Part 65 – June 20, 2025
Max scowled in the shade. Liz just shook her head and kept reading her science journal. The whole point of a vacation was to relax. He took another look and covered his head with a towel. "Just shoot me before I have to see any more."
"It's just a bathing suit, Max."
"No. It's a bathing suit on my daughter." He pulled the towel off his head to chance another glance at where his daughter lay tanning at the edge of the pool and chatting with a couple of guys in the pool. "I doubt they're teenagers. They look older. I should go say something."
"No, you're going to sit by and let her have a nice time." Liz looked up when her son shook his wet hair all over her. "Shane!"
"Hair cut. Soon." Max frowned at the mane of hair on his son. It would be very, very pretty on a girl.
"I don't think so. The ladies really like it."
"They'd like to have it." Max reached forward to tug on the long locks. "Maybe you should curl or tease it."
"Max, behave." Liz didn't even look up. Before she could scream, he had leapt from his lounge-chair, picked her up and tossed her into the pool. By the time she fought her way back to the surface, both her husband and son were laughing hysterically. "Max Evans! I'm going to kill you!"
"Don't kill him yet. I don't know if he hurt my bottom line… in which case… I'll kill him." A deep voice floated over the pool. Kayla ran shrieking around the pool and threw her arms around her Uncle Kal. "Hey there. How's the movie coming?"
"It's in the can. We're done. When did you get back?"
"Couple of days ago. I had to track you guys down." He leaned back to look at her. "What's with the hair? You look like a cross between Meg Ryan and Keira Knightly… I hear Joss is looking for Fray. You wanna be Melaka? I think I could pull a string or two."
"How did you know that? He wouldn't say anything the last time I talked to him." She gushed and led him around to the rest of the family, where he was warmly embraced by each in turn.
"I had to do something on the plane. Who do I have to kill to get a lime cooler?" He glanced around and everyone rolled their eyes at him. "It's hot out here."
"It's the Bahamas in June. It happens." Liz waved at the waiter.
Max looked Kal over for a long time. "You feel good, then?"
"Better than ever." Kal nodded as he sipped his limeade. Then he paused and sipped again. "They put salt in this?"
"That's a margarita." Liz gasped and then gasped again. "You tasted the salt."
July 4, 2025
Kal let Kayla be drawn to the side of the carpet. The reporters were waiting. "Do you think the nepotism will overshadow the movie?"
"I think the movie will speak for itself… as for nepotism… if he didn't think I could do it, he wouldn't have let me." Kayla shrugged.
"So, Kal, what do you think of the movie?"
"I only saw it in post. It hadn't been edited or scored yet but what I saw had real promise. She's a talented girl." Kal nodded and guided her away and back to her proud parents and her bored brother. "Come on. Let's get this show on the road."
"Kayla! Who are you wearing?" A call came over the flashes.
"Clothes for once." Max muttered under his breath, earning an elbow from his wife.
"It's an Ulali." She smiled and waved at the questioner.
"Hey kid… I just got off the phone with Joss." Kal whispered. "You got the part."
"I what?" Kayla started screaming, hugging first Kal and then her parents. "I got it. I got it. I got it."
"See. She's still a normal teenaged girl." Kal told a row of microphones.
"Dad. Can you believe this? I'm going to be Melaka Fray… I wonder who's gonna be my brother."
"I don't know… your brother maybe?" Max guided her into the theater.
"Oh! And she has a sister, too." Kayla gushed all the way to her seat. "I wonder who's going to play her. Oh! I wonder how much time I'll have to spend on a green screen."
"Sh…" Max tried to calm her down.
"But Daddy… Fray. I'm gonna be Fray."
"But right now… you're showing off all your hard work." Max framed her face with his hands. "I am so proud of you. You can do whatever you want. You want to make movies. We'll make it happen. You want to be in them… We'll find some for you. If you want to have a normal high school. We can do that. Whatever you want."
"But one thing at a time. I know." She took a deep breath to calm down. "Okay. Okay. I'm okay."
"What'd we miss?" Zan plopped down in his seat and ran his hand over his weary face.
"I'm gonna be Fray." Kayla smiled.
"Cool. I was in it so I can sleep through this, right?" He asked her but Brock pinched him. "Hey, you're the one that's not letting me sleep."
"Get a room." Brett grumbled as she took her seat next to Kayla. "I just heard the rumblings. You're going to have to grow your hair out a bit and dye it."
"She's going to dye her hair." Liz hissed to Max. "I don't want her to."
"Then you tell her she can't be Fray."
--
"Ulali. Now that was a good one." Brett snickered and examined the dress. "Davis really knows what she's doing."
"She's gonna kill me for the name. I couldn't think of anything." Kayla giggled. She fixed her makeup in the mirror and took a deep breath. "I have to go out there and be a grown up."
"You wanted to make a movie. Go deal with it."
"Your dad being a pain?"
"He met Davis's boyfriend and declared that I was not going away to college and I was never dating again." She rolled her eyes. "Scott can date anything with tits and dad would be proud. I'm gonna chill here for a while."
--
The fireworks burst overhead, sending streamers of color through the night. Kal sat next to Max to watch. "I seen 'em do it for decades and I never appreciated it for what it was. I just saw pretty firearms."
"Are you going patriotic on me?" Max shook his head.
"Just thoughtful."
"The movie?"
"Will be a modest success. She's still learning." Kal sipped his lemonade. "She reminds me of Zan when he was starting out. She worked the project because I gave it to her. She met all expectations but… she was too afraid to overshoot them."
"So, the movie was good for a 15 year old?"
"The movie was good for a first time director. Any age." He sighed. "She'll learn a thing or two being in a couple of movies herself. Just like you."
"Me?"
"As I recall, things didn't start going well for you until after you started working for me."
"So you're going to take credit for that?"
"It's my job. I am the uncle."
"It's good to have you back, Kal."
"It's really good to be back."
"Max!" Zan called out onto the balcony. "Brock and I are heading back. Brett insists she's staying with you tonight."
"Are you going to take advantage of the childless nest?" Max turned slightly.
"Like that ever stopped Brock. I plan to sleep tomorrow without her music forcing me out of bed. Kal, no calls until after 3."
"So in four hours?" Kal called back without looking."
"More like 15."
"Night, Zan. I'll keep Brett out of trouble."
"Thanks man."
"Then you better go check on her." Kal murmured into his glass. "I just saw Kayla and the girl in question disappear toward the pool house with a couple of fellas."
Max shot out of his chair and raced down the stairs to beat Zan to the little partiers. If he got there first, he could keep a couple of human boys from getting murdered.
TBC
Where Once Stood Kings (Mature, Max) (Complete)
Moderators: Itzstacie, Forum Moderators
Part 66
Part 66 - September 20, 2025
Zan leaned back in his chair across from Max. "You should make it a movie or something. So that, like… a hundred years from now when everyone is ready to admit that aliens walk among us… Point to that movie and say, hey, that's the closest we could come to what really happened."
"So, they needed convincing." Max nodded to himself. He hadn't figured they would heal Kal without a voucher from the King himself.
"A little." Zan shrugged and yawned. "I had a nice long break and Kal is looking to end that."
"You're the one trying to pitch me your life story as a movie."
"When'd you trade cameras man? I could dig the photography because it's like… traveling and seeing through someone else's eyes. The movies though… now they tell you what to think and -"
"Shut up. You sound like a jackass. You depend on the movies to keep your wife in style." He watched his brother for a moment. "Did she finally let you out of bed?"
Zan only smirked and crossed his arms. "Nurse Brock has given me the green light."
"You coming for Thanksgiving?"
"I think so. I'm trying to talk Alex into suggesting it to Ace. Aja wants to come have Thanksgiving with us but… he wants her there, too."
"We have the room. I'll get Liz to work on Alex, too." Max nodded to his desk. "How's he been doing out there?"
"Good, you know. He's been splitting his free time with Brock and Ace… making sure he keeps tabs on the kids." Zan shrugged. "He's got a brother and two sisters in the city and two more in the desert. He's working pretty steadily. He says he's dating a hottie singer."
"A singer?"
"I don't know. Says the video he was in is coming out soon." Zan yawned and stretched. "He wants to bring her but I told him… you know… Thanksgiving is usually an in-the-know ordeal."
"Yeah. Maybe he loves her."
"Maybe. That'd be good." Zan paled. "I had a three year old and two on the way when I was his age… shit. He could make me a granddad, any day now."
"Don't say that. Please don't say that." Max groaned and then he laughed. "Michael's gonna be a granddad."
"Gracie?"
"No… Damien's wife."
"Already?"
"He's almost thirty-three. Kathryn's dying to get her hands on that baby." Max nodded and turned to face his window.
"The other one… Anna?"
"She's doing good. She's engaged, I think. A cop. I remember that. Michael kind of flipped over it."
"Her dad was a cop, right?"
"Yeah. Kathryn had to sit her down and talk to her about what being a cop's wife would be like."
"That's good… they have parents and crap tell them how the world works…"
"'In my day, we didn't have parents…' blah. Blah. Zan." Max stretched and turned his head slightly to watch Zan. "What's wrong?"
"I think Brett is screwing around."
"Brett?" Max groaned. "Don't say that."
"I'm not sure."
"She's a little young."
"And how young were we?" Zan rubbed his hand over his face. "I don't know. She's not talking to me anymore. If I ask her a question, she gets all defensive. Davis was never like that, you know… until she went to college. I just keep thinking… why wouldn't she want to talk to me?"
"She's a fifteen-year-old girl. There are plenty of things she thinks are too gross to talk to Dad about."
"I just… she's just… so Brock, you know? And they're not really getting along either. Ophelia thinks it's the red hair. Says they're just going to clash."
"Ah, I see. You talked to Mom-in-law before me." Max took a deep breath. That thought terrified him. If Brett was having sex, then it was possible that Kayla was and that thought made Max's chest constrict.
"I don't know. Maybe you're right. She's always been a little… you know… reserved."
"Well, she got left out a lot."
"What?" Zan furrowed his brow at his brother. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean… she reminds me of Michael. Brett and Davis were always hanging out together. She came along later. She didn't have a twin. She's not all that close with Aja like they are…"
"Aw shit…" He grunted and stared out the window. "I spoil her. I know I do… but she never wants me to come along. She's always on that phone of hers."
"Reminds me of Shane. That kid." Max shook his head. "Ignores everything I say. He's always playing games or out on those skates."
"Still looks like a shaggy dog?"
"Yes. Nothing fazes him."
--
Max looked up when Kayla bounded into the room for a mango and ground red pepper. "Hey."
"Hi Daddy." She used her powers to cut the skin then sucked the juice before it could drip onto the floor.
"Hey… do you think we're close? You and me?"
"Yeah." She nodded and sprinkled the pepper on her mango before taking a bite. "What's up?"
"You'd be okay telling me if you were… if you started um… You know. Doing things."
"Yeah. I'd probably include you in the bulletin but it hasn't happened yet so… you'll be fine for a while, Dad." She shrugged and plopped down to read over his papers. "I plan not to be a ho like you and Mom."
"Your mom is not a ho."
"Yeah she was." Kayla snorted. "Kal told me all about the both of you."
"Whatever." Max stared at his daughter. "Just remember that I was the first man she ever slept with. That means something."
She actually seemed to take a moment to absorb the words. "Okay. You're right. Anyway, I'm good. I'm not planning on throwing it away on a hot movie star." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Can this be our sex talk and we never have it again?"
"Okay. Sounds good to me." He wrapped an arm around his first child and kissed he top of her head.
"Hey Dad?"
"What's up?"
"Uncle Kal is going to have to go back, isn't he?"
"Why do you say that?"
"There's only so much he can do and then he's supposed to be old."
"Yeah, I know."
"Was it a temporary fix?"
"No, I think they stuck to their word and he's good to go until… whenever it is he dies of natural causes."
"Okay."
November 27, 2025
"There are only two turkey legs and you know what? I don't want you to have one." Michael taunted Gracie as he passed the turkey leg down to Shane.
"Why does Shane get one?" Gracie scoffed like a little kid.
"I bribed Uncle Kal and I'm sharing it with him. It's all about who you know." Shane made a face at her.
"There's another turkey." Liz pointed out.
"One of those is mine." Zan cleared his throat.
"There's still two left." Gracie pointed out and nudged her future brother-in-law. "Matt and I will share one."
"Oooh. Got the power of a badge behind you. I told you. It's in who you know." Shane taunted.
"Enough." Max shushed him. "Why aren't you at the kids table where I put you?"
"I'm a man who knows how to get what he wants. I'm not sitting at the kiddie table this year." Shane shook his head.
"Who moved off this table?" Zan glanced around.
"Anna." Michael answered after a glance. "She's trying her luck with older kids since she'll be having one."
"Shut up." Damien blurted out from down the table. "Really?"
"Is there something in the water?" Michael muttered and continued to pass things down the table.
"Carrot Top, when do I meet your boyfriend?" Zan called down the table.
"What boyfriend?" Brett feigned interest in her stuffing. "I don’t know what you're talking about."
"I'm talking about the one you're texting under the table. You have to bring him home. I have to meet the kid."
"Dad." She scoffed and tossed her phone on the table.
Brock just rolled her eyes at them and looked to Liz. "I'm going to go out of my mind."
"You have a few more years with yours. Mine is already halfway out the door." Liz shot a look at Kayla, who was engrossed in a conversation with her Uncle Kal.
"Kal, baby, your turkey is looking a little dry." Ace cleared her throat from where she was peering at the children's table to check on her kids.
"You didn’t hear the news? Kal's off the lemons." Zan passed on the good news. "He eats like the adults now."
"Not everyone has the benefit of human genes." Kal cleared his throat. "You could be a bit more appreciative and make a movie for me."
"Aja, my favorite son." Alex cleared his throat. "When does Jeannine start coming to these things?"
"I'm your only son and… I don't know." Aja picked at his potatoes. "She's not sure she's as serious about me as I am about her. She says I'm intense. Sometimes too intense."
"It's genetic." Ace blew her son a kiss.
"Kiss my ass." Zan threw a mock punch at her. "Sweetie, pass the yams."
"Which ones?" Brett pointed to the marshmallow yams and to the pie on the other side.
"The ones next to you."
"Is your father this vague?" Brett asked Kayla.
"Not really. I got a sex talk without you know… the talking about it part. Did you?"
"Ew. No."
"Just promise you'll try to stay a virgin until you're married and he'll get off your back. Try to sound like you mean it."
"What she said." Brett nodded as she handed the marshmallow yams to her father. He just shook his head at her.
"Brett, you're gonna break Dad." Davis called down the table. "I need him to walk me down the aisle at some point."
"And to pay for the wedding and I'm sure there's some kind of gift I’m responsible for. Can we wait until the guy actually proposes?" Then he looked each of his children in the eye across the long table. "One wedding a year. That's it. So plan carefully the way this all goes down. Right now Davis is the closest to the ring. Then Aja, then Scott. That's the order. If something happens, deal with it amongst yourselves. I write one wedding check a year."
"Understood, El Capitan." Davis saluted.
"No more visits to Roswell." Zan muttered.
"What? My house is rockin'." Ava took a bit of casserole and blew off her ex. "You're just jealous."
"Jesse, you're quiet." Max commented as he studied Isabel and her husband at the far end.
"Jesse's up to join the law review." Isabel beamed proudly. "But it also means that he's got work to do tonight."
"No big. Just thinking." He nodded.
"Hey Dad, can we take the car after dinner? Just down to rent a movie." Jesse Jr. pleaded from down the way.
"No." Jesse answered without looking up. "Jesus Ramirez the younger cannot drive my car for six weeks because I'm paying for school but he's not attending."
"I go to class." Jesse Jr. winced and sipped his water.
"You will be in class everyday the rest of the semester or you will be working for my cousin in Roswell to pay me back."
Kathryn cleared her throat and called into the next room. "Anna? You want to haggle for your seat back?"
"No, I'm good."
"Matt's getting lonely. Your sister is going to steal him."
"I will!" Gracie called over to them.
"She can't!" Matt called out.
"Nice." Max nodded to Michael.
"Yeah, I guess."
"Be nice." Kathryn warned her husband.
"And I am not too young to get married!" Anna yelled to her father. "All of my friends are already married."
"Kayla, did they cast your costar yet?" Alex called over.
"Still looking for the voice. Urkonn is going to be CGI'd in later." Kayla snorted. "He wanted to CGI my eyes too. But… if I can talk Davis into playing my big sister and getting Shane to play my twin, we would all have matching eyes and it would be cool."
"I'm not going to be in your movie." Davis shook her head. "I'm having enough trouble with this Ulali business and I blame you."
"Does it have to be a sister? Could it be a brother?" Zan asked. "Aja's good for it."
"I'm not making a Buffy movie." Aja shook his head.
"It's not a Buffy movie." Kayla barked. "It's Fray. Like Buffy but she isn't Buffy."
"If I audition for the bad guy, I can kick your ass, right?"
"Shut up."
"I'm liking this idea."
"Kids." Max cleared his throat. "We're having a family meal, could you shut it?"
"Speaking of…" Isabel addressed her brother. "Mom says there's no excuse for missing Christmas this year. She and Dad have already reserved a suite of rooms for you, the kids and their growing families."
"What?" Michael growled. "It's not that I don't want to go. Kathryn has to work."
"Then I'll just take off." Kathryn squeezed his hand. "It's not a big deal."
"You just hate Roswell. That's what it is." Isabel accused. "You turned your back on the town that housed you until you were 19."
"Housed and mocked. Hello." Michael muttered. "Alien crap everywhere. All the time. I can't believe you like going back."
"I like visiting Mom and Dad."
"So do I… but not in Roswell."
"You're a grown man. Your children are all grown. Get over it."
"Tess has been quiet." Liz mused quietly.
"Dev and Tess aren't seeing eye to eye these days." Drew answered for her. "He fancies himself in love but we haven't decided on if he's allowed to tell his girlfriend."
"Where is Dev?" Liz glanced around the crowded table.
"Sulking, on the phone." Tess sighed and eyed her other child. "Tori doesn't give me half as many problems… but she's still so sweet."
"Am not!"
"Ah… teenagers." Max sighed, eyeing Shane's mop of hair. "So… hair cut or no dirt bike for Christmas."
"Dad." Shane growled but fixed his eyes on his plate.
"Irene won the spelling bee." Isabel announced. "She's going on to the state competition."
"Mom." Irene groaned from the other table. "You're so embarrassing."
"I'm proud."
"We all are." Jesse agreed but excused himself from the table when his cell phone rang.
"Erin." Kyle called over. "Erin!"
"What?" The teen called back.
"Explain to Max the rules in our household."
Erin Valenti rose from her chair, all 13 years of her. "I am not to tattoo my body until I am 17 years old. I am not to pierce my body in any area that I cannot show my father without blushing. I cannot apply for my permit until I can take apart a car engine in under a day and a half. I am not to date any boy that I cannot bring home to meet Grandpa. I am not to have sex until after I am married. I am not to stay out until midnight until I prove that my grades will get me into Harvard. I am not to have fun until I am 18 according to the rules of the Valenti household."
"That's my girl." Kyle boasted from his chair.
Brock, Isabel, Liz, Tess and Ava exchanged looks. Ace turned to Kyle. "So, when she runs away, we know who to blame."
"Ha. Ha." Kyle grumbled but motioned to his child that she could have a seat once more.
"If we do this again. I think we should rent an airport hangar. We could eliminate drives to the airport if we land directly on site. There would be enough room for everyone." Alex cleared his throat. "Also makes for quick getaways."
"Dad." His girls chorused from the other table.
"You really want to get away that badly?" Aja teased. "I'm sure Dad will drive you to the airport, himself."
"Not a problem." Zan agreed.
"Oh come on." Ace cut off her husband's response so she could attack Zan. "You're still being a shit about it?"
"When isn't he." Brock sighed but kissed her husband. "That's why we love him. He's set in his ways."
"With good reason. This child alone can keep me a rich man." Kal cut into the conversation. "Aja… talk your old man into doing the picture."
"I'm not doin' it." Zan shook his head. "I'm not wearin' a fat suit."
"Then just gain the weight. Who cares. No one really wants to see you jumping out of planes or throwing down anymore. Get a respectable job." Kal challenged him. "Wear the fat suit."
"Not gonna happen."
"Okay. Let's not talk shop at the table." Liz called out over the din. "Now, I am declaring the dessert table open to any child who can prove they ate their dinner."
"Dessert?" Max arched an eyebrow at her.
"What?"
"I'm ready for dessert."
"Shut up." Liz shoved him away to sip her tea. "When is your libido going to catch up with your age?"
"Oh please." He leaned in to whisper into her ear. "I wasn't the one who was begging last night."
"That's not fair." Liz scolded him lightly.
"I love you. I really do."
"Oh God! Get a room." Kayla burst out as she rose from the table to put her plate away. "We have guests, for crying out loud."
TBC
Zan leaned back in his chair across from Max. "You should make it a movie or something. So that, like… a hundred years from now when everyone is ready to admit that aliens walk among us… Point to that movie and say, hey, that's the closest we could come to what really happened."
"So, they needed convincing." Max nodded to himself. He hadn't figured they would heal Kal without a voucher from the King himself.
"A little." Zan shrugged and yawned. "I had a nice long break and Kal is looking to end that."
"You're the one trying to pitch me your life story as a movie."
"When'd you trade cameras man? I could dig the photography because it's like… traveling and seeing through someone else's eyes. The movies though… now they tell you what to think and -"
"Shut up. You sound like a jackass. You depend on the movies to keep your wife in style." He watched his brother for a moment. "Did she finally let you out of bed?"
Zan only smirked and crossed his arms. "Nurse Brock has given me the green light."
"You coming for Thanksgiving?"
"I think so. I'm trying to talk Alex into suggesting it to Ace. Aja wants to come have Thanksgiving with us but… he wants her there, too."
"We have the room. I'll get Liz to work on Alex, too." Max nodded to his desk. "How's he been doing out there?"
"Good, you know. He's been splitting his free time with Brock and Ace… making sure he keeps tabs on the kids." Zan shrugged. "He's got a brother and two sisters in the city and two more in the desert. He's working pretty steadily. He says he's dating a hottie singer."
"A singer?"
"I don't know. Says the video he was in is coming out soon." Zan yawned and stretched. "He wants to bring her but I told him… you know… Thanksgiving is usually an in-the-know ordeal."
"Yeah. Maybe he loves her."
"Maybe. That'd be good." Zan paled. "I had a three year old and two on the way when I was his age… shit. He could make me a granddad, any day now."
"Don't say that. Please don't say that." Max groaned and then he laughed. "Michael's gonna be a granddad."
"Gracie?"
"No… Damien's wife."
"Already?"
"He's almost thirty-three. Kathryn's dying to get her hands on that baby." Max nodded and turned to face his window.
"The other one… Anna?"
"She's doing good. She's engaged, I think. A cop. I remember that. Michael kind of flipped over it."
"Her dad was a cop, right?"
"Yeah. Kathryn had to sit her down and talk to her about what being a cop's wife would be like."
"That's good… they have parents and crap tell them how the world works…"
"'In my day, we didn't have parents…' blah. Blah. Zan." Max stretched and turned his head slightly to watch Zan. "What's wrong?"
"I think Brett is screwing around."
"Brett?" Max groaned. "Don't say that."
"I'm not sure."
"She's a little young."
"And how young were we?" Zan rubbed his hand over his face. "I don't know. She's not talking to me anymore. If I ask her a question, she gets all defensive. Davis was never like that, you know… until she went to college. I just keep thinking… why wouldn't she want to talk to me?"
"She's a fifteen-year-old girl. There are plenty of things she thinks are too gross to talk to Dad about."
"I just… she's just… so Brock, you know? And they're not really getting along either. Ophelia thinks it's the red hair. Says they're just going to clash."
"Ah, I see. You talked to Mom-in-law before me." Max took a deep breath. That thought terrified him. If Brett was having sex, then it was possible that Kayla was and that thought made Max's chest constrict.
"I don't know. Maybe you're right. She's always been a little… you know… reserved."
"Well, she got left out a lot."
"What?" Zan furrowed his brow at his brother. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean… she reminds me of Michael. Brett and Davis were always hanging out together. She came along later. She didn't have a twin. She's not all that close with Aja like they are…"
"Aw shit…" He grunted and stared out the window. "I spoil her. I know I do… but she never wants me to come along. She's always on that phone of hers."
"Reminds me of Shane. That kid." Max shook his head. "Ignores everything I say. He's always playing games or out on those skates."
"Still looks like a shaggy dog?"
"Yes. Nothing fazes him."
--
Max looked up when Kayla bounded into the room for a mango and ground red pepper. "Hey."
"Hi Daddy." She used her powers to cut the skin then sucked the juice before it could drip onto the floor.
"Hey… do you think we're close? You and me?"
"Yeah." She nodded and sprinkled the pepper on her mango before taking a bite. "What's up?"
"You'd be okay telling me if you were… if you started um… You know. Doing things."
"Yeah. I'd probably include you in the bulletin but it hasn't happened yet so… you'll be fine for a while, Dad." She shrugged and plopped down to read over his papers. "I plan not to be a ho like you and Mom."
"Your mom is not a ho."
"Yeah she was." Kayla snorted. "Kal told me all about the both of you."
"Whatever." Max stared at his daughter. "Just remember that I was the first man she ever slept with. That means something."
She actually seemed to take a moment to absorb the words. "Okay. You're right. Anyway, I'm good. I'm not planning on throwing it away on a hot movie star." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Can this be our sex talk and we never have it again?"
"Okay. Sounds good to me." He wrapped an arm around his first child and kissed he top of her head.
"Hey Dad?"
"What's up?"
"Uncle Kal is going to have to go back, isn't he?"
"Why do you say that?"
"There's only so much he can do and then he's supposed to be old."
"Yeah, I know."
"Was it a temporary fix?"
"No, I think they stuck to their word and he's good to go until… whenever it is he dies of natural causes."
"Okay."
November 27, 2025
"There are only two turkey legs and you know what? I don't want you to have one." Michael taunted Gracie as he passed the turkey leg down to Shane.
"Why does Shane get one?" Gracie scoffed like a little kid.
"I bribed Uncle Kal and I'm sharing it with him. It's all about who you know." Shane made a face at her.
"There's another turkey." Liz pointed out.
"One of those is mine." Zan cleared his throat.
"There's still two left." Gracie pointed out and nudged her future brother-in-law. "Matt and I will share one."
"Oooh. Got the power of a badge behind you. I told you. It's in who you know." Shane taunted.
"Enough." Max shushed him. "Why aren't you at the kids table where I put you?"
"I'm a man who knows how to get what he wants. I'm not sitting at the kiddie table this year." Shane shook his head.
"Who moved off this table?" Zan glanced around.
"Anna." Michael answered after a glance. "She's trying her luck with older kids since she'll be having one."
"Shut up." Damien blurted out from down the table. "Really?"
"Is there something in the water?" Michael muttered and continued to pass things down the table.
"Carrot Top, when do I meet your boyfriend?" Zan called down the table.
"What boyfriend?" Brett feigned interest in her stuffing. "I don’t know what you're talking about."
"I'm talking about the one you're texting under the table. You have to bring him home. I have to meet the kid."
"Dad." She scoffed and tossed her phone on the table.
Brock just rolled her eyes at them and looked to Liz. "I'm going to go out of my mind."
"You have a few more years with yours. Mine is already halfway out the door." Liz shot a look at Kayla, who was engrossed in a conversation with her Uncle Kal.
"Kal, baby, your turkey is looking a little dry." Ace cleared her throat from where she was peering at the children's table to check on her kids.
"You didn’t hear the news? Kal's off the lemons." Zan passed on the good news. "He eats like the adults now."
"Not everyone has the benefit of human genes." Kal cleared his throat. "You could be a bit more appreciative and make a movie for me."
"Aja, my favorite son." Alex cleared his throat. "When does Jeannine start coming to these things?"
"I'm your only son and… I don't know." Aja picked at his potatoes. "She's not sure she's as serious about me as I am about her. She says I'm intense. Sometimes too intense."
"It's genetic." Ace blew her son a kiss.
"Kiss my ass." Zan threw a mock punch at her. "Sweetie, pass the yams."
"Which ones?" Brett pointed to the marshmallow yams and to the pie on the other side.
"The ones next to you."
"Is your father this vague?" Brett asked Kayla.
"Not really. I got a sex talk without you know… the talking about it part. Did you?"
"Ew. No."
"Just promise you'll try to stay a virgin until you're married and he'll get off your back. Try to sound like you mean it."
"What she said." Brett nodded as she handed the marshmallow yams to her father. He just shook his head at her.
"Brett, you're gonna break Dad." Davis called down the table. "I need him to walk me down the aisle at some point."
"And to pay for the wedding and I'm sure there's some kind of gift I’m responsible for. Can we wait until the guy actually proposes?" Then he looked each of his children in the eye across the long table. "One wedding a year. That's it. So plan carefully the way this all goes down. Right now Davis is the closest to the ring. Then Aja, then Scott. That's the order. If something happens, deal with it amongst yourselves. I write one wedding check a year."
"Understood, El Capitan." Davis saluted.
"No more visits to Roswell." Zan muttered.
"What? My house is rockin'." Ava took a bit of casserole and blew off her ex. "You're just jealous."
"Jesse, you're quiet." Max commented as he studied Isabel and her husband at the far end.
"Jesse's up to join the law review." Isabel beamed proudly. "But it also means that he's got work to do tonight."
"No big. Just thinking." He nodded.
"Hey Dad, can we take the car after dinner? Just down to rent a movie." Jesse Jr. pleaded from down the way.
"No." Jesse answered without looking up. "Jesus Ramirez the younger cannot drive my car for six weeks because I'm paying for school but he's not attending."
"I go to class." Jesse Jr. winced and sipped his water.
"You will be in class everyday the rest of the semester or you will be working for my cousin in Roswell to pay me back."
Kathryn cleared her throat and called into the next room. "Anna? You want to haggle for your seat back?"
"No, I'm good."
"Matt's getting lonely. Your sister is going to steal him."
"I will!" Gracie called over to them.
"She can't!" Matt called out.
"Nice." Max nodded to Michael.
"Yeah, I guess."
"Be nice." Kathryn warned her husband.
"And I am not too young to get married!" Anna yelled to her father. "All of my friends are already married."
"Kayla, did they cast your costar yet?" Alex called over.
"Still looking for the voice. Urkonn is going to be CGI'd in later." Kayla snorted. "He wanted to CGI my eyes too. But… if I can talk Davis into playing my big sister and getting Shane to play my twin, we would all have matching eyes and it would be cool."
"I'm not going to be in your movie." Davis shook her head. "I'm having enough trouble with this Ulali business and I blame you."
"Does it have to be a sister? Could it be a brother?" Zan asked. "Aja's good for it."
"I'm not making a Buffy movie." Aja shook his head.
"It's not a Buffy movie." Kayla barked. "It's Fray. Like Buffy but she isn't Buffy."
"If I audition for the bad guy, I can kick your ass, right?"
"Shut up."
"I'm liking this idea."
"Kids." Max cleared his throat. "We're having a family meal, could you shut it?"
"Speaking of…" Isabel addressed her brother. "Mom says there's no excuse for missing Christmas this year. She and Dad have already reserved a suite of rooms for you, the kids and their growing families."
"What?" Michael growled. "It's not that I don't want to go. Kathryn has to work."
"Then I'll just take off." Kathryn squeezed his hand. "It's not a big deal."
"You just hate Roswell. That's what it is." Isabel accused. "You turned your back on the town that housed you until you were 19."
"Housed and mocked. Hello." Michael muttered. "Alien crap everywhere. All the time. I can't believe you like going back."
"I like visiting Mom and Dad."
"So do I… but not in Roswell."
"You're a grown man. Your children are all grown. Get over it."
"Tess has been quiet." Liz mused quietly.
"Dev and Tess aren't seeing eye to eye these days." Drew answered for her. "He fancies himself in love but we haven't decided on if he's allowed to tell his girlfriend."
"Where is Dev?" Liz glanced around the crowded table.
"Sulking, on the phone." Tess sighed and eyed her other child. "Tori doesn't give me half as many problems… but she's still so sweet."
"Am not!"
"Ah… teenagers." Max sighed, eyeing Shane's mop of hair. "So… hair cut or no dirt bike for Christmas."
"Dad." Shane growled but fixed his eyes on his plate.
"Irene won the spelling bee." Isabel announced. "She's going on to the state competition."
"Mom." Irene groaned from the other table. "You're so embarrassing."
"I'm proud."
"We all are." Jesse agreed but excused himself from the table when his cell phone rang.
"Erin." Kyle called over. "Erin!"
"What?" The teen called back.
"Explain to Max the rules in our household."
Erin Valenti rose from her chair, all 13 years of her. "I am not to tattoo my body until I am 17 years old. I am not to pierce my body in any area that I cannot show my father without blushing. I cannot apply for my permit until I can take apart a car engine in under a day and a half. I am not to date any boy that I cannot bring home to meet Grandpa. I am not to have sex until after I am married. I am not to stay out until midnight until I prove that my grades will get me into Harvard. I am not to have fun until I am 18 according to the rules of the Valenti household."
"That's my girl." Kyle boasted from his chair.
Brock, Isabel, Liz, Tess and Ava exchanged looks. Ace turned to Kyle. "So, when she runs away, we know who to blame."
"Ha. Ha." Kyle grumbled but motioned to his child that she could have a seat once more.
"If we do this again. I think we should rent an airport hangar. We could eliminate drives to the airport if we land directly on site. There would be enough room for everyone." Alex cleared his throat. "Also makes for quick getaways."
"Dad." His girls chorused from the other table.
"You really want to get away that badly?" Aja teased. "I'm sure Dad will drive you to the airport, himself."
"Not a problem." Zan agreed.
"Oh come on." Ace cut off her husband's response so she could attack Zan. "You're still being a shit about it?"
"When isn't he." Brock sighed but kissed her husband. "That's why we love him. He's set in his ways."
"With good reason. This child alone can keep me a rich man." Kal cut into the conversation. "Aja… talk your old man into doing the picture."
"I'm not doin' it." Zan shook his head. "I'm not wearin' a fat suit."
"Then just gain the weight. Who cares. No one really wants to see you jumping out of planes or throwing down anymore. Get a respectable job." Kal challenged him. "Wear the fat suit."
"Not gonna happen."
"Okay. Let's not talk shop at the table." Liz called out over the din. "Now, I am declaring the dessert table open to any child who can prove they ate their dinner."
"Dessert?" Max arched an eyebrow at her.
"What?"
"I'm ready for dessert."
"Shut up." Liz shoved him away to sip her tea. "When is your libido going to catch up with your age?"
"Oh please." He leaned in to whisper into her ear. "I wasn't the one who was begging last night."
"That's not fair." Liz scolded him lightly.
"I love you. I really do."
"Oh God! Get a room." Kayla burst out as she rose from the table to put her plate away. "We have guests, for crying out loud."
TBC
Epilogue
Epilogue – July 4, 2030
Kayla stood in front of the crowd with her cousin at her side. She hoped the cameramen knew their jobs and that she was framed right on the breezy day. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the memory of Kal Langley. For decades, he brought us films that excited, entertained and educated our minds, whether we wanted the experienced or even realized what it was we were absorbing. The Kal Langley Center will continue to foster filmmakers through scholarships funded by the family and friends of the late Kal Langley."
"In addition to filmmakers, the Kal Langley Center will offer a workshop for actors and a summer camp for aspiring youngsters." Aja took a breath and continued on with his speech. "As a student of Kal myself, I can think of no better way to have his methods carried on to the masses. He set the bar high and we leapt above through his careful teachings."
"Kal left behind many loved ones. All of whom loved or hated him, depending on the day of the week and the project Kal needed done." She smiled wanly at the crowd, some of who nodded in concurrence with her statement . "Still, he has made his mark on our lives and he will be sorely missed, not only by his kin but by the millions who loved his work. Filmmaking was not just a job to Kal it was his life. He poured everything he had into his projects to make them the best. The most successful films could be measured by us in dollar signs but were measured by him in time, dedication and emotion."
"The Kal Langley Center opens today with small enrollment numbers but someday, we know, the numbers will climb and the talent will show the world what his influence can do. On today, Kal's favorite holiday, we open the doors in his memory." Aja murmured his thanks to the crowd and escorted Kayla off the stage.
Max raised the scissors and cut the ribbon on the doors, and soon they were all rushed inside. He found his wife and held her close while people moved around them. Liz stared up at her husband. 27 years of this crazy business in her life, since being told on that wintry night. They had screen caps through out their home and in scrapbooks. Pictures to commemorate the good times, memories of the bad lingering in the backs of their minds. "So, Mr. Evans, what do you think his adoring fans would make of celebrating the memory of a guy who is sitting in a palace on another planet teaching aliens the importance of dramatizing events to tell a story?"
"I think that his fans should not be told. But I know Kal is having a laugh with Doring about all the ways they've fooled the public. According to Zan, they're getting along famously." Max brushed her lips with his. "Let's go."
"So early?"
"Privacy of our hotel room and a roll of film."
"Max, no."
"Come on. I need to update my collection."
"I said, no."
"The book cannot go uncompleted."
"What about Shane?"
"What about Shane? He's coming on to some girl over there."
Liz followed his gaze to where, indeed, her child was enthralling some unwitting victim. "Let's stay one hour and then we'll escape and make use of all the signs. 'Do not disturb.' 'No housekeeping.' And the one we'll make for Shane's door… 'Go bug your sister.'"
"See, now we have a plan." Max brushed her lips lightly.
"I found your script." She teased lightly, waiting to see his reaction. "Does he know you wrote it?"
"He will once Kayla finds it and you know she will." He studied her face. "Did you read it?"
"Yeah. It needs some work but I know you… you won't let it out of your hands until it's perfect." She tucked herself into his arms and guided him around the insides of the Center. "'To stand on this altar, where once stood kings and warriors, and to be greeted with open arms by my own people instead of with the green lights of a sniper scope is truly humbling. Much of my life was spent hiding what I was and today; I embrace it as I never have before. I can say with my conscience clean and my duties done that I am glad to be home at last.'"
"So they aren't his dying words but I felt something of his speech should be included." Max nodded to his wife's gaze, his cheeks flaming. "I’m sure he'll forgive whatever liberties I've taken with his words."
"It's beautiful, Max."
"I want it to be as honest as possible, which is going to be hard. I have to be careful what I put down on it." He took a breath. "I miss him. I know he's out there but I can't see him."
"I know, Max. Get it done and then we'll find a way to get it to him. So he can see how much he means to you. He'll love it."
"Casting Kal. Now there's a job. Kayla won't let me do it myself. She'll probably be looking over my shoulder the whole time, as if I was the child." He stared down at his wife of twenty-three years. Ups and downs. Mother of his two children. "But I guess I was going to learn to let someone take care of me eventually, might as well be my own daughter."
"And I don't take care you?" Liz teased him, her smile fading a bit by the look in his eyes. "What is it? Your brain is going to pop if the eyes are any indication. Shadows and frowns."
Max felt a tear well up in his eye. "Sometimes I look at you and wonder what would have happened if I had just… let Maria serve me. Or if I had kept driving to Florida or some place else. Would we still have met? What if the government hadn't misfired that missile? Would I still get to hold you in my arms every night the way I do now?"
"I'm certain of it." She slid her arms around his middle and leaned into feel his warmth through her clothes. "'For in every one being's life, there is a mission. A reason for placing that being in the most awkward and demanding situations. To hold out the promise of a full life even if that life isn't what the being knows can be attained through conventional means. When acts of spontaneous and uncharacteristic heroism are necessary to fight that which threatens to take it all away, only then can the impossible be possible and the life promised, bestowed.' It's really beautiful, Max. And I believe every word is true."
"What if I had grown up with you just a breath away? Would I have seen you?"
"Why are you asking all of these depressing questions?"
"I saw you because you were unlike any that I had seen before. The way you looked, the way you carried yourself, the way you handled me… and you did handle me." Max nuzzled her neck, unashamed of cuddling with his wife in public.
"Someone had to, that ego was getting out of hand. Stop with the ifs, Max. You have me. You're stuck with me because I'm not leaving and I plan for you to die first."
"So you did marry me for my money."
"For your uncle's money. You're worthless." She teased. "So you made a few movies once upon a time and published a couple of books. You're no wealthy man on your own… I think you married me for my money."
"It is true. You make more money than me in a year. You work more consistently than I do."
"You're my trophy husband. Just enjoy the title and take me to bed. I need to be satisfied if I'm to earn a Nobel Peace Prize in the next five years." She stared up at him and watched him stare back. "Maybe you should write it the way it happened but change the names to protect the identities of those within."
"Maybe." Max smiled and lifted his eyes to take in the hallways and the decorations. People examined the long list of movies that Kal had personally directed, or produced. A few youngsters quizzed a future employee on the Kal Langley methods. Kayla chatted with Jeannine while Aja answered a few questions for a reporter. It was almost cute the way Aja held on to his fiancée's hand while facing the opposite direction. It was rather a amusing when a bunch of girls rushed up to the trio and all started talking at once. Max started laughing himself when Kayla had to make her 'Fray' face while the girls rushed around to pose for the picture taken by the girls' chaperone.
"Remember when she was knee-high and she hardly said a word?" Liz whispered.
"Vaguely. As I recall once she started talking, she never stopped." Max guided Liz toward the exit. "Your hour is up. Time to get to work."
"Work?"
"Being that trophy husband you were talking about. There are silk sashes to be found and whipped cream to be bought. Trophy husbandry is not as effortless as it sounds."
--
Excerpt from a novelization of a screenplay by Max Evans:
The old and weary man stood on the remains of the altar. Young people stood around him, watching as if he might fall over at any moment. "There was once a monarchy in this land. Not wholly unjust or unfair but one voice to speak for all a land. On this very altar, it was ended by one man. A slave but still a man. A man with thoughts and dreams. Not even a very nice man but a man all the same. Just as deserving of life and liberty as anyone of you privileged men and women. A man denied having a wife of his own or children of his own line. A slave who could have let the heirs to the monarchy die away forgotten, let the whole business rot away with no one to change it for the better."
"What did he do… exactly?" The tallest and broadest of the men, asked.
"What did he do? Don't you know anything? Spoiled brats, all of you. Learn your history or be doomed to repeat it. It stood here. The Mark of the sun. Right here on this altar. The Mark. Bah! What do you brats know about the Mark? The people don't need the Mark to tell them who leads and who follows. Who will sow the field and who will reap the profit… The Mark of the Sun once stood right here. He raised a king. A slave raised up a king smart enough to know that the Mark of the Sun was to be destroyed if ever there was to be peace in the land."
"How did he do it? Destroy the Mark of the Sun?" A wide-eyed beauty asked, completely entranced by the old man's words.
"I'll tell you how he did it. The slave came home to these lands where his kind has been abused for so long. He came home with the King. The last King. The King stood right here in this spot and the Mark of the Sun filled him. Then he pushed it over and lifted the slave in its place. Praised the slave. Gave him thanks for teaching him how to move through the worlds and be his own man. To be a man and not a king."
"Why?"
"Why? How? When? It doesn't matter. A slave and a king stood there together and it was clear. Clear as day. A king is a slave of a different pedigree but a slave all the same. A slave to the laws imposed on the lands. A slave to the will of an angry people. What is a slave? King of his own desires. Forced to work the will of others without choice but with a heart and mind of his own. Why then is a king any different than a slave?" The old man stepped up on the altar. "Here in this spot, it all happened. Here where once stood kings… then stood a slave with the power of a king and all they held dear… in front of a land without war… a land which holds the slave up as example, as prophet. Still, just a slave with sense enough to know more than any of you brats. Prizes are hard won if they are worth having."
"What's that?" All eyes turned to the sky where a ship soared across the sky to the landing field. A young man turned to the old man. "Why didn't you tell us that an ambassador was coming?"
"I brought you up here, didn't I? Some things you have to see for yourself. Now, git!"
THE END
Kayla stood in front of the crowd with her cousin at her side. She hoped the cameramen knew their jobs and that she was framed right on the breezy day. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the memory of Kal Langley. For decades, he brought us films that excited, entertained and educated our minds, whether we wanted the experienced or even realized what it was we were absorbing. The Kal Langley Center will continue to foster filmmakers through scholarships funded by the family and friends of the late Kal Langley."
"In addition to filmmakers, the Kal Langley Center will offer a workshop for actors and a summer camp for aspiring youngsters." Aja took a breath and continued on with his speech. "As a student of Kal myself, I can think of no better way to have his methods carried on to the masses. He set the bar high and we leapt above through his careful teachings."
"Kal left behind many loved ones. All of whom loved or hated him, depending on the day of the week and the project Kal needed done." She smiled wanly at the crowd, some of who nodded in concurrence with her statement . "Still, he has made his mark on our lives and he will be sorely missed, not only by his kin but by the millions who loved his work. Filmmaking was not just a job to Kal it was his life. He poured everything he had into his projects to make them the best. The most successful films could be measured by us in dollar signs but were measured by him in time, dedication and emotion."
"The Kal Langley Center opens today with small enrollment numbers but someday, we know, the numbers will climb and the talent will show the world what his influence can do. On today, Kal's favorite holiday, we open the doors in his memory." Aja murmured his thanks to the crowd and escorted Kayla off the stage.
Max raised the scissors and cut the ribbon on the doors, and soon they were all rushed inside. He found his wife and held her close while people moved around them. Liz stared up at her husband. 27 years of this crazy business in her life, since being told on that wintry night. They had screen caps through out their home and in scrapbooks. Pictures to commemorate the good times, memories of the bad lingering in the backs of their minds. "So, Mr. Evans, what do you think his adoring fans would make of celebrating the memory of a guy who is sitting in a palace on another planet teaching aliens the importance of dramatizing events to tell a story?"
"I think that his fans should not be told. But I know Kal is having a laugh with Doring about all the ways they've fooled the public. According to Zan, they're getting along famously." Max brushed her lips with his. "Let's go."
"So early?"
"Privacy of our hotel room and a roll of film."
"Max, no."
"Come on. I need to update my collection."
"I said, no."
"The book cannot go uncompleted."
"What about Shane?"
"What about Shane? He's coming on to some girl over there."
Liz followed his gaze to where, indeed, her child was enthralling some unwitting victim. "Let's stay one hour and then we'll escape and make use of all the signs. 'Do not disturb.' 'No housekeeping.' And the one we'll make for Shane's door… 'Go bug your sister.'"
"See, now we have a plan." Max brushed her lips lightly.
"I found your script." She teased lightly, waiting to see his reaction. "Does he know you wrote it?"
"He will once Kayla finds it and you know she will." He studied her face. "Did you read it?"
"Yeah. It needs some work but I know you… you won't let it out of your hands until it's perfect." She tucked herself into his arms and guided him around the insides of the Center. "'To stand on this altar, where once stood kings and warriors, and to be greeted with open arms by my own people instead of with the green lights of a sniper scope is truly humbling. Much of my life was spent hiding what I was and today; I embrace it as I never have before. I can say with my conscience clean and my duties done that I am glad to be home at last.'"
"So they aren't his dying words but I felt something of his speech should be included." Max nodded to his wife's gaze, his cheeks flaming. "I’m sure he'll forgive whatever liberties I've taken with his words."
"It's beautiful, Max."
"I want it to be as honest as possible, which is going to be hard. I have to be careful what I put down on it." He took a breath. "I miss him. I know he's out there but I can't see him."
"I know, Max. Get it done and then we'll find a way to get it to him. So he can see how much he means to you. He'll love it."
"Casting Kal. Now there's a job. Kayla won't let me do it myself. She'll probably be looking over my shoulder the whole time, as if I was the child." He stared down at his wife of twenty-three years. Ups and downs. Mother of his two children. "But I guess I was going to learn to let someone take care of me eventually, might as well be my own daughter."
"And I don't take care you?" Liz teased him, her smile fading a bit by the look in his eyes. "What is it? Your brain is going to pop if the eyes are any indication. Shadows and frowns."
Max felt a tear well up in his eye. "Sometimes I look at you and wonder what would have happened if I had just… let Maria serve me. Or if I had kept driving to Florida or some place else. Would we still have met? What if the government hadn't misfired that missile? Would I still get to hold you in my arms every night the way I do now?"
"I'm certain of it." She slid her arms around his middle and leaned into feel his warmth through her clothes. "'For in every one being's life, there is a mission. A reason for placing that being in the most awkward and demanding situations. To hold out the promise of a full life even if that life isn't what the being knows can be attained through conventional means. When acts of spontaneous and uncharacteristic heroism are necessary to fight that which threatens to take it all away, only then can the impossible be possible and the life promised, bestowed.' It's really beautiful, Max. And I believe every word is true."
"What if I had grown up with you just a breath away? Would I have seen you?"
"Why are you asking all of these depressing questions?"
"I saw you because you were unlike any that I had seen before. The way you looked, the way you carried yourself, the way you handled me… and you did handle me." Max nuzzled her neck, unashamed of cuddling with his wife in public.
"Someone had to, that ego was getting out of hand. Stop with the ifs, Max. You have me. You're stuck with me because I'm not leaving and I plan for you to die first."
"So you did marry me for my money."
"For your uncle's money. You're worthless." She teased. "So you made a few movies once upon a time and published a couple of books. You're no wealthy man on your own… I think you married me for my money."
"It is true. You make more money than me in a year. You work more consistently than I do."
"You're my trophy husband. Just enjoy the title and take me to bed. I need to be satisfied if I'm to earn a Nobel Peace Prize in the next five years." She stared up at him and watched him stare back. "Maybe you should write it the way it happened but change the names to protect the identities of those within."
"Maybe." Max smiled and lifted his eyes to take in the hallways and the decorations. People examined the long list of movies that Kal had personally directed, or produced. A few youngsters quizzed a future employee on the Kal Langley methods. Kayla chatted with Jeannine while Aja answered a few questions for a reporter. It was almost cute the way Aja held on to his fiancée's hand while facing the opposite direction. It was rather a amusing when a bunch of girls rushed up to the trio and all started talking at once. Max started laughing himself when Kayla had to make her 'Fray' face while the girls rushed around to pose for the picture taken by the girls' chaperone.
"Remember when she was knee-high and she hardly said a word?" Liz whispered.
"Vaguely. As I recall once she started talking, she never stopped." Max guided Liz toward the exit. "Your hour is up. Time to get to work."
"Work?"
"Being that trophy husband you were talking about. There are silk sashes to be found and whipped cream to be bought. Trophy husbandry is not as effortless as it sounds."
--
Excerpt from a novelization of a screenplay by Max Evans:
The old and weary man stood on the remains of the altar. Young people stood around him, watching as if he might fall over at any moment. "There was once a monarchy in this land. Not wholly unjust or unfair but one voice to speak for all a land. On this very altar, it was ended by one man. A slave but still a man. A man with thoughts and dreams. Not even a very nice man but a man all the same. Just as deserving of life and liberty as anyone of you privileged men and women. A man denied having a wife of his own or children of his own line. A slave who could have let the heirs to the monarchy die away forgotten, let the whole business rot away with no one to change it for the better."
"What did he do… exactly?" The tallest and broadest of the men, asked.
"What did he do? Don't you know anything? Spoiled brats, all of you. Learn your history or be doomed to repeat it. It stood here. The Mark of the sun. Right here on this altar. The Mark. Bah! What do you brats know about the Mark? The people don't need the Mark to tell them who leads and who follows. Who will sow the field and who will reap the profit… The Mark of the Sun once stood right here. He raised a king. A slave raised up a king smart enough to know that the Mark of the Sun was to be destroyed if ever there was to be peace in the land."
"How did he do it? Destroy the Mark of the Sun?" A wide-eyed beauty asked, completely entranced by the old man's words.
"I'll tell you how he did it. The slave came home to these lands where his kind has been abused for so long. He came home with the King. The last King. The King stood right here in this spot and the Mark of the Sun filled him. Then he pushed it over and lifted the slave in its place. Praised the slave. Gave him thanks for teaching him how to move through the worlds and be his own man. To be a man and not a king."
"Why?"
"Why? How? When? It doesn't matter. A slave and a king stood there together and it was clear. Clear as day. A king is a slave of a different pedigree but a slave all the same. A slave to the laws imposed on the lands. A slave to the will of an angry people. What is a slave? King of his own desires. Forced to work the will of others without choice but with a heart and mind of his own. Why then is a king any different than a slave?" The old man stepped up on the altar. "Here in this spot, it all happened. Here where once stood kings… then stood a slave with the power of a king and all they held dear… in front of a land without war… a land which holds the slave up as example, as prophet. Still, just a slave with sense enough to know more than any of you brats. Prizes are hard won if they are worth having."
"What's that?" All eyes turned to the sky where a ship soared across the sky to the landing field. A young man turned to the old man. "Why didn't you tell us that an ambassador was coming?"
"I brought you up here, didn't I? Some things you have to see for yourself. Now, git!"
THE END