19. Stephen
STEPHEN
I could live in here.
Standing at the entrance to the nursery, I ran my gaze over the curtains at the window that billowed in the breeze. There was a woolen blanket over the love seat and a new cushion on the seat of the rocking chair.
We’d painted the walls a soft gray which complemented but didn’t overwhelm the furnishings. I walked in and twirled the mobile hanging from the ceiling and admired the fairy lights we’d strung above the window not near the crib. We’d gotten the lights at Posy’s insistence.
This room was bathed in gentleness, but there was one thing missing. I stared at the patch of floor that should have held the crib. It reminded me of a question mark, asking when the last piece would arrive and complete the scene.
My nesting brain was irritated by that space, and my fox complained that the den had a hole in it.
But it was coming today. I had a message on my phone from Remy saying he and his mate, Hari, would deliver it themselves. Hari ran a company that made bespoke wooden furniture, and he’d overseen the making of the crib. Their son Huxley's nursery also had pieces that were made by Hari and his team.
“Do you like it, little one?” I cradled my belly, but the baby didn’t respond. They’d been awake most of the night and now were asleep.
The doorbell rang. My mate would open the door because I went down the stairs one at a time thanks to my altered sense of gravity.
Three voices and Posy’s greeted me as I reached the first floor, followed by hugs. I peered around them wondering where the crib was, but they’d come in a pickup, and there was a huge shape covered by a tarp in the back.
Posy tugged my arm. “That’s it, Papa. It’s what we’ve been waiting for.”
“I can see it.”
Hari’s company made wooden furniture to last. This crib would be handed down to the baby—Posy’s crib was in storage—and would last for generations.
Hari and Clyde strode outside while Remy and Posy issued instructions. I was in awe at the shape, but when Hari tossed off the tarp, the crib was wrapped in cloth, so I couldn’t get a good look at it.
They maneuvered the crib through the front door, and I placed a hand on the cloth. “You’re home.”
“Right, let's get this upstairs.” Clyde kissed my cheek.
There was a screech that didn’t come from any living person as the wood scraped on the banister.
“No!” Hari was very proud of his work, and he lifted the cloth to check on it. “It’s fine. There’s no damage.”
But before he could lower the cloth, Posy snuck underneath and lifted it so I could take a peek.
“It’s beautiful, Papa, and it smells good too.”
Hari rattled off instructions that included, “This way a little,” and “Angle it like this, Clyde.”
“Can I help? I’m good at puzzles.” Posy put up her hand. “What if we cut it and put it back together?”
Remy put his hands on her shoulders. “You have great ideas, but this is a very special crib, so let’s see if we can get it up there in one piece.”
I assured her she could help me add the bedding to the crib once we got it upstairs. At least I hoped it would make it up or the baby might be sleeping in something from the local department store.
“Left,” Hari told Clyde.
“I am going left,” my mate puffed.
They wedged it into the bend of the stairs where it was hemmed between the wall and the bannister.
“Don’t force it, please,” Hari begged.
“It’s not moving.” That was Posy trying to be helpful.
I put my arms around her shoulders and nuzzled her while whispering this was probably a good time to be quiet.
Hari was patting his pockets and produced a key of some sort. “We can take a rail off.” He must have seen my horrified face. “Don’t worry, Stephen, it’s supposed to come apart.”
He worked the bolts until they loosened and checked to see if there were any scratches before giving a thumbs up.
“Let’s go,” Posy yelled.
When the crib made it to the nursery and the rail was back in place, Clyde dusted it, and we all stood back and admired it.
“The room is finally complete.” My mate pulled me close, and Posy leaned on his other side.
“The den,” Posy corrected him.
“It has a heart.” I turned to Hari and thanked him for making the crib where our baby would spend his first, and many more, nights.
He took Remy’s hand. “It’s our present to you.”
“What? No, that’s not right, it isn’t what we agreed on.” This wasn’t like a cute onesie or a toy. It was a piece of furniture that had taken hours to make by a skilled craftsman.
But Remy put up his hand, saying he wouldn’t hear any argument, and I hugged him with tears spilling over my cheeks.
“I do have another surprise.” Hari beckoned us closer and pointed at the top of both rails.
“Is that an animal print?” Posy grabbed a magnifying glass from her room. “It’s a wolf print, I know that.” She tapped the second one. “Papa, is this a fox pawprint?”
I nodded. I couldn’t speak because I was tamping down sobs and more tears.
“Clyde, our family is here in this crib. When the baby goes to sleep, the three of us will be with them.”
My mate’s eyes clouded with tears. “I… I… know.”
“And only you will know it’s there.” Remy patted my arm.
“And you and Hari.” Posy grinned. “And the people at Hari’s workshop.”
As we stood on the porch saying our goodbyes, I rested my head on Clyde’s shoulder. I only knew Hari through Remy, my boss, and Clyde had worked with Remy and me once since we mated. Now the pair had become good friends and gifted us what would become a family heirloom.
“Let me know when you’re in labor.” Remy waved as he got into the pickup.
I was already on paternity leave, so we didn’t see one another every day. He’d joked that he was going to give me the phone attached to the landline when the baby was born.
“Can you come up to the nursery?” Posy was at the top of the stairs. “I’ve got something to tell you.”
Could I? I’d just been up there, but I would heave myself up there once more for our daughter.
“We’re here.”
“I’ve hidden something in the room. It’s for the baby, but they won’t know it’s here until they’re older.”
I eyed one of Posy’s paintings that was resting on a high shelf. It hadn’t been in the room earlier, but my daughter was good at hiding things, so I assumed she wasn’t talking about the painting.
“Can you guess?” she asked.
Clyde and I shared a glance. “Nope,” we both said.
Our daughter stood on a chair and got the painting. She brought it to us and asked again if we knew what it was. Clyde brought it closer and we studied it. I cried again, great big hacking sobs and Posy handed me a box of tissues.
“That’s very sweet, darling.” I fingered the button in the corner, the broken pink one, that I had given our daughter when I gifted her the button collection.
“Maybe the baby will enjoy collecting buttons and we can share ours.”
The nursery needs something of us, me and Clyde’s wolf. My fox was one smart cookie.
My mate got a sweater he’d been wearing when I shifted the first time after discovering I was pregnant. It was infused with my beast’s scent. And I brought in a scarf that Clyde’s wolf had brushed against in the garden.
Much better. My beast approved.
“Can we sleep in the nursery tonight? It’ll be like camping.” Posy gave us both “the look,” the one she knew we couldn’t resist.
There was no way I could sleep on the floor, but Clyde brought in a folding bed for me and blow-up mattresses for him and our daughter.
“Perhaps I could sleep in the crib.” Posy giggled and added that she was just joking.
When it was time for bed, Posy turned on the fairy lights. I closed my eyes and imagined what it would be like when there was a baby in the crib and the three of us were peering over the side admiring our little one.
“I wish the baby was here so their bed wasn’t empty.” Posy crawled to the side of the crib.
Clyde rubbed her scalp. “Soon, angel. But when the baby comes, you might think they’re too loud.”
“Never.” She shook her head.
I stretched out my arm and my mate took my hand. “I’m with Posy. I don’t like that there’s one empty bed, but you’re right. It’ll be filled soon.”