Run, Girl (If You Can)

Violet came home from ballet in a much better mood and was even willing to speak to her twin again. Dancing had that kind of effect on her.

Keeley had been surprised, to say the least, when she announced she wanted to be a ballerina. Her daughter had always been so smart and bookish that she figured she would want to go into something a little more academic.

Not that she had a problem with it. Keeley was all for supporting her children's dreams no matter what they were. Aaron felt the same way, especially after his restrictive upbringing where he hadn't been able to choose.

She loved watching her daughter dance because it was the only time Violet truly seemed to come alive. She was as graceful as a swan and everyone who saw her on stage couldn't help but be moved.

She had already been conscripted by NYU's dance department to participate in a few of their ballets when she was younger because they needed children to dance certain parts in the shows they were putting on. That would certainly help her out when she eventually applied to Juilliard, which was one of the most difficult performing arts schools to get into.

Violet came back downstairs changed out of her leotard and into a pair of jeans and a lavender sweater. Her hair was down and more than a little messy after being in a bun at ballet practice.

"What's for dinner?"

"We're going out to eat because I'm starting human trials," Keeley explained as she helped Nathan with a puzzle.

"Oh, nice. When do you start?" she asked as she scooped up Sassy and rubbed the top of her furry head.

"The first consultations start next week but I have them scheduled all the way up until Christmas. Some people aren't available until then."

"That's cool. I'm glad your research is going so well. I know it means a lot to you."

Keeley smiled. She sounded even more like her father than Kaleb had earlier. Though her words were sincere, her tone was completely flat and emotionless. Just like Aaron's used to be.

She looked like him, she acted like him…Keeley nearly snorted at the thought of Aaron becoming a ballerina though. That definitely wouldn't have been the career path he would have chosen if he hadn't had business shoved down his throat. She simply couldn't imagine it.

He didn't know what he would have picked either because he had never even thought about it. Aaron knew he would be the CEO of Hale Investments since he was about three years old. She had asked him before and that was what he always said.

Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder if there secretly was something her husband wanted to do that he wouldn't even admit to himself. If there was, it wasn't too late for him to go out and try it. He was only forty. Physically anyway.

Aaron could be so silly around his family that no one would believe he had the mind of an octogenarian. It was crazy to think he had existed for so long. At least he was finally happy.

A while back Keeley asked him what it was like living so many of the same years over again. She had lived thirteen years over but after that everything was new. By now Aaron had lived twenty-two years over and still had eighteen to go before he wouldn't know about major world events to come.

He said that his personal life was so different that he didn't care about the drudgery of knowing what was going to happen in the world at large. He was happier than he ever thought was possible and he would gladly take living so many years over in exchange for that.

After talking to Violet about her human trials and how ballet went for roughly twenty minutes, Keeley got a text that Aaron was running late and he would meet them at the restaurant. She gathered all of the kids up into the minivan and made her way over.

Robert was already waiting for them and greeted his family warmly. "Congratulations on starting clinical trials, honeybun! That's so wonderful. I'm sure your brother is happy too looking down on you."

Keeley laughed a little and hugged him. "Yes, but he would also call me a nerd."

"That sounds like our Kaleb," Oliver said, causing his brother to smack his arm in protest.

"I don't call Violet a nerd!"

"No, because you call me a nerd instead! How is that fair? She's more of a nerd than I am!"

Oliver wanted to be a rocket scientist at NASA. Since he was only nine there wasn't much he could do about it now other than join a robotics club and a club that specifically focused on building gigantic moving Lego displays.

He didn't want to be an astronaut because he didn't want to get lost in what he referred to as 'the void' after watching a space documentary a few years ago. But he did want to help other people get there.

He was a huge Star Wars fan, like his mother and grandfather before him, and ultimately wanted to achieve their levels of spaceship tech. There was more and more research lately about how warp speed might be possible so space travel could be more easily accessible and he wanted in on it.

"A wannabe rocket scientist is way nerdier than a bookworm," Kaleb pointed out.

Oliver simply scowled. "You're just jealous I'm way smarter than you, you dumb jock."

At this point it looked like both of them were ready to get into a fistfight. Keeley was ready to step between them but before she could, Violet gave them both a chilly glare. They both immediately backed down and she smiled brightly.

She had an amazing amount of control over her brothers. And she could go back and forth between icy and sunny in less than a second. It could be a bit frightening but it was very effective.

Keeley still felt the need to say something, as the parent. "Kaleb, if Oliver is a nerd then I am too. There's nothing wrong with loving science. Just like there's nothing wrong with being good at sports. Everyone has their own strengths; none of them are particularly better or worse than others. Okay?"

"I don't think you're a nerd,  Mom," he protested. "You don't talk about your work nearly as much as Ollie talks about his stuff."

She laughed. "Not to you but your dad gets an earful."

Speak of the devil…

"Sorry I'm late, I was almost done with a report so I ended up powering through to finish it," Aaron said sheepishly as he walked in the front door. He stepped up to the hostess' desk. "Hale, party of seven."

The hostess smiled at him professionally even though there was that usual jolt of recognition when people met Aaron. She grabbed a stack of menus and gestured for the group to follow her. "Right this way, Mr. Hale."