(COMPLETED) The Lunar Chronicles - Winter's Summer

Part 13

Captain Carswell Thorne was having a lovely day.

He had woken up, taken a shower, ate a can of cold beans, and been told by his father that he was a major disappointment to him.

It's what everybody wants to deal with first thing in the morning; a furious colonel, raving about being abandoned by their only child.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

When Carswell had the idea to contact his parents, it had seemed like a flawless plan. He would comm them, tell them all about his adventures, and they would realize that they didn't mind the fact he was arrested for theft of a military spaceship.

The idea to contact his parents was only a recent one, and came about shortly after Winter had announced her pregnancy. He and Cress had just begun looking into settling down, and she had proposed getting some closure before beginning this new stage of their life. Finish reading the end of one book before starting another. Thorne agreed wholeheartedly.

Their first interaction was easy enough; Cress had found his father's account number immediately, along with past purchases, family tree dating back to the second era, and his second grade teacher.

Cress scared the spades out of him.

Thorne had sent a comm, first ensuring the man was, in fact, Kingsley Thorne, which he was. Then he introduced himself as Carswell. He explained about his Lunar escapades and gave a brief recap of all that's been happening for the past three years.

That was one week ago. This morning, after Thorne had showered and ate breakfast, (the aforementioned beans) he sat down at the ship's main control panel to check his comms, favouring the large screen to his small port.

When he saw he had a video request from Kingsley Thorne, he didn't know what to do. He considered the pros and cons for a few moments (pro: get to talk to parents, con: get to talk to parents), before activating the link.

His father appeared in front of him, his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face. He was wearing his American Republic uniform, looking incredibly serious and upset. He had a few more gray hairs and wrinkles since the last time Carswell had seen him, but it had been three years.

"Carswell." His father nodded at him, a frown on his face. He radiated displeasure.

"Sir," Thorne said, an amused smile on his face. This wasn't what he was expecting. He thought he'd have a hero's welcome, and he'd be greeted with a little less coldness. But it was a little funny.

His dad didn't seem to think so. His frown deepened as Carswell's smile widened. "You shouldn't be smiling."

"Why?"

"If you had any decency then you would at least try to be respectful. I want you to drop the smile. So you do it."

Carswell didn't. He leaned back in the captain's chair, folding his arms up behind his head.

"Carswell." His father's tone was clear; it said tread with caution. Thorne held up a finger.

"About that, Dad. Take a look around. In case you were wondering where I was, the answer is my spaceship, which I am captain of. So, I would appreciate being addressed properly, if you don't mind."

His father glared at him through the screen. Thorne didn't quite know why he was tormenting his father, but he had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with the way his dad was standing.

His arms crossed, face appeared to be carved out of stone. He was clearly mad. It occurred to Carswell that maybe he was mad too.

He had been away three years. His parents knew how long his sentence was, and had to have heard the news in the past year. They knew he was free. And they did nothing with that knowledge. They had left him.