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Tabby wanted a burger and fries. Mandy had gone home with her parents again and was spending the night there.

The only place to get them was at the small ice cream shop not far from where the plant was.

She stood in line in her business suit and smiled at the kids, teenagers who were there getting their nightly quota of soda and frozen delights.

“I just thought of something.” She turned to Edgar as he stood in line behind her. “You’ll never gain any weight now either, with the exception of when you’re carrying our children. If you want any.”

“I do. Not right away, I don’t think. I’ve only just got my business up and going, and I don’t want to take away from that right away.

Because when we have children, I want to be able to devote all my time to them and not work.

Is that all right? Mandy has been asking too if we’ll have her a brother or sister.

I think she’ll be a good helper to us.” He kissed her on the nose, and she smiled at him.

“Are you getting out of a conversation, or is that the way you’re telling me yes, it’s all right? ”

“It’s more than all right with me that you want to spend time with our children.

I’m thinking perhaps we should have a dozen or so, but that’ll be up to you.

” She laughed when he shut her mouth for her.

“I’m joking. We’ll have as many children as you wish and no more.

I’m just happy to have you in my life. I could care less about anything that tries to take us apart. ”

After putting in her order for dinner, Edgar ordered the same thing but doubled his order.

He’d not been kidding when he said that he was hungry.

She wondered if he’d eat like that all the time and was glad that they had money or she’d—Tabby thought of feeding their children and thought of all the calories they’d have as being part dragon. She asked him about that.

“Yes, they’ll eat a great deal when they’re old enough to go out on their own to find dinner.

However, we’ll teach them how to be discreet about how much they eat at one place.

It’s why, as a family, we never go to all-you-can-eat places.

We’d put them out of business if we were all to get our fill.

” She laughed, thinking about one of them going up to a buffet and taking out the tray of fried chicken as their starter meal.

She turned to look at him when he said her name.

“They’ll be dragons, too. Because of us being so magical, all of our children will be dragons when they’re born. ”

“I did wonder about that. Emma was telling me that she will only carry the hatchling for five months, and then it will be an egg for them to watch over for another six months before it will be born. She’s both excited and terrified at the same time to be having a dragon, the first of many, she told me.

” Picking up their food, they went to sit on one of the picnic tables that were provided for people having dinner.

“How many eggs do you have at one time? I’m sure they’re large when they come. ”

“The eggs will be small for her to birth. Then, as the dragon grows within it, the egg will accommodate itself for them. By the time they’re ready to be hatched, they’ll be about the size of a nine-month-old baby.

It will also be a human-looking baby until it reaches the age of maturity.

That’s about twenty-five.” She asked if they could shift before that.

“No. They’ll know that they’re dragons but won’t be their true self until they reach that age.

It’s safer for them that way. Not just for the hatchling but for all of us.

Can you imagine a teenage dragon having a temper tantrum?

It would be a disaster for everyone around them. ”

They both laughed, and she finished her burger and played around with her fries, thinking about her brother Tommy.

He’d not always been like he is now, she wondered.

The longer she sat there thinking about him, the more she realized that he’d always been somewhat of a prick to everyone that was around him.

“When I was ten and him fourteen, Tommy ruined my birthday cake. Mom had gotten me what I wanted, and that was just a plain white cake with my name on it. No roses or any of that fancy work they usually put on the cakes. I couldn’t stand those flowers—too sweet for me.

But Tommy wanted to have chocolate cake.

Which I don’t like chocolate at all. While we were in the yard having a celebration, Tommy was in the house covering my cake with cocoa powder, like an inch thick of it all over the cake and any presents that were around too.

” Edgar said that he was a jerk. “You’ve no idea.

And when he was punished for his actions, Mom said that the next week, she’d get me another cake, and we’d celebrate without him.

I think that was when he ended up in military school and out of our house by then.

He didn’t do so well there either, just so you know. ”

“No, I don’t imagine that he would. Not with someone telling him what to do every day.

” By the time Edgar had finished his meal, she was ready to go home.

“I can do that for you. But remember, we have plans for in the afternoon tomorrow. You have orders going out in the morning, and the rest of the day is for us. After that, I’m assuming that you’ll be too busy for your poor old husband. ”

She smacked him on the arm and laughed. “I’ll be too busy for a lot of things, but not you nor Mandy.

You two are going to be first and foremost in my life from now on.

Even if I have to hire someone to come in and take over for me sometimes.

I was talking to Mom, and she said that I need to hire someone like that anyway so that I’m not working myself to death. ”

“I have my brothers to take over for me when I need some time off. Sidney is really good at contracts, too, and can usually take over for me at a moment’s notice.

Dyson too. He doesn’t care for it as much as Sidney and I do, but he’ll help me out when I ask.

” She nodded, thinking more and more about getting a person in who could take over for her, even if it was only a day or two a week.

Since they were open every day to get products out, she wasn’t going to burn herself out by being there all the time. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, I was thinking about how many hours I’d be putting in if I didn’t find someone to work for me a couple of days a week.

Dad used to do that, work every day until Mom put her foot down.

He was really stressed out a lot of the time, and it was affecting his health.

” Tabby told Edgar about the heart attack scare they had with her dad and how he’d gotten out of the business altogether and turned it over to her and Earl.

“He always covered for us when he saw we were beginning to stress out, but he never went back for more than a day or two a month. He was scared when the doctor told him that he was overweight and his heart was working too hard to sustain the kind of abuse that he was putting it through. He lost weight, started walking around the block every day, and was a better man for it. I was terrified myself when I was told what the doctor had told him.”

“I don’t blame you one bit. I don’t know what I’d do without my parents around.

Mom and Dad have been there for us our entire life.

Even with them living in the other realm, they still make time to see us.

And we get together once a week if we can to have a meal together.

It’s at that time we catch up on our lives and reconnect with each other.

” Edgar held her hand as they walked back to his car.

“Has my mom talked to you about taking over the faerie gardens around the town? She said that she thought you’d be perfect for the job. ”

“Yes, she did. I only need to make sure that they’re in good shape.

I don’t know how they’d be in better shape with me watching over them.

The faeries take really good care of them already.

” She laughed a little. “The hanging baskets, from what I was told, make a great hiding place for them when they’re not working around the gardens.

I guess they’re too high for humans to look into, and they have a wonderful time spying on the humans.

They’re so fascinated by us, aren’t they? ”

“Yes. They love the women’s colorful hairstyles.

I think that’s why they started dying their own hair.

Of course, they can only dye it with fruits and vegetables, so it doesn’t last all that long, but they do have a blast doing it to themselves.

Also jewelry. They love all things sparkly.

” Edgar started laughing when he thought of something.

“One year for Christmas, for a joke, my dad gave a bottle of glitter to one of his faeries. I don’t need to tell you how well that went over.

And it was everywhere. Dad said they were sprinkling it all over themselves and then flying around dropping it on things around the house like that faerie in that Disney movie.

Needless to say, he never did that again.

I think to this day there is still multicolor glitter around the house that Fowler lives in, and occasionally, you’ll find a small bit of it on my dad’s clothing. ”

“Now I’m going to be looking for it on him.” They both laughed as they drove to her home. “Will you stay tonight? I mean, not in my bed yet, but I’d like to have you close to me when I go to bed.”