The Soul Mate

EPILOGUE

Long Island, NY, 1990

“She’s beautiful.” Shannon Petros looked at her husband with tears of happiness streaming down her face. “God she’s absolutely beautiful and perfect Angelos, look at those eyes!”

Angelos stared at his tiny daughter in the way only a father stares at his newborn child, with a sort of dumbstruck look. She stared right back at him with stunning, deep emerald green eyes. If it wasn’t for her olive skin and jet black hair he would have sworn his wife had cheated on him. Shannon’s eyes were blue and his were such a dark brown they looked almost black.

“I finally have a sister! It’s about time Daddy.” Teodora punched him in the arm, grinning from ear to ear. “Only why’d you wait so long? In a few years I’ll be old enough to be her mother!”

“Eh.” Angelos looked at his eldest daughter, and smiled. “She’ll just look up to you, instead of fighting with you.”

“So did you guys decide on a name?” Teodora looked back and forth between Shannon and him.

Shannon grinned at her stepdaughter. “Trinity Shannon Petros.”

Teodora laughed with delight. “Awesome, another ‘T’ name!”

Angelos shared in his daughter’s laughter. “I only need one more daughter now and I shall have my own “Moirai”.”

“Here we go again,” Shannon groaned.

He touched Teodora’s cheek. “There were three Greek Moirai. The first was named Clotho, the spinner. She spun the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle.”

He ran the tips of his fingers down his new daughter’s cheek. “And second was Lachesis, the drawer of lots. She measured the thread of life allotted to each person with her measuring rod.”

Then with a laugh he patted Shannon’s belly. “And lastly there was Atropos, the inevitable. Who would choose the manner of each person’s death by cutting their life thread with her abhorred shears.”

Shannon groaned again. “How depressing for our non-existent child!”

“Oooh, Daddy", Teodora cried out, "There’s a little boy in the doorway!”

Standing, Angelos peered at the little blonde boy who couldn’t be any older than seven or eight, standing in the doorway to Shannon’s hospital room. “Are you okay son? Are you lost?” He asked.

The little boy shook his head, no.

“Poor thing looks so sad,” Shannon whispered. Then louder, asked, “Where’s your Mommy and Daddy honey?”

The little boy refused to look at her when he answered. “They died,” He said softly.

“Oh Gods,” Teodora whispered. “Daddy, I’m going to go get a nurse” Standing up, she straightened her top, then quickly left the room.

“Would you like to meet my daughter?” Shannon asked the boy.

He nodded.

The little boy approached the bed slowly and stood on his tiptoes to peek at Trinity. His deep blue eyes widened when he saw her.

“She smells so pretty,” He said, looking awe struck.

Angelos laughed. “Girls always do son, its how they reel us in.”

Shannon shot her him a dirty look. He grinned back at her.

“Can I touch her?” The boy asked.

Shannon glanced at Angelos who shrugged. “Why not?” He said, “I see no harm in it.”

Shannon tilted Trinity down a bit so the boy could reach her. Trinity’s big green eyes widened at the sight of him and she let out a tiny coo. Angelos laughed. “Son, I think that means she likes you.”

The boy smiled, his blue eyes shining. Just as he was about to lightly graze her cheek with the backs of his knuckles, Teodora walked back in. A short, plump nurse wearing pink scrubs was following closely behind her. Seeing her, the boy’s hand fell to his side.

“Oh honey, how you find yourself up here?” The nurse asked the boy. “You’re godparents are here, they’ve come to take you home with them. Come with me sweetie.”

The boy glanced back at Trinity.

“Come along Gerik,” The nurse repeated, her hand outstretched. “Jericho and Maisera are waiting. Everything is going to fine. I promise you.”

After one long look at Trinity, Gerik took the nurses hand and together they left the room leaving the Petros family staring sadly after them.

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Book two of the Holy Trinity Series will be available in Fall 2012.