28. Silver
28
SILVER
I should not be doing this. I know that. It’s a betrayal to Lucas and possibly Quin, who would probably want to be here too.
But there’s a baby store close to the military base, and I have a full hour for my lunch break. I couldn’t help myself.
“Do you have any silver cribs?” I ask the clerk, who is currently ringing up my admittedly full cart of items.
She scans the third box of silver star decals. “Do you mean gray?”
“No. Silver, like those.”
“So not real silver. Just a shiny surface?” she clarifies.
“Yes. Something shiny. The shinier, the better. If you have anything with rhinestones, that would be amazing.”
She pauses. “You want a crib with rhinestones?”
“Yeah. Or glitter. But not the kind of glitter that comes off when you touch it. That would be a mess. Just a surface that looks like glitter. You know?”
She picks up the phone next to her register. “Uh, sure. Let me call my manager.” She turns away from me. “Melanie, I’ve got a guy here who wants a crib covered in rhinestones and glitter. Can we special order something like that?”
I shouldn’t buy the crib without Lucas here. A crib is a big deal. It’s basically the biggest piece of furniture in the nursery. But I already ordered a rocking chair covered in glitzy fabric, three matching car seats with a shiny silver head cushions, and three wooden high chairs painted a metallic gold. So, he’s already going to be mad.
I might as well go big or go home.
A middle-aged woman with an impressive number of bangles on her arms and a wide array of facial piercings approaches the front desk. I know a raccoon shifter when I see one.
“Is this the guy?” she asks.
The cashier nods.
She checks out the rest of my purchases and gives me a knowing smile. “I’m loving the theme here. If you want a decked out a crib, I know a lady who makes custom furniture with bling. This is her business card. Tell her Tammy sent you.”
The business card shimmers in the light. I tilt it back and forth, mesmerizing by how shiny it is. “I like her card.”
Tammy laughs. “Yeah, she definitely understands her clientele.”
“Thank you,” I say.
“Sure thing. Congrats on… you know.”
“The litter?” I ask.
“Sure. And whoever inspired you to buy all this stuff. I hope you’re happy together.”
I glance back at my cart, and a wonderful realization sets in. Everything I picked out for the pups is shiny. Not because of some nursery aesthetic, but for another reason.
I can’t wait to show Lucas.
“Do you still want this stuff?” the cashier asks.
“Yeah, of course.”
She rings up board books with glittery covers, a set of crib sheets with a pattern of silver moons and stars, and a crib carousel in the shape of the sun being orbited by all the planets in the solar system. We probably don’t need all five of the sparkly blankets I found. My family is crafty enough that lots of people will make the pups blankets. But you can’t ever have enough blankets with shifter babies. They’re not great about keeping their diapers on, so the laundry is never-ending.
There are also chew toys. Not shiny, of course. Just the regular plastic variety. I read that wolf pups need plenty of those. I got tiny claw clippers that remind me fondly of holding Chime’s tiny raccoon form while Quin trimmed hers. And I got fifteen stuffed animals. That may seem like a lot, but according to the wolf shifter parenting blogs, a lot of the stuffies accidentally end up becoming chew toys. It’s good to be prepared.
After everything is bagged up, I take a quick photo—zeroing in on the shiny decals and board books. Then I send it to the old brother chat—before we added Lucas’s phone number.
Sequin: Oh my God! Eeeeee!
Coin: Is that what I think it is?
Cufflink: What do you think it is?
Sequin: Yes, it is! I’m coming over right now.
Cufflink: Why are you coming over?
Sequin: He started his collection!
Link: He did? But I can’t make it to San Antonio today. Silver is supposed to be at work. Why are you not at work?
I take a selfie of me in my uniform and send it off.
Me: I am at work today. I’m on my lunch break.
Tinsel: Congratulations. I don’t think I can leave the ranch today.
Sequin: No one needs to leave work. This is just for those of us who already have our collections. I’m bringing Mom and Aunt Emerald.
Me: What are you talking about?
Sequin: You’ll see when we get there.
That’s ominous.
Cufflink: Does this mean we can buy baby stuff now? Because I would like permission to buy those little sweaters they have for shifter wolf pups.
Coin: We live in San Antonio. They don’t need sweaters.
Cufflink: Right. But I was thinking we should all go somewhere snowy for Christmas this year. So they could wear the sweaters.
I laugh.
Coin: Okay.
Me: Really? You’re going along with this?
Coin: We could get pictures taken or something.
Oh my God. I love my brothers.
Tinsel: We could get a matching sweater for Chime.
Cufflink: Yes! How much am I allowed to spend on these sweaters? I found some that are $300 each, and I think Quin will be mad if I buy those.
Sequin: Yes, Link. That’s ridiculous.
Coin: What do they look like?
Apparently, Coin is going to dote on our pups as much as he dotes on Chime. I don’t know why I thought he wouldn’t. I guess I was a little worried about him still being hung up on Lucas. I should have known that wouldn’t stand in the way of him spoiling his nieces and nephews.
Link sends the URL of the sweaters in question. They’re a deep blue with white stars and moons woven into an argyle pattern. They’re modeled by the cutest little wolf shifter puppies with pointy ears and bushy tails. Will our pups look like that?
Coin: I’ll buy them.
Cufflink: Wait! That’s not fair! I was going to buy them!
Sequin: No one is going to buy them. They’re too expensive.
Tinsel: We can each buy one. Except for Quin.
Sequin: They’re $300.
Cufflink: I just bought 4 of them! Ha! Take that, Coin!
Coin: I just bought 4 too.
Cufflink: Fuck.
Sequin: Ugh. How much did ya’ll just spend on sweaters the pups will grow out of in a few months and they can’t even wear at home?
I laugh all the way to my car.