“In a language I do not read fluently.”
“You speak fourteen languages!”
“Speaking and reading are different skills.”
She laughed, crossing to press a kiss to Selik’s shoulder before checking on Mikoz. The toddler immediately offered her a fistful of smashed fruit.
“Thank you, sweet boy. But you should probably eat that yourself.”
“Ma!” He shoved the fruit toward his mouth, missing slightly and getting it on his cheek instead.
“Close enough.” She wiped his face with a cloth, earning a squeal of protest. “How long have you all been up?”
“Since dawn,” Anya said. “Mikoz decided five in the morning was party time.”
“And you did not wake me?”
“Selik said you needed rest.” Anya hopped down from the counter and started setting the table. “Plus you’ve been working yourself to death with all the nesting stuff.”
“I’m not nesting. I’m organizing.”
“You reorganized the storage closet three times yesterday.”
“It wasn’t properly optimized.”
“You color-coded the dishes.”
“That was practical. Now we can find things faster.”
Selik turned from the stove, carrying a plate of eggs that actually looked edible. “You also rearranged the furniture in our bedroom twice this week.”
“The energy flow was off.”
“Energy flow.” He set the plate down, his expression somewhere between amused and concerned. “Is that a human pregnancy concept?”
“It’s a nesting concept. Which I’m definitely not doing.” She sat down, immediately reaching for the bread. “This smells amazing.”
“Jarrek’s mother brought it by this morning. She also left instructions for several meals she thinks will be good for the baby.” He settled into the chair beside her, close enough that his tail could curl around her ankle. “Along with her opinion on appropriate sleeping arrangements for infants.”
“Did she now?”
“She was very thorough. Apparently, babies should not sleep with their parents due to safety concerns, but also should not sleep too far away due to bonding concerns, and there is a precise optimal distance that varies by family but averages approximately four point two meters.”
Anya snorted. “She measured your bedroom, didn’t she?”
“With a tape measure. Yes.”
She smiled affectionately. Their neighbors had embraced them completely, offering advice and support and the kind of casual interference that came with genuine caring.
“She means well.”
“She does. And her recommendations are actually quite sound based on my research.” Selik paused. “I may have also measured the bedroom.”
“Of course you did.”
They ate together, the morning light growing brighter and the sounds of the neighborhood waking up filtering through the windows. Mikoz made a valiant effort to feed himself, succeeding about half the time. Anya told them about the book she was reading, something about how planet side battle tactics could be used in space battles.
It was perfect and ordinary and exactly what she had always wanted.
