Ascension of a Gamma

Rigel observed him for a while but said nothing. His brother had been more and more absorbed in his work over the years. He took it as his brother’s way of coping with Anna’s loss. “Carson proposed we all go out for a boy’s night. You can leave the kids at my place. Sabri loves having them around Raixel and Rasi.” 1 “I’ll think about it,” answered Liam, finishing another stack, then starting with another. Rigel nodded, then left. As the door clicked, the pen stopped moving. Liam set it down, then deeply sighed. They’d been worrying about him as of late and tried to get him away from his work. He wasn’t enslaved to his work, he simply found that when he did have some quiet time, it wasn’t to his liking. Alone in his office, surrounded by stacked documents and empty furniture in the quiet, there were too many reminders of his inner condition. Liam glanced at his watch; it was almost four. The kids would be home soon. After cleaning up for the day, he grabbed his jacket from the rack then went to the kitchen. Minutes before five, a car stopped outside and in seconds, roaring laughter and loud voices pushed back the silence better than the simmering pot of sauce. He heard small footsteps coming to his direction and the squeak of sneakers on the floor as two more sets hurriedly ran up the stairs. Liam’s lips pulled into a grin. They knew what they did today and that they were in for it, so they were going to use his weakness against him to soften him up a bit. A little girl came into the kitchen, wearing Timberland boots and a thick jacket. She had a white bonnet on, which was a contrast to her long dark brown hair. Her honey glazed orbs sparkled when she saw Liam, white teeth flashing. “Daddy!” she squealed as soon as she saw him. Liam opened his arms to her while crouching. The little girl giggled, then dropping her bag to the floor, ran up to him that her bonnet dropped to the floor, and threw her arms around his neck. “I missed you, Daddy!”