off on water rights.

“We’re not interested.” This time it was Hunter who spoke. “We control eighty-five percent of rights in the Earth zones. Stretching ourselves all the way out to Sandler space would tax our supplies and our capabilities. It is why we have never pursued that avenue.”

My father was clearly exasperated. His face did the odd thing that happened whenever he was angry, where his eyebrows went up and down with no seeming connection to the rest of the movement of his face. “There is so much credit to be made there.”

Shane smirked before he covered the action. “There is credit to be made lots of places. So much as we thank you for thinking of us, we politely decline.” He turned his attention to Tommy. “You might want, some day, when you’ve taken control back from your father, to look at the two moons of Asperon on the edge of your system.”

Keith interrupted Tommy. “Those moons are dead nothingness.”

Amari nodded. “That is what has been believed. But Shane can smell profit. Trust him. If he says there is something there, there is something there.”

My sister hadn’t eaten anything and hadn’t looked up from the table. She’d always been quieter than me, but this was ridiculous.

I couldn’t dwell on it long. My father started speaking again. “I have friends in all the darkest parts of society. I’ve always found I can connect well enough with that element that I can get information. That was how I heard about the group gathering to attack you. My understanding, from one of my friends, was that your father didn’t care if they killed Clay or not. He wanted everyone to know that his people were here. Now they’ll understand his power. They weren’t quite trained yet. Or you’d be dead.”

Tommy shook his head. “I remember that tactic. Send them in Tommy; I don’t care if they die or not. It’ll make a statement. What do you want for more intel from your so-called friends? What can I do for you?”

I touched his hand. “Nothing. You can’t do anything for him. This stops.” I looked at my father as the waiters served bread. I didn’t even know what the food was going to be like, and I wasn’t going to find out.

“Dad.” I tried to be nice. Father was what I called him more often, but this was me being calm. “Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I will never, ever be able to express to you how much it means to me that you saved my husband. But then, I suppose, I shouldn’t be surprised. Because you’re such a good daddy.” I didn’t even choke on the words. “And despite the fact that you shipped me off to a planet on the other side of the galaxy and left me there to be abused, I know that somewhere, deep inside of you, both you and Mommy must love me. You would never want something to happen to those I love. So thank you.” I raised my water. “To you, Daddy, and all that you do for us.”

If he heard my sarcasm, he didn’t comment. His eyes were huge, and my mother darted to her feet. She stared at me, opened-mouthed. “I’m sorry, Paloma.”

I hadn’t expected that. “Thanks, Mommy. I hope that life goes smashingly for you and you get whatever it is that you want.” Since all eyes were on me, I looked at Amber. “I love you, Amber. Thank you, everyone, for such a lovely night.”

I turned and left the room, relieved when my husbands followed me. I made it to the street before I exhaled. Clay pulled me into a hug. “That was amazing. That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. You thanked him and then insulted him with compliments. Paloma. That was…”

Tommy came up next to us. “Come on. Not on the street where they might come out. Let’s go home.”

In the dark, with each of my husbands sleeping around me in the room, my body pressed between Quinn and Tommy, the truth of things settled on me. Tommy was going to have to make broad concessions for things. Not water rights, it seemed, and nothing for my parents. Graham hadn’t asked him for anything. He wanted better allies than Sandler, and Melissa trusted us, which meant that he did, too. He didn’t like my father. That helped as well.

But the Prime Minister of Earth was going to want concessions. Big ones. And Tommy had to balance what he was willing to give and what he wasn’t. I didn’t even know if Tommy wanted to be Chancellor Sandler. He liked building his ships. I rolled over a bit and saw Clay sleeping on the rollaway by the window. Maybe the spare would be better at it.

If he wanted it at all…

All of this could be dealt with, but first we had to win.

I extracted myself from the bed and went to the bathroom. Nothing got fixed at three in the morning. If only my brain would clue into that fact. My mother’s apology had thrown me more than I wanted to admit. She had openly defied my father to do that. And what was up with Amber? A noise caught my attention, and I realized it was my tablet.

Uncle Fletcher had answer. How can I help you, Paloma?

I smiled. I need to understand my father-in-law, your brother. Why does he want to win? What is driving this?

I didn’t know if getting the perspective of Garrison’s brother would help or not, but it certainly couldn’t hurt. It would be funny if the war turned on the understanding of a pirate in the Dark Planets. The forgotten people making it all okay…

In the darkness, I made my way back into my bedroom. Keith turned on his cot, mumbling something incoherent. I climbed back into my spot. I was warm and, for tonight, I was safe in the care of my loves. Nothing could or would ever be better.

* * *

I had managed to put the thoughts of my mother-in-law out of my head, but she hadn’t forgotten us. We all woke up to our tablets dinging. Tommy grabbed his first, sitting up in the bed. He groaned, set it back down, and rolled over, putting the pillow over his head. It must not be an emergency. Clay rubbed his eyes.

“Our mother wants to see us.”

Tommy groaned. “Leave me the fuck alone.”

Clay got out of bed, rolling his eyes at Tommy as he made his way to the bathroom. “Your opinion on the subject has been widely heard. I’m going to go. You can stay here.”

Keith swung his legs over the bed. “Me too. I’m going. I want to see her. I just do.”

Quinn yawned. “If you go, I go, Keith. It’s that twin thing.”

“Please,” Tommy yelled from beneath the pillow. “You pull out that twin thing when you don’t want to take responsibility for your actions, Quinn. And fuck if I’d ever let the four of you go without me.” He threw off the pillow. “Unless Paloma doesn’t want to go, and then I’ll stay with her. Do you? Do you want to stay here?”

He almost looked hopeful, and although I hated to disappoint, I did want to lay eyes on the woman who had done what she’d done. I wanted to try to understand. Maybe that wasn’t fair since I wasn’t at all interested, at least not yet, in hearing my own mother’s story.

“I’m going.”

Tommy groaned again. I rolled up next to him and he threw his arm over his eyes “Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You’re pretty, you smell good, you’re brave and brilliant. I love you. But I’m going to be grumpy and mad for the rest of the day, so deal with it.”

At least he was honest.

* * *

My mother in law didn’t live in Oceania, which was smart considering she’d wanted to be hidden and everyone could see everything and everybody in Oceania. I need only look up to see the drones and the cameras. An irreverent part of me thought about waving. I didn’t.

Trying to figure out what to wear to A) meet my husbands’ mother and B) handle the elements outside of the cool, perfect weather of Oceania proved challenging. Keith leaned against the door to watch me stare at my clothes. Part of the problem was I’d picked none of them out myself. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure I knew what I had.

He walked in and kissed my bare shoulder. “Look like a Sandler today, would you? I know it’s a lot more fuss. I’m nervous, and I guess I’m not ashamed to say so. She left before I could talk, before she could know me. I know it’s stupid, but I want to walk in there with you—the best, most beautiful woman I’ve ever known—and show her that I was worthy to be loved by someone as awesome as you. You make me feel stronger. If you could love me, and you do, then I’m worthy to be. You know what? Fuck it. Wear whatever you want.”

I touched the side of his cheek. “I’ll wear Sandler because I’m proud to be Mrs. Sandler. I want her to know.”

He blinked away wetness in his eyes. “Maybe I’m making a mistake. Maybe I don’t want to go.”

“Look, you’ll go, you’ll see. If you hate her, we’ll never see her again.”

He grinned. “All right, it’s a deal.”

In the end, I put on a synthetic denim skirt that went past my knees, a pair of black boots that were so tall they touched the end of the my skirt, and the Sandler red in a cardigan set where the inside was a tank top. I felt pretty, feminine, and tough.

I’d assumed we’d have to get back on our shuttle to go out of Oceania, but I was wrong. Since we weren’t leaving permanently, it was better to leave the shuttle where it was and take Oceania transport.

At the terminal, which would take us out of Oceania, we all had to stop and get inoculated for radiation. Even thousands of years later, there were places on Earth that had too much radiation. They put indicators on our arms.

“It’s been years since anyone really encountered dangerous levels. But it’s still law. If you hit level orange, you need to get treated immediately. Here or at another station.” He nodded to me. “Have fun up there.”

I wasn’t sure I wanted to go up anymore. I thought I’d faced most things by now, but this was scary. There was a reason Oceania had been made under the sea, and it was to keep the scariest elements of Earth out.

“Don’t be scared.” Quinn kissed my cheek. “We’re going to a small town. Those places are free of radiation.”

I hoped he was right.

If I thought the Oceania train was bad, the transport was worse. It shook and vibrated while it spit us out of what basically amounted to a chimney and back up to the surface of the Earth. By the time we reached the top, I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to go back down. I stumbled from the opening, nearly tripping over my own feet.

“Some people do that every day. They have to work down there but can’t afford to live there,” Tommy supplied.

“They’re incredibly strong.” I made myself stand up straight. Their mother didn’t live far from here. We got on a small transport train that moved much slower than the one in Oceania. It let me look out the window and see the scenery.

Small towns passed by on the barren, dessert-looking background. I didn’t know anything about Earth history. Had this place always been like this, or had it changed when the bombs went off? I bet Keith would know. I turned to regard him, finding him asleep in his seat. Tommy was awake, staring off at what seemed like nothing, obviously lost in his thoughts. Quinn tapped his own knee over and over. He was thinking something it was better not to interrupt, and Clay read his own tablet.

I turned back to the window. How many stories had happened here? How many lives started and ended? How many people had run from the bombs to no avail? My chest felt tight, and I forced myself to think of something more pleasant.

The dog I’d heard the other night in the background filled the void. I wanted a pet. Not a baby but maybe a dog. Or a cat. Or both.

Not on the shuttle, so not until we were established somewhere. Maybe someday. Tommy tapped my knee before he shook Keith awake. “We’re almost there.”

I didn’t know how he knew, but I trusted Tommy to know these things. When the train stopped, I followed him off. The station was small but well kept. Someone was making sure it was clean and maintained.

A floating vehicle appeared before us, and a door opened, showing their grandfather through the open door. “You all are right on time.”

“It’s a quality drilled into us by our father.” Clay smiled. “Lateness is unacceptable.”

“In that, and only that, do I agree with your father. Get in. All of you. Before you’re seen.”

I wondered if he didn’t want us seen by what could be prying Sandler eyes or if he didn’t want locals to ask questions about who we were lest they find out that she had children she’d left. In either case, since he was our ride, we climbed in quickly and didn’t ask questions. There was a pit in my stomach. I didn’t like anything about this.

Did people have normal, happy families? Was it possible to create a happy familial existence if I’d never had one? Could the five of us eventually carve out a piece of happiness away from all those who caused us pain? Would we have children who wouldn’t ever wonder if their parents adored them?

Tommy tapped my chin, and I turned my head from pretending to look outside to regard him. He smiled at me. I could see questions in his gaze. Why was I upset? I smiled. We could talk about it another time.

My mother-in-law lived in a small home with an actual white fence in front. The front of the house faced away from the driveway, giving whoever was inside views of the pastures that surrounded the place. All in all, if a person had to hide from the Sandlers, there were worse places to do it.

Their grandfather opened the door, and we followed him in. What amazed me was the sound inside the house. Constant ticking clocks. Many of them. I looked around. Ticking clocks were a very ancient device. People liked them as sort of a kitschy throwback to Earth of old. I’d never seen so many clocks all in one place. I counted ten before I stopped counting.

We followed their grandfather through the house. For a woman who wanted us to visit badly, she wasn’t making any moves to greet us. Something was wrong… off. I glanced at my husbands. They were all too involved in their own thoughts to notice. I hoped I was wrong.

I stopped moving, all the air leaving my body. On my tablet, the pictures of the first Mrs. Garrison Sandler had been gorgeous. I’d wanted to know how to look like her. She’d been tall and vibrant. In front of us was a woman in a wheelchair—a very unusual state since most people who needed mobility assistance had nanos implanted to keep them mobile. She looked three times her age.

Quinn, their uncle, stood next to her, his eyes on us while their mother kept her gaze to the floor. “It had been a good morning. We hoped she’d be really with it when you came. Boys.” He nodded to each of them. “Paloma. Thank you for coming.”

My husbands had gone silent, which meant I had to find my voice. “Sir, it is nice to make your acquaintance.”

“Uncle Quinn, what is wrong with my mother?” It was Clay who managed to ask it.

Uncle Quinn sighed. He looked an awful lot like Garrison, which meant he resembled my husbands too. The same striking blond hair, the same blue eyes that seemed to shine from within. The older Quinn sighed.

“Your father poisoned her,” their grandfather answered from behind us. “He found out about the affair, and he poisoned her. If he had been able to continue to do so, she would be dead. As it was, because we found out and fled, what happened was a slow deterioration that no one can fix. I think she’s only still here because she hoped someday to see all of you again.”

Their uncle nodded. “I know because I’m the one who invented the poison. I’m responsible for most of the drugs out there that are illegal. We were all doing horrible things in the name of the Sandlers. Garrison turned it around and used it on his own wife. She was afraid they’d use it on you next to punish her more. The younger three. He was satisfied with having Tommy.”

There weren’t words to describe how truly horrible everything I was hearing was. Their mother had been poisoned. She’d had an affair, as we suspected. They’d fled because if she stayed, Garrison might have hurt Clay, Quinn and Keith. She’d faked her death and then lived here on Earth, with the man who made the drugs, while she slowly deteriorated.

Just then, she lifted her head and, seeing the four of them, smiled. Right in that second, I could see all of it. The young woman she had been in those photos on my tablet. Four babies in three years overwhelmed her. Maybe she’d made poor decisions, but she loved them.

“I didn’t think he’d ever stop looking, ever stop trying to hurt you.” Her voice shook slightly but her words were clear. “I had to leave so he’d move on and leave you alone.”

It wasn’t sound reasoning. But it was twenty-one years before and I wasn’t going to insert myself into choices I hadn’t myself had to make.

Tommy moved so fast I didn’t see it coming. He had his arms around his mother. Hers must not have worked because she didn’t hug him back.

“Hi, Mom. I’d know your face anywhere.” He kissed her pale cheek. “Hello again.”

Tears streamed down her face. “You brought me your wife, too.”

“We did. We wanted you to meet her.” I’d never seen Tommy so gentle with anyone. He wiped away her tears.

Clay and Quinn stepped toward her, each in turn squeezing her gently. Clay kissed her cheek and Quinn smoothed her hair.

“I’m Quinn, Mom.” He pointed at Keith who still hadn’t moved. “That’s Keith.”

She smiled. “I’ve always been able to tell the difference between the two of you. You had my mother’s chin.”

Their chin had never been the way I told them apart. Then again, they’d never been my children. I supposed she would know.

Keith cleared his throat. “Are we his children? Is that why Quinn has his name?” He nodded toward their uncle.

Very slowly, she shook her head. “No, my darling. You are all Garrison’s. Nothing happened with me and your uncle until after you were born. I named you Quinn because he was the kindest man I knew, and I wanted you to have his heart.”

What did it say that the kindest man she knew had orchestrated the death of so many with those drugs he’d made? Then again, his namesake, my love Quinn, had orchestrated more than a few deaths himself. The difference being that Quinn had been a child when that had happened and not aware of what he was doing.

How much of Quinn’s treatment had been because he bore the name of the man his mother had loved instead of Garrison? This wasn’t the time for those questions.

I tapped Keith on the back, and it seemed to be the momentum he needed to get moving. He walked to his mother and hugged her. After a moment, I followed, kneeling in front of her. “It’s so nice to meet you, ma’am. Thanks for having us today.”

She smiled at me, and that close to her, I could see a universe’s worth of pain behind her eyes. I wouldn’t be something else she had to be afraid of. I touched her leg. “Tell me, can you see the sunset from this room?”

We couldn’t spend the whole day talking about sad things. Not when there were still sunsets.