The Dinner at Solenne

The celestial church had emptied slowly, the way a room empties when no one wants to be the first to leave a happy moment. The choirs had folded their song into a low, humming silence. The windows still poured their color across the floor, and the petals that had been thrown in the aisle still lay where they had fallen, soft and unswept.

Amin stood at the doors of the church in his white three-piece suit, and around him stood seven brides in seven gowns, each a different shape of white or silver or ivory or gold. None of them seemed to know where to look. They looked at him, and then at each other, and then at the rings on their hands, and then at him again.

Nur Azizah Parker held her left hand up in front of her face and turned it slowly, so that the ring caught the light of the New Heaven. She had said her new name aloud four times since the ceremony, quietly, to no one in particular, and each time she said it, her smile grew.

“Nur Azizah Parker,” she whispered again. “It sounds even better in the open air.”

“You’ve said it four times,” Cassolina said. She said it flatly, but she was standing very close to Azizah’s shoulder, and she had not stopped looking at her own ring either.

“Five, now,” Azizah said, smiling. “You are counting, so you must like it too.”

“I am not counting,” said Cassolina Parker, in the voice of someone who was absolutely counting.

Amin laughed, and the laugh rang against the pale stone of the church steps. He held out both his arms, and the women stepped in around him without needing to be asked.

“Ladies,” he said, “my wives,” and he paused, because the word was new in his mouth, and he wanted to taste it. “My wives. I have a surprise for all of you. A honeymoon.”

Chihiro gasped and covered her mouth. Ronada’s eyes went wide. Sachiko folded her arms and raised one eyebrow, the way she did when she was pleased and refused to show it. Liora clasped her hands under her chin, and Imani, who had spent the entire ceremony scanning the doorways out of habit, finally relaxed her shoulders and let out a breath.

“A honeymoon,” Imani said softly. “Where?”

“First, dinner,” Amin said. “At a place I’ve heard about since my first week at my new post. Then, a room, for all of us. One room, one bedroom, one big bed. I asked them to arrange it that way, and they said it was no trouble at all.”

“One room?” Cassolina repeated, and there was a very small, very private smile at the corner of her mouth. “Good.”

A carriage was waiting for them at the bottom of the church steps, a long, graceful one drawn by two white horses whose manes seemed to shimmer with their own light. A driver in a pale blue coat bowed as they approached. He had a warm, weathered face, and he seemed to be trying very hard not to grin.

“Congratulations, Sir Parker,” he said. “And to the seven Ladies Parker.”

Seven pairs of eyes turned toward him at once.

“Ladies Parker,” Liora breathed. “He said it so easily.”

“I could get used to that,” said Ronada.

“You will,” Amin told her. “You’ll hear it every day for the rest of forever.”

https://linktr.ee/aminparker

AMIN PARKER : HOMESTEAD

Episode 2: The Envoy and the Seven Rings

Amin woke before the light touched the valley. The new Heaven was still soft and silver at the windows, and the Homestead was quiet. He lay still for a moment, listening to the calm of the house.

Then a message arrived in his mind. It had come during the night, but he only now understood it fully. It was not a voice, exactly. It was a clear, formal summons carried on the current of telepathy, and it was addressed to all the primordial beings, the Shinkaku, and the pantheons of Heaven. There was to be a gathering, and today was the day.

Beside him, Azizah stirred. On his other side, Cassolina opened her eyes at almost the same moment, as if she had felt the shift in the air. The two of them sat up and looked at him.

“Today is the day,” Amin said quietly. “I’m going to a meeting. It’s for primordial beings, the Shinkaku, and the pantheons. The message came to me in the middle of the night through telepathy.”

Azizah’s brow tightened with worry. She reached for his hand. “Oh, is that so? Is everything all right? I hope it isn’t anything serious, my Lord.”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “They only said they want everyone gathered together. The topic could be anything.”

Cassolina said nothing at first. She reached out and lightly took his chin between her fingers, turning his face toward hers. Then she kissed him, deeply and without hurry, the way she did everything. When she drew back, she held his gaze and did not blink.

“I’m coming along,” she said.

Amin looked into her eyes. “They only want primordials and Shinkaku in the meeting. That’s all who are invited.”

“I do not care what they want.” Her voice was low and even, and it did not shake at all. “You belong to me, and I am coming with you.” She paused. “Please don’t challenge me on this.”

He studied her for a long moment. Then he lifted his hand and rested it against her cheek, and his face softened. “All right,” he said.

Azizah gently took hold of his arm. “Then I am coming too. I am your wife. I will be right by your side.”

“Both of you can come,” Amin said, smiling a little. “But you’ll have to wait outside the meeting area. I can’t take you in.”

“That’s fine,” Cassolina said, “as long as we are with you.”

The two women rose and guided him toward the washroom for his morning shower. The door closed behind them, and the house kept its privacy.

When the door opened again, all three were fully dressed for the day. They walked together down the hall and past the kitchen, and the smell of warm food met them before they saw it.

Chihiro was already at the stove, moving between the pans with easy skill. She looked up and smiled. “I knew you were awake,” she said, “so I decided to cook your breakfast.”

The three of them sat at the table, and Chihiro set the plates in front of them one by one, steaming and beautiful. The morning slid by in the easy way that good mornings do. Forks lifted, cups were filled, and soft words passed back and forth until the plates were clean.

When they were finished, Amin turned to her. “Chihiro, we’re about to go out for a while. We’ll be back later.”

“Oh, Daddy,” she said, and her voice was sweet and gentle. “Where are you going?”

“To a meeting. But I’ll be home before night.”

She nodded, though her hands twisted a little in her apron. “Okay. But if you need me for anything, if there’s an emergency, please use telepathy right away. I’ll be here. I’ll answer your call.”

He smiled and kissed her softly on the lips. “I will. I promise.”

Cassolina stepped forward and kissed Chihiro on the lips as well, brief and quiet. Then Azizah did the same, warmly. And then the three of them went out through the front door and into the morning.

They crossed the yard to the barn, where a strong, calm horse stood waiting in its stall. Azizah looked at Amin. “Are we taking the horse?”

“We are,” he said. “Would you like to share it with me? Three of us on one horse. Or we can each take our own.”