because the more she saw the big Kindred, the more she wanted to see him.
The thing she likes most about Raze, she decided, was that he was always a perfect gentleman. He never shouted or even raised his voice and he was always gentle and kind with the kids, who were really getting to love him. The twins were over their shyness now and they would come running and climb all over the big Kindred like a tree the minute they heard his deep rumbling voice.
Frannie liked to sit on his knee while he read her stories from her favorite books. She was at that age where she wanted to hear the same book over and over and over again, which frankly, drove Luci a little nuts. But Raze read her The Princess and her Dragon over and over—sometimes multiple times in a row—in both English and Spanish without complaining once.
In addition to her kids, all the animals loved him as well. Even Oreo, the extremely skittish guinea pig, didn’t try to run when Raze picked him up. Hippy and Hoppy, their two rescue bunnies, also trusted him instinctively. And Lucky, the one-eyed, one-eared tomcat, wove around his ankles purring the minute the big Kindred walked in the door.
Most telling of all, Luci’s mother was finally coming around. Part of it was probably the way Raze loved her cooking. He praised her menudo extravagantly and said her tamales were the best thing he’d ever put in his mouth. He treated her like a queen too—always listening respectfully when she talked, which was certainly something Tony had never done. In response to the big Kindred’s patient wooing, Luci’s mom finally thawed and confided to Luci that he was a “good, clean kind of boy,” which was high praise indeed, coming from her.
Luci was inclined to agree with her mother. There were so many good things about Raze that no one could have guessed from his scary outer appearance—such as his willingness to help around the house.
Surprisingly—at least to Luci—he didn’t mind cooking himself or taking a hand in the cleanup afterwards. He went to a Kindred grocery, not far from the Human/Kindred Relations building, and made them all a meal that was native to his home world—a delicious spicy stew that everyone loved. And if Luci cooked, he washed the dishes afterwards.
He even took her whole family on a day trip to Disney World on one of her rare days off. Living in Tampa, they were only an hour away and Raze drove them all in his spacious shuttle-car which was whisper-quiet and ate up the miles incredibly quickly. He insisted on paying for everything and Luci let him—though she knew she shouldn’t. But it was just so nice to feel taken care of for once!
After arriving at The Magic Kingdom, Raze helped with the kids, keeping the boys amused while Lucia and Frannie did a special Princess makeover at Cinderella’s Castle. Frannie was over the moon as she got to dress like her favorite Princess from Frozen and the boys loved the It’s a Small World ride.
Through it all—the crush of the crowds and the heat and the lines, Raze kept his cool. He shepherded Lucia’s little family through the large park, making sure everyone was safe and happy and buying the kids pretty much anything they asked for. Lucia was horrified at the amount of money he was spending but when she tried to stop him, Raze said,
“Please, Lucia—let me do this. I don’t have a family or children of my own. Let me pretend, just for a day, that you all belong to me. I know you’re proud and capable, but let me have this one day of providing for you. Please?”
The big Kindred’s words had melted Lucia’s heart and she had at last nodded reluctantly.
“All right, but you’ll spoil them.”
Raze had flashed her a charming grin.
“I want to. So let me—just for today. All right?”
“All right.” She sighed and threw up her hands. “I guess I can’t stop you. But no more ice cream or we’re going to be cleaning up puke.”
Raze had agreed to that and then proceeded to buy Frannie a huge, round, rainbow lollypop as big as her head. The boys got matching Mickey ears to wear and everybody was happy.
It was a wonderful day—one Luci told herself she would never forget. Raze was so kind and generous and patient—a truly good guy. All in all, the big Kindred seemed to be just about