Nova's Universe

Chapter 22 (2020)

Charlie

"Oh, that is incredible! Congratulations, I'm so happy for you, Penny!" I heard Nova exclaim, jumping a little in her seat.

I settled into a kitchen chair and opened Roggie's letter. Nova and I usually opened the kids' letters together, but I didn't want to interrupt her conversation with Penny. She kept nodding and chuckling as she spoke on the phone.

I shook my head to focus. As I read the letter, my frown deepened with each sentence.

"A handwritten letter these days is rare. So it must be from our son. What did Roggie do this time to upset you so?" Nova inquired softly, enveloping me from behind and resting her head between my shoulder blades.

"He's back to wanting to quit school," I sighed, running a hand down my face. This wasn't the first time. He'd first brought it up during his second year when he started skipping classes. He'd whined about it occasionally over the years, but not only did he keep his promise to attend all his classes, but his grades even improved.

Nova and I were worried that once Luna Dora graduated, he wouldn't be motivated anymore. But we've received nothing but praise from his teachers, and Dominique even sends us monthly reports since Roggie isn't much of a communicator about school.

This was the first letter he'd written about it since that initial talk years ago. It wasn't entirely surprising - I'd had a similar urge in my sixth year, wanting to leave everything behind for Romania. Sometimes I wished I'd never mentioned it, maybe it wouldn't have planted the seed in his mind. But on the other hand, I understood his frustration. I'd sent a similar letter to my mum when I received my acceptance letter from Andrei.

"Char, I know we discussed this before, but are you sure you don't want to talk to Andrei about it?" Nova asked after reading the letter, placing a gentle kiss on my shoulder.

"He should finish his education, Nova. I know I was the same. I can't deny that I convinced my mum to let me leave before you talked me out of it, but I don't want to encourage this." I shook my head. "He has to learn to be patient."

"Okay," Nova whispered.

"Aoede loved drawing more than anything, but she finished her education," I argued.

"She had to if she wanted to get into college," Nova pointed out kindly, moving to sit in the chair beside me.

"Luna Dora was scouted in her sixth year, and even though she was bursting with excitement, she decided to finish school," I persisted.

"Okay, Charles," Nova said. Her voice didn't betray her emotions, but using my full name usually signalled disagreement with topics like these.

The truth was, I didn't fully understand my resistance. Why was I denying my son this dream, something he'd been passionate about since he could talk? Every time we had this discussion, I became defensive, as if protecting him from something. He knew how to handle dragons - he'd been working summers at the Sanctuary for years. But the thought of him leaving school scared me more than Aoede or Luna Dora dropping out.

"You don't agree with me. What would you do?" I finally put the letter down and turned to her.

"I'd talk to Andrei and see if there's a chance to give Roggie the same deal he gave you in your sixth year," Nova said, her hands finding mine and giving them a reassuring squeeze.

"And again, like every time we have this conversation, what makes you so sure he wouldn't just stay at the Sanctuary? Why would he go back to school every Sunday? I had you to come back to, that was the only reason I returned every end of the week. Why would he want to? We both know he doesn't care for his education."