Chapter Fifteen
Sothea
Altan and I decided to be prudent with our money. We decided to move into my apartment and save for a year or two to buy a home. Our little one wouldn’t need a ton of room until they were more mobile.
We decluttered some of my things, and the second bedroom was now a studio/nursery. My drawing table on one side, a crib on the other. As far as I was concerned, it was perfect.
Altan got in from work and kicked his shoes off, cursing the damned things. “I’m home,” he called out. I lived to hear those two words when he came home on the days I was off early.
“How was your day?” I came around the corner with my apron on and an oven mitt on my hand. Another thing I lived for? Cooking for my mate.
“I feel like this is a role-playing sexy situation I’ve entered but I’m too tired to play.
” His belly was protruding and as he kicked his shoes off, I noticed he held the wall for support.
He was more than halfway through the pregnancy, according to the healer.
When there was a human/shifter mating, the timing was tricky, but the healer drew conclusions based on the baby’s weight and size, not the parentage in these cases.
If you asked me, he glowed more with each day. I caught him dropping his towel onto the floor that morning while getting ready for work, and I nearly came from just the sight of him. He complained sometimes about getting bigger and his body changing but, to me, it was lovely to see him evolve.
“What?” I looked down and it all registered. “No. I was making dinner. I just pulled a chicken pot pie out of the oven. But anytime you’re up for role-playing, let me know.”
Altan laughed, shaking his head. “I’m gonna shower first. I have office germs on me.”
Office germs, in Altan’s opinion were worse than airplane germs. Recycled air. No ventilation. Open cubicles. He rushed to shower almost the instant he got home. Plus, his office attire couldn’t be comfortable with his changing body.
I pulled the rosemary garlic biscuits from the oven next and threw in a batch of his favorite chocolate chunk cookies. While I set the table, I thought it might be funny if someone came in and wanted a chicken pot pie tattoo. Would be fun too.
“What’s that smile for?” Altan came in wearing sweatpants and one of my T-shirts which was baggy everywhere but his belly.
“I was thinking of a chicken pot pie tattoo.”
He pouted. “I thought maybe you were thinking of me.”
Another quirk of his pregnancy hormones? Needing reassurances of love. I didn’t mind one bit. “Sweetheart, you’re always on my mind. Always.”
My mate cried a bit. Another hormone thing. I wiped his tears and then kissed him silly.
“Thank you for making dinner,” he said, sniffing the air. “It smells delicious.”
I chuckled. “I was thinking the same thing about you.”
After we ate, I cleaned up while Altan went to rest on the couch.
The days were taking their toll on him more and more and, while I respected his work ethic, he came home more tired than I was comfortable with.
He basically showered, ate dinner, and then vegged out until I carried him to bed or he went on his own.
How long could he keep this up?
He was human, but I was still an alpha, with the duty of making sure my omega was well cared for.
When I sat on the couch next to him, he turned off the TV. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Tell me.”
“One of the reasons I accepted the job I did was because of the benefits. This company offers me eight months of leave for having a baby, but it’s flexible. Meaning, I could take three weeks before the baby and then the rest after or whatever I want.”
I was shocked. Most companies didn’t give that much paternity leave. “And you already have a plan.”
“I do but I wanted to talk to you before I put in for the time off.”
“I appreciate that. What are you thinking?”
He wrung his hands. His body needed more rest than he was giving it.
Growing an entire person was hard work, and I had been about to nudge him to make a move.
“I talked to my boss today, and she said it would be fine to start my leave next week. The healer says I am due in a few weeks but I’m not sure I can do this for another month.
” We were lucky to have found a healer with human/shifter experience.
I nodded. “And you know you don’t have to work at all, if that’s your choice. I can provide for our family financially. We are good stewards of our money, omega.”
“We absolutely are. I want to play everything by ear. I have this gut feeling that once I’m a dad, I’m not ever going to want to leave him or her in someone else’s care for long periods of time. But, for now, you’re okay with me starting my leave next week?”
“Honestly, I’m relieved that you brought this up. I’ve seen how tired you are, omega mine. If you hadn’t said something, I would have. It’s been concerning, but I respected you for working so hard for us.”
We let the issue settle between us in silence. It was our thing. “Want to know what made up my mind?” he asked.
“Of course.”
He leaned forward, pulling his sweatpants legs above his calves. His ankles were very swollen. He sat at a desk but it was clearly taking a toll on his circulation. My bear didn’t like it one bit.
“How long has this been going on, mate?” I took his feet in my hands and kneaded them.
“The past week. I didn’t want you to worry. I’ve been drinking more water and trying to move through the day, but it’s not working. I think I just need to stop before this gets bad.”
“It doesn’t matter if I worry. You have to tell me about these things, okay? No more keeping things from me, please.”
“Okay.”
He turned the TV back on while I massaged his feet and calves. We consulted the healer’s office, and they told him to put his feet up and hydrate. They also wanted him to check his blood pressure. I ran to the store to get a cuff, but thank the goddess he checked out fine.
Before he went to bed, I helped him maneuver to the floor where he lay with his feet up on the wall, something he learned from social media for extra foot elevation.
“How hard would it be for you to make today your last day?” I asked.
He sighed. I wasn’t the only one with the thought on my mind. After seeing the relief on his face knowing he would be off starting the next week, I wanted to extend it.
“One way to find out.”
He texted his boss even though it was getting late in the night. Her reply was swift. She told him to close out some things on his laptop from home and sent a message to everyone telling them he was taking his leave.
She told him she would check in once a week, but other than that to rest and let her know when our little one arrived.
My mate tossed his phone on the bed. “I don’t have to go back. For eight months.”
“Is that weird?” I took my clothes off, readying to get in the shower. After that, I intended to hold my mate all night, knowing he could sleep in the next morning. No more early morning tattooing for me for a while. There would be time for us and, soon, our newborn.
“It is. But I have a feeling it won’t take me long to get used to it.”
“I’m happy to help with that.”