Chapter Twenty-Five
With all the hassle Ares was going through, trying to find out when Marty would give birth and what was actually going to happen on the day, Ares had thought that finding a house that Marty liked would be something he could act on in a decisive manner. Something else to tick off the growing list Ares had running in his head as Marty’s belly got steadily bigger.
Ares was mistaken. Big time.
Marty, his wonderful and cherished mate, said he really didn’t have a preference for where he wanted to live. Marty felt that they needed a house surrounded by land where they didn’t have immediate neighbors. Marty wanted somewhere safe for him to shift, and trees would make life enjoyable for his raccoon side, plus provide more privacy for their little family.
He did insist they needed at least two bedrooms, and that two bathrooms would be handy, but having a huge place with lots of bedrooms was a waste of space they didn’t need. All very good and fine. But then Marty said the most infuriating thing Ares thought he’d ever heard come out of his mate’s delightful mouth. “I’ll know it when I see it.”
Did his mate not understand how many millions of houses there were?
Ares tried showing Marty all the places that were available for sale on his all-seeing table. He went into real estate apps and showed Marty the offerings there.
Marty would nod, smile, and say things like, “Oh, yes, that does look nice, but I’m not going to know I like it until I actually step inside the place myself.”
There was one afternoon when Marty actually laughed when Ares suggested that they couldn’t possibly visit every house that was available for sale in the entire of the United States. “I’m not going to have you buy a house I haven’t gotten a feel for. I thought the big main house here was lovely when I first came to this place,” he said. “It looked beautiful on the outside, but I really didn’t like the feeling I got when I was on the inside. It wasn’t suitable at all.”
It wasn’t that Ares didn’t try and understand because he was trying. He liked the main house. That was why he bought it. It was elegant, sophisticated, and really easy to keep clean, thanks to the wards that he’d put up around the house and inside of it. That was a real bonus with the historic collectibles he’d gathered over the years. Ares liked having tangible reminders of history around him, and the big rooms meant he could appreciate them without feeling the place was cluttered.
Marty didn’t see things the same way. He didn’t want to pick a house based on how many bedrooms or bathrooms it had. He wasn’t interested in whether the place had a swimming pool or not. When Ares asked his mate if he had an idea on how much land Marty would like at least, so he could eliminate anything too small off his growing list of possible houses, Marty simply said he just needed enough.
Enough? How much is enough? That’s like asking how long a piece of string is. Ares was close to going bald with all the hair tugging he’d been doing, frustrated at not being able to even secure a suitable house for his mate before the baby came.
Which was why, on a late afternoon, Ares was out walking, again. Ostensibly it was so he wouldn’t disturb Marty while his mate was taking a nap. Ares had too much frustration to rest beside his mate, and Marty was looking tired. So, he walked the boundaries of his Boston estate, his mind going around in circles.
Marty wasn’t being difficult on purpose. Ares knew that. He was just a person who prized comfort over elegance, and he wanted to feel a sense of permanence in the home he was in. Ares wanted that for them, too.
In the meantime, Marty’s belly was getting bigger, and Ares didn’t need to have a hand on his mate’s belly to see the skin moving thanks to the baby underneath. They needed to make a firm decision and fast.
Striding back to the pool house, Ares was determined that today was going to be the day. He grabbed his phone and clicked on the Paulie app, bypassing all the real estate apps he had. Typing quickly he wrote, based on my previous selections, summarize which three homes would be most agreeable to my mate, Marty.
Leaving the app to do whatever it did to get answers, he let himself into the pool house. He found Marty resting on the couch with a blanket on his knees. The room wasn’t cold, but Marty loved the softness of the blanket and seemed to take comfort from it when Ares was out on his walks.
Putting his phone on the coffee table, Ares went into the kitchen and looked at the coffee machine before clicking himself up a cup of coffee. Using the machine would make too much noise and Ares knew Marty needed his rest. He wasn’t blind. The circles under his mate’s eyes were starting to resemble those of his raccoon.
But when he went back into the living area, Marty was wrinkling his little nose and sniffing as Ares perched on the end of the couch.
“Ooh, you have that caramel coffee. It smells yum. A hot chocolate would be lovely, thank you, if you’re making it,” Marty said, rubbing his eyes and yawning as he straightened up a bit. “This growing another person business takes it out of me. Did you enjoy your walk?”
See, that was the other thing Ares was really struggling with. Marty was always in such a good mood, and while Ares felt that as Marty’s mate it was his duty to worry enough for both of them – and he was doing that easily - Ares was really struggling with finding any answers to the worries he had, which made Marty’s happiness harder to accept.
“I did enjoy my walk, thank you, yes.” Ares moved closer, handing over a clicked up hot chocolate, before putting his hand on Marty’s knee. “We desperately need to decide about the house situation. We have looked at so many websites, and so many places on the table, and I know you keep saying that you want to be able to feel it.
“But the thing is, my precious mate, you are getting bigger all the time, and you’re not going to be able to go and see these places soon if we don’t pick one.
“I asked Paulie to pick the three best suggestions from all the places we’ve looked at listings for. If you like, we can check them out, by using the table, and then if you’re interested in any one of them, we can go and have a look around the house in person.”
Preferably at night, with no one else there, Ares thought although he didn’t say that. Marty was too visibly pregnant already to be seen out in public.
“You can see inside people’s houses with this thing?” Marty wiggled so he could lean over, peering over at the tabletop that still looked like a table. “Is that even legal?”
Ares grinned. “I don’t think it’s a question of legalities, babe. It’s got to do with the fact we’re gods, and we can see everything and do everything, but unfortunately, my precious mate, the one thing I can’t do is read your mind. I don’t know what house you’re looking for. And I have to confess, it’s making me a little stressed. More than a little stressed.”
Marty looked at him. At first, his face showed all the concern Ares had come to expect from his mate. That touched his heart, and in that moment all the stress was worth it because Marty genuinely cared about him.
But then Marty burst out laughing, even slapping his knee with it, because whatever thought he had was clearly hilarious to him. “You just said in one breath that gods can see everything, but then you said you can’t read my mind, so you see. You don’t know what my favorite type of house would be, because you can’t see into my mind. Reading is seeing. So you really can’t see everything at all.”
Rubbing his face with his hands, Ares groaned. “You’re right. I know you’re right, my wonderful mate. But gods, I would give all my powers to see what makes the perfect house in your mind… Oh.” He sat up and grinned at his mate.
“You’ve got an idea?”
“A great idea. But I need for you to come with me to the main house.”
Marty immediately shook his head. “I know you love that house, Ares, but it doesn’t have the right feeling for me. I’ve already said that.”
“I know. I know. But please, babe. I’m going nuts trying to work out this birthing business, and how and when that’s going to happen, and then the house situation on top of all that. We haven’t even got a nursery prepared yet. Can you trust me for just half an hour? I want to try an experiment so we can at least get this house issue worked out. Please?”
After a long moment, Marty nodded, holding out his hand. “You’ll have to translocate me, hon. This baby is resting heavy on my hips, and my back aches like crazy. Translocate me and show me how this experiment of yours works.”