26. Kalugal

26

KALUGAL

K alugal leaned back in his chair with a contented smile playing on his lips as he watched Jacki feed their son. The morning sunlight streamed through the large windows of their breakfast nook, casting a warm glow over the scene.

Moments like these made Kalugal truly appreciate the life he'd built for himself and his family.

"Come on, precious," Jacki cooed, offering Darius another spoonful of pureed sweet potato. Their son eyed the spoon warily for a moment before opening his adorable little mouth and accepting the offering with his overly serious demeanor, which sometimes seemed judgmental to Kalugal.

Darius was still a very young child, but his character had been evident early on. He wasn't the cheerful sort. He was more of a cautious observer.

"He likes this," Jacki said. "He didn't like the mashed peas. Just refused to open his mouth."

"Can you blame him? Mashed peas look and smell gross. Sweet potatoes are much more flavorful."

Jacki chuckled, wiping a bit of orange mush from Darius's chin. "He still prefers to wear his food rather than eat it."

As if to prove his mother's point, Darius reached out, his tiny hand knocking the spoon out of Jacki's hand and sending a splatter of sweet potato across the high chair tray. The action was followed by a delighted giggle, which was so adorable that Kalugal felt like kissing Darius on his mush-covered cheeks instead of getting up and cleaning the mess.

But someone had to do that, and Shamash was busy cleaning the office.

As he stood up and moved to grab a cloth to wipe up the splatter, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Glancing at the screen, he was surprised to see the displayed name.

"It's Kian," he told Jacki.

She rose to her feet. "Talk to your cousin." She waved him off. "I'll clean up."

"Thanks," he mouthed as he accepted the call. "Morning, Kian. What an unexpected pleasure to receive your call first thing today."

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"You are not. Your call saved me from having to clean up the mess my son has just made with his mashed sweet potatoes."

Kian chuckled. "I remember those days, and I'm glad they are behind us, but each stage has its challenges. Allegra is no longer a messy eater, but she turned into a very picky fashionista. It takes her forever to choose her outfits."

"She takes after her aunt." Kalugal smiled as he imagined his short-tempered cousin dealing with his little princess fussing over her outfits in the mornings. "Amanda must be thrilled."

"She is." Kian sighed. "I should ask her to stop by every morning and help with Allegra's wardrobe choices."

Kalugal walked out of the kitchen and stepped into the living room. "As lovely as it is discussing our dear children, I'm sure that is not the reason for your call."

"Naturally. Brandon wants a meeting with you to discuss InstaTock and how it can be used to promote the clan's agenda."

Kalugal frowned. "Why the sudden interest?"

"He will explain when we meet. Can you stop by my office today?"

It was so like Kian to assume that everyone was free to jump to do his bidding at a moment's notice. As it happened, Kalugal had planned to work from home, but his schedule was already full. He had several conference calls that he needed to make, which would be a pain to reschedule.

"My day is already full, but I've blocked off time for lunch. How about you and Brandon come over to my house, and we can have lunch together?"

There was a long silence, and Kalugal could imagine Kian trying to come up with excuses as to why it was better to meet at his office.

"I can order lunch at my office," he said.

"Oh, come on. What are you going to order, sandwiches from the café? At my place, you will be treated to a proper meal cooked by a chef. Atzil will whip up something special for lunch. Besides, Brandon hasn't seen the place yet, and it's about time that he did."

"You remember that I'm vegan, right? I'm the scourge of every self-respecting chef."

"That is true." Kalugal laughed. "But I have no doubt that Atzil will rise to the challenge and prepare a delicious vegan meal for you."

Kian sighed. "Let me check with Brandon. If he's free for lunch, I'll text you to confirm."

"Good deal. I'll wait before informing Atzil about the change in the menu for today." He ended the call and walked back into the kitchen.

While he'd been gone, Jacki had cleaned up the mess on the floor and their son.

"What did Kian want?" she asked.

When he told her, she snorted. "Atzil's going to throw a tantrum. The only vegan dishes he makes are steamed beans and roasted carrots or Brussels sprouts."

Kalugal shrugged. "That counts, right? What else are you supposed to serve a vegan?"

"I don't know. Something made from tofu?"

Kalugal grimaced. "It's so like Kian to suck the joy out of his own life. It's not like he needs to deprive himself for health reasons."

"He feels it's morally right," Jacki said. "But it takes willpower that I don't have."

"Save your willpower for more important things." Kalugal turned his attention to Darius, who was attempting to grab his own feet, fascinated by discovering them once again. "Now, what do you say we have some father-son bonding time before Daddy needs to go to his office?"

He scooped Darius out of the high chair and spun him around, earning a delighted squeal. He laid him down on his play blanket in the family room and sat beside him on the floor. "Alright, my little fighter. Show Daddy how well you can roll over."

Darius gurgled, his eyes fixed on Kalugal's face, and stuck a finger in his mouth, sucking greedily as if there was milk in it.

Kalugal lay down on his side next to the baby. "Watch Daddy. I'll show you how to do it, alright?"

"Like this, see?" He rolled onto his back and then his other side. "Easy."

Darius watched with rapt attention but didn't show the slightest interest in moving.

"He's too young to understand," Jacki said. "Put him on his belly, and he will roll onto his back."

The moment Kalugal did as Jacki had instructed, Darius rolled onto his back and gave Kalugal a look that seemed to say, you doubted me?

"Very good." Kalugal leaned down and peppered his son's wet cheek with kisses. "You've got this."

Kalugal looked up to see his wife leaning against the doorframe and watching them with a soft smile. "Our little guy is growing so fast."

Jacki moved to join them on the floor, running a gentle hand over Darius's head. "It seems like he was born just yesterday."

Sensing he was the topic of conversation, Darius babbled a string of "ba" and "da" sounds.

"Is that so?" Kalugal asked seriously, nodding as if he understood every word. "Tell me more about your thoughts on the current political climate, son."

"The world is on fire," Jacki said in a near whisper. "I hope things will calm down by the time Darius is old enough to understand what is going on."

Kalugal nodded. "I bet that's what Brandon wants to talk to me about."

"Are you going to help?"

He sighed. "Do I have a choice?"

Kalugal hated politics and wasn't overly fond of humans, but he had created InstaTock with a specific vision in mind, and even though things hadn't worked out as he had planned, it was still a powerful tool.

"Not really." Jacki cast him a stern look. "If you have the means to stop the inferno, you cannot stand idly by and let it consume the world. You have to save them."

He arched a brow. "Even the idiots?"

"Yes, Kalugal. Even the idiots."