Chapter Twenty
Greg
The day the inn was ready to open was also the first day the healer had available to see Oswald. And he was all about postponing the appointment in the interests of business.
“What kind of an alpha would I be if I were to put my inn ahead of you and our child?” I didn’t have to pretend outrage.
“But we can probably get in the next day,” he protested.
“No. We will be postponing the inn’s opening to the next day. I know you’ve taken the day off work, but just change the reason to medical from personal.” Pressing a kiss to his forehead, I hastened to distract him with deeper kisses and other fun activities, and there was no more talk of it.
There was so much still to do to get ready to open, and honestly, having the half a day we would gain because the appointment was in the afternoon would only be a good thing.
The original opening had been planned for a Thursday, but Friday sounded better anyway, and so, on the morning of the appointment, we hung the bunting over the porch and set up the table in the dining room for the grand opening tea the following day.
We toured the inn from the attic, an area we had set up for our private use, to the basement, currently empty but clean and freshly painted, its concrete floor steam cleaned.
The rooms were all ready for guests, the public areas gleaming, and the kitchen stocked for both us and those who came to stay.
We were done with everything we could do and ready to leave for the healer appointment.
As soon as we arrived, we were ushered into the roomy, comfortable office and requested to take a seat.
My omega was shifting around, clearly a little nervous, and I patted his hand.
Less than a minute later, the healer himself came in, wearing a white coat and a big smile.
“I’m Quinn, and you must be Oswald and Greg.
Welcome!” We had both stood, and he waved us back to the seats.
“Please sit down. We’re going to have a little conversation before we do anything else.
I like to know the people who come into our practice.
I understand you’re new in the community? ”
“We are.” I settled down again and waved to my omega. “You may have heard that the library is open again. Have you been?”
“No, my mate has though, and he had nothing but wonderful things to say about the new setup and the ‘incredible’ librarian. Wait…Oswald? There can’t be two new people in town with that name. You’re the incredible librarian?”
My mate ducked his head, flushing. “I’m the librarian, anyway,” he replied.
“And he’s incredible in every way,” I put in. “The new programs are really drawing in the community.”
“Well, I’m so pleased you chose our practice for your pregnancy. Or, maybe you’re just shopping around and aren’t sure yet? Either way, I have some more questions for you, if you don’t mind. Let’s start with when you think you got pregnant.”
He had a lot of questions, most of which in a big city healer’s office would have likely all been on a form to fill out, but telling this healer verbally was so good.
He knew where he wanted to know more or didn’t need additional details, and by the time we finished with that part of the visit, we’d been in the office for over an hour.
My omega’s nerves had disappeared sometime around when we were all agreeing he was an incredible librarian, so by the time he was on the table for the exam, he was laughing and joking with the doctor, telling him to come in for story time with his family and he’d do a special book he loved about going to the doctor and not being scared.
I, however, was still a little anxious since everything the healer was checking on was my family, but after he finished, Quinn pronounced my omega and child to be in perfect health and asked us to set up our next appointment in a month.
We were halfway out the door when Oswald grabbed my arm and tugged me back in. “Quinn, before I forget, my mate is an incredible innkeeper and his grand opening is tomorrow.”
The healer smiled. “Congratulations, I think I’ve heard about this. The Bear’s Den?”
“That’s right.”
“But my mate said the grand opening was today. He was planning to attend.”
“Oh no.” Oswald’s face fell. “It’s all my fault. This was our first possible appointment date, and so we had to postpone the opening.”
We invited Quinn to come tomorrow if he had time, and I waited until we were outside before asking, “Omega, how is it your fault that we had to postpone the opening?”
“Umm, because we had to come here for me?”
“We came here for a health check on you and our child. You did not get pregnant alone, and I will not have you taking blame for things that are not only not your fault but a joyous occasion. We have a healthy baby growing in there, and a healer with a great reputation we can call if we have any worries. Now…let’s go out to dinner and celebrate. ”
When he changed his reason for the day off, my omega had taken another for the opening, for which I was grateful.
The next day at noon, we laid out pastries from the best bakeries in town, tea, coffee, and sparkling water, and opened the front door to find a line down the block.
Considering I didn’t have a hundred rooms available, I guessed correctly that most of those who came in were local townsfolk here for snacks and to offer support.
The living room that had held just me and then the two of us, with an occasional visit from our neighbor Chelsea, filled with people laughing and snacking and taking tours of the whole place.
So many kind words, good wishes, and even inn-warming gifts that I didn’t know what to do.
But my mate did. He graciously thanked everyone from the mayor and Troy to Quinn and his mate to Chelsea and the distinguished gentleman who came in with her, offered them a beverage and pastry, and bragged ceaselessly about his incredible alpha.
Two “incredible” days in a row.