Chapter 15 #2
"Yes. Of course, you're the best. So we talked about how I would still be part of your school day routine and we'll still have family meals.
It just might not be every night. And I might be around less on the weekends, but when I do visit or come over to babysit, we'll know to make the time extra special since we won't see each other as much every day, how does that sound? "
"Good," Willem says, brow furrowed in thought. "I'll miss you. But if your octopus side says you need it, then you should listen."
"Our octopuses are smart. They tells us stuff that keeps us safe.
" Trip nods. With the solemn way he's looking at me, I can see the vestiges of round-cheeked babyhood fading from preschooler to grade-school kid in his face.
He's growing up so fast. I'm hit with a wave of nostalgia for all the milestones I've been here for and the ones I'm going to be seeing at a remove going forward.
I'm growing too, and letting go of True's safety net is part of that process.
Still, I'm struck by how impossibly all-encompassing my love for these kids has gotten.
I'm proud and more than a little awestruck that I got to be such a big part of my niblings’ early years.
That I can see echoes of myself in the oh-so-serious kid across from me as he parrots one of my life lessons back at me.
I almost laugh at how solemnly my oldest nephew is taking my news.
He follows up by reaching across the table to pat the back of my hand.
I might cry if I don't break the tension, so I turn my palm up to tickle his fingers, because five is too young to be that serious for long. He giggles as he smooshes my hand flat to the table and squeezes my fingers affectionately. While he’s distracted, Marina darts one tentacle discretely along the edge of the table to drop her last soggy fishstick onto his plate. The little scamp.
"Hey! I'm being serious." Trip scowls at me, but he can't quite wipe the smile from his eyes or the pleased royal blue from his chromatophores.
"I know. And you're right, they really do protect us!" I agree with a big grin. He's adorable and my inner octopus is obnoxiously full of praise for the wisdom of her words coming from his mouth.
"What do you think of Aunt Gillian moving out, girls?" Trudy prompts her two youngest kids.
"We can still play? And eat ice cream?" Nadine checks.
"And swim?" Marina pipes in, eyes narrow at the prospect of less pool time.
"Yep. My new place is even closer to the pool, you'll have to visit and meet my new roommate once I'm settled in," I say. And then immediately regret the roommate part, because the way Trudy whirls to look at me, it's surprising she didn't crack her neck.
"Okay." Nadine shrugs and eyes her siblings' plates for any remaining fruit. She pouts when she sees there's none left to swipe.
"All done, can I has more apples now?" Marina asks, holding up her plate to display the distinct lack of fish sticks.
Trip seems happy to discover an extra nugget materialized, biting it in half with enthusiasm, so I don't call out Marina’s trickery. Lincoln is biting back a laugh, so he caught her clumsy attempts at stealth too, but he lets it slide, she ate most of her fish.
"Wow, you're really hungry tonight, huh? Guess we all used a lot of energy at the pool earlier." Trudy absently extends her arms with a partial shift to take the offered plate as she stands. "More apples coming right up, anyone else?"
"Me!" Nadine and Willem chorus, offering up their plates too.
"Can I please have more fish?" Trip asks, holding out his plate along with his siblings. Trudy shifts in enough arms to collect all four of her children’s plates for their refills.
“I don’t know.” True hesitates over that last request. "Those take a while to cook, bud. Are you sure you'll still be hungry for more when they're ready?"
Trip pats his belly and considers, then he nods and holds up three fingers. "Yeah, my octopus says three more fish sticks, please."
"Wow, he knows just how many even, huh? Maybe he's getting you ready for a growth spurt," I say, raising a brow at Trudy since it's her kid and her call.
"Well, then, guess you need some more fish, if your octopus says so.
" Trudy nods, she gives me a look and I know she planned this.
Of course Trip always asks for more fishsticks, and he always gets them.
Playing up the amount of effort involved in tossing them into the airfryer was definitely a ruse to get me alone for her real questions about my move.
Lincoln clearly missed that subtext. He sets down his fork and stands to help, ever the dutiful mate, but I scramble to my feet to forestall him.
"Sit, Linc, you still have half your dinner on your plate. I'll get those going for Trip while Trudy grabs the apples. We've got this." I stand, waving Lincoln back into his seat. I ruffle Trip's messy red-brown hair as I pass him with my own dirty dish.
"Thanks, Gillian. You two holler if you need extra hands," Linc says.
Then he turns his focus to keeping the kids engaged and at the table while I trail my sister into the kitchen.
Linc knows just how to get the kids talking, his next question could easily keep them going for hours.
"So, what are you kiddos most excited about for Solstice this year? "
Trudy waits to ambush me until we're standing side-by-side peeling and slicing apples for the kids. I already have the fishsticks cooking so the white noise of the airfryer can cover her soft words.
"What was that about a roommate, Gillian?" Trudy asks with no preamble.
Ah. Yeah. The girls learned how to tag-team an ambush from the best. I should have seen this coming as her opening remark, but somehow I hoped she missed that slip of my tongue.
"Um. It's a funny story really," I hedge. I was kind of hoping to bury the lead with telling her I have a new girlfriend.
That’s pure wishfullness. It's going to be impossible to hide the fact that my girlfriend and my new roommate are the same shifter for long.
Especially since she's a raven shifter and the flock gossip mill might be the reason Four Corners doesn't have a local newspaper.
The chatty shifters would surely put it out of business by spreading any news worth knowing before it could possibly hit print.
"Uh huh. So, should I take that to mean this roommate is, in fact, the same shifter who left the practical shoes by the door last night and crept out before dawn with them this morning?"
"Um…not in the way you're thinking?"
Trudy inhales like she's trying to filter feed patience from the air. It goes about as well as I'd expect a krill diet would go for her in her aquatic form. My skin feels itchy and I want to crawl into a cozy hide where I can curl my tentacles around myself and never have hard conversations.
My octopus flashes the image of her arms wrapped around me in a comforting embrace. She feels restless in the back of my mind, but this is a conversation to have in my human form, and we both know it.
"You want to elaborate on that?" True asks, tone still carrying a hard edge. "Are you really moving in with a stranger you just met? Is she the reason you’re in such a hurry to move out?"
"No! I mean, I wanted to move before I even met her. And I’m not technically moving in with someone I just started seeing?
" I want to fidget, but I focus on peeling the final apple for True to slice. "I did go on a date with a shifter I really like. And we decided we want to keep going on dates. But that's not why I want to move out. When I said it’s funny, I meant it. You know the listing I showed you for that two-bedroom condo? Well, apparently Winny is friends with the owner and she asked to move in without knowing I’d answered a listing for the same apartment.” I force a nervous laugh.
Trudy gives me a hard side-eye and she puts more force into her slicing. “You’re serious?”
“Yes. I know it’s a wild coincidence, but I was there when we both found out.
She had no idea I was planning to move into the same place.
The roommate thing wasn't planned. More of a happy accident? We each have our own rooms, so it’s still my own space.
I know it seems silly to even think about moving in together so fast on purpose, but well.
” I shrug, at a loss for how to make her understand when I still have doubts.
“I really like her and it sorta feels like fate? "
"Oh, Gillian." Trudy sighs, her apple chopping intensifies.
I hate seeing her upset. One of her octopus arms wraps around my shoulders in a comforting side hug, so that allays most of my nerves.
Which she ruins with her next question. "I hate to bring this up, but does she know your medical history?
No, don't glare at me. It's not fair to ask or expect you to share, but I'm not sorry for wanting you to be safe.
You never know how someone will react to finding out and it's my job to keep you safe. "
"She knows. I told her. And she's cool with it. Has some, uh, relatable experience with her own medical history. And no, I'm not sharing more than that."
Trudy nods. "That's more than fair. The details are none of my business as long as you feel safe."
"I do. I like her. A lot. I know we're still early days, but I want to know everything about her."
"Well, living together will certainly help with that," Trudy says dryly. "I’m happy for you, Gillian."
“I’m really excited about this, True,” I admit.
"Good, you deserve that." Trudy relaxes and her knifework gets less aggressive beside me.
"That's it?" I ask, skeptical of her easy acceptance. Guess she really was just worried and I've appeased her need to coddle me. True usually isn't that easily put at ease though. "You aren't going to grill me until I turn into takoyaki?"