Colonel Seeders' Mail Order Bride, Hank

3 Hank

The knife he had sharpened that morning slid through the raw meat like a hot knife through butter. Hank Bragh'shcul held up the large steak, appreciating the weight of the thick hunk of flesh.

"Big enough for you?"

He looked across the kitchen table at his ten year old son. Unlike every other Trachtarian, Hawk had light hair that got darker in winter, but then shone like the bright yellow sun of their planet during the summer. His finer features resembled that of his human mother, more than Hank's strong, masculine, Trachtarian features. Though he did have Hank's darker skin.

"If I shift, he's not going to be happy with that tit-bit, Dad. He will probably eat the whole stag if I let him. May I have two, please?"

"Hungry today?" Hank asked with a kind smile on his face.

"They don't come often. I try to eat when I can. That's usually when you're here to make it for me. On warmer days I go catch something in a snare and eat it outside, but the raw meat and blood leaves a mess that attracts unwanted visitors. I try to eat as far away from the house as I can, like you told me to."

Three steaks, larger than a normal pan, slapped down onto the hot grill with a hiss. Hank busied himself by seasoning the meat to avoid eye contact with Hawk as his guilt ate at him again.

The boy spent far too many days alone, but Hank had to work and that meant he had to travel. He needed a woman that could watch Hawk when he could not, but after his mother left them, Hank refused to take on a new mate or have a woman anywhere near his house. It would have been easier if his brothers came home more often.

He glanced at his son before turning to heat up a pan for their vegetables. He could almost count his ribs through the thin cotton shirt he wore. At night, when he broke out in a fever, Hank sat up until the morning, washing him down with cold medicated water, or filled a bath with cold water and ice, but for the first time in weeks, Hawk sat smiling without a care in the world.

The simple kitchen-according to most Trachtarians-filled with the aroma of the sizzling meat, making his mouth water and his stomach growl loudly. He spent most of the morning hunting down the perfect, fat stag that would feed them for at least two days, if Hawk kept eating the way he did.

Hank could afford to modernise his home, but it felt good to cook the food on a stove and wash dishes by hand in his alloy basin, hunt and store food in a freezer and vegetables in the newer model fridge that made ice in summer and announced when they needed to replace something. Hank had to program it to include the Earth fruit and vegetables that he received from his old human friend and his youngest brother's farm.

Hank wondered, not for the first time, if he should call up his old friend, Sebastian Seeders, to cancel his request for help. He could try to find someone to take over his deliveries on a different planet and work from home. No one on Trachtaria wanted to leave their families behind to travel long distances to space stations across the galaxies.

"I have no more deliveries to do this week, so I'll be home until I get another order. Hopefully that won't be until Monday, at least. I need to fill the freezer with more meat. The weather is changing fast this year," Hank said.

"I'll help. I've found a new spot where I've been setting traps. When the bigger deer and stags get caught, I can't always get them home, so I let them go, but if there are any in the traps in the morning, maybe you can bring it home for us," Hawk said with a look of pure excitement on his face.

"We can go have a look. Maybe we can get the freezer filled in one day, then we will have time to look at those videos that Sebastian sent you," Hank said, relieved that his son did not resent him for his absence.

After dinner, he sent Hawk to his room so that he could have a few minutes of privacy. He turned on his telecommunication device and set up the square laptop-like device on the glass coffee table. With a wave of his hand, he activated the 3D projector by his feet, a small black box with a round sensor lens right in the centre, that beeped as each of the four green lights turned on.

His mail box pinged continuously for a whole minute as messages flooded through. He deleted most of them, not bothered to look at the automated responses from all his clients. He had seen the same generated letter of thanks more than he cared to. No one bothered to type out a real letter of gratitude anymore.

A mail from Sebastian made him pause. He meant to send him a message to cancel his request, no longer confident that a childminder would be the best option for Hawk. Not many people knew how to treat a disabled child. Hawk's disabilities remained hidden under his clothes and mittens, only evident when he needed to eat or hunt, so he used traps instead of claws and ate in his animal form.

Hank breathed out slowly as he opened the mail from Sebastian. He had to think of Hawk and not his own distrust in women.

At first he thought Sebastian had sent him a flyer to improve his mood. A good joke always lightened his spirit.

But then he read the heading: Colonel Sebastian Seeders' mail order brides.

The man had lost his mind.

He opened the second attachment. An application form filled out with his information. Only one space had been left open for Hank to fill in himself.

Hank slammed the screen shut and stomped towards the archway between the living room and the entry hall. They barely used the partially furnished room since no one came to visit, except for his two brothers, and they spent most of their time in their own rooms on the second floor.

Hank stopped by the doorway and glanced over his shoulder at his communication device. Sebastian would never convince him to accept a new bride. He needed a childminder not a wife. Not after the last one...

He shook his head and leaned against the doorjamb, staring at the single, beige leather couch, then at the worn out brown carpet, and lastly at the pale pink curtains that he hadn't been able to remove, even though he hated everything they reminded him of. None of the colours matched, but they had picked it out together, finding the items on their travels to various planets. Those travels ended when she fell pregnant.

In a desperate attempt to rid himself of those memories, completely, he tore the curtains from the railing, dumped them onto the couch and dragged it out of the living room, into the snow. Only ash remained after he breathed fire over it.

"You forgot the carpet," Hawk said, arms full of women's clothing that he dumped on top of the pile of ash. "She left some clothes in the storage closet. I'll go get the others. You can get the carpet out of the house. Get her out of our home."

***

Author's note:

Hey guys and gals.
So I never added an authors not to chapter one, but I hope you enjoyed the story thus far. Next chapter either tomorrow or the next day. (Depending on my available time.)
Any suggestions, advice or corrections you wish to comment, please feel free to do so.
Any rude comments will be deleted.
If you like the story, give it a vote or tell me why you did not like it. Maybe I can make some changes.