15. Stephen
STEPHEN
The house was full of boxes, and I couldn’t find the kettle.
But the place was ours, or our names on the mortgage said it was.
We’d only gotten the keys this morning, and the three of us, or make that four with the baby, or five and six with our beasts, had stood on the path and stared at the house.
The place dwarfed my tiny apartment which now belonged to someone else. Clyde and Posy’s former home was a two bedroom, and now we had four plus a study and a huge backyard.
“I want this one.” Posy was upstairs, her feet thumping over the wooden floorboards. “It has windows.”
Clyde yelled that they all had windows, and she shouted back, “Not like this one.”
My mate and I shared a glance, and I shrugged. I wasn’t going up to check, and he didn’t make a move from the floor where he was surrounded by plates and saucepans. Our daughter probably had chosen the master bedroom, but I was so tired I didn’t care.
Between my mate’s furniture and mine, we had enough to furnish the downstairs and two bedrooms, and we didn’t need the nursery yet.
I was on the sofa with my feet up, unpacking kitchen utensils.
For sure we weren’t going to be doing much cooking, but it gave me purpose.
My four-month pregnant belly didn’t prevent me from helping my mate put together new shelving or making up Posy’s bed, but moving was exhausting, and I needed a break from going up and down the stairs.
“You’ve got your eye on something.” He followed my gaze to the boxes piled in the corner.
“Well, after you put together the beds, with my help, we’ll need the bedding, and that’s where you’ll find it.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” He slung an arm around my shoulders. “We could sleep on bare mattresses, maybe all three of us on one. Who needs pillows, sheets, or quilts?”
I put up my hand. “I do, and I’m voting on Posy’s behalf, so that’s two against one.”
“Fine. I’ll start on that so our den is cozy.” He crawled toward the boxes. “Whatever our den needs.”
Awww, he called our new home a den. My fox was impressed.
I beckoned him back and flung my arms around him. “I love you.”
“Love you too.”
We worked through the afternoon with me filling up the kitchen cupboards and drawers and my mate making sure we had beds.
Posy’s task was to unpack her books and toys, and when she was done, she raced outside.
Their previous house had no garden, so having a garden was a novelty.
She rushed in with grass-stained knees every so often to grab water or a cookie from the packet I’d unearthed.
“I love this house.” And out she’d dash until she tore in again and told us of the birds she’d identified.
I love it too. My fox was eyeing the trees behind the house that hid a stream and a forest beyond that. I can’t wait to hunt.
The baby kicked, and I rubbed my belly, telling our little one we’d be getting the nursery ready as soon as the house was in order, though I needed a break of some weeks or months in between.
By the time the sky was shades of orange and pink, we had a usable kitchen, a living room, two bedrooms, and the toiletries were in the bathrooms. It was livable, and Clyde shoved the remaining boxes in the study and closed the door.
I swept and my mate and Posy mopped. The last task was to cut flowers from the garden and put them around the house.
We still had sheets for curtains, but it was livable.
“High five, family. I collapsed onto the couch and put my feet up. “Let’s order in. I can’t face the stove or the fridge, and the pantry is pretty bare.”
Posy flopped onto the rug at my feet and propped her face up with her hands. “Is this our forever house?”
“Yes. This is where we’re going to stay and build memories.”
She nodded and rolled onto her back. “I bet your fox wants to shift.”
That was a loaded question because she hadn’t seen my beast. With me working, her at school, Clyde and me juggling home and family life, we’d never found the right moment.
Us becoming a family happened so quickly, and now that I was pregnant, it was as though we were watching our life through a lens at double speed.
“I think so.”
I do, and now would be the perfect time when it’s almost dark.
It was the right time now that we had a home that belonged to us. Not one my mate and daughter had lived in, but a new beginning. It was a den for our growing family, and I was a dad, not just the guy who helped Posy when she was in need.
Clyde met my eyes over her head. He could never prescribe when I should show our daughter my beast, and though I was tired, giving my fox the lead wasn’t taxing for me. I could sleep if I wanted.
“Come into the garden. Foxes like grass under them.”
The grass needed cutting which my mate would tackle tomorrow. He sat on the back steps with Posy and they held hands. After removing my clothes, I gave my beast his fur.
Warmth spread down my spine as I landed on all fours, and I sprouted a tail. Fur spread over my fox’s body and limbs, and his ears poked upward.
“Oh, he’s beautiful.” Posy crawled over the grass until she and my beast were nose to nose. “Hello.” She waved. “It’s me, your daughter.”
Awww, as if my fox and I wouldn’t know who she was. My little girl was adorable.
She held out a palm as if giving my fox a snack, though she understood never to offer a shifter beast food. My fox made that chirring sound common to foxes, and Posy buried her hands in his ruff.
“Dad, Papa’s fox is so soft.” She stroked my beast’s head and said Clyde and I should shift together.
I took my skin, and my fox didn’t complain. “No, darling.”
“Not happening, little girl.” Clyde pulled her into his arms as I got dressed.
After what we referred to as the incident, my mate had been very protective of Posy.
She now had her own phone, with parental controls.
It had his number and now mine, the babysitter, and 911 in the contacts.
Plus it had the landline at work, though she understood I would only answer it during the day.
We checked, double-checked, and triple-checked our schedules, making sure our daughter was never alone in the house. On days when she didn’t have school and the babysitter wasn’t available, Posy would come to work with me.
“Daddy can shift now if he wants, and we can sit here and wait until he gets back.”
Clyde took his fur and bounded over the fence and through the trees.
“I can’t wait to meet my wolf, Papa.” She leaned her head on my shoulder. “And we can all shift together.”
“That’ll be fun, though your little sister or brother won’t meet their beast for ages.”
“Will they be a wolf or a fox?”
I shrugged, saying we’d have to wait and see.
“Maybe they’ll be a wolfy fox or a foxy wolf.” She giggled.
“There’s your dad.” He couldn't have hunted, as he wasn’t gone long.
“I couldn’t wait to get back to my family and spend the first night in our new home.” He kissed us both.
Dinner was us sitting around the coffee table eating Chinese food.
Posy was trying to master using chopsticks, and rice and bits of chicken were flying across the room.
I offered to get her a fork and spoon, but she said no.
She was going to do it even if that meant she'd still be eating at midnight, so Clyde and I helped her out.
He picked up rice in his chopsticks and I got some red pepper, and we took turns feeding her.
“Maybe we can do this at every meal?” She looked from her dad to me and laughed.
After such a long day, we were all ready for bed after dinner. Clyde read our daughter a story while I lay on the bed beside her. And when we said good night, I asked if she wanted to leave the nightlight on, but she was happy to look at the shadows created by the moon shining into the room.
“You know where we are if you wake up in the middle of the night. Come in or call out and we’ll be here.”
She took my hand. “I know. You and Daddy will always be here for me.”