Ten Thousand Days (Part 4 of 4, complete)
Saturday, 19 September 2026 10:18![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dialecticdreamerTen Thousand Days
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 4 of 4, complete
Word count (Story only): 1258
[2018]
:: Elisabeth plans a surprise for Graham, and enlists Zipper's help (among others) to celebrate a milestone in their relationship with more than one sunset. Part of the Finn Family story arc in the Polychrome Heroics universe, this story was sparked bycallibr8, in the August 2026 Feathering the Nest prompt call, and sponsored by the person who helped out sovay. Thank you for your generosity! ::
Back to part three
:: Thanks for reading! ::
Elisabeth’s smile clung to her skin as they teleported away from the compass pad in the Urbanburg skyscraper lobby. It widened when they reappeared in a low-slung, wide room set with multiple Spanish arches, each marking off a small dining area, rather than booths. Smaller, two-person tables dotted the open area. As Graham took a deep breath, the sound of soft Spanish-style music seemed to float above the aroma of tomatoes, garlic, onions, and roasted meat.
Aidan waved. “We’ve got the private dining room,” he greeted. “Josue is telling Saraphina a story, but it’s more to keep him calm. He’s nervous about the ‘fancy restaurant’,” the auburn-haired man confided.
Drew approached from a small hallway labeled with a glowing dottie symbol, then sped up to hug his father, then his mother. “How’s the un-niversary going?” he asked them both.
Aidan led the way to an archway, but three feet beyond it a pair of arched doors marked a private area. He opened the door, adding a thrumming of Saraphina’s excited patois and Josue’s quiet, burbling laugh. “I’ve got another day of work in the city, then we’re taking two days to sightsee,” he explained.
Graham made a show of lifting one hand and wagging it like an impatient schoolboy. “But where are we?”
“We’re about an hour’s drive outside Phoenix,” Drew ventured.
Josue shook his head. “Stay in the air conditioning until about two hours after sunset,” he warned the pair. “Speaking of… Should I?”
Aidan nodded quickly. “That’s also why I asked for certain seats for the Doctors Finn,” he announced to the room.
Josue moved to the wall opposite the doors, then pressed a small, recessed button. Panels, stiffer than rolling shades but smoother in texture than the heat-reflective awning fabric increasingly popular anywhere within shouting distance of the Equator, rolled into the ceiling and floor.
Beyond the window lay dry, golden sand streaked with bits of toffee-colored dirt. Instead of towering steel, concrete, and glass, tall cacti climbed skyward. They reached above the line of soffit, wall, and the black line of the window frame as if they held up the sky just beginning to tint golden along the horizon. Sagebrush and strange bushes with bold yellow leaves reflected sunlight on the waxy surfaces, while bits of darker grass clung tenaciously to the thin, sandy soil.
“I took the liberty of ordering the family special,” Aidan murmured. “It’s a rather eclectic mix of Native and Southwestern foods, as distinctive as those in Pennsylvania, New Orleans, or South Carolina riverbottom. Or California, really.”
Once everyone was seated, and Saraphina had marched around the table collecting hugs, an elderly man stepped in, scanned the table, then beckoned. Three teenagers who could have been Hispanic or Native American moved smoothly into the room, each bringing trays of food, drinks, and fist-sized bowls of half a dozen condiments. Their tasks done, the young people glided out, while the elderly man offered a flash of an irregular grin and slipped after them. The door clicked more quietly than the ice cubes bobbing in a pitcher of ruby-red jamaica.
“You’re lucky that Aidan chose this job this month,” Drew joked, breaking the stillness. “He was talking about a month-long job in Yellowknife, but the provincial government was demanding superuser passwords, so he told them no.”
“I can’t be the only privacy-aware citizen glad of your caution,” Graham mused. He turned to Josue. “This place probably has dishes I’ve never tried. What’s familiar?”
Beside him, Elisabeth squeezed his free hand under the table, then tapped her thumb against the back of his wrist, twice. Graham answered with a squeeze and two taps against her leg.
The sunset seemed to take hours, and scraps of green-gray-purple clung to the horizon as Drew chased the last bite of barbecued chicken on his plate with a piece of frybread. “Excuse my manners,” he laughed, “but I have got to learn to make this, so tasting it as much as possible is just good planning.”
Chuckling, Graham scanned the table. “No dessert?”
Josue grinned. “There is, but we’re going to get fruit from a vendor on the way to the house where we’re staying. I don’t know what your dessert will be.” He made a show of looking at his watch, then at the sprinkling of stars auditioning for the heartstopping show of full darkness.
Aidan grinned as Zipper’s teleport brought him into the corner of the room. “It’s time for dessert!” he declared cheerfully. His stomach rumbled noisily in agreement.
“You’re a minute or two early,” the auburn-haired man teased.
“Ama just finished a pitcher of jallab,” the Egyptian man defended himself. He waved at the two younger men, but teleported beside Saraphina to give the kindergartener a proper hug.
“Well, we can’t keep her waiting for you to get home,” Elisabeth mused. “Thank you all for joining us.”
Zipper teleported back to stand behind the couple, and when they were standing, he teleported away with them.
They landed in their own kitchen, where Edison stood beside an unfamiliar metal tray table. On it, a rectangular baking dish held a can of fuel for a chafing dish centered in a pool of water. Edison fitted a marshmallow onto a skewer, and laid it on the plate with half a dozen more, ready to go. He beamed. “You’re here! Zinat, can we light the fuel? We’re going to make S’mores for dessert.”
Wren, tucked into a floral wrap on Zinat’s back, watched with sleepy, heavy-lidded eyes as Zinat set mugs on the counter beside the stove where a pot of cocoa simmered. “How was your day?” she greeted. One hand motioned toward the cocoa. “Edsion and I made the oatmilk, so this is entirely from scratch.” She winked behind her large, owlish glasses. “He’s well on his way to becoming a good cook.”
Graham looked between bouncy, energetic Edison and Wren, half asleep and content to wriggle their fingers at their Da. “How did you manage this?” he wondered.
Elisabeth grinned, nudging Zipper toward his mother. “You’re both joining is, of course. Aren’t you?”
“Wren ate until they felt full,” Zinat dismissed, then used a ladle to stir the cocoa. “That was the third toddler-sized plate, so… I do believe there’s more going on than most parents expect.”
Zipper hugged her, and smoothed his thumb over Wren’s forehead, settling between the tiny eyebrows as bright as copper pennies. Small circles quickly seemed to dial the toddler’s eyelids closed. “You said you made jallab,” he protested.
“We did. Edison made that entirely on his own, and it’s in the refrigerator. He wanted cocoa and S’mores for dessert.”
Graham checked the burner on the wick and lit it, then dialed the flame up a little. “Zipper, do you want the sacrificial marshmallow?”
He brightened. “Carbonized on the outside and still solid inside? Sure!”
Elisabeth waited until Zinat had filled mugs for everyone but Wren, then eased the older woman to sit in the nearest chair at the round dining table. “We saw eight sunsets already, and this will be number nine.” She waved to the familiar glass patio door and the backyard it framed. “It was fantastic.”
Graham hummed. “It was unforgettable. Remind me to book your services the next time there’s a full solar eclipse, though, because otherwise it’s going to take just as much planning and scheduling and negotiating to find a good viewing spot, otherwise.” He grinned. “It was perfect. Absolutely perfect.”
30
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 4 of 4, complete
Word count (Story only): 1258
[2018]
:: Elisabeth plans a surprise for Graham, and enlists Zipper's help (among others) to celebrate a milestone in their relationship with more than one sunset. Part of the Finn Family story arc in the Polychrome Heroics universe, this story was sparked by
callibr8, in the August 2026 Feathering the Nest prompt call, and sponsored by the person who helped out sovay. Thank you for your generosity! ::Back to part three
:: Thanks for reading! ::
Elisabeth’s smile clung to her skin as they teleported away from the compass pad in the Urbanburg skyscraper lobby. It widened when they reappeared in a low-slung, wide room set with multiple Spanish arches, each marking off a small dining area, rather than booths. Smaller, two-person tables dotted the open area. As Graham took a deep breath, the sound of soft Spanish-style music seemed to float above the aroma of tomatoes, garlic, onions, and roasted meat.
Aidan waved. “We’ve got the private dining room,” he greeted. “Josue is telling Saraphina a story, but it’s more to keep him calm. He’s nervous about the ‘fancy restaurant’,” the auburn-haired man confided.
Drew approached from a small hallway labeled with a glowing dottie symbol, then sped up to hug his father, then his mother. “How’s the un-niversary going?” he asked them both.
Aidan led the way to an archway, but three feet beyond it a pair of arched doors marked a private area. He opened the door, adding a thrumming of Saraphina’s excited patois and Josue’s quiet, burbling laugh. “I’ve got another day of work in the city, then we’re taking two days to sightsee,” he explained.
Graham made a show of lifting one hand and wagging it like an impatient schoolboy. “But where are we?”
“We’re about an hour’s drive outside Phoenix,” Drew ventured.
Josue shook his head. “Stay in the air conditioning until about two hours after sunset,” he warned the pair. “Speaking of… Should I?”
Aidan nodded quickly. “That’s also why I asked for certain seats for the Doctors Finn,” he announced to the room.
Josue moved to the wall opposite the doors, then pressed a small, recessed button. Panels, stiffer than rolling shades but smoother in texture than the heat-reflective awning fabric increasingly popular anywhere within shouting distance of the Equator, rolled into the ceiling and floor.
Beyond the window lay dry, golden sand streaked with bits of toffee-colored dirt. Instead of towering steel, concrete, and glass, tall cacti climbed skyward. They reached above the line of soffit, wall, and the black line of the window frame as if they held up the sky just beginning to tint golden along the horizon. Sagebrush and strange bushes with bold yellow leaves reflected sunlight on the waxy surfaces, while bits of darker grass clung tenaciously to the thin, sandy soil.
“I took the liberty of ordering the family special,” Aidan murmured. “It’s a rather eclectic mix of Native and Southwestern foods, as distinctive as those in Pennsylvania, New Orleans, or South Carolina riverbottom. Or California, really.”
Once everyone was seated, and Saraphina had marched around the table collecting hugs, an elderly man stepped in, scanned the table, then beckoned. Three teenagers who could have been Hispanic or Native American moved smoothly into the room, each bringing trays of food, drinks, and fist-sized bowls of half a dozen condiments. Their tasks done, the young people glided out, while the elderly man offered a flash of an irregular grin and slipped after them. The door clicked more quietly than the ice cubes bobbing in a pitcher of ruby-red jamaica.
“You’re lucky that Aidan chose this job this month,” Drew joked, breaking the stillness. “He was talking about a month-long job in Yellowknife, but the provincial government was demanding superuser passwords, so he told them no.”
“I can’t be the only privacy-aware citizen glad of your caution,” Graham mused. He turned to Josue. “This place probably has dishes I’ve never tried. What’s familiar?”
Beside him, Elisabeth squeezed his free hand under the table, then tapped her thumb against the back of his wrist, twice. Graham answered with a squeeze and two taps against her leg.
The sunset seemed to take hours, and scraps of green-gray-purple clung to the horizon as Drew chased the last bite of barbecued chicken on his plate with a piece of frybread. “Excuse my manners,” he laughed, “but I have got to learn to make this, so tasting it as much as possible is just good planning.”
Chuckling, Graham scanned the table. “No dessert?”
Josue grinned. “There is, but we’re going to get fruit from a vendor on the way to the house where we’re staying. I don’t know what your dessert will be.” He made a show of looking at his watch, then at the sprinkling of stars auditioning for the heartstopping show of full darkness.
Aidan grinned as Zipper’s teleport brought him into the corner of the room. “It’s time for dessert!” he declared cheerfully. His stomach rumbled noisily in agreement.
“You’re a minute or two early,” the auburn-haired man teased.
“Ama just finished a pitcher of jallab,” the Egyptian man defended himself. He waved at the two younger men, but teleported beside Saraphina to give the kindergartener a proper hug.
“Well, we can’t keep her waiting for you to get home,” Elisabeth mused. “Thank you all for joining us.”
Zipper teleported back to stand behind the couple, and when they were standing, he teleported away with them.
They landed in their own kitchen, where Edison stood beside an unfamiliar metal tray table. On it, a rectangular baking dish held a can of fuel for a chafing dish centered in a pool of water. Edison fitted a marshmallow onto a skewer, and laid it on the plate with half a dozen more, ready to go. He beamed. “You’re here! Zinat, can we light the fuel? We’re going to make S’mores for dessert.”
Wren, tucked into a floral wrap on Zinat’s back, watched with sleepy, heavy-lidded eyes as Zinat set mugs on the counter beside the stove where a pot of cocoa simmered. “How was your day?” she greeted. One hand motioned toward the cocoa. “Edsion and I made the oatmilk, so this is entirely from scratch.” She winked behind her large, owlish glasses. “He’s well on his way to becoming a good cook.”
Graham looked between bouncy, energetic Edison and Wren, half asleep and content to wriggle their fingers at their Da. “How did you manage this?” he wondered.
Elisabeth grinned, nudging Zipper toward his mother. “You’re both joining is, of course. Aren’t you?”
“Wren ate until they felt full,” Zinat dismissed, then used a ladle to stir the cocoa. “That was the third toddler-sized plate, so… I do believe there’s more going on than most parents expect.”
Zipper hugged her, and smoothed his thumb over Wren’s forehead, settling between the tiny eyebrows as bright as copper pennies. Small circles quickly seemed to dial the toddler’s eyelids closed. “You said you made jallab,” he protested.
“We did. Edison made that entirely on his own, and it’s in the refrigerator. He wanted cocoa and S’mores for dessert.”
Graham checked the burner on the wick and lit it, then dialed the flame up a little. “Zipper, do you want the sacrificial marshmallow?”
He brightened. “Carbonized on the outside and still solid inside? Sure!”
Elisabeth waited until Zinat had filled mugs for everyone but Wren, then eased the older woman to sit in the nearest chair at the round dining table. “We saw eight sunsets already, and this will be number nine.” She waved to the familiar glass patio door and the backyard it framed. “It was fantastic.”
Graham hummed. “It was unforgettable. Remind me to book your services the next time there’s a full solar eclipse, though, because otherwise it’s going to take just as much planning and scheduling and negotiating to find a good viewing spot, otherwise.” He grinned. “It was perfect. Absolutely perfect.”
30
Tags:
(no subject)
Saturday, 19 September 2026 15:37 (UTC)She does
Saturday, 19 September 2026 16:02 (UTC)(no subject)
Saturday, 19 September 2026 16:56 (UTC)Shale giggling in bubbles, when he was so thorny to begin with, is lovely to see. These are His Landfolk.
The only family member they didn’t check in with was Halley. Was that a geography problem?
Thank you.
(no subject)
Saturday, 19 September 2026 16:57 (UTC)(no subject)
Saturday, 19 September 2026 19:50 (UTC)Yup
Saturday, 19 September 2026 20:14 (UTC)Re: Yup
Sunday, 20 September 2026 05:39 (UTC)Re: Yup
Sunday, 20 September 2026 12:14 (UTC)