Her husband cast her out for being “barren”—six years later, he came face to face with the son his own family had secretly hidden from him

and stubborn. He loved dragons until he replaced them with astronomy, then came back to dragons because, as he told Isabella, “Space dragons are underrated.” He spent weekends with Alexander, weekdays with Isabella, and holidays according to a schedule nobody loved but everyone respected.

Alexander became a better father than husband. That distinction continue reading …