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Officially, it was known as the Seavers-Fitzroy-Grace Household. That was easier than saying the Moreno-Seavers-Gentry-Fitzroy-Grace Household, which was admittedly a bit of a mouthful. Technically, ‘Gentry’ was the boys’ biological surname, but it’s understandable that they didn’t want to associate with it. Courtland had adopted Claire as soon as Stratt granted him a universal pardon, but he’d taken his new daughter’s last name instead. The young woman joked that she had actually adopted him as her dad rather than the other way around. Jody wasn’t too sure on the legality there, but Court was a retired CIA assassin, so she probably didn’t have to worry about it. ‘Seavers’ became her last name when she finally got Colt to marry her (she proposed; he cried, obviously). It was originally a stage name, but they’d made it official on their paperwork. Jody Seavers sounded a lot better than Colton Moreno anyway, and with Colt’s dyslexia, they hadn’t wanted to double-barrel. Then Ryland, the wonderful, dorky, genius middle school teacher and saviour of humanity, moved in 14 years later when he miraculously returned to Earth. So officially: the Seavers-Fitzroy-Grace Household. But they just called it home.
‘Home’ was a small bungalow in a small town on the West Coast that Jody and Colt had bought to get away from everything after the Hail Mary. Access to the equally small beach was a must. She knew that Ryland had loved bleak beaches, and with the dropping temperature, the location became the perfect place to remember him at. When Ryland came home, it became his perfect place to escape from his thoughts. To give credit where it’s due, the other residents of the town kept them well-secluded from the press and prying eyes wanting to glimpse the most famous person on the planet. They’ve promised to never give interviews and have already been pointing paparazzi in the wrong directions. Having the best science teacher on Earth occasionally give lessons at the community centre certainly helped sweeten the deal.
‘Home’ was small, smaller than any place Jody had ever lived other than her college dorm. They had an open-plan kitchen and lounge with a banged-up dining table set between them. The two bedrooms and single bathroom were shared between the five of them. She and Colt had one bedroom to themselves, while Claire and Court had initially had the other. But Claire had moved onto the pull-out sofa bed when her third uncle had moved in. Ryland slept much better with someone in the same room as him, and Court had quickly taken that responsibility, especially since neither brother wanted Claire woken by the unfortunately frequent nightmares. This arrangement also gave the now 27-year-old Claire space from her father, though she did take the other bedroom to herself when Jody and Colt were away on set. Sometimes, she’d find Colt had shifted into the other bedroom with his brothers, or occasionally, Ryland had attached himself to his twin like a limpet during the night. Jody didn’t mind; she’d met him many times before the Hail Mary, and they’d gotten on like a house on fire – once, while Colt was filming inside a burning house! Sure, others might think waking up with your husband and his identical twin would be weird, but they weren’t exactly a ‘normal’ family to begin with.
‘Home’ should really be described as cosy rather than small. Jody demanded a shared family meal once a day, often using food they’d grown in their greenhouse in the yard or from the community garden. Astrophage-powered domestic generators were still in development, considering the quite frightening explosive risk, so energy was also rationed along with food. It hadn’t taken Ryland long to jerry-rig a backyard wind turbine to harness the natural sea breeze, nor to use it as a project for the town’s kids. They had enough water to drink and wash semi-regularly and enough energy to power a couple kitchen appliances and provide heating. On particularly windy days they might also watch something on TV in the evenings. Claire had a hand-crank radio and a solar-powered record player, while Court used underground refrigeration, finding a use for the low temperatures. In short, they made do. They mostly went without electric lighting; candles did the same job, and everyone had torches nearby. Jody found it a welcome change actually, allowing the passing of the day to trigger their circadian rhythms rather than switching on lights once it got dark.
‘Home’ also extended to the town itself. The tiny community hall was where people went to get access to stronger internet and telecommunication networks. Court had insisted they all carry satellite phones within the family, but Jody spent most of her days there, working on her next film projects. Mr Fitzroy, himself, had quickly become the most sought-after handyman in town and had a never-ending list of projects that were traded for in produce, spare ration stamps, or money. Ryland worked a few days a week at the local school, which catered to all ages with only a hundred students, in between answering scientific research questions, attending the odd conference, and largely taking the days slowly. Colt had also joined his brother at the school when he wasn’t stunting. Apparently he was a pretty good P.E. teacher. Claire, too, had recently passed her social working qualifications and aided the town council in allocating rations and identifying vulnerable people. So they were busy more often than not and appreciated coming home to one another after the day ended.
Jody hadn’t expected to settle down so quickly with her family, even with the Astrophage and the Petrova Line and the Global Winter. But now that she was there, she really couldn't imagine it any other way.